Pickle Route

by Pochapal

Summary:

It's a long journey to a reality that holds all that matters, and Vriska Serket is starting to grow tired of marinating in total narrative irrelevance.

Post-Candy. A story about how a regime falls, how a hostile narrative is survived, and how the existentially unimportant may be the most valuable of all.

Act 2 of the Omelette Route. Can be read as a standalone.

Notes:

Here we are with act 2 of my post-epilogues Homestuck fanfic series: Pickle Route!

Some quick things to go over before we start: this is technically a sequel to Omelette Route, but you don't need to read Omelette Route to fully understand this fic. The two fics comprise a kind of post-epilogue - like with the Epilogues proper, you can read in any order, but reading one will help you understand the other and vice versa. If this fic is your starting point, I do encourage you to read Omelette Route as well, though.

Another thing: this fic, as with the rest of the series, will not be Homestuck^2 compliant, and may even be in direct contradiction to Homestuck^2 at some points. The only things lifted from HS^2 will be updated character names such as Vrissy and Harry for consistency's sake. Other characters, concepts, and events unique to Homestuck^2 will likely not feature in Pickle Route at all. Sorry to Yiffy.

One final point: please heed the rating and content warnings. This fic will be an unflinching examination of the dark and brutal themes of the Candy epilogue, and will cover more upsetting and potentially triggering content than Omelette Route did. Nothing will exceed what was already presented in the Epilogues themselves, however, but do expect heavier subject matter than Omelette Route. I feel this is important to make absolutely clear given that this is an M-rated followup to a T-rated fic. Individual chapters with specific upsetting themes that aren't outlined in the tags will have their own warnings at the start. Please take care of yourself when reading.

Other than that, please enjoy this fic!

Chapter 1: PROLOGUE

-- arachnidsGrip [AG] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] --
AG: Hey, again.
AG: I still don't know if you're a8le to read these, or if you're even still alive, 8ut...
AG: I thought I might upd8 you on the current situ8tion.

The ship's halfway through a particularly turbulent sector of the fanonsphere when the kids collectively decide to celebrate Vrissy's seventeenth birthday. They scuttle through the myriad rooms on this sterile vessel, scrounging and begging the other passengers for scraps of grist so they can use the alchemiter to decorate the main common room with a naïve kind of gleeful abandon, a rare sentiment among an otherwise solemn and cynical crew.

Vriska Serket sits in her private room, staring out of the window as all the infinity of a singularity passes her by. She leans her head against the glass and exhales as the sound of scuttling, pristine sneakers squeaking against the polished floor rushes past her door. They've been on this voyage for sixth months now, and while she's endured longer and worse, she's never felt so uniquely displaced as she does on this vessel from a world she doesn't belong to bound for a universe she doesn't know.

Every glint of light, every speck of matter that she can see contains a whole universe, a whole iteration of the reality she was once so familiar with. Any one of them can and will contain what she truly yearns for, but as the Muse is wont to remind all of them far too often, none of those pockets are what they seek. None of them are important enough. Every bubble in this metaspace remains as ephemeral and worthless as the one they all departed from.

She often watches the pocket narratives float by and wonders if the version of herself in there is truly getting what she wants. Sometimes she wishes nothing but misfortune on that hypothetical less relevant bitch. It comes and go in cycles, such is the nature of long, stagnant voyages. After so much time, so much hurt, she'd never imagined it'd be the stillness that would get to her.

AG: We've officially passed the three-month mark. Nothing much has actually ch8nged on this ship.
AG: The Muse remains stoically cryptic, and the kids are a little too 8right-eyed for me.
AG: Hell, even Aradia sucks to hang out with now.
AG: And don't even get me STARTED on Dave8ot. Seriously, it's the worst!
AG: My choices are either have kiddy funtimes dashed with 8asic-ass teen drama or get on 8oard with 8eing all solemn and shit a8out some mission that still hasn't 8een properly expl8ned to me.

Vriska leans over and clicks the power switch of the fan on her nightstand. She closes her eyes, letting the recycled air wash over her skin. It helps her to actually feel something in this go-nowhere purgatory.

AG: There are all these cool as fuck altern8 universes right outside our window, 8ut we're not allowed to go out and visit a single one. It fucking 8lows.

At least during her first interstellar voyage, they had cool distractions in the form of fully-immersive dream bubbles every night, or a group of peers on the same emotional wavelength, or fuck, even an untamed clown to sometimes bully within an inch of his life when things got really dire. Here, there is the camp of the young and innocent, or the camp of the wise and cryptic, all within the same uninspired grey walls, constant and unchanging in their dormancy. Vriska's never felt more like an outsider than she does now. She's never felt so far from home.

AG: The wild antifa shit was cool as fuck even if it was stupid, at least.
AG: Now everything's just soooooooo 8oring! XXXX(
AG: Seriously, how the hell did you manage to float around in the furthest ring for however the fuck long without literally collapsing of ennui?
AG: I guess it's 8ecause you had your own purpose for doing it, huh.
AG: i miss you [message saved as draft]

Vriska pulls away from the window and lies back on her unmade bed. She stares up at the ceiling, trying and failing to breathe her way through the heavy knot on her chest. Her fingers drum against the cold metal frame of the cot, doing a poor job of maintaining an eight count. Sometimes the repetitive motion soothes her. Today is not one of those days.

It's one of those days where it takes all her strength not to just bury herself under the sheets and wail and sob herself unconscious, to scream and throw things and tear the entire ship apart. One of those days where the end goal feels so far, so impossible, so completely a reward for another Vriska from another time and place. She's completely alone, and that's maybe the worst feeling she's ever felt in her entire life.

VRISKA: *sniff*
VRISKA: Fuck this.

She's not sure when she started crying, exactly. Somewhere between that last volley of messages and the reinforced reminder of her loneliness wrapping into her skull with all the finesse of a claw hammer. For the last few years, she's coasted by entirely on stimulation and excitement keeping her from slowing down and looking at the gaping hole eating her from the inside out.

Well, now everything's stopped in an abrupt lurch, and the only thing left for Vriska to look at is herself. All the baggage and pain that's piled up since she was just thirteen, and even earlier than that. Because of course it would take a slow-going space journey to fucking nowhere to get her to stop running from her issues.

There's another trill of hyper giggles that bounces past her door. Vrissy and the other kids, no doubt ferrying whatever over the top bullshit they decided's relevant for this celebration from the alchemiter to the common room. Some days, Vriska feels a weird fondness for her plucky descendant, and other days, she hates the girl's guts for having everything Vriska was ever deprived of handed to her on a butler's fucking platter. It was bound to happen, given the nature of the two women who raised her, but it doesn't make the poison that swells up inside any easier for Vriska to swallow.

^{(HARRY: hey, vris! you dropped the banner!)
(VRISSY: 8luh!! You Try carrying all This Shit on your Own.)
(VRISSY: A Little Help, May8e????????)}

Sometimes, Vriska could happily murder the little brats, and she hates herself a little more every time she thinks that.

Harry suddenly lets out a high yelp intercut with Vrissy's cackles, so similar yet so different to Vriska's own. The laugh of a girl who grew up in a different world, who grew up as a different person. It quickly fades off, absorbed into the unfeeling reinforced walls of a vessel designed for decades-long intercosmic travel. It's amazing just how resilient those kids are. They're out there planning a party in the most miserable place in all reality, and Vriska's sitting here moping. God, when did she get so lame?

VRISKA: Am I... getting old????????

She murmurs it to herself, voice low enough to blend in with the fan's hum. She knows that nowhere near as much time passed following the fight with Lord English for her than everyone else, but it's not like that final journey through the furthest ring was a quick one. That shit took at least nearly a sweep's worth of dilated time that would happen then unhappen again and again the closer they all drew to the collapse. Like, fuck, factoring it all in she maybe has two years tops on these kids, but the gap feels so much more pronounced.

VRISKA: Nah. This whole situ8tion just fucking sucks.

How much longer does she have to be stuck like this? The Muse, or whatever the fuck the entity inhabiting dead Jade's body wants to call herself, implied it wouldn't be forever, but she didn't even give as much as a minimum estimate. They could reach their destination tomorrow. It could take three years. Five. Ten. Who knows what time means for an immortal undead cherub? By the end of it, these kids might be older than the parents they left behind. She hates the fact that this is literally the only option so fucking much.

There's a knock on her door. Vriska straightens up and wipes the tears from her face.

VRISKA: Yeah?

She's still a little emotional, so she forgets to pitch her voice up properly. Not that that matters to anyone but her.

DAVEBOT: its me
VRISKA: Dave?
DAVEBOT: davebot now but you know this already
DAVEBOT: im coming in

Vriska doesn't get much room to argue. There's a whirring noise and the electronic lock is overridden. The robot chassis containing Dave's soul flashsteps into the room, hands at his hips. The eyes glow a harsh red behind a pair of battered up shades.

VRISKA: What do you want.
DAVEBOT: yeah sorry to interrupt your daily emotional breakdown or whatever
VRISKA: I wasn't
DAVEBOT: dude my hearing is so good im literally picking up every soundwave on board
DAVEBOT: if i strained could probs listen in on the narratives were flying past
VRISKA: And it's not dude, 8ut you should know that already, too.
DAVEBOT: shit yeah sorry my bad there
VRISKA: Anyway, let me reiter8.
VRISKA: What the fuck do you want.
DAVEBOT: oh right yeah

Davebot turns his head to face out of the window. Unlike the last Time player in a robot body Vriska saw, this one is utterly devoid of emotional cues, stiff face with a mouth that refuses to ever not be in a perfectly thin line. Permanently, mechanically stoic. Strider repression brought to the next level. To be honest it kind of completely fucking unnerves her.

DAVEBOT: lil vrissy sent me
DAVEBOT: wants to know why youre avoiding her and also can you please come to her epic birthday party
VRISKA: ...I'm not avoiding her.
DAVEBOT: vriska youve been crammed in your room for literally four days
VRISKA: See! It's more of a... general avoidance!
DAVEBOT: ok whatever if that makes you feel better about yourself then lets call it that

He looks at her. His red eyes glow through his shades, giving away nothing, but Vriska can't help but feel immensely judged. It's the knowing look of a weary adult seeing someone go jump through the same unhealthy hoops that they once did. Vriska cringes on the inside at the mere insinuation that she'd have any kind of common ground with Dave Strider of all people.

VRISKA: Anyway, why would I even want to go to some l8me wriggler's party? There are so many more important things going on inside this ship!
DAVEBOT: literally what
DAVEBOT: you can go hear the muse repeat the same cryptic bullshit for the fiftieth time if you want
DAVEBOT: or you can hear aradia recite what little lore she knows herself

Davebot shrugs.

DAVEBOT: idk i think a wild teen rager wins out by default
VRISKA: Have I ever made it clear that everything a8out this journey fucking sucks?
DAVEBOT: yeah i think you made that one pretty clear already

Vriska lets out a sigh and stands to her feet.

VRISKA: Okay, whatever. I'll go hang out in the kiddy 8allpit to kill a couple hours.
VRISKA: Tell Vrissy I'm sorry I didn't get her a present. On Alternia, the mere fact of 8eing alive to see another sweep was a gift all in itself.
DAVEBOT: ok boomer
VRISKA: W
VRISKA: What did you just call me???????

But Davebot's already flashstepping out of her room and down the hallway.

VRISKA: What the fuck ever.

Vriska snatches up her phone, shoves her hands in her pockets, and with a perfected slouch, shuffles her way in the vague direction of the sound of celebration. Outside, they pass precariously close to another black hole pocket fanon. The ship rattles around like a cheap piece of shit as it pushes out of its orbital pull. It's hardly a special occurrence, save for the fact that Vriska's found herself thinking about what lies beneath those vast horizons more and more.

Vrissy's party is set up in the common room two decks down. Vriska makes her way there with little fanfare; she just passes through those identical featureless hallways until she reaches something less monotonous. The common room itself has the same walls and flooring as the rest of the ship, but at least there's some decent furniture in here. Vrissy sits sprawled across one of the plush couches in the middle of the room, while Harry and Tav struggle to fix a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY VRISSY!!!!!!!!” banner from the ceiling. It's all disgustingly cute as shit. Vriska is not jealous.

She makes her way to the middle of the room, waving a hand in greeting.

VRISKA: Hey, I'm here.

Vrissy perks her head up, raising an eyebrow.

VRISSY: Vriska! Good to see you're still not in your Depressed Slump.

Vriska smiles in response, all teeth and little else.

VRISKA: Haha, yeah! Only complete fucking losers would 8e like that!
VRISSY: Word.

Vrissy returns her attention to her phone, thumbs flying across the screen as she presumably plays some kind of game or is possibly attempting to update a now-non-existent Instagram page. Vriska can't tell. The kid can be pretty damn inscrutable at times.

Vriska takes another step towards the couch.

VRISKA: So, you know
VRISSY: If this is you apologising for Not getting me any kind of 8irthday Gift? Whatever. I'm 8asically Over It.
VRISSY: Not that it really Matters, given that we Literally can't 8uy Anything.
VRISSY: Also, you don't actually Give A Shit, 8ut I appreci8 you pretending to Care. ::::)
VRISKA: Well. Glad we cleared that one up from the start.
VRISSY: Me too. Nice to know even after everything we still share a W8velength.

Vriska gives out a soft laugh, more a harsh release of air from her nose than anything else. But it's enough for Vrissy to crack a small smile, and enough to look like Vriska's getting along just fine, more importantly.

TAV: H,, hey, be careful,,, harry,
HARRY: tav, chill. i've totally got this.

Above, Harry climbs to the top rung of the stepladder he and Tav share, standing on the edge of his tiptoes. He sticks his tongue out in concentration as he reaches up to straighten a corner of the banner. Tav covers his eyes with his hands.

HARRY: almost... almost...
TAV: Oh, cripes,,,
HARRY: hhhh....
HARRY: oh fuck

Harry leans forward another inch. There's a moment where he kind of tilts and sways like a teenager-sized blade of grass, then the momentum carries him forward too far. He flops right the fuck off the ladder, crashing to the floor with an undignified squeal and limbs flailing like he's trying to take flight. He lands on his back with an unhealthy thud, staring up dazedly at the ceiling.

Tav looks away, seemingly recoiling into himself. The banner sways in the air, half finished. Vrissy begins to howl with laughter before snapping a pic of the whole sordid scene.

VRISSY: Yep, That One's going in my Cringe Compil8tion.
HARRY: ughhhhh
TAV: Um, harry, are you,, are you harmed,, in any kind of significant manner,

Harry raises his head, then flops back down, gone to the world. That's gonna hurt whenever he comes around. Tav shakes his head.

TAV: Evidently so, then,
TAV: I suppose, that leaves it up to me, to get the preparations for this little soiree, to attain a state of completion,

Taking a deep breath, Tav slowly climbs to the top of his side of the ladder. He reaches out, and with alarmingly steady precision, fixes the banner up to the appropriate corner, leaving it to hang pretty damn immaculately in the air. Tiny beads of sweat lining his face, Tav lets out that same breath, then methodically descends the ladder.

TAV: Well, there we go, at last,

Vriska blinks, looking on in awe at the fact that somehow the kid named after Tavros of all people is somehow the most competent one of the bunch. It hurts her head to think about it too much, like a sly and whimsical little the joke the universe keeps pulling on her. God she misses when things were normal and made sense according to her fundamental understanding of reality.

ARADIA: they sure are a wild bunch arent they? :)

Vriska turns around to see Aradia Megido hovering a few feet behind her. She's still in the same god tier robes she wore when Vriska left her behind on that meteor all those sweeps and universes ago. She looks like she hasn't changed at all since that day. She also looks like she's aged a million sweeps since then. It's hard to tell if the agelessness is an extension of her Time powers, or if Aradia is really just like that.

VRISKA: Oh, hey, Aradia.
ARADIA: hi vriska :) how are you doing?

At least her smile hasn't changed, that sage glee at the ugly turbulence of reality. Deep down, there's still the person that Vriska knows, somewhere.

VRISKA: I see you're talkative today, Megido.
ARADIA: well theres only so long you can take listening to the muse repeat the same two cryptic mission statements
ARADIA: im all for valuing individual expression but sheesh can she sometimes be boring!

Aradia pouts her lips with a playful glint to her eye. This entire time she's been pretty much bound to the Muse's side, attentively listening to the spirit inside Jade Harley's corpse as she pilots them between realities. Very rare are the moments where Aradia decides to stretch her legs and interact with other people in any kind of normal way, not that it would be apropos to call Aradia normal by any stretch of the imagination.

ARADIA: seriously its been three weeks now since shes said anything new
ARADIA: the only thing she says is that its not yet the right stage to divulge more knowledge
ARADIA: and if im really lucky i might get a repeat of one of her sermons on canonicity and the prince but even those are getting fewer and further between
ARADIA: honestly sometimes shes more obtuse than a sgrub consort!
VRISKA: Sucks to suck.
VRISKA: Seriously, what do you see in her that makes you dedic8 all your time to her?

Aradia gives a light little laugh. For one moment she's looking at Vriska with eyes that are old and weary beyond measure, then she bounces back into her trademark glee.

ARADIA: i always said i wanted to see what happened when everything broke apart, and the muse is the one responsible for letting me see that
ARADIA: i suppose im just repaying the favour i guess :)

She smiles, but it's not as sincere as the smile she gives when she espouses the beauty of entropy. There's something else there, something that pings a shiver of uncertainty at the base of Vriska's skull. Aradia's spent more time alone with the Muse than anyone else, and now, like most times, Vriska gets the sense there's something she's not being told.

VRISKA: Well, there's worse reasons to join forces with an ominous cosmic guide. At least there was a choice this time!
ARADIA: haha true
ARADIA: its also partly due to the fact that id rather not spend the rest of eternity in a textually safe pocket reality
ARADIA: that would honestly be completely boring
VRISKA: What a8out after, though? Like, once the Muse finishes up with everything, where do you go from there?
ARADIA: hm

She pauses, looking away. Her face is perfectly schooled.

ARADIA: well i suppose id hop onto the next cosmic calamity
ARADIA: ive been at this too long to settle down and ive totally missed the boat on establishing a place i can call home for myself!

She laughs after that, like it's not the saddest and most uncomfortable thing Vriska's ever heard in her life.

VRISKA: Gee, Aradia. Well,
VRISKA: I hope ch8sing reality to its total heat death or whatever the fuck it is m8kes you happy.
ARADIA: oh it does :)
ARADIA: anyway

Aradia floats up in the air, doing a little flip. Dust from her fairy wings sprinkles down and leaves a small coating on the floor. It's perhaps the first splash of colour this ship's ever seen.

ARADIA: thats enough about me and my adventures
ARADIA: what about you!
VRISKA: Me?

Aradia smiles again, poking a finger against Vriska's shoulder. Vriska flinches back from the unwanted touch, a little.

ARADIA: yes you!!
ARADIA: i checked out of that timeline way before you even showed up there so... im curious!
VRISKA: A8out what?
ARADIA: about what went down in the end there! the muse deigned the whole thing too unimportant to observe past the point where lord englishs body arrived
ARADIA: i spent a good couple decades watching it all unfold so itd be a shame for me to never get closure on how that story turned out
VRISKA: You really want to know?

Vriska raises an eyebrow. Outside, the ship scrapes by another pocket narrative. Down here, the turbulence doesn't hit so bad.

VRISKA: Why do you want to know now, though? You've had a good few months to get filled in.
ARADIA: never seemed like the right time i suppose
VRISKA: And now does?
ARADIA: yes
VRISKA: 8ut why? Nothing's ch8nged since that first day we all hopped onto this ship!
ARADIA: has it not?

She says that last bit weirdly, in a little quiet voice. Even still, the words seem to echo and bounce across the length of the ship, until Vriska is acutely aware of a feeling of being watched. She bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from looking behind her like a paranoid weirdo.

Aradia laughs again, a little too loudly.

ARADIA: come on vriska please! its been so long since ive heard a good story
ARADIA: do it for your old friend :D

Her wide grin brokers no argument. Vriska glances over to the other side of the room, where the kids (plus Davebot) are setting up the rest of the party. There's a moment where she could choose to walk away, to rejoin the festivities and meld back into the plot, ride it out until she gets where she needs to go. But she's done enough of that. She's sick of marinating without a shred of agency to her name.

This is her story, too, and it's time that fact is remembered.

VRISKA: Ok, fine. You want a good story? You fucking got one.
ARADIA: :D :D :D
VRISKA: Let me 8egin where you left off, in an unimportant world on the 8rink of falling apart...

Chapter 2: ONE, section i.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter discusses sexual abuse and alcoholism

i.

 

Less than a hundred feet away from where Vriska and Vrissy are enjoying a spot of cloudgazing atop a wretched clown's festering corpse, a piercing howl ripples out that cuts through to the very fabric of their bone marrow. Vriska sits upright, a little perplexed.

VRISKA: Do the ghost funnels always m8ke that much noise?
VRISSY: Huh? No, not Really. And, uh,

Vrissy looks over to the point on the horizon where a fuckoff huge funnel spins and shoots off lightning sparks made of pure matter. Her eyebrows go up.

VRISSY: The Ghosts don't tend to fall from Funnels, either.
VRISKA: Weird. Wonder what that is.

Over the hill range behind them is the steadily-growing sound of deadly artillery fire. Before he fucked off to try and deal with his emotional problems, John warned them that they'd probably have four or so hours before this strip of countryside is overrun with fighting. Vriska estimates that conversation to have been around two hours ago. They don't have much time left.

Vrissy shifts a little, causing Gamzee's body to squelch into the dirt a little deeper. A spark of mischief dances across her eyes.

VRISSY: Hey, wanna Check It Out? Might 8e kinda Fucked Up.
VRISKA: ...

She takes a moment to ruminate on this smelly circus water bed, listening to the sound of hundreds of humans and trolls dying and double-dying. She could stay here, wait for the fighting to come to her, and do her part to have a positive change on this meaningless narrative. She shuffles a little. Gamzee makes another repugnant noise that triggers her gag reflex. The decision was made from the start.

VRISKA: Oh fuck yes.
VRISSY: Siiiiiiiick.

Vrissy hops to her feet, offering out a hand. Vriska takes it, Maryam-Lalonde pulling Serket back into this reality.

VRISKA: Let's get going.

Vriska takes a couple steps in the direction of the shrieking potentially dangerous hyperdeath funnel, but Vrissy remains transfixed on the spot. She's looking down at Gamzee's filthy, desecrated body with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

VRISSY: Hey, um,
VRISSY: What should we do a8out Him?
VRISKA: Him?

Something cold and unpleasant seeps into Vriska's bones as she sets her eyes on the vile clown's face for the first time since she planted him in the dirt. She pointedly does not think about the horrible actions he coerced her into doing. Not at all.

VRISKA: Let him rot, for all I care. That w8ster outlived any purpose he could have had dec8des ago.
VRISSY: 8ut...
VRISSY: He's, well, kinda a 8ig Deal, Politically speaking?
VRISSY: You know, he was the leader of the Largest Cult on Earth C, and also The 8atterwitch's Right-Hand Kismesis.
VRISSY: You 8asically fucking Assassinated the Second most Powerful Person on the Planet.
VRISKA: What the fuck? Seriously? Him????????

Vriska shakes her head. Everything about this planet is such complete bullshit. She decides for the fifth time this hour that actually, she completely hates it here. One hand rests against her jeans pocket, where John's stolen phone sits. She waits for a buzz, but the only thing she feels is the slow throb of her myriad injuries.

VRISSY: Yeah. He's 8een the Pope of the Church of Redemption for the past fifteen years?
VRISSY: Advoc8 for the Ghosts, a proxy for Crocker's Machin8tions.
VRISSY: Actually, this all actually sounds 8atshit ins8ne when I try and expl8n it to Someone who doesn't have a fucking Clue a8out any of this?
VRISKA: No, no, I sort of get it.
VRISKA: So... he was Earth C's equivalent of the Grand High8lood?

Vrissy looks away in thought. An earth-shattering explosion rips the sound barrier asunder a few miles away. Vriska cringes as the sound rattles against her already tender eardrums.

VRISSY: If I'm remem8ering the Lore correctly, he was the mythical fuckoff Huge Clown from Alternia's history, right?
VRISSY: Clown churches and circus-themed 8lood Sacrifices or Whatever, yeah?
VRISKA: Long story short, close enough.
VRISKA: 8ut damn. Gamzee? Jegus, this planet has no fucking standards.

Despite her hesitance, Vrissy smirks. Vriska bristles.

VRISKA: What?
VRISSY: Sorry, did you Just Say “Jegus”?
VRISKA: Uh, yeah?
VRISSY: Lmao, that phrase hasn't 8een Cool for like twenty years.
VRISSY: God, you Really Are part of My Moms' Gener8tion, huh?
VRISKA: I... thought we esta8lished that.

Vrissy shrugs. She inches a little away from Gamzee's body.

VRISSY: Yeah, 8ut it's kinda Weird since you look like you've got Three Years max on me.
VRISKA: Well, sorry for washing up approxim8tely ten sweeps l8ter than I should have.
VRISSY: 8ut seriously, you Need to get 8oned up on Current Media.
VRISSY: No Way am I hanging out with some L8me Chick, even if she's Literally a genetic copy of me?
VRISKA: Hey! I'm the original.
VRISSY: See? That's the kinda Shit I'm talking a8out. You gotta just roll with it, instead of 8eing so D8ted.

Vriska feels a flare of sudden anger that boils under her skin, then sharply teeters into...

VRISKA: Hahahahahahahaha, oh god.
VRISSY: What?
VRISKA: You just, you really are a teenager.
VRISSY: Yeah, Duh. You sure you didn't actually Hit Your Head at any point?
VRISKA: No, sorry, just,
VRISKA: Just, it's 8een a kind of long day.
VRISSY: I feel you There.

A moment of silence. Vriska kicks her shoe into the dirt, the sound drowned out by the rising cacophony of metamodern warfare.

VRISSY: Anyway what do we do A8out the Clown's 8ody.
VRISKA: Oh, right, um...

She looks down at it. Gamzee's mouth is twisted open, bloated and bloody and missing nowhere near enough teeth. Everything about that six-feet sack of festering meat is utterly fucking repulsive.

VRISKA: You wanna just... leave him here?
VRISSY: Huh????????

Vrissy blinks like she's heard something utterly incomprehensible.

VRISKA: Well, yeah. The war's approaching.
VRISKA: Someone's 8ound to find his 8ody sooner or l8ter. M8ke it their pro8lem instead.
VRISKA: I don't know a8out you, 8ut I've a8solutely had ENOUGH of this guy.
VRISSY: Huh.

Vrissy is still unconvinced.

VRISKA: Come on, do you really wanna spend hours 8eing interrog8ted 8y the re8ellion?
VRISSY: ...
VRISKA: Or do you actually wanna do something that's NOT l8me as shit.

Vriska motions to the sky funnel. It's now starting to flicker a little like an old monitor.

Vrissy lets out a breath, then straightens her back.

VRISSY: You know what, Yeah, you're Right.
VRISSY: Fuck That Guy.
VRISKA: ::::D
VRISSY: 8esides, if we got Caught, we'd have to deal with My Moms chewing me the fuck Out.
VRISSY: Then we'd 8e treated like Little Kids, which would Supremely Fucking Suck.
VRISSY: Yeah, let's go do something Cool and Interesting.
VRISKA: Hell fucking yes.

Vrissy finally steps away from Gamzee's body, and starts to stride purposefully in the direction of something decidedly more cool and interesting. It's a nice day out, late spring, the kind where the sky is rich and blue and the smell of pollen is thick in the air. So too is the sound and smell of artillery, a sensory experience more familiar to Vriska than all this pseudo-pastoral nonsense. She starts to catch up to Vrissy, then slows again. She looks behind her shoulder at the scene of their abandoned crime. An idea sprouts in her head.

VRISKA: Hey. Hang on two seconds.
VRISSY: What is It?
VRISKA: Something I need to do.
VRISSY: Yeah, sure. Just don't t8ke Too Long.

Vriska lifts a hand in a kind of 'ok' gesture and quickly scuttles back over to Gamzee's dead body. His bruised face stares up blankly, eyes glancing in different directions, broken jaw hinged open, bloated tongue rolling out and down into the dirt. It's pitiful. It's vile. He's been reduced to nothing.

Vriska pulls back one leg, and delivers a devastating kick to his fetid face, feeling a visceral thrill as the last few untouched bones crunch under her foot. She steps back and does it again and again, methodically brutalising Gamzee's remains until what's left is barely recognisable as a troll. Congealed purple blood and gobs of who the fuck knows what spatter out in a a rough circle around the scene, fortuitously missing Vriska every time. By the time she's done, he looks like he's been mangled by some ravenous wild animal.

VRISKA: Rot in agony, clown.

She's shaking when she finally walks away. Bile sloshes in her gut and tears sting her face. She clenches and unclenches her fists a few dozen times, flexing all her fingers between each motion. She doesn't look back. Whatever's behind her can't hurt her, or anyone, any more. It has completely and totally ceased to matter.

VRISSY: Holy D8mn.
VRISKA: Fuck him. I'm done. He's done.
VRISKA: Let's do something that's actually important.
VRISSY: Yeah. Cool.

Vrissy tries her hardest to look unperturbed by Vriska's actions of the last ten minutes as they start their walk over to the funnel, which by now is absolutely flickering like a motherfucker. These kind of things should come with an epilepsy warning or something, damn. That said, Vriska is honestly kind of impressed by Vrissy's stoicism? The kid's seen some shit this afternoon, and all things considered she's taking it better than Vriska would have were she the one approaching the situation with that level of naivety.

At the same time that some horribly huge bomb sends a column of hellfire spiralling into the air, Vriska and Vrissy cross over the hill, leaving the day's horrors behind them.

The hill declines gradually down into a large valley marked with wildgrass, the odd tree, and not much else. Save for the funnel pointing down right towards the dead centre of this geographical bowl, and what looks like a huge hunk of rock. It's too far to make out any details, but something about it pings a rush of familiarity through Vriska's spine.

VRISSY: Well, that's Pretty Weird.
VRISKA: Yeah.

As they make their way to the base of the valley, Vriska begins to notice something else odd, too.

VRISKA: Hey, uh.
VRISSY: ?
VRISKA: When did it get so quiet?

Vrissy slows to a stop, tilting her head up. When she notices it, her eyes go wide.

Here, in this valley, there is no sound of the imminent encroaching warfare. The sky above them is perfectly clear, free of smoke and debris and even clouds. The only feature marring the pure blue stretch is the funnel, flashing like a shittily-rendered webcomic gif. It's as if they've completely stepped out of the narrative affecting the rest of the world.

VRISSY: Ok, this is Really Str8nge.

Vrissy scuffles her shoes across the grass. It makes a light squeak, but the noise is almost too perfect. Vriska follows along, shoving her hands in her pockets. Something about this seems oddly familiar in a way she can't quite describe.

VRISKA: I guess let's see what's causing it, then.

It's about a mile or so before they reach the middle point of the valley. By the end of it, Vriska's wounds are screaming at her, and she feels a damp patch under her jacket where at least one injury has reopened. And by the time they get there, the funnel has all but completely dissipated save for the odd flash of lightning against a too-blank canvas. Not that that matters, because the rock sitting in the grass draws all their attention as they get nearer.

VRISKA: No way. No fucking way.
VRISSY: Hey, is that...

The “rock” they thought they saw a mile back turns out to be more a city-sized hunk of dark stone, lined with juttings both natural and artificial. Metal pipes the size of streets stick out of one end, stained with an alternating red and yellow stain that stinks of ozone and burnt plastic. On the far side, a large staircase has been deployed to allow access to the rock's interior. Atop the rock are towers and spires the size of skyscrapers. Vrissy and Vriska stand at the base of the stairs, ants before a whale.

VRISKA: Yeah. It's........ the meteor????????
VRISSY: Like, the one from The Lore?
VRISKA: I think so. Yeah, this is literally that exact s8me meteor.
VRISKA: Why the hell is it here?

As she gazes up at the meteor, Vriska feels a rush of vertigo and existential unease. The surface is cracked and lined with moss and plants and whatever else has grown in the five thousand years since its voyage, but more than that. She feels seen here in a way she hasn't since, since...

Since she gazed down at the burgeoning new-born stretch of singularity that ate everything unfortunate enough to remain in the furthest ring at the terminus point of reality. The meteor is physically in front of her on Earth C, yes, but it doesn't quite sit inside the narrative. Like a liminal weak point between two textual existences. One last tentative link to canon.

It doesn't need saying what Vriska thinks next. Pulse picking up, she turns towards Vrissy with a manic glint to her eyes.

VRISKA: Wanna check it out?
VRISSY: Oh A8solutely.

The air is almost electric as Vriska takes her first step onto the meteor's staircase. There's enough energy to rip a universe in half, it feels like. Anything could happen.

From atop the stairs, there's a sudden loud explosion that sends the air crackling with a static charge. Vrissy winces. Vriska stares up, incredulous.

VRISKA: Okay, what the hell?
??????: 0h fuck, PLEASE tell me this isn't m0re bullshit.

A figure floats out from the meteor, bathed in a cloud of gold light. But Vriska doesn't notice, because the voice almost sounds like...

SOLLUX: f0r the l0ve 0f g0d, why.

Sollux Captor levitates ten steps above the ground, face scrunched up like he's swallowed something sour.

VRISSY: ........
SOLLUX: jesus hell i hate it here.
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: SOLLUX?!?!?!?!

Sollux raises a hand and lets out a crackle of psionic energy that runs through both Vriska and Vrissy before feeding back into him. When he receives whatever information was in those currents, his frown deepens.

SOLLUX: fucking hell there's tw0 0f y0u.
VRISKA:
SOLLUX: n0 d0n't even tell me i actually d0n't care.

He brings his hands to his head and roughly massages his temples.

SOLLUX: l00k, either 0f y0u seen aradia?

Chapter 3: ONE, section ii.

ii.

 

GG: aaaand.... done!!
GG: thats all the liberties in the southern quadrant primed and ready to go! :)
GG: i await further instructions, commander vantas
GG: (hehe) <3

Jade Harley sits perched atop the last Shitty Liberty in this stretch of jungle, legs swinging freely. Her heart is light, and her sylladex lighter. The fact that they're on the brink of a planet-wide war fucking sucks, but she's alive, healthy, and back in touch with friendships she'd thought long since dead.

From up here, she can't really see much of the war effort, given that they're several thousand miles away from the fighting, and the region of the Troll Kingdom closest to the jungle is relatively sleepy flatlands that don't produce anything that would make them a tactical target. They used to breed and farm lusii back in the day, but that was all moved underground nearly twenty years ago, now, when Crockercorp pulled the plug on autonomous troll reproduction. She has it on good authority that the creatures are safely sheltered in one of the numerous underground caverns that populate the planet, but the precise location is a heavily-guarded secret kept between only three trolls.

In a sense, she is kind of glad that she's not in a more active role in this war. Yes, she would be an extremely efficient combatant given her supreme mastery over god tier space powers, but the idea of using her divine abilities to decimate so much life makes her feel sick. She's too afraid that if she started fighting, the bullet that would take her down would hail her demise as Just. So actually, these little reconnaissance missions suit her just fine!

All things considered, things are going pretty good for her. She doesn't have much room to complain. Seriously. SO good.

Jade lets out a bitter laugh and folds her hands over her stomach, where an unpleasant knot is starting to form. Her mood always dives so quickly when she's on her own, free of any distractions from the sheer litany of unpleasant thoughts she has stuffed in there. She's been good about it in recent years, but in her youth, her temper was a violent and dangerous thing. Best for everyone that it's kept under wraps.

...Still. Jade lets out a theatrical sigh and leans back until she's hanging upside-down off the Liberty's arm. Where is her husband? It's been a good two hours now since she and Dave split off, and in their domestic life they can go weeks at a time without talking (even though they live in the same house) but this is a major mission for the rebellion! He can't just check out now of all times!

As she hangs there, her phone buzzes. In a flash of excitement, she rips it out of her pocket, only for her heart to sink a second later.

CG: GOOD JOB, HARLEY.
CG: ONCE STRIDER'S FINISHED ON HIS END, YOU TWO CAN GET BACK TO BASE.
GG: oh yeah sure of course!
CG: ALSO, TELL DAVE TO ACTUALLY ANSWER HIS FUCKING TEXTS.

...

Oh. Oh no. Jade suddenly feels a rush of something very uncomfortable run through her body. Her heart elides over a couple pumps in its sequence and her mouth goes very dry.

GG: haha hes not been messaging you?
CG: ...NO? WHY WOULD HE?

Fuck. Fuck. She clenches her free fist, unclenches it, breathes. None of it helps. None of it ever helps.

GG: just wondering because ive not heard anything from him in the last two hours!
CG: SHIT, REALLY?

The feeling gets worse. Jade shuts her eyes and pretends like every one of her worst nightmares isn't replaying itself in her brain.

CG: OK, I JUST CHECKED THE REPORT LOGS.
CG: STRIDER'S BEEN DARK FOR 135 MINUTES EXACTLY.
CG: HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO HASN'T REPORTED IN. THE OTHER LIBERTY SCOUTS HAVE GIVEN THE ALL-CLEAR.
CG: FUCK, SOMETHING MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM.
CG: I KNEW SENDING YOU TWO OUT INTO A FUCKING WARZONE WAS A BAD IDEA.

Ohhh no no no no no.

GG: haha im not worried
GG: hes probably just run off and finally abandoned us haha!!
CG: JADE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT
GG: itll be fine absolutely!! :)

No this can't be. It can't be happening. Dave can't be gone. He can't have abandoned her like this. She can't be left alone again.

CG: AS YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER, I AM TELLING YOU I AM EXTREMELY FUCKING WORRIED
CG: I HAVE THE DIRECT COORDINATES OF THE LAST LIBERTY HE MADE CONTACT WITH.
CG: I AM GIVING YOU A DIRECT ORDER TO GO OUT THERE AND FIND HIM.
CG: REPORT BACK IN AS SOON AS YOU FIND ANYTHING.
CG: CLOSING COMMS NOW.
CG: BE SAFE.

With a soft beep, the communication channel goes dead. The interface now only displays a single set of coordinates. Jade barely registers it. She barely sees the jungle around her. She's only keenly aware of the objective reality that this is it. This is Dave finally standing up and walking away from their marriage. She's not fucking stupid. She knows a strained relationship when she sees one. She just expected even Dave to have more tact than to fuck off in the middle of a top secret military mission.

As Jade glances over the coordinates and hones her Space powers on them, all she can think about is where it went wrong. Dave loved her in the beginning, right? He had to have. When Karkat left the throuple all those years ago, he could have followed suit. But he stayed with her. He married her. They've been living together longer than they haven't. So what wasn't right? Did Jade not love him enough? Did she fail that hard at being a wife? Maybe if she'd give him more attention, more space, more time, more sex, fuck maybe if she'd been a man instead—

ZAP!

One blink later and she's hovering fifty feet above Dave's last known location. The Shitty Liberty below her feet looks the same as all the Shitty Liberties she's ever seen, even though Dave's always gone on about the artistry behind the unique jpeg artifacting on each individual Liberty on that stupid fucking fifteen-year-long blog of his that she never paid enough attention to. She can see a care package/bomb nestled in the crook of the Liberty's neck, exactly where she and Dave left it.

Jade floats down, then, against her better judgement, rips the box open. Her phone immediately pings with an automated alert letting her know that the Liberty system has potentially been compromised, but she doesn't care. She rifles through the maps and documents, the rations, the captchalogue cards, not exactly sure what she's looking for. A sign, maybe. An “I'm sorry” note, maybe even some divorce papers nestled between the napalm grenades. That's the kind of stupid ironic gesture Dave would make, right?

But the bundle is as untouched as it was when it was given to Jade at HQ. The only tampering is what's been done by Jade in the last ten minutes. No evidence of Dave's presence. She feels the first thrill of genuine panic for half a second, before remembering Dave's innate capacity to travel through time, and instead snarls. That asshole! Not only has he decided to call it quits on their marriage, and Jade by extension, but he's also temporally fucked off from the war! Fuck, he is just so selfish!

Tears start to crawl down Jade's cheeks as she thinks, openly, for the first time, that maybe she's grown to hate Dave a little. She hates herself for thinking that even more. And she can't help but think, somehow, this is her fault.

She has no idea what to say to Karkat, that one of his closest friends-turned-exes-turned-friends-again has once more decided to fuck off out of their lives. She doesn't know how it'll affect Karkat, who still never got over the initial breakup all those years ago. This news could, if presented the wrong way, utterly shatter the morale of the rebellion. Jade sighs. There are bigger things at stake than her marriage.

She's just about ready to reopen the comms channel and lie to Karkat about Dave's status, when she spots something. A strange warp to the foliage, a dozen feet to the east of the statue. Like there's something deliberately concealed under their noses. Jade glances down at it, then calculates where Dave's position would have been exactly upon priming this Liberty, and comes to a rudimentary conclusion founded on curiosity and desperation more than anything else.

Jade begins to float toward the anomaly, sending a rush of Space powers ahead of her to try and get a sense of whatever's there. It's big, that's for sure, some vast winding complex buried into the earth. A clandestine brooding cavern? The coveted lusus shelter? What dissuades Jade from that argument is that she feels no signs of life on the top few layers. She has no idea what she's looking at, but has the terribly grim feeling this is exactly where she needs to go.

She touches down on a patch of underbrush that is maybe far too verdant for this time of year. She could just phase through into this structure, but she has more wits about her than that. Reaching into her sylladex to withdraw her assault rifle, Jade takes tentative steps towards what she assume is the entrance, so enshrouded in thick vines.

JADE: hello? dave? you there?

She brushes away some of the vines in front of her, revealing a large wall of white marble. The molecules feel ancient to touch, but all things considered, the place has held up remarkably well. Far too well, if this is an old Earth B ruin like she suspects.

Using her space energy to teleport away a few more vines (they seem to have grown in really thick here, almost like this place is trying to keep her out), Jade eventually carves her way into the structure's entrance. There's a huge wide doorway blowing out cool, stale air. But more notably, the ornate wooden doors are hanging wide open. This is when Jade begins to feel afraid.

JADE: anyone?

She steps through the threshold, clicking on her torch. Cobwebs and conspicuous cracks line the wall of this large, looming corridor, but curiously enough, she spots no bugs. Nothing. It's like she's stepping into a slumbering, hostile tomb. Just to reassure herself that she can, Jade picks up a scrap of rubble from the floor, and teleports it out into the jungle.

It goes like this for a while, Jade slowly moving through this labyrinthine mass of mildewy, carpeted hallways. No light, no air, save for that which Jade brings with her. After the third layer of descent, Jade starts to get the sinking feeling that there's something wrong with the dimensions in here.

But she keeps going, driven on by a force even she can't explain. Hallway. Turn. Descend. Hallway. Turn. Descend. Faded red carpet that crumbles like plaster under her boots. Walls with cracks like outstretched fingers. Shadows that linger too deep. Eyes pinned on her from somewhere unseen.

When her light dies after the sixth level, Jade starts to panic a little. Everything about this place is wrong beyond anything else on the planet, maybe anything she's ever encountered in her life. She can't help but feel like she's willingly marching into the maw of some unfathomable creature so much bigger and more unknowable than her insignificant little life. She is going to die down here. Or maybe she's already dead.

She carries on in pitch darkness, struggling to hear anything more than her feet on the ground, her breath in her ears, and her heart in her throat. But this is where she's meant to be. There's something she needs to see in here. She prays it's something good.

JADE: dave...
JADE: i just want to say sorry

Time and space start to lose their meaning a little while before she starts speaking to herself. She has no clue how long she's been down here for, how much ground she's covered. Talking helps her feel grounded.

JADE: i know ive been a pretty terrible wife to you
JADE: and its led to some pretty nasty vibes between us over the years
JADE: ive hurt you and i know i should have done better
JADE: but i still love you so much :(

She starts to cry, alone and afraid in this incorrect place, and all she can think of is her shitty fucking husband, the man she ruined her own life over, and that's when the building shifts again.

All at once there's a door in front of her, more technologically advanced than anything else she's seen so far. It wouldn't look out of place on one of the rebellion airships, or her Grandpa's old labs in a time and place long forgotten. For whatever reason, this door is where she needs to go.

Taking one more deep breath, Jade steps forward. The automatic door slides open before her, and she steps through into this concealed, forbidden room.

What catches her attention right away is that it's even darker than the hallway. No matter how much she blinks, her enhanced eyes can't pick up anything. And it's hot in here. Very hot. Jade starts sweating almost immediately as she takes tentative steps into the unknown. The place smells like a cross between an active robotics workshop and the after burn of a transportalizer.

JADE: hello?

She takes another step, and nearly trips on something large and soft in the middle of the room. As she rebalances herself, she flicks out her Space senses. It's about the size of a large dog, but she doesn't sense any signs of life. Or death, for that matter. The temperature is so high in here it's impossible to distinguish between living and dead matter. Jade wipes her brow.

Suddenly, from behind her, there's the sound of scuttling feet, scattered paper, and... mechanical whirring? Gulping her heart back down where it belongs, Jade spins around.

JADE: whos there?

There's a click, and the lights are on. Jade winces, but in the millisecond between blinks, she thinks she catches a blurry figure zipping off to one side.

She reopens her eyes. The figure is not there. She looks to each side, eyes sliding over all the weird shit in this room. She looks above. She looks down at her feet.

JADE: dave?

And then she sees it.

Chapter 4: ONE, section iii.

iii.

 

Roxy folds her hands over her lap and looks out of the living room window as the clock ticks out deep punctuation marks into the silence. It's a pleasant afternoon, bright and warm without being too overbearing, and she can see birds flitting across their expertly-maintained lawn. John and Harry have been out on their heart-to-heart drive for nearly an hour, the most contact her ex-husband has had with his family for close to a decade. Everything is going well, and she desperately prays that it stays as such with every inch of her being, but she still feels like something's horribly wrong.

Maybe it's the kind of day she's had. Maybe it's the rapidly-escalating political situation. Maybe it's the deep-rooted sense that people like her aren't allowed good things in their life. That all of Earth C's gods are condemned to a lonely and cruel fate. That Jane's nosedive past the moral event horizon isn't an isolated anomaly. Maybe over the eternity that they're all doomed to live, each one will have their turn at the helm of vile cruelty.

Roxy split from Jane, albeit not publicly, a year or so ago. She never had any kind of face-to-face interaction, just left a voice message, packed her and Harry Anderson's belongings, barged past Gamzee's unpleasant figure, and departed the Crocker estate for their old house in the city. Jane eventually replied with a curt but disinterested note of disappointment, but Roxy gets the sense that over the years, Jane has moved on to bigger and better things. Harry had nothing much to say about leaving either; it's no secret to her how much he hated it there, and how many times he snuck out to meet his supposedly secret girlfriend (and how many times Roxy's had to use her Void powers to black out the security systems in order to aid his great escapes). In fact, the only thing that Roxy regrets about her departure is being unable to do anything to help poor Tavros, but at the end of the day, her own family must come first.

Well, that, and something else. But this is a day for looking to the future, not ruminating on what now feel like utterly ancient mistakes. Roxy lets out a sigh.

ROXY: damn girl when did u get so maudlin

She laughs to herself, standing up. All these heavy talks have definitely put her in her feelings more than she'd like. God, she hasn't been this emotional in years. Even as she thinks that, she still starts to cry a little. All those years, all those possibilities, and this life is where she ends up. It's a nice life, one she's lucky to live, but she can't help but ruminate on all those little moments over the years where maybe things could have turned out better. Maybe if she'd had more of a backbone, she could've had those necessary talks with John, with Jane, with—

Roxy stops herself. If she keeps going like this she will have some kind of episode. And she doesn't know how much longer it'll be until John and Harry come back. She can't have them seeing her like this. She's always had to be the rock in this family, the shoulder to cry on, even at her most checked out. It wouldn't be fair for her to change things at such a late stage.

So instead she walks across to the large mirror hanging on the living room wall and looks herself in the face. She's aged a little over the decades. There are a few barely-noticeable but still present grey streaks in her hair and laugh lines that stretch past the corners of her eyes even when her expression is smoothed out. The other Earth C gods (it feels wrong calling them her friends now, not after everything) don't seem to have aged in the same way; she could chalk it up to people like Jane and Jake having the money and clout to fix that kind of thing, but even John, once you get past his costume of masculine musculature and facial hair, is as fresh-faced as he was at age twenty-three, on that day where all this started. Roxy figures that ageing is more of a deliberate identity choice now, and that if she wanted to she could wipe away the years with a thought. But a large part of her doesn't. These years, with all their highs and lows, happened, and she feels like it would be wrong not to wear that on her face. It's the only signifier that she's changed at all.

That, and it would be kind of absolutely wrong to look about as young as her own teenage son. Maybe when he's older, and they're in a world when she can afford to indulge that little bit of vanity, but even still—

She doesn't cry again, but she comes close. Her son's mortality is one of those things she was forced to make peace with as best she could when he was still too young to be affected by anything she said. Instead, she lightly claps herself across the face, shaking her head.

ROXY: cmon get it together
ROXY: ur stronger than this

Roxy reaches into her sylladex, pulling out her makeup kit. She wipes the tear-stained mess off of her face first, slowly and methodically. She tries not to think about the weirdness of the whole ritual. That her personhood is somehow tied to her ability to wear a mask of powders and chemicals. How the more put-together she looks, the better and worse she feels.

The fact is, she still thinks about, like, gender, and hasn't really stopped. What does it mean for this instance of her, so entrenched in this rigidly gendered existence? Being a wife and a mother in a well-off suburb carries with it certain expectations of womanhood that she needs to meet, or eventually meet. It's a costume she keeps wearing. Maybe at first she did it because she liked it, liked the grounded by-the-numbers identity it gave her, but she can't say when it stopped being that. Somewhere in the collapse of her marriage, probably.

She moves onto her lipstick, applying it with a definitely straight hand. Her marriage. Another one of those check marks in this little checkbox life she carved out for herself, if such a pre-packaged life can be called “carved out”. Wife. Husband. Ex-husband. Son. It's not just her trapped in these moulds. John and Harry, too, must surely feel the pull in their own way. In those moments when she looks back over it all, she wonders if that contributed to John's eventual flight from his own family. Suburbia can be comforting, but oh so stifling. A happy ending that stops being happy without an opt-out button.

All these feelings are there, but Roxy isn't sure what to do with them. Not that she doesn't think they're valid, or that she's too old to consider this kind of stuff, but that she genuinely doesn't know. The questions are there, kind of, but she can't even begin to fathom what form those answers would take. She lets out a half-shuddering breath as she fixes her eyeliner. If there's anyone who could help her understand her own feelings on this matter, it'd be—

Roxy presses down too hard, leaving a thick black streak that connects from her eyelid to her cheekbone. No. Not at all. In another life, maybe. Where they're both different people, where different things happened or didn't happen. But not in this life, this reality. The bridge is so burned it's nothing more than a mound of ash scattered around and paved over, buried under a freshly-built Crockercorp shopping mall. The bridge has been straight-up gentrified to oblivion.

She wipes her eye clean, and starts again. This time, there are no mistakes. She tilts her head a couple times, checking how she looks from various angles, then smooths her hair back out. With each motion, she gets the distinct feeling she's getting the ritual wrong, throwing out the motions in the wrong order, more like a machine replicating a direct command in a weird spiral of existential mimesis. Does Jane feel like this, when she readies herself? Does Rose? Kanaya? Or is Roxy the only woman floundering about in an ill-fitting woman suit? She feels so alone.

Not that it matters. Roxy made her choices, and this is the reality she's in. A placid fence-sitter with a broken family living in a world on the eve of the greatest civil conflict she's ever seen, which is a whole other thing she doesn't want to think about. She knows she's failed the troll cause time and time again, that Rose and Kanaya haven't spoken to her in years, that she's been so in Jane's pocket that Dave and Jade didn't dare invite her to their wedding. All she has left now is Harry Anderson, and maybe, if the universe smiles on her, John.

She's spent more time thinking about John than she'd like to admit, particularly in the days leading up to this confrontation. About where they go from here. She's still more than a little attracted to him, still loves him dearly, but is she in love with him? Does she want to start a life with John Egbert again? Harry's old enough at this point to be unaffected either way, but what does she want? What is it that Roxy Lalonde wants for herself?

Like always, she can never say. Self-assertion is so hard, and so painful. The very nature of existing means someone, somewhere will be upset as a result of your actions. And Roxy doesn't want to have any kind of net impact, and yet she fears that decision is the most selfish of all. It feels like picking the least shitty option from a rapidly-shrinking list of equally shitty—

Her phone starts to buzz, rattling on the shelf in front of hear. She grabs it just before it knocks over a framed photograph of Harry Anderson's middle school graduation. With one hand she nudges the picture back in place, and with the other she picks up the phone. She doesn't check the caller ID. She quickly realises she should have.

ROXY: yello?
CALLIOPE: hello, roxy.

Her breath is sucked out of her body. She goes very still.

ROXY: callie
CALLIOPE: i know. i know.
CALLIOPE: there's a lot we need to discUss, bUt that can come later.
CALLIOPE: right now, i need yoUr help.
CALLIOPE: it's Urgent.

Chapter 5: ONE, section iv.

iv.

 

Eight hundred and twelve casualties. Three hundred rebels. Five hundred and twelve Crocker militia personnel. The first battle of many in this war is an objective success, but as Kanaya Maryam counts the dead on the lower deck of their airborne command base, working by the light of her own skin, it feels impossibly hard to see it as so.

She's no stranger to widespread death and violence. She was born a non-cloistered jadeblood on Alternia and grew up inside a cosmic video game that forced her to pay for every reward and boon with blood. But here, on their supposed paradise planet, it hits harder. These people never asked for any of this. This kind of atrocity was never meant to happen.

And it's only the start. With every passing day that Crocker refuses the path of basic dignity, it will only worsen. It's easy to get whipped up into a vengeance driven frenzy, to bay for blood until there's none left to bleed. Kanaya feels the call on an almost daily basis. That's why she comes down here. To ground her. To remind her of the cost of all this. This war may be necessary, yes, but it's a cruel and terrible necessity.

The fact that Kanaya must remind herself of what this war truly looks like is why Karkat Vantas is on the ground leading the reclamation of one of the Troll Kingdom's border cities, and why Kanaya remains vigil to the deceased. In years past, she'd always imagined she'd be the composed and collected leader of a social movement, with Karkat as her well-meaning but heated subordinate. Then she grew up. She supposes, she thinks bitterly, the difference is that Karkat has nothing to lose. Kanaya has so much to lose, so much this war could take from her.

All she needs to do is imagine what Crocker's forces would do to Vrissy were they to find her, and that's enough motivation for her to start snapping necks. One of Kanaya's monickers may be the Mother To All Trollkind, but she's less the maternal icon from the mythos, and more an Alternian ursine lusus defending its charge from a highblood invasion. Her love language is fangs and feral growls. She never was one for diplomacy.

Kanaya moves over to the next covered corpse. Judging by the dimensions, this one's an indigoblood troll. She grips the edge of the sheet and closes her eyes, focusing until she can almost feel every last molecule in her mind's eye. It's a leftover undeveloped salient skill from Sgrub she's never really shared with anyone, something that until now was a mildly interesting party trick at best. She breathes out. Three bullet wounds; two to the torso, one between the horns. The second torso wound was inflicted post-mortem. All three have exit wounds. Nothing particularly gruesome.

Still, Kanaya can't help but shake her head sadly when she pulls back the sheet to catalogue the body. The body belongs to a young woman who can't be any older than ten sweeps. She's dressed in the standard military apparel, but Kanaya finds a pendant of her zodiac sign attached to her dog tags. The ancestral sigil of the Traveler, if Kanaya's memory serves her well. She clasps the pendant in her hands and mouths an old Alternian prayer.

KANAYA: May Your Extant Soul Reach The Domain Of Your Ancestors
KANAYA: And May Your Memory Guide All Those Who Live On Beneath Your Sigil

She waves a hand to seal up the young woman's wounds and preserve her body long enough for the proper funerary rites to be made, then places the sheet back over her. She writes down her identification number in the logbook of the deceased, then moves on to the next body. There's still over a hundred bodies to properly identify and send home before the next phase of the war, and Kanaya prefers to do this humbling work alone.

She adjusts her headscarf and crouches down to tend to the next body, when she senses the door to this room slide open. She spins around and slowly stands, a quietly warm expression washing over her face. She knows who this is. There's only ever one person who'd dare disturb her in the midst of her work.

ROSE: My darling wife, you missed dinner.

Rose Lalonde walks carefully among the rows of the dead, so beautiful and so alive. There's a half-smile on her face, playful yet reverent, that immediately brightens the room.

KANAYA: Rose I Am Of The Undead I Do Not Actually Need To Eat To Survive
ROSE: I wasn't talking about the food.

Kanaya begins to walk, too, meeting her wife halfway across the morgue. Once they come together, she pulls Rose in for a tender yet firm kiss that neither is in a rush to break away from. When they finish, Rose wraps her arms around Kanaya's neck and sighs.

ROSE: Honestly, all those military officials can get so macabre.
ROSE: It's an injustice every time you leave me to dine alone with these people.
KANAYA: Oh So It Was A Literal Meal You Were Talking About Just Now
ROSE: Of course. What else could I possibly be on about?
KANAYA: I Have Not A Clue Do Enlighten Me Please

Rose cocks an eyebrow in an attempt to be sultry, but she's still the one who blushes first. Kanaya's lips twitch. Even after all these years, the gambit always lands in her favour.

ROSE: Kanaya, we are soldiers in a war. This is no time for levity.
KANAYA: Mm Hm

Still smiling like a lovestruck fool, Rose kisses her on the cheek.

ROSE: Anyway. How are you doing?
KANAYA: All Things Considered Pretty Fine
KANAYA: Still Working Through The Deceased
KANAYA: It Is Terribly Sobering But A Good Reminder Of What It Is Were Doing

Kanaya lets out a breath, and closes her eyes. When she reopens them, Rose is the only thing she sees.

KANAYA: What About You Dear
ROSE: The scouting mission went off without a hitch, as you can probably tell.
ROSE: Vrissy did remarkably well for her first time in the field, too.
KANAYA: Did She

There's a moment of silence. Both Rose and Kanaya have their feelings towards their daughter's almost fanatical obsession with becoming a war hero. But neither of them can rein her in, and in the world she's growing up in, letting her fight may be the kindest thing to do. It doesn't stop Kanaya from pining for those quiet and warm days when Vrissy was still a wriggler, and reality hadn't yet bared its fangs.

ROSE: I saw John, too.
KANAYA: Did You
KANAYA: I Wasnt Aware Hed Joined The Cause
ROSE: He hasn't. He was just out there.
ROSE: I think he was having an extended moment that just happened to coincide with our operation?
KANAYA: What About Now
ROSE: I don't know. I lost track of him somewhere in the fighting.
ROSE: He probably went back home, knowing him.
KANAYA: So He Remains A Disappointment As Ever
ROSE: So he does.

This time, it's Rose's turn to exhale sadly. The fact that John remains the only one of her oldest friends not to stand in solidarity with the revolution is an utterly agonising sticking point. Kanaya quietly resents John a little for having the privilege to spend his days moping as far away from the tumult as possible, and she has her own reservation towards Rose's continual misplaced belief in him, but she keeps quiet. This whole thing is much bigger than any interpersonal grievances she may carry.

They start to walk towards the door. Kanaya takes a moment to gather her thoughts before resuming the conversation.

KANAYA: What Is The Final Verdict On The Battle
ROSE: We've reclaimed the city. Crocker forces remain active, but they're on the back foot.
ROSE: We're hoping one of the prisoners'll divulge information on the location of the cake mills in this region.
ROSE: Plans are currently being drawn on how to best advance through the Kingdom.
KANAYA: And Karkat?
ROSE: Commander Vantas remains on the ground, leading an elite task force to liberate the municipal alchemiter.
ROSE: It'll be a huge boon for our resources moving forward, provided our psionics can overrule the DRM locks.
KANAYA: Why We Ever Let Jane Copyright The Concept Of Alchemy In Our Youth Is Beyond Me
ROSE: We can lament past failings all we want, Kanaya. What's done is done.

Rose swipes her ID to the door scanner, and the two step out into the hallway. The walls are thinner out here, so Kanaya can hear the constant hum of the airship's engine. It puts her in mind of the rattling of the meteor that ferried her between universes so very long ago.

They pass by one of the technicians working with the wiring, a stocky ceruleanblood with a shaved head and a cracked horn. He waves a tattooed arm in greeting. The sight of his bright blue eyes reminds Kanaya rather sharply of something more imperative.

KANAYA: And How Is Vrissy Now
ROSE: Oh?

Rose blinks, like she'd forgotten all about her for a good few moments.

KANAYA: Our Daughter
KANAYA: How Is She Holding Up After The Battle

They board the elevator at the end of the hallway, riding up to their personal cabin. Rose takes far too long to give an answer.

ROSE: Well, she...
ROSE: I don't... actually know?

Kanaya goes cold. She tries to ignore it.

KANAYA: And What Pray Tell Does That Mean
ROSE: I mean...
ROSE: I kind of lost track of her, somewhere in all the fighting.
ROSE: I... I haven't seen her since our shuttle landed.
KANAYA: ...
KANAYA: ...
KANAYA: ...

Kanaya is cool and composed. A graceful god working quietly and calmly towards her own personal liberation, respected for her dignity and her poise.

She is none of those things as an animalistic snarl tears from her throat and she spins towards her wife fast enough that she strains a muscle in her neck.

KANAYA: YOU WHAT?!?!?!
KANAYA: ROSE WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVENT SEEN HER!
KANAYA: SHE IS OUR DAUGHTER AND WE ARE IN AN ACTIVE WARZONE!
ROSE: I... I'm sorry! :(
KANAYA: SORRY? ROSE SHE COULD BE DEAD!
KANAYA: HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE!!!

The elevator clicks open and the argument drifts out into the residential quarters. The few workers and soldiers milling about quickly make themselves scarce as Rose and Kanaya heatedly make their way to their room.

ROSE: I... I don't know!
ROSE: There was so much happening, and I've never had to consider her like this before, and...
KANAYA: So You Just Forgot About Her!
KANAYA: Rose I Cannot Believe You!
KANAYA: I Knew Taking Her On A Mission Was A Bad Idea!
ROSE: Hey, I didn't want her out there, either!
ROSE: You could have had her work with you, but no, tending to the dead is your little solitary moment of reprieve!
ROSE: I tried my hardest, Kanaya!
KANAYA: I Do Not Have The Time To Tell You How Wrong You Are
KANAYA: Right Now Finding Our Daughter Is All I Care About
KANAYA: Have You Tried Contacting Her?
ROSE: Um
KANAYA: Aagh! Fuck! You Are Completely Useless!

Kanaya storms ahead of Rose and charges into their room. Her phone is charging on the stand beside their bed. Kanaya rips it out of the socket without pausing for breath.

As she unlocks her phone, Rose stumbles into the room after her, wide-eyed and sheepish.

ROSE: I... I don't know what happened!
ROSE: It's like... like her relevance suddenly tanked so hard she became undetectable to my Sight!
ROSE: Believe me, I wouldn't neglect our own daughter like that!
KANAYA: I Dont Think There Is Any Excuse For This Rose I Am Sorry
KANAYA: I Still Love You Dearly But You Need To Do Better
KANAYA: Im Going To Try And Call Her Now

Kanaya rapidly scrolls through her phone's menus until she reaches her daughter's contact number. She hits the call button and the phone rings out... rings out... rings out... then goes to voicemail.

VRISSY: Mom, I Know this is you.
VRISSY: So Just Say whatever Fussy shit you have to say, and I'll get 8ack to You L8ter.
*beep!*

She tries again. And again. And again. And again. The same result, that same beep, Vrissy's same insolent message, rings out over and over.

KANAYA: No No No No No!

Across the room, Kanaya sees Rose's face fall. Kanaya's own hands start to shake. A million terrible scenarios dance behind her eyelids.

ROSE: Should I raise the alert?

Kanaya nods furiously, so blind with fury and panic she's on the verge of tears.

KANAYA: Ill Try To Reach Karkat
KANAYA: Maybe
KANAYA: Maybe She Snuck Off To Join What She Sees As The More Important People
KANAYA: Or

As she talks, her phone buzzes with a new text message. Kanaya stops talking immediately and glances down.

VRISSY: I heard you the First Time. No need to keep 8lowing Up my phone!!!!!!!!

ROSE: Is that...?
KANAYA: Its Her
ROSE: Oh thank fuck.

Rose visibly deflates, leaning back against the wall. Tears start to pool in her eyes. The visible relief and concern on her wife's face assuages Kanaya's anger, but not by much. Just enough for her to get by.

Kanaya shakes her head and texts back.

KANAYA: Vrissy Dear Where The Hell Are You
KANAYA: You Cannot Just Walk Out In The Middle Of A Battlefield
KANAYA: Your Mother And I Are Worried Sick
VRISSY: Ugh, sorry, I guess.
KANAYA: Where Are You
KANAYA: Are You Hurt
VRISSY: Yes, I'm Fine!
VRISSY: And I'm
VRISSY: Somewhere I can't really Expl8n, 8ut I'm safe!
KANAYA: Darling That Is Not Reassuring In The Slightest
KANAYA: Are You Alone
VRISSY: No, I'm with
VRISSY: A Friend.
KANAYA: That Is Really Not Assuring To Hear
VRISSY: Look, it's kinda Hard to Expl8n.
VRISSY: You wouldn't 8elieve me even If I Told You.
KANAYA: Try Me
VRISSY: Fine! I'm with my Alt-Self on a Fuckoff Huge Vessel that disregards A Few of the laws of physics and Also Might 8e the meteor you all Grew Up On.
KANAYA: What
VRISSY: Anyway, it's all Cool and Exciting. Way more Interesting than Karkat's Re8ellion, no offense!
VRISSY: I gotta go. Things are Happening.
VRISSY: Vriska says Hi By The Way!
KANAYA: Wh
KANAYA: Vriska
VRISSY: So yeah. I'll 8e away for a While, 8ut don't worry. I'm Completely S8fe!!!!!!!!
KANAYA: No Were Not Done Talking
VRISSY: Catch Up With You L8ter! ::::)

Vrissy's icon goes offline. Kanaya spends an inordinately long amount of time staring at a perfectly blank spot on the wall, so dumbfounded that she doesn't really react when Rose puts a hand on her shoulder.

ROSE: What did our daughter have to say for herself?
KANAYA: I Think

She lets out a shuddering groan.

KANAYA: I Think We Have Once Again Invited Bullshit Of The Highest Calibre Into Our Lives

Chapter 6: ONE, section v.

v.

 

JOHN: so, how've you been, son?

Harry Anderson Egbert leans his head against the window of his dad's car as they pass through downtown NuSeattle. Neon billboards with the faces of Jane Crocker, Jake Crocker, and Gamzee Makara pollute the skyline like festering zits. From everywhere in the city, the Crocker Needle is visible, brandishing an absurdly massive clock whose only purpose is to count down to the precise instant that curfew is enforced tonight. The baroness is feeling generous today, it seems. They have until nine pm.

Harry would normally be thrilled with such a premium, save for two very major mitigating factors. The first is that his girlfriend, whom he'd normally slip out to visit, is currently on the other side of the country with the rebellion, and the second is that he's stuck having the world's most uncomfortable heart-to-heart with his old man.

HARRY: yeah, good, i guess. school's alright.
HARRY: me and vris are doing ok, too.
JOHN: ha ha, that's a relief to hear, harry anderson.
HARRY: ...
HARRY: you know, you can just call me harry. everyone else does.
HARRY: it's kinda weird hearing you use my full name all the time like that.
JOHN: oh, um. sorry, son.
HARRY: it's cool.
JOHN: ...
HARRY: ...

John's grip is tight as he turns the car onto the city's inner circuit lane. It used to be a public transit lane, but Crockercorp defunded most public services a good ten years ago. Harry barely remembers what a bus looks like. At least Earth C has a booming automobile industry, which is really apparent given that they pretty quickly get stuck in a slow-moving rush hour lane. The city's infrastructure is basically built from the ground up to force these kind of traffic jams. Makes it easier for the monitoring drones to properly scan everyone. Even though they've stopped still, John doesn't relinquish his hold on the steering wheel.

HARRY: so, uh
HARRY: how have you been, dad?
JOHN: oh, you know, ok.
JOHN: moved back into my old house. had some time to clear my head.
JOHN: realised i've sucked pretty hard at living my life, ha ha.
HARRY: uh huh.

John laughs, but he looks tired. Not in the old people way, because Harry's pretty sure his dad stopped ageing at, like, thirty, but there's a weariness to his eyes. John glances out of the window as an airship floats by, scratching at his stubble.

HARRY: you ditched the mustache?

His dad starts, almost looking a little guilty at that one.

JOHN: well, yeah. i think looking back it was kind of a stupid fashion choice?
HARRY: it was pretty cringe, yeah.
JOHN: nice to see you approve. i'm a new man, heh. or something.
HARRY: at least you look like your own person, and not like a cheap imitation of jake crocker.
JOHN: ouch.
HARRY: just calling it like i see it.

Harry feels the first pull of a smile, but it doesn't quite manifest. There's still too much unsaid sitting between them, in this endless artificial traffic jam.

JOHN: nice to know you won't make your old man's mistakes, at least.
HARRY: yeah.
HARRY: like, no offense here, but you've not exactly been around enough to be my “old man”.
JOHN: probably not, no.

The traffic moves forward by half an inch. Up ahead, Harry hears the shrill whirring of a Crockercorp drone ID checking someone. Probably an out-of-town worker. The travel restrictions have gotten much harsher since Karkat openly declared war against Jane.

JOHN: when did you and your mom move out of the crocker estate?
HARRY: about a year ago? i don't know, a little after my fifteenth birthday.
HARRY: jane and mom hadn't spoken for so long that by that point, nobody cared that we left the gated community.
HARRY: she doesn't talk about it, but i think she beats herself up for remaining neutral in the whole situation.
JOHN: that sounds like your mother.
HARRY: yeah, like you know her well enough to say that.

He doesn't mean for it to come out that harsh, but it does. John closes his eyes, taking it like he believes he deserves it. Harry shakes his head. He's got so much built-up resentment and anger towards his father that if he started letting it all out, he's genuinely afraid he wouldn't be able to stop.

JOHN: although, speaking of which...
JOHN: your uncle jake's moved in with me.

Now this makes Harry pause.

HARRY: you're harbouring jake crocker?
JOHN: well, more like he showed up on my doorstep all sad and defeated.
JOHN: he'd lost everything. what was i meant to do?
HARRY: dad, he was literally complicit in genocide.
HARRY: like, are we just forgetting the decade's worth of propaganda death shows that he ran?
JOHN: sorry, i was kind of out of the loop there.
HARRY: you somehow missed the entire rise of a dictatorship?
JOHN: as i said, out of the loop, ha ha.

John does this kind of self-deprecating laugh that's clearly a poor attempt to deflect from this awkward train of thought. Harry hates how he recognises the gesture as one he himself does.

HARRY: no wonder vris's moms think you're an unreliable wimp.
JOHN: once again, ouch.
HARRY: i mean, as instrumental figures go in the suppression of a fourth of all life on this planet, you could have picked worse?

They gain another inch in this insufferable traffic block. Harry drums his fingers against his leg.

HARRY: so, how did you manage to smuggle him in without jane noticing?
JOHN: oh, yeah, i kind of think she stopped caring?
JOHN: it'll never make the news, but they got divorced.
HARRY: holy shit.
HARRY: uh, sorry.
JOHN: no need, son. we live in pretty holy shit times, as it turns out.
HARRY: yeah.
HARRY: so...
HARRY: he's just there?
JOHN: i'm pretty much the only person left who isn't either loyal to jane or has declared him a mortal enemy.
JOHN: he brought tavros, too. poor kid.

Harry's eyes go wide.

HARRY: tavros got out? god damn.
HARRY: wonder why he never told me and vris.
JOHN: i imagine because it was safer to keep a low profile at the start?
JOHN: and also, they weren't able to take any possessions with them.
JOHN: i offered tavros one of my phones, but he doesn't seem to trust technology.
HARRY: duh. his mom has, like, everything bugged at the crocker estates.

John's expression takes a turn for the disconcerted, like he's both regretting not doing what he did sooner and fearing for the consequences of acting at all. It's a strange face journey to watch happen in real time, Harry thinks.

JOHN: but aren't he and vriska...? this is definitely a weird thing for me to ask, but how did he keep in contact with her without jane, um...

Harry lets out a sigh. This is just gonna be one of those conversations, isn't it.

HARRY: ok, yes that's kinda weird for you to be thinking about, and i'm also about to break tavros's confidence in a major way, but...
HARRY: gamzee bought him an untraceable burner phone for his birthday last year, under the condition that he gets to read through all their hateflirt logs afterwards.

John's face scrunches up, eventually landing on outright horrified.

JOHN: jesus fucking christ.
JOHN: that is... i can't even describe how horrific that is.

Harry leans back, kicking his feet up on the dashboard. The edges of his sneakers are scuffed, which is still such a wild concept to consider. Back in the gated community, everything was pristine and camera-ready all the time. The roughness, the imperfection, is infinitely fascinating to him.

HARRY: i don't know, it all felt so normal at the time?
HARRY: like oh yeah, gonna text tavros. his gross fucking clown uncle's gonna read the logs when we're done, but whatever.
HARRY: it was just a thing that always happened.

John full-on, actually and literally snarls.

JOHN: that fucking piece of shit clown. i should have set that fridge of his on fire instead.
HARRY: uh, what are you talking about?

John looks away guiltily.

JOHN: just some regrets from my youth is all.
JOHN: anyway.
HARRY: anyway, uh, yeah.
HARRY: if he really is bunking with you, tell tavros i said hi or whatever.
JOHN: will do.

There's another gap opening up in front of them. John maneuvers the car into its spot. His style of driving is a little rough and unsteady, like any second the car will flip off the road and start flying. The self-driving cars at the Crocker estate were much smoother and uniform. With his dad, Harry gets the sense of flux, like anything could happen. It's so different from anything he's known.

But then he looks at his father and the void he created comes right back, slamming into him so hard he almost forgets how to breathe. Harry comes to the realisation, as he often does, that things will never be simple between him and his father.

JOHN: i wonder if things would have been different if i'd stayed.
HARRY: huh?

John stares straight ahead, moving slowly in tandem with the traffic. He doesn't break his gaze, even when the Crockercorp surveillance drone scans their car and marks them both as legal citizens. Harry shrinks back a little in his seat as the infrared beam flicks over him. He always hates how exposed it makes him feel. Privately, he prays for the day the rebellion puts an end to all that.

JOHN: like, if i hadn't abandoned you and roxy, and checked out back when jane and jake could be saved.
JOHN: if i'd been there... would it have made a difference?
JOHN: if i'd actually done the whole husband and father thing properly, if...
JOHN: if i'd stepped up to the plate as a real man, could i have made things better?

There's a slight tremble to his hands as he goes on. Harry looks away, suddenly feeling intensely awkward. His mom, in the moments she'd actually be candid about the death of her marriage, would often cite her ex-husband's self-deprecating protagonist syndrome as one of the major deal breakers. This idea that the universe revolves around John Egbert, and therefore everything bad that happens ever must be John Egbert's fault.

Harry guesses this is his first taste of it, and he can safely say it fucking sucks.

HARRY: look, i don't know.
HARRY: maybe. maybe not. doesn't really matter.
HARRY: that's not what you did, dad. there's no changing that.
HARRY: you walked out on your family, and the world also went to shit.
HARRY: so here we are. that's our reality.

He feels the edges of his tempers fraying a little. All he really wants to do is scream at his father why his sixteen year old son is the the emotionally responsible one in this vehicle, why he didn't even so much as show up for Harry's birthdays, why the fuck he was able to leave Harry's mom in such a vulnerable state that even now she's not over—

Harry doesn't say any of this, of course. He's too cool. Unflappable. The level-headed member of the operation.

HARRY: and, uh, i dunno about the whole changing stuff thing.
HARRY: like, the me that i am right now is pretty much a product of the reality we're in.
HARRY: and even though it sucks in a hell of a lot of ways, this is still my life???
HARRY: maybe it's because i'm not some super amazing reality bending god like you and mom and the rest, but...
HARRY: if you ask me? the idea of abandoning this world for a better one just because the times are hard isn't the great solution you think it is.
HARRY: it's cowardly.
HARRY: maybe if you tried actually sticking around to fix the fuckups, and treated your surroundings less like they're a fucking bad story you're being forced to read and didn't leave your own fucking wife and son to struggle on our own in this crapsack hellscape where things keep getting worse—

Okay, so, maybe he lied. He's really not cool and unflappable right now. In fact, he'd go so far as to say he's majorly losing his cool. Harry shuts his mouth, but it doesn't stop his body from shaking as everything pours through him. It only takes a couple seconds after that for him to start crying. Like, full on sobs, the kind he hasn't done since he was a little kid and Jane drilled into him that snotty sobs are so unbecoming for the cameras.

HARRY: you're my dad, and that's all i've ever wanted. for you to actually be that person.
HARRY: why were you never able to do that??
HARRY: what did i do so wrong that you couldn't stand to be around me???

John continues to look away, even as his frown deepens and his grip on the wheel tightens. Harry feels the precise moment he loses what precious little control he still has, like the lid snapping off of a bottle of soda.

JOHN: harry anderson, i—
HARRY: please, for once, just FUCKING LOOK AT ME!!!

Harry screams at the end, harsh enough that his throat feels like it's been ripped in two, and loud enough that passing pedestrians flash a few concerned glances his way. He clenches his fist and sucks in ragged breaths, and looks towards his dad. If this isn't enough to get John to wake up, then nothing is. But Harry already fears it's too late, that the relationship he's always wanted is a lost cause.

Then John turns his head, slowly, away from the traffic, and towards Harry. It's like he's actually looking at his son as a real person for the first time in his life. Harry hitches out an involuntary gasp that very nearly becomes a full-blown panic attack.

JOHN: harry, i'm looking at you right now.
JOHN: you're my son, and all i've done is fail you.
JOHN: i see that i've done that for far too long.
JOHN: you deserve better from me, and i swear to you i will do better from now on.
JOHN: i love you so much, and i am so sorry i've hurt you.
JOHN: you don't have to forgive me, but please, give me one last chance to do right by you.
HARRY:
HARRY:

Harry tries to speak, but finds his mouth empty. He swallows around something large and trembling in his throat. His face burns. This is everything he's ever wanted, right here. Every part of him is screaming to lean into his father's arms and melt back in time until he's a child again and the world is simple, and every other part of him is screaming to bolt out of the car door and keep running until he collapses.

John still looks at him. Tears are in his eyes, behind his slowly-fogging glasses.

JOHN: i'm here for you now, son. i promise, i won't be going anywhere.

He puts a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry doesn't make a move to shrug away. He feels both hot and cold at the same time, like he's sinking into unreality.

JOHN: so what do you say, want to start again?

His dad's face is so earnest, so present. It can't be happening. But stranger things have happened, like Jane Crocker's own human husband fleeing from her grasp. Or his mom having a genuine conversation with her estranged husband. Maybe this is a time for impossible change, after all.

HARRY: dad, i
DRONE: OPEN YOUR WINDOW. YOUR COMMUNICATION CREDENTIALS MARK YOU AS ONE WITH INFORMATION ON KNOWN WANTED CRIMINAL FIGURES. COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY.

One of the Crocker drones outside leans in towards their car, and extends a mechanical hand to start rapping on the window. It's one of the AI models, large crimson metal spheres the size of beach balls with disturbingly dextrous robotic arms and a large blinking red light for an eye that looks like something out of some old and shitty sci-fi movie.

DRONE: SUBMIT TO INTERROGATION FOR THE SAKE OF PRESERVING OUR SOCIETY.

Its eye beams a red light that greedily scans over Harry. He pulls away from his dad's touch and flinches back into his seat.

HARRY: uh...
JOHN: well, fuck.
DRONE: DEFIANCE OF ORDERS WILL BE LOGGED AS SEDITIOUS TREASON AND TREATED ACCORDINGLY. YOU WILL COMPLY.
HARRY: what the hell is this??
JOHN: well, seems like one or more of us has been communicating with known rebels via some device currently in this car.

Harry winces, becoming immediately aware of the phone in his pocket bloated with text messages to Vrissy, the daughter of two rebel leaders who has now joined the fray herself.

HARRY: well, shi
JOHN: i knew i should have been more careful about meeting rose and kanaya earlier.
HARRY: y
HARRY: YOU???

Today's just one earth-shattering revelation about his father after another. Harry feels like he's been given whiplash a good four times at least, and it's not even six pm yet.

JOHN: yeah! but i'm not sure now is really the best time to get into that one!
DRONE: SUBMIT TO INTERROGATION OR FACE THE PENALTY.

The drone starts making a very incredibly fucking alarming sound. Its eye begins to pulse in a way that tips Harry off to the fact that there's pretty much guaranteed chance it's actually some kind of death ray.

JOHN: i am proud of you for engaging in activities to undermine the government, though, harry! nice to see your prankster blood alive and kicking!
HARRY: i thought you said we were going to talk about this later!!!!!
DRONE: YOUR NON-COMPLIANCE HAS BEEN LOGGED. ADMINISTERING RETRIBUTION.

Harry breaks out into a cold sweat as he grapples with his imminent mortality for the first time in his sixteen years of life. John is notably less freaked out, looking almost... thrilled by the prospect of lethal peril?

HARRY: fuck fuck fuck FUCK!!!! what do we do!!!

One of the drone's arms balls into a fist, aimed right for the passenger side window. Harry takes the opportunity to scream again. Just as his wailing reaches a crescendo, John grabs his shoulders, and turns his head so they're face-to-face.

JOHN: harry, listen to me.
JOHN: i can get us out of here, but you need to trust me entirely. can you do that?

Trying not to black out from terror, Harry nods. In response, John's face goes suddenly very severe.

JOHN: brace yourself.
HARRY: wh

Before Harry can get the words out, John winds down all the car's windows and flicks one wrist. Out of nowhere, a pulse of screaming-cold air blasts out of the car, blowing out all the windows of the nearby buildings. Harry shrinks into a ball, desperately trying as best he can to weather the sudden wind tunnel his dad's car's turned into. His hair whips around all over the place and he hunches his shoulders up to try and protect his ears from the concentrated air blasts. The drone gets caught in one of the cyclones, slamming against a wall with enough force to shatter into countless pieces.

As the wind explosion dies down, Harry's still-ringing ears pick up the sound of a gradually escalating alarm, coming presumably from the robot's black box. He looks over to his dad, who is remarkably unfazed by the whole event. Unlike Harry, who is now windblown as fuck, not a thing about John Egbert is out of place. It's the first time he's really, truly seen his father as the god that he is.

HARRY: :O
HARRY: holy fucking shit!!

Harry gapes for a few seconds longer. A little further down the road, a rising tide of local dronebots rapidly advance towards their present location, no doubt heeded on by the distress signal of damaged government property. They're all blinking and whirring and absolutely, without a doubt, fucking furious.

John, surprisingly, merely laughs.

JOHN: ok, harry, you ready to see something really cool?
JOHN: get ready for lift off.

John reaches over to check that his seatbelt remains firmly secure, and rolls the windows back up. Then he grabs the gear stick with one hand, and raises the other. A soft blue aura pulses out from his fingertips that quickly ensconces the car, and just as the drones are upon them, the car springs into the air like a slingshot.

HARRY: oh my god. oh my god.

Harry leans over to look out of the window. The city is now beneath them, and shrinking with every passing second.

JOHN: whoo! ha ha! :D

John laughs like an elated child for about half a minute as Harry alternates between looking at his father, and looking down at Earth C from above. He finally calms down as they breach the cloud layer.

JOHN: ok, we should be out of their range up here.
JOHN: BOY is the government not gonna be happy with us.

The car slows its ascent, rotating until it's once again horizontal. John leans back, smiling widely all the while.

JOHN: well, there you have it. looks like we're officially in the revolution, now.

He gives a knowing wink.

JOHN: better let your secret inside contact know about this stunning development. ;)
HARRY: oh my god
HARRY: we just did that.

Numbly, Harry fumbles for his phone as the car passes through a layer of cloud that wraps around them like off-white mist. His hands are trembling as he pulls up the messenger app, but from what he couldn't say.

HARRY: vris.
HARRY: you are never going to fucking believe this.

Chapter 7: ONE, section vi.

vi.

 

VRISSY: Hey. Harry just Texted me.
VRISSY: Gotta T8ke this Real Quick.
SOLLUX: c00l i literally d0n't give a fuck.

Vrissy hangs back against the wall as Vriska follows Sollux deeper into the meteor's interior. The last five thousand years have been remarkably kind to the place, all things considered. Moss and vines stretch along the walls, and the interior furnishings were gutted long ago, but overall the whole thing is structurally sound.

VRISKA: So, you've 8een living here for who the fuck knows how long?
SOLLUX: yeah pretty much.
VRISKA: How did you manage to survive in this place without any 8asic necessities?
SOLLUX: 0h c0me 0n we were a gh0st an imm0rtal and whatever the fuck i am it's n0t like we c0uld fucking die 0r anything.
VRISKA: Jeesh! You sure told me!

Sollux gives a cranky huff as they turn the corner into a narrower, much more familiar hallway. Vriska looks to the floor. It's faint, but the ancient and immortal etchings of the penis hopscotch remain visible for those who dare to look. She wonders about Dave and Karkat for a moment, wonders what became of them in this new, horrible world, then remembers that actually she couldn't care less.

There's still flakes of chalk on the stairs, Vriska notices as she climbs up. Sollux is just ahead of her, levitating up the stairs with absolute indifference. A little further up and about ten feet in the air is a hole in the wall where a vent grate used to be. She blew it out herself about a year into the trip, when she caught wind of Rose and Kanaya's drunk date, so she brought Terezi to... uh...

Actually, come to think of it, reminiscing sucks. Totally not worth her time at all.

VRISKA: How long exactly have you 8een here?
SOLLUX: define 'here'. y0u mean 0n this shitty field, in this r0tten mete0r, 0r 0n this planet in general?
VRISKA: The last one.
SOLLUX: idk.
VRISKA: Wow, what a useful exch8nge of inform8tion!
SOLLUX: stfu i was pausing f0r dramatic effect.

Sollux shoots out a stray psionic spark that zaps Vriska across the shoulders. She winces, but it doesn't really hurt any more than a static shock would.

SOLLUX: the seri0us answer is like five 0r six sweeps.
VRISKA: Shit.
SOLLUX: yeah after all 0f fucking reality fell apart at the seams aa and i kinda fell ass backwards int0 this shith0le.
SOLLUX: wandered the planet f0r a c0uple weeks until we g0t wind that 0ne 0f this w0rld's g0ds was dead 0r s0mething.
SOLLUX: i wanted jack shit t0 d0 with it but aradia was insistent, citing s0me weird “feeling” it was where we needed t0 be.
SOLLUX: als0 at the time, i was still blind as shit and hadn't figured 0ut yet h0w to see with my psi0nics, s0 i really didn't have a fucking say in the matter.

They pass by one of the many common rooms that were kept deliberately empty so as to serve as neutral meeting ground whenever dream bubble ghosts would show up, as they tended to do a lot. So many ghosts, and none of them the people anyone on the meteor wanted to see. One of the worst times was when Vriska came face-to-face with her alt-ghost self from the aborted timeline. The meeting was so bad that nearly a sweep later, when she embarked on her final mission to save reality, she was still furious enough to rip into the poor girl. Looking back, she's not sure if it was the right thing to do, or if there even was a “right thing” to do when handling a lamer version of yourself hoarding the most important weapon in all creation.

Vriska follows Sollux up another flight of stairs. A gust of wind rattles around the interior of the meteor, bringing with it the distant sounds of groaning metal. It makes Vriska worry for the structural integrity of this place for just a moment, before remembering that even if it did collapse, she's an immortal god who'd get up no worse for wear.

SOLLUX: anyway, we gate crashed the c0rpse party f0r s0me alt versi0n 0f 0ne 0f the humans.
SOLLUX: the wh0le thing was stupid as fuck, because apparently gr0wing int0 adulth00d gives y0u s0 many fucking brainw0rms.
SOLLUX: a bunch 0f bullshit happened several times 0ver, until basically every0ne had cleared 0ut fr0m the church save f0r me and aradia.
SOLLUX: then the dead jade came back t0 life, except n0t fucking really, because it was actually the cherub pil0ting the c0rpse in a state 0f suspended animation.
VRISKA: The cheru8?
SOLLUX: yeah big sp00ky gh0st bitch that ate the fucking green sun in the middle 0f the battle with l0rd english.
VRISKA: Why the fuck would she care a8out some random dead Jade????????

Sollux shrugs again.

SOLLUX: d0 i l00k like i have any 0f the fucking answers?
SOLLUX: if i HAD t0 guess, maybe it's s0mething t0 d0 with space p0wers??
SOLLUX: aradia w0uld kn0w m0re than me, but wh00p, seems she fucked 0ff and left me t0 r0t.
VRISKA: Hey! It's not my fault your girlfriend a8andoned you for a more relevant reality.
SOLLUX: y0u're 0ne t0 talk.

Sollux gestures to the phone in Vriska's pocket, which she used to fire off a series of messages no more than thirty minutes earlier. Something unpleasant rolls down the back of her neck.

VRISKA: Anyway.
VRISKA: So the cheru8 possessed dead Jade, then what?
SOLLUX: she said s0me c0rny mystic shit like “c0me with me if y0u want t0 persist” 0r something.
SOLLUX: and because 0ur friends all grew up t0 be c0mplete l0sers we decided why the fuck n0t.
SOLLUX: s0 she telep0rted us t0 the middle 0f n0where, pulled the mete0r 0ut 0f the gr0und, threw us 0n b0ard, and 0rbited the planet f0r several sweeps.
SOLLUX: literally n0 clue h0w much time passed f0r us. things seemed t0 happen acc0rding t0 the rules 0f “narrative pacing” 0r what the fuck ever.
SOLLUX: after a bunch 0f b0ring cryptic bullshit and watching this dumb w0rld tear itself apart, turns 0ut we were waiting f0r her br0ther t0 fall thr0ugh int0 this timeline s0 she c0uld v0re the fuck 0ut of him.
VRISKA: Holy shit.
SOLLUX: yeah, y0u're telling me. anyway that all happened a c0uple h0urs ago?
SOLLUX: we landed, english landed, she ate his dead b0dy, then fucked 0ff int0 the v0id.
SOLLUX: can't tell y0u f0r sure because i had n0 interest in any 0f it.
VRISKA: So you had the opportunity to watch Lord English's final demise and you... didn't take it?
SOLLUX: first 0ff i'm blind s0 0f fucking c0urse n0t and sec0nd were y0u n0t paying attenti0n t0 h0w frequently i menti0ned i literally d0n't give a fuck.
SOLLUX: guy never b0thered me, what d0 i care h0w he died.
VRISKA: 8ut... he was literally indirectly responsi8le for every 8ad thing that ever happened to us?
SOLLUX: he really fucking wasn't. prick just liked t0 claim credit f0r any0ne wh0se ethical vi0lati0ns aligned with his 0wn p0litics.
SOLLUX: like i'm fucking s0rry, eridan didn't alm0st kill me specifically t0 facilitate the rise 0f a fuck0ff huge g0blin 0n ster0ids.
VRISKA:
SOLLUX: actually i'm n0t having this argument with y0u. i still d0n't give a shit.

Sollux raises a hand in dismissal, and continues to float up through the meteor's interior. Vriska shoves her hand in her pockets and trudges along after him, scuffing her shoes against the cracks in the floor. The white lining of her soles is stained an awful shade of purple that she knows won't wash out. She also doesn't want to think about the precise combination of bodily fluids that led to the staining in the first place.

They rise a few more floors in complete silence. Save for the odd metallic creak, there's no other sound. Vriska gets the sense that the only living beings on this meteor are the three of them. Or whatever the fuck Sollux's current state of being can be called.

She tilts her head back, looking down the long and looming hallways into the darkness. She wonders where Vrissy got to. At least the kid's relatively safe in here, and even if the meteor is a labyrinth, all roads eventually lead topside, which is where she assumes they're going.

VRISKA: Hey, just realised.
VRISKA: You never actually answered my question.
SOLLUX: what fucking question.
VRISKA: How long has it 8een for you?

Sollux sighs.

SOLLUX: i t0ld y0u, i d0n't fucking kn0w.
SOLLUX: time g0t weird pretty early 0n. all i kn0w is that it's definitely N0T been five sweeps f0r me.
SOLLUX: it feels like MAYBE 0ne 0r tw0 sweeps at a push.
SOLLUX: my best fucking answer is appr0ximately twenty chapters in a narrative but that makes n0 fucking sense.
SOLLUX: FUCK i've been ar0und the cherub f0r t00 l0ng if that's a sentence i just said unir0nically.

He shakes his head, bringing one hand to massage his temple like he's on the brink of a melodramatic existential episode. It's coming back to Vriska how much of a whiny bitch Sollux used to be. She's actually kind of glad she didn't have much to do with him back during Sgrub, and maybe it's a sign of her continued cosmic punishment that he's the only one of her friends that's left.

VRISKA: Well, it's 8een some time for me, too, since the g8me.
VRISKA: Like... may8e a sweep or so?
SOLLUX: 00h l00k at y0u racking up the chr0n0l0gical displacement.
SOLLUX: try being an age-l0cked gh0st f0r half an eternity. then y0u can c0mplain.
VRISKA: When did you get to 8e such a cranky old man?
SOLLUX: been like this the wh0le damn time. try t0 keep up.

Sollux goes quiet again, evidently running out of things to say to her now that they're as good as caught up on their own personal exposition dumps. Vriska reaches into her pocket as she walks, and pulls out John's stolen phone. It's been a few hours, but her messages haven't even been graced with as much as a 'read' receipt.

AG: I know I just dumped a 8unch of heavy shit on you there, haha, 8ut I need to tell you this.
AG: You'll never guess who I'm with right now, nor will you guess how 8ig a stick they have up their ass. ::::)

She doesn't mean to send the messages. It just sort of happens, like a nervous subconscious reflex. It does make her feel a little better, though. Of course, the messages sit unread just as the last ones do, but she was kind of expecting that. Reading through the logs shows a clear kind of timezone disparity between Earth C and the furthest ring, so it could take a while. Even though it's always John who experienced the delay in receiving the messages, and the last conversation was pretty alarming. But Vriska can't think of that if she wants to keep powering on without losing it.

The first signs of life on the meteor are found on the top floor before the rooftop. There's a freshly-alchemised vending machine leaning against one of the doors, and one of the bedrooms has a half-full recooperacoon, vaguely fresh looking sopor slime sloshed all over the floor. A glance at the trashcan positioned near the door to the stairwell shows her a pile of empty chip bags and soda cans, both human and Alternian in branding. There's also an alarming amount of... lollipop sticks? Yeah, she doesn't get that one.

Sollux shoves the door open with a psychic blast and vanishes up the stairs. Vriska's not far behind him. As she climbs the final flight of stairs up to the rooftop, she realises they never passed by her old room on the way up. She's not sure if she's glad about that or not.

By the time she catches up, she finds Sollux sitting on the edge of the rooftop, staring out over the countryside. Or, more that his head is pointed in that general direction. She's not exactly sure on how much his psionics are letting him see, and she's not about to put her foot in her mouth and ask that question. She walks up to him, but doesn't sit beside him. They're not that close. Instead, she elects to stand by a conspicuous burned dent in the metal of the floor, roughly in the shape of the Space aspect symbol.

It's a pleasant enough day with clear skies, a sight that is still totally unfamiliar to Vriska, but something about it all seems terribly artificial. Like there's no way this is an actual planet with an actual history and actual inhabitants. Sollux is the most substantial thing she's seen all day.

VRISKA: You said you witnessed the last five sweeps' worth of history, give or take, right?
SOLLUX: yeah.
VRISKA: So... what the fuck actually happened on this planet?
SOLLUX: b0y where the fuck d0 i start.

Sollux leans back on his hands and tilts his head upwards to feel the sun on his face. Vriska folds her arms and starts tapping her foot in no particular rhythm.

SOLLUX: understand first 0f all that everything ab0ut this w0rld is a bunch 0f irrelevant d0gshit.
SOLLUX: n0thing here matters, s0 d0n't g0 taking it seri0usly.
VRISKA: Really, I wasn't planning on it.
SOLLUX: 0k.
SOLLUX: the gist is that the cr0cker human seized c0ntr0l 0f this relatively peaceful w0rld and went 0n a gen0cide bender against tr0lls.
SOLLUX: the g0ds g0t inv0lved 0r didn't get inv0lved in vari0us ways.
SOLLUX: eventually karkat had fucking en0ugh and started a pr0tracted pe0ple's war in retaliati0n, and things escalated t0 the p0int where every0ne's bl0wing each 0ther up.
SOLLUX: and f0r s0me fucking reas0n gamzee was there f0r a h0t minute as head 0f s0me weird bullshit cult all the tr0ll gh0sts g0t really int0.
SOLLUX: y0u d0 kn0w ab0ut the gh0sts, right.
VRISKA: Yeah, Vrissy filled me in.

Sollux groans.

SOLLUX: d0n't tell me her fucking name. i sw0re 0ff learning any details that might make this wh0le reality stick ar0und in my head.
VRISKA: Hey, she's not that 8ad.
VRISKA: And, uh, wow, at all that other stuff you mentioned.
VRISKA: How the fuck did that end up happening?
SOLLUX: beats me. the muse 0nly really cared ab0ut facilitating english's arrival and half the st0ry was f0calised thr0ugh j0hn egbert's whiny l0ser p0int 0f view.
VRISKA: Yeah, what is up with that? Like, I'm sorry, 8ut I never got the sense John actually mattered in any meaningful capacity?
SOLLUX: 0h this 0ne d0esn't, but he was the m0st c0nvenient narrative target f0r bullshit reas0ns i can't remember.
SOLLUX: pr0bably s0mething t0 d0 with the m0re relevant timeline, tbh.
SOLLUX: why the fuck did we end up here.

He says that last bit with uncharacteristic gravity and bitterness, like maybe this is affecting him more than he's letting on. Vriska looks at the back of his head awkwardly.

VRISKA: Well, to 8e fair, you haven't 8een relevant to the greater scheme of things in sweeps.
VRISKA: It's almost understanda8le that you ended up here.
VRISKA: What doesn't m8ke sense is why *I* ended up here.
VRISKA: Like, hello, I'm practically reality's 8iggest hero!
SOLLUX: g00d t0 see time hasn't humbled y0u 0ne fucking i0ta.

Sollux flicks out a spark of psionic energy into the air that bursts like a small firecracker a few feet away, and then loops back into his skin.

SOLLUX: g0d this wh0le place feels wr0ng.
SOLLUX: can't fucking believe aradia ditched me here 0f all places.
VRISKA: Honestly, yeah, what the fuck is with that?
VRISKA: Thought the two of you were as good as soulm8tes or something like that.

Sollux throws his hands up.

SOLLUX: well s0 did i, but i guess the fuck n0t!
SOLLUX: i think seeing all 0f parad0x space g0 d0wn the shitter hit her harder than she ever let 0n.
VRISKA: Really? All she ever went on a8out was seeing everything 8r8k apart.
SOLLUX: well, experiencing it is a wh0le different arena stickball game.
SOLLUX: she had this weird manic energy pretty much since the last dream bubble c0llapsed and sucked us int0 the black h0le.
SOLLUX: and then she spent every waking h0ur listening t0 the cherub's serm0ns. wh0 the fuck kn0ws what kind 0f ideas g0t implanted in her head.
SOLLUX: like wh0'd have th0ught ARADIA 0f all pe0ple w0uld fuck 0ff and leave an irrelevant timeline t0 r0t??
SOLLUX: this is abs0lutely her kind 0f place, yet we're the 0nes left stranded and unable t0 leave??
VRISKA: Yeah, that is pretty fucking str8nge. She loved the dream 8u88les and m8king friends with people from go-nowhere unimportant realities like this!
VRISSY: Hey! What's Unimportant, exactly?

Vriska spins around to see Vrissy standing in the doorway. She's panting a little, as if she sprinted up a good few flights of stairs, but her hair and makeup is still otherwise in immaculate condition. Seriously, Vriska wonders how the hell the kid does it.

SOLLUX: 0h fuck y0u're still real and still here.
VRISSY: Duh, of Course I would 8e????????
SOLLUX: i was sincerely h0ping y0u were just a hallucinati0n c0njured by my t0rmented brain.
VRISSY: Wow, that's sure a fucking Thing you're s8ying!

Vrissy's face falls a little. She walks halfway across the rooftop, stopping a few feet away from Vriska before pouting and folding her arms in an uncanny mirroring of Vriska's own posture. She holds her phone in one hand, a phone which is buzzing like a motherfucker.

VRISSY: So what, Exactly, is irrelevant?
SOLLUX: everything ab0ut this shitty fucking planet is what.
VRISSY: Hey! I resent that?

She doesn't sound exactly certain of herself. It's one of those subtle differences in character between Vriska and Vrissy. Vriska's not sure if it improves or worsens the situation.

VRISKA: No, like, o8jectively, this world has no gr8ter cosmic value.
VRISKA: It's a go-nowhere timeline that origin8ted from the decision of a man who's given up on trying to inject any kind of relevance to what's going on.
SOLLUX: this is basically at this p0int j0hn egbert's psych0tic midlife ennui simluat0r.
VRISSY: Haha, literally What The Fuck are you two talking a8out?
VRISKA: Earth C is 8oring as fuck and we're stuck here so long as nothing exciting or important happens.
VRISSY: Ok, well, ignoring whatever Stupid 8ullshit you're Going On A8out...
VRISSY: T8ke A Look at This!!!!!!!!

She raises her phone screen up. Vriska can see an alarmingly dense wall of light blue text that she can't make out from here.

SOLLUX: w0w i sure d0 feel included 0ver here.
VRISKA: Sollux, shut the fuck up. You don't care.

Sollux flips a middle finger and goes back to sunbathing or whatever it is he's doing.

VRISKA: Ignore him. What's this a8out?
VRISSY: Ok, so.
VRISSY: Turns Out Harry and His Dad are now Officially Re8els.
VRISKA: Wait, what????????
VRISSY: Yeah! Harry's Dad took him on some l8me Parent-Child 8onding Drive and they ended up Destroying Government Property!
VRISSY: It's all over The News. You can Check It Out Yourself.

As Vrissy rambles on, Vriska retrieves her own phone. She tabs out of the messenger app and instead boots up what looks like a humanised version of Chittr. The interface is bloated and clunky (and technically unsupported by her browser) and she's logged into John's account which is being assaulted by hundreds of notifications per second which slows the scrolling experience to a crawl.

She eventually finds out how to access the news feed, and sees, written plainly across the top banner, “HEIR OF BREATH TURNED FUGITIVE AFTER DESTRUCTION OF CROCKERCORP SURVEILLANCE TECH IN CLEAR ACT OF REBELLION”. There's a picture of a car blasting out a bunch of bright blue tornados, but she can still clearly make out John's face in the driver's seat, plus some kid sitting next to him who she assumes must be this Harry.

VRISKA: God damn.
VRISSY: I know! I've never Seen Harry's dad Ever do anything so Important or Relevant.

Vriska looks to Vrissy, then her news feed again. Gears start turning in her brain, ideas and relisations slotting into place. This could be her chance, if she plays her cards right, to flip this narrative in her favour and get everything she wants.

VRISKA: Hey, Vrissy.
VRISKA: You're in contact with 8oth Harry and the re8ellion, right?
VRISSY: Yeah, Why?
VRISKA: I have a plan.

Chapter 8: ONE, section vii.

vii.

 

Jake English doesn't mean to reach for the bottle every time a Crocker warship flies over Chez Egbert Classic Edition. It just sort of happens beyond his control. He feels the rumble in his bones and then suddenly there's half a vintage down his gullet. His sylladex is running low enough that he's been paying serious heed to dusting off the old alchemiter upstairs and putting the residual grist he pilfered off Jane to good use.

It's early afternoon in the Consort Kingdom, the kind of warm day he'd have cherished in his youth. Now he leans sprawled over John's dining table, one stiff one away from throwing all self-aware thought to the wind. The couple of days John was here, Jake was doing well. He'd stayed away from the drink and had even gone as far as to plant a couple of pumpkin seeds out in the back yard. Yes he imbued them with Hope powers to ensure they'd thrive completely independently, but it's the spirit of the thing that matters.

Somewhere something explodes. Jake winces and pours another glass of whiskey. It burns down his throat and sits heavy in his stomach. He's wearing one of John's old outfits – a slime ghost tee under an open green plaid shirt, and an old pair of plus-sized jeans. The shirt is soaked through with booze stains and the jeans strain to stay fastened. He cups his cheek with one hand, feeling the coarse bristle of unattended-to stubble so thick now that he's really running the risk of growing a boozer's beard. The man guzzling himself to oblivion is a far cry from the Jake English, or even Jake Crocker, of yesteryear. Gone is the fit lad tousling in exhibition matches with his best bro, and gone is the dapper chap who gave Hollywood smiles as the trolls on his game shows were dragged off to hard labour camps. He's a washed up wreck of his former self, and not getting better.

This was meant to be his fresh start. Him and Tavvy, all packed up and ready to flee from Jane's clutches, from a downright rotten wife and mother. And for that first day with John, Jake genuinely believed it. And then he woke up the next morning, and things weren't his ideal. And also turns out he really has no idea where to start. And also also it's coming to his attention that he hasn't spoken with Tavros once since they rocked up here. He's not even sure where his boy is. Probably upstairs. Tavvy was always good at being quiet, at not making a fuss when his mother and father scrapped, keeping nice and quiet when Gamzee would slip in and out of his private rooms unbidden like some terrible and sticky phantom—

There are a lot of crimes Jake has to answer for. His inability to set Jane on the right track. His utter compliance in the wholesale eradication of trollkind. Everything that went wrong in the short sixteen years his boy's been alive. So much, all on his doorstep, and nobody but him to sort it. When laid out like that, the bottle is clearly the obvious choice.

JAKE: Bottoms up and the devil laughs.

He understands now, more than ever, how Roxy felt back in their youth. The mounting pressure of trying to keep up appearances in a world gone to the dogs. It's a miracle the old girl had the fortitude to claw her way out of that hole. But she was a young thing with all the promise of eternity ahead. If Jake cleans up his act, what exactly does he have to look forward to? Enduring the brutal world he himself facilitated? He can't even try to fix it. He's the third-most wanted war criminal on Earth C. The revolution would have his head immediately. And it's not like he doesn't deserve it.

Another drone. Another drink. By all accounts, the amount of booze he's been burning through should kill a regular man stone dead. But with just a little belief, Jake's body's holding up remarkably well. Even if he's also willing away any of the good effects of being drunk to make way for the constant discomfort of feeling like a hungover tramp.

JAKE: Boy howdy is everything terrible!

Maybe if he's lucky Jane will change her mind and opt to hunt for him. Give him a good, clean, just death. Because it's not like this world has any more use for a man like good old Jake fucking—

TAVROS: F, father?
JAKE: Huwha?

Jake snaps his head up. Tavros Crocker, his boy, stands sheepishly in the doorway. He's all wide eyes and skinny limbs from a life spent playing the role of the corporation's darling poster child, looking nothing like how either of his parents did in their youth. Cold shame washes through Jake's system.

TAVROS: Have you, um, been drinking all night, again?
JAKE: Tavvy, my boy.
JAKE: I...
JAKE: Im sorry you have to see me like this. :(
TAVROS: It's, okay,, i've seen, and endured,, much worse,
TAVROS: Than my father, engaging in a bit of, imbibing,,

That does nothing to make Jake feel better. The personal failings he inflicted on the young man in front of him sting the worst. He barely has half a clue as to what lies in the dark and murky waters of Tavros's adolescence, only that maybe if Jake hadn't been too busy running shit like the fucking troll Hunger Games, he might have been able to prevent it.

JAKE: Ive been a downright rotten man and father to you...
JAKE: Im so incredibly sorry that you were failed like this. :(
TAVROS: Um, that's nice, to hear,, but,
JAKE: Oh what a state ive made of things! What a washup its all turned out to be!
JAKE: My boy can you ever find it in your heart to forgive your doddery old man?
TAVROS: What, happened in the past, was,, the past,,,
JAKE: Yes, but the wounds still fester! All of the blame rests at my threshold!

Jake starts ugly sobbing. He gulps down the rest of the bottle right in front of his bewildered son, realises what he's just done, then cries even harder.

TAVROS: Look, if, if this is a bad time,,
JAKE: BOO HOO HOO MY LIFE IS IN SHAMBLES AND I CANT DO ANYTHING RIGHT!
TAVROS: I, only came to you, because, um, i think that,
JAKE: TAVVY MY BOY YOU DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS WRETCHED WASHUP AS YOUR SIRE
TAVROS: Most likely, yet,,
JAKE: WHEEZE SNORT SNIFFLE SOB! WEVE REALLY HIT ROCK BOTTOM LAD AND ITS ALL MY DOING!!
TAVROS: ,,,
JAKE: WAAAAH!!!!

This goes on for quite some time, Jake losing his shit in a drunken stupor, and Tavros playing silent and compliant witness to this trainwreck. If he has any strong feelings toward this situation, they're kept very well buried. Eventually, Jake is so far gone that between two particularly embarrassing wails he tilts back in this chair and is hapless to prevent himself from falling backwards and slamming against the tiled floor with sharp thud that ripples through his bones.

JAKE: Urh...

He looks up at the kitchen ceiling, pristine white marred by dust and smoke stains. The light fixture doubles, triples, dissolves into fractals, under his swimming vision. He thinks maybe he's going to throw up. Actually, uh, come to think of it...

Jake hitches himself into the fetal position and barfs out a full stomach's worth of alcohol all over the Egbert kitchen. It gushes out of him in streams like a burst hose pipe for a good sustained ten or so seconds. When it's done, Jake lets out a rippling belch and rolls again to face away from his mess.

JAKE: Shitleaping christ is this a situation...

He closes his eyes as a spike of pain flits through his skull. Behind him, he hears Tavros gently navigating the gross kitchen floor to reach him.

TAVROS: Are you, quite finished,
JAKE: I dont know.

Jake drapes one arm over his eyes and lets out a sigh that tastes of lager and bile.

JAKE: Tav, my boy.
JAKE: Say you forgive me and that youll give me another chance.
TAVROS: Uh,,,
JAKE: Im a foul rotter who doesnt deserve it, but if you could find the decency to spare a single crumb of absolution?
TAVROS: I don't know, exactly, what you want me to do here,
TAVROS: Do you want me to forgive you,, or not,
JAKE: I...

Jake deflates.

JAKE: I dont fucking know.
TAVROS: I mean, from where i'm standing, seems like you would like, to place the responsibility, of fixing your problems on someone else,,
TAVROS: Such as,, i don't know, placing the onus on fixing our damaged relationship, on my opinion, and not any kind of meaningful actions you could take,,
TAVROS: To be honest, even now,, you're kind of, seeking the easy way out,,,,
JAKE: ...

Jake stares up at his son, sixteen and reedy and so mistreated, but so much infinitely wiser than his old man. He feels ashamed that this is what he's become: a middle-aged wreck whose own child can't see him as an adult.

JAKE: Perhaps i am.
JAKE: Tav i just do not know what to do to fix this pickle of a reality.
TAVROS: Well, uh, can you?
JAKE: What do you mean?
TAVROS: I mean, even if,, you're a god of this world,,
TAVROS: One person, cannot fix everything,
TAVROS: Even if you believe, hard enough,
TAVROS: I think,, there's only so much you can do,,
JAKE: But i caused so much ill.
TAVROS: I know,

It stings to hear Tavros say it, but maybe it's what Jake needs to hear. He's still waiting for the moment where the words hit home, when his miserable reverie finally runs out.

JAKE: I enabled your mother to progressively go off the deep end over the course of two decades.
JAKE: Wouldnt you say that puts the genocide of trolls squarely on my doorstep?
TAVROS: Well, a portion of the blame, certainly is,
TAVROS: But why, would it be your place,, and your place alone,, to fix things?
JAKE: Because
TAVROS: Forgive me for overstepping,, father,
TAVROS: But you're not in a position, to be the hero of this world,,
TAVROS: I don't think such people exist, actually,
TAVROS: So i think, the smart move,, would be for you to focus on fixing the things you can materially affect,,,
TAVROS: Because sitting here, and doing nothing is, definitely, just contributing to the problems, that are ailing your psyche,,

Tavros blinks down at him, a small frown on his face. He still looks torn as to whether or not interacting with his father is a waste of his time. It burns Jake so thoroughly, because deep down, he knows that everything Tavros is saying is right.

JAKE: By jove i have been quite the milquetoast turntail havent it?
TAVROS: Yes,
JAKE: Tavros, im so sorry that youve had to put up with how ive been.
TAVROS: I've mostly just, been ignoring you,, like you did me,,, for a number of years,
JAKE: Well, i think i need to make a concerted effort to change.
TAVROS: That would be, ideal,
JAKE: That sorts it.

Jake sits upright, willing his intoxication away with a blast of the good old Hope power. It doesn't do anything for the addiction that sits in the cradle of his mind, but he figures that one will be a longer, more invested project that probably requires some kind of professional intervention. Once his head clears, he hops to his feet, Hoping away the mess he made at the same time. Tavros kind of shuffles out of the way of the white aura, like he doesn't quite trust what he sees.

JAKE: This is me turning over a new leaf.
JAKE: From now on you are bearing witness to the new and improved jake english!
TAVROS: If you're sure, this time is for real,
JAKE: Certainly my boy!

Jake pops up his shirt's collar, aware that he's probably a good fifteen years too old to make it look cool. Tavros pointedly looks at his shoes.

JAKE: Anyway! You said you had something on the brain you ought to share with me?
TAVROS: Oh, yes,

Tavros pulls out his phone. Jake blinks in surprise. Only a few short days ago, the boy would avoid traceable technology like the plague. He wonders what happened to spur this change of outlook.

TAVROS: There's something going on, that i think you need,, to be aware of,
JAKE: Well what is it?

Wordlessly, Tavros hands over his phone. It's open to the Troll Kingdom news feed, controversially enough. A VPN app works away in the background to enable access. Jake is honestly pretty surprised that Tavros would be all that bothered about this subterfuge, and also that he knows how to use it. Then again, being involved in a romantic dalliance with the daughter of two rebel leaders must have its perks.

JAKE: So whats all this about then?

Jake leans against the table and scrolls down the news feed. The top story is about what the Human Kingdom news network refers to as a civil disturbance in downtown NuSeattle and the Troll Kingdom news network refers to as the privileged class finally waking up to direct action.

JAKE: Lets see here...
JAKE: “In a shocking turn of events, revolutionary violence has broken out in the streets of the human kingdoms third largest city...”
JAKE: “A number of police surveillance drones and crockercorp owned properties have been destroyed...”
JAKE: “Officially there are two dozen injuries and no fatalities...”
JAKE: “Human authorities suspecting a homegrown incendiary device, but troll analysts think it more akin to a show of god tier force...”

As Jake reads, his brows furrow deeper and deeper. He scratches at his beard-in-progress and leans his face in even closer to the screen.

JAKE: “Leaked footage identifies the individual behind this action as... the heir of breath?”
JAKE: Leaping christ tav, that cant be!
TAVROS: I don't see any reason, why they would lie,,
TAVROS: Also, vrissy texted me,, to basically confirm all of this,
JAKE: Willickers lad this really is a thing.
TAVROS: Yes, it is,

Jake keeps reading.

JAKE: Ok, so it seems the incident is currently under wraps in the human kingdom...
JAKE: “And rebellion leader vantas is expected to make a statement on the defection of one john egbert to his cause later tonight to further shatter the sense of solidarity jane crocker thinks she has...”
JAKE: By gum...

The rest of the post is just speculation from various professionals and podcasters as to what John's latest actions will mean for the war. Jake is concerned about that, too, kind of, but more immediately...

JAKE: I fear this is going to come back to us at some point tavvy.
TAVROS: No, yeah,, pretty much,,
TAVROS: M mother will, certainly,, send out agents to,,, to,,,,,

Tavros winces himself into silence, unable to finish the sentence. Jane really did a number on the boy. Jake feels an old flare of anger he hasn't felt in years which quickly tries to bubble into shame. The difference is Jake is still involved. He can still make amends.

JAKE: She shant harm you, tavvy. I swear that to you.
TAVROS: You say that,,,

Jake spins around and makes eye contact with Tavros. Tavros shrinks even further under the scrutiny.

JAKE: No. Im absolutely a fuckup but thats a line even i wont cross. Youre safe from her.
TAVROS: ,,,,,

He leans over and pats Tavros on the shoulder, gentle as can be, but Tavros still flinches like he's been slapped. Jake wonders which of the two of them needs therapy more.

TAVROS: So,, what do we do, from here?

Jake stands up straight. The cogs are turning in his brain for the first time in an eternity. The autonomous scheming gives him a unique kind of thrill.

JAKE: Tavros my boy, i have a plan.
TAVROS: Do you,,,

He seems doubtful, but there's also a spark of hope in Tavros's wide eyes. Jake smiles.

JAKE: Absolutely.
JAKE: Now first things first may i temporarily commandeer your phone?
TAVROS: Uh, sure,,
TAVROS: Just,, just don't,,, sign in to any of my private pages,,
JAKE: Fear not i only require a working pesterchum client.

Tavros raises an eyebrow.

TAVROS: Oh, well, yeah,,, fine,
TAVROS: I don't even, have it installed, so,,
TAVROS: Feel free,,
JAKE: Absolutely cricket my boy!

As he talks, Jake flits over to the app store and quickly downloads Pesterchum onto the phone. It's a snappy process thanks to the absolutely stellar wifi available pretty much everywhere on the planet, even if it has suffered a little due to the corporate takeover. Once the app's on the phone, the masker pops up and performs a scrub of all tracing software, leaving Jake with the bog standard chat client he's always known.

TAVROS: So, um, what are you doing, precisely,,
JAKE: Doing my bit to keep abreast of all these goings on.

Jake boots up the app, signing in with the same username and password he's used all his life, but equally hasn't used in nearly a lifetime. The old UI and alert sounds hit with a powerful blast of nostalgia that leaves him wistful for the bygone days of his youth. He shakes himself out of it, though. He's on a mission. Jake scrolls down his chumroll, passing by names and faces he hasn't thought of as chums in a long long time, until he reaches his desired contact.

-- golgothasTerror [GT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 17:12 –-
GT: Johnnyboy what in the blue fuck is happening?
EB: heh heh, hi jake.
EB: i guess everything's already made the news?
GT: And then some! Why youre an overnight revolutionary figurehead!
EB: i mean, i did just destroy a large portion of jane's private property and am currently flying several thousand feet in the air to evade detection.
GT: Gee whiz youre sure in the thick of it from what it sounds like!
EB: pretty much, yeah.
GT: Are you harmed?
EB: no, not really.
EB: unless you count scratched car paint work :P.
GT: I venture not.
EB: i mean, i think harry anderson's a little shaken up by it all.
GT: Your boys with you?
EB: uh, yeah.
EB: we were out on a father son bonding drive when all this kind of just happened.
GT: Well what a marvel that youre back in touch with your young lad.
EB: i guess? i mean, i'm really happy i get a second chance with harry, but
EB: right now i'm kind of more focused on dodging the government???
EB: speaking of which, is this line secure?
GT: I surmise so? Tavvys phone has quite the track covering software on it.
EB: thank fuck, not that we can be easily traced from up here.
GT: So just to be clear this IS your clear mission statement of revolution?
EB: ...that is you asking that, right?
GT: John my good man of course it is me asking that! You think any fed on the planet could possibly weekend at bernies my typing quirks?
EB: i suppose not. you can't be too careful.
GT: Spoken like a true rebel. ;)
EB: what about you? are you guys safe?
GT: So far completely unbothered, but i fear it wont be for much longer.
GT: You know how jane can get when shes spurned.
GT: But im keeping the faith regardless.
EB: good. that might literally be the only thing keeping you alive.
GT: So what is it that youre doing now?
EB: harry got in touch with rose and kanaya through vriska. he's letting them know about our, um, situation.
EB: hopefully in the next few hours we'll have a point of contact with the revolution.
GT: It sure does all move pretty fast.
EB: well, i AM kind of really high profile here.
GT: True. Egbert and son, renegades dodging the law. Its all very hollywood i must say.
EB: jake, there's people that are dying.
GT: I am aware john but best to pool our focuses on the living eh?
EB: i guess.
EB: oh! i need to ask you something real quick, too.
GT: Fire away my good man.
EB: have you heard from roxy recently?
GT: No?
GT: We havent conversed since i arranged the meeting twixt the pair of you.
GT: Something up?
EB: i tried to get in touch with her to let her know that harry's ok, but i can't get hold of her.
EB: it's like she's gone off the radar completely.
GT: Some kind of void magic?
EB: i don't know. she'd never leave harry like that.
GT: Well this certainly is a conundrum.
GT: Ill try reaching her but if shes not answering her own boy im unsure as to how much help ill be.
EB: thanks, anyway.
EB: and, uh, sorry about dragging you into this.
GT: No need! Its high time i attempted to rectify some of the harm ive caused to this poor world beyond a good session with the bottle.
EB: what was that last part?
EB: jake, tell me you're not drinking.
GT: Sober as a whistle john! Ive kicked the emergent habit for good this time!
EB: if you say so.
EB: anyway, i guess i should also warn you.
EB: jane will almost certainly send people to my house sooner or later, and you should be prepared for that.
EB: once we get in touch with the rebels, i'll try and negotiate a spot for the two of you, but if for whatever reason that can't happen, take care.
GT: Certainly. And you too.
EB: gotta go. need to keep this line open for the rebels, and texting while driving is probably a bad idea.
EB: stay safe.
-- ectoBiologist [EB] is now offline! --

TAVROS: So,,,?

Jake stands straight and lets a surefire determined smile worm its way onto his face.

JAKE: Tavros boy i believe were in the money.
JAKE: The egberts have officially gone rogue.
TAVROS: Oh,, and?
JAKE: That means its officially time to lob our own hats in the ring of revolution.
JAKE: The time for wallowing in this doom and gloom reality is over.
JAKE: From this moment forward we are bonafide rebels.
TAVROS: But,,,, um,, are we not,, wanted figureheads,, in several nations,
JAKE: Pish posh lad! John and harry are top class. Theyll bring vantas and his cohorts around.
JAKE: Nothing like a good eff you to the establishment like your former lapdogs biting the hand eh?
JAKE: For once things are genuinely looking upwards for good ol jake and tavvy!
TAVROS: I, well,,, if that's what you say,,
JAKE: Trust me. This is where things get better. :)
TAVROS: Hm,,,,,,,

Tavros's voice is thick with hesitance, and when Jake spreads his arms for a hug, he backs up against the fridge. But behind his glasses his eyes are wide, and something is sinking in. Something that's not been there for a very, very long time.

Somewhere not too far away, a volley of bombs blasts an ugly wound on the surface of Earth C, but Jake doesn't even notice it. Despite it all, for the first time ever, Tavros Crocker is not outright rejecting the hope of circumstantial amelioration.

He wants to believe. And that's the victory right there.

Chapter 9: ONE, section viii.

viii.

 

The trolls have reclaimed Outglut^2. That's the statement flushing across all the media channels like a wretched rash, a fire spreading faster than it can be extinguished. Jane Crocker stands on the bridge of Battleship Crockercorp and stares out of the window, clutching her phone in her hand hard enough to crack the screen. She has never been so outright furious in her entire life.

JANE: This should not have been.
JANE: Explain to me, if you kindly could, why this happened.
COMMANDER: Madam Crocker, I'm so sorry, but the trolls had a concealed artillery cache we couldn't account for, and—
JANE: Hush. I do not want to hear your excuses.

Jane raises a hand that only does not tremble through sheer will alone. The commander, some faceless guy who looks as two-dimensional as he sounds, shrinks away. He's perhaps the top brass in the Earth C military, but even he knows who the real alpha in the room is.

JANE: What I want to hear is how you're going to guarantee this never happens again.
JANE: This could almost constitute a failure, an outcome which you understand is undesirable for an entire slew of reasons.
COMMANDER: Absolutely ma'am, yes ma'am.
COMMANDER: Plans are already being drafted to re-secure Outglut^2, ma'am.
JANE: That's what I like to hear.
JANE: Now run along and ensure we have no more hiccups in this operation, if you could.
COMMANDER: Of course, ma'am.

He salutes her then scuttles out of the room like a dog whose tail you just stood on. Once she's alone, Jane lets out a heavy groan and massages her temple. She looks down at her media feed again and bites back the urge to alchemise a fresh dose of aspirin.

The trolls are looting and burning all Crockercorp iconography in the city's downtown district, and handing out stolen stock among their ranks without a care for things like the law and intellectual property violations. She would so like to sue those insects, were it not for the fact that trolls haven't had the right to stand trial in court for three years now. Maybe she could prop up another propaganda mock trial show to put them in their place, and then summarily execute them. What was that one anime Dirk used to like again? Jane pops her tongue. She'll have to consult the archives before moving forward with that idea.

Human social media remains just barely oblivious of the goings-on, but Jane knows the backdoor networks. They'll be talking about it come the morning. This is shaping up to be quite the inconvenient conundrum, and not how she wanted the opening act of this little contracted skirmish to play out. She'll never admit it, but grudgingly she considers that maybe, just maybe, she underestimated what Vantas is capable of.

She's still scrolling through the hashtag movement kicking off on carapace networks (those of Dersite descent are really showing their uncivil roots this evening, it seems) when the news feed refreshes with a new developing story. There's been some kind of disturbance in NuSeattle, resulting in the destruction of corporate property. From the looks of things, a car exploded or something? It's hard to tell. Whoever reported this is pretty shoddy.

Jane turns and power walks down to the command terminals below her personal platform. Her best intelligence officers and wiretappers are working full-throttle to keep the narrative ticked firmly in her favour. She walks up to the nearest one and taps her on the shoulder.

TECHNICIAN: ma'am?
JANE: I need eyes on NuSeattle. Seems there's a developing incident I need to be kept abreast of.
TECHNICIAN: at once, ma'am.

Jane lets out a breath. NuSeattle's the nearest city to her personal gated community, and is where Roxy and her son moved to following a less-than-amicable departure. Something flips in her stomach that hasn't in a long time. Jane's been forced to accept that all her old bridges are long since burned, but a part of her begs to any listening cosmic entity that Roxy is uninvolved. Despite it all, she'd hate to drag her oldest friend through all this bother.

The technician works away through the various database and surveillance networks Crockercorp has set up over the planet. She's one of the longest-serving members of Jane's outfit, and yet even she feels as bland and ephemeral as everything else. Jane wonders if perhaps the stress of it all is getting to her. Maybe she ought to book a bought of therapy.

TECHNICIAN: here we are, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: disturbance reported in nuseattle at seventeen hundred hours local time. couple million in estimated damages.
TECHNICIAN: surveillance drones got destroyed before we could cache the footage, but if i can get into the smart car recording logs...

She traces the vehicle ID numbers logged in the area at the time and eventually pulls up an intercepted camera recording from an SUV only a few feet from the incident. The quality's grainy, as is the case for rudimentary private automobile bugs, but it's enough for Jane to see an off-white sedan accosted by a pair of mobile surveillance drones. Something about the make and model of the car pings a twinge of familiarity in her brain that she's still mulling over when a blast of solid blue energy erupts out of the sedan's windows, knocking the car's signal dead.

JANE: ...

She has a bad feeling. A really bad feeling.

JANE: Replay the footage. Try and get a better lock on the driver's face.
TECHNICIAN: on it, ma'am.

She rewinds the tape to the instance before the explosion, slowly zooming in. In another tab, she starts running the video enhancing software, even though she could simply alchemise an upscaler. She's old fashioned like that. It might be why Jane's kept her around for so long.

TECHNICIAN: there we go... there we go...
TECHNICIAN: done. i'll log the face through the database and see if we can get...
TECHNICIAN: a...
TECHNICIAN: oh fuck.

The technician goes silent as she stares at the blown-up face of the man on the screen with a rapidly-dawning realisation. Jane figured it out much earlier, but she had to have the confirmation. Had to know for certain this betrayal is real. She folds her arms, drumming her pristine nails against the fabric of her perfectly-pressed powersuit. Her blood steadily goes cold.

JANE: Well, it seems that one Mr Egbert has finally shown his true colours.
JANE: I always knew you could never count on that man to make the right decision.
TECHNICIAN: still, ma'am, the heir of breath openly defecting to the rebel cause, it's...
JANE: It's something we can contain. Is it just him?

She prays to hear the word yes.

TECHNICIAN: well, no.

Jane's mouth remains in a flat line.

JANE: And what does that mean?
TECHNICIAN: there was one other passenger in the vehicle. adolescent male. identified as one harry anderson egbert.

She points to the young face painted with naked fear situated next to John. Jane already starts running the potential narrative spins in her head. Is there enough reluctance on the boy's face to make him a victim? Or should she just give up the ghost and tar the son with the same brush as the father? The Human Kingdom gets a little funny when she vilifies youths, so she'll have to play her cards carefully. But more than that...

JANE: Did either of them have contact with outside parties?
TECHNICIAN: running a trace on egbert's phone now, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: three communication channels were opened, ma'am. one phone call, one text message chain, and one pesterlog.
JANE: And the recipients?
TECHNICIAN: first was the phone call, made to an address about three miles out. registered to one roxy lalonde.

Jane feels something bow in her brain, dangerously close to snapping. She's endured so much and sacrificed so many, but not Roxy. Never Roxy.

JANE: I want a visual on the address. Trace Roxy Lalonde's whereabouts.
TECHNICIAN: roger, ma'am.

Jane's voice isn't steady. Her legs feel less sturdy, and her vision blurs a little as the technician hones in on Roxy's address. She doesn't know what she actually wants to see, which would be worse. Roxy the collaborator, or Roxy the rebel. Either way, she'll be part of all this now, the last person left that Jane has a scrap of compassion for.

TECHNICIAN: footage online, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: there's, uh,
TECHNICIAN: no trace.
JANE: ...
JANE: What?

She is calm. She is the leader of a warfront. She cannot bend, not now. Cannot be shocked by anything.

TECHNICIAN: records are fuzzy for some reason, but by all accounts, lalonde went off the grid seventeen minutes after egbert and son departed the residence.
TECHNICIAN: some of our sensors are picking up a call made to the address, but it appears pretty untraceable.
TECHNICIAN: then, at four thirteen pm... this.

The wallcam has a solid, if not perfect shot of Roxy in her living room. She seems to be applying makeup in front of the mirror when she abruptly stops and picks up her phone. Then, all at once, there's a blackout that lasts for precisely eleven minutes, eleven seconds. When the picture returns, there's no sign of Roxy anywhere.

JANE: ...Shit.
JANE: Check the intelligence networks. Cross-reference the insurgency cells for any mention of the Rogue of Void.

At the very least there's no outward evidence of sedition. But that opens up the possibility of abduction. Roxy's a strong woman, but she's still only one god among many. However, with the advent of this battle, and with her husband and son turning tail... Jane has a very bad feeling.

TECHNICIAN: nothing in weeks.
TECHNICIAN: got a hit from that one juggalo death cult back in march, but they were espousing the termination of all gods and haven't done anything.
JANE: Are you certain?
TECHNICIAN: positive, ma'am. the rogue of void isn't on anybody's radar.
JANE: Make it a priority to track her down. We cannot have her crossing over to the enemy's cause.
TECHNICIAN: i'll send out the order now, ma'am.

Jane takes a step back, pinching the bridge of her nose. Nothing about today is going well at all. That's two neutral parties now potentially working against her. It bodes ill.

JANE: What about Egbert's other communication attempts?
TECHNICIAN: right, yes, ma'am. we have record of text messages being sent to one 'vrissy', whom we assume to be vriska maryam-lalonde, daughter of the sylph of space and seer of light.
TECHNICIAN: the messages are encrypted using the rebellion's internal cypher. it'll take sometime to crack 'em.
TECHNICIAN: we assume these messages are setting up a rendezvous with the rebels, but the car's gps is being masked, so for now it's a dead end.
JANE: Darn it. Think you can block the masking signal?
TECHNICIAN: it's on a grub-based subroutine, so it could be live-patched at any time, but if egbert remains stationary long enough, possibly.
JANE: Get on that, too.
TECHNICIAN: yes, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: the final communication was made through the pesterchum app using a backdoor proxy server.
JANE: Can we get into that one?
TECHNICIAN: yes. it's a slow process, but with time, we'll have the entire pesterlog available to us.
JANE: What do you have so far?
TECHNICIAN: this.

The technician opens up another file, showing an in-process decryption of a rather lengthy-looking pesterlog. Jane is confronted with a slowly-growing wall of green and blue text. She clenches her jaw.

TECHNICIAN: users ectobiologist and golgothasterror entered into a private pesterchum correspondance.
TECHNICIAN: from what we can surmise, ectobiologist sent golgothasterror an advanced warning about his actions.
TECHNICIAN: curiously enough, though, golgothasterror was the one to open the communication channel.

Now that throws Jane for a loop. Jake, capable of making any kind of decision off his own back? Not likely. He didn't even have it in him to terminate their miserable wretch of a marriage.

JANE: I want eyes on John Egbert's residence.
TECHNICIAN: of course, ma'am.

She flips another button, and the empty shot of Roxy's house is replaced with a much clearer view of John Egbert's kitchen. Jake Crocker (or has the buffoon gone back to calling himself English again?) is standing over a stovetop, cooking what appears to be an omelette. Sitting at the dining table is Jane's snivelling excuse for a son. Tavros is nervously scrolling through a newly-alchemised phone, looking about as reedy and useless as ever. Jane sighs. She only bothered with that whelp for so long on Gamzee's infuriating insistence that there was some potential there. But well. Now that she's clown-divorced (how do blackrom marriages even work?) there's nothing left forcing her to care.

JANE: Check the other rooms. I want to be certain they're alone.
TECHNICIAN: on it.
TECHNICIAN: the other rooms are clear. the alchemiter on the balcony was used in the last forty-eight hours to alchemise a smartphone, likely the one in use by the adolescent male.
TECHNICIAN: only the two of them are on the premises, ma'am.
JANE: Hm.

So then why on earth did Jake contact John? None of John's actions have made the televised news yet, and neither Jake nor Tavros have the guts or the know how to look further afield for information. Something's up.

JANE: I may have to pay my dear ex-husband and ex-son a visit in the near future.
JANE: Keep an eye on them. There could be something more.
TECHNICIAN: at once, ma
TECHNICIAN: !!!

The technician pauses, flinching back. All the screens in the room suddenly start blaring out a loud warning siren. Jane stiffens her spine.

JANE: What is this?
TECHNICIAN: someone's trying to bruteforce a communication link, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: we're tracing the signal, it—
TECHNICIAN: it's coming from the city below, ma'am.
JANE: Ah.

So this is it. The rebels have finally deigned to engage in a dialogue with Crockercorp after so long running around in tunnels and committing ceaseless acts of terrorism. No doubt some pitiful extension of an olive branch by Karkat Vantas. Jane cracks a smile. She's been waiting for this moment for a while.

JANE: Patch them through. I think it's time I had a chat with the opposition.
TECHNICIAN: roger.

The technician works on opening the channel as Jane crosses over to the middle of the room, standing before the massive wall-mounted screen she uses for official press briefings. She clears her throat, straightens her tie, and squares her legs and shoulders in the confident power stance of the politically wealthy.

TECHNICIAN: ready in three... two...

Jane smooths her expression. There's a soft click, a burst of static, and then the face of rebel commander Karkat Vantas is blown up in ultra-clear definition. The years have not been kind to him; he's grizzled and dirty-looking and missing an eye. He reminds Jane of the guerilla insurgents she used to learn about in her high school history class, back on Old Earth. He looks like a threat to democracy.

KARKAT: ATTENTION, JANE CROCKER.
KARKAT: WE, THE PEOPLE, HAVE RECLAIMED OUR PROUD CITY OF OUTGLUT^2.
KARKAT: WE COME TO YOU WITH A LIST OF DEMANDS.
KARKAT: YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY WITHDRAW ALL PRIVATE HUMAN MILITIAS FROM THIS CITY.
KARKAT: YOUR CORPORATE-OWNED SYSTEMS WILL CEASE TO OPERATE WITHIN THIS CITY, AND HAVE THEIR WEALTH REDISTRUBUTED IMMEDIATELY.
KARKAT: YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE THE ENFORCEMENT OF UNJUST LEGAL SANCTIONS ON THE TROLL RACE, INCLUDING TAXATION, HOUSING, AND CURFEW LAWS.
KARKAT: YOU WILL RECOGNISE OUTGLUT^2 AS A SOVEREIGN, AUTONOMOUS REGION AND YOU WILL NOT IMPEDE ON THEIR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION.
KARKAT: YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY RELEASE ALL DETAINED TROLLS WHO WERE TAKEN FROM THESE STREETS, AND YOU WILL CEASE THE INCARCERATION OF OUR PEOPLE.
KARKAT: IF YOU DO NOT CONSENT, WE WILL SECURE WHAT IS OURS BY FORCE.
KARKAT: DO YOU AGREE TO OUR TERMS?
JANE: Hoo hoo, Mr Vantas! You sure are spouting a lot of hot air there! :B
KARKAT: DO YOU AGREE TO OUR TERMS? YES OR NO.
JANE: Why, how could I possibly submit to an illegal military insurrection on Earth C's own soil!
JANE: In fact, I'm of a mind to issue you with a demand!
JANE: Return this city to its rightful authorities, and we will let you go peacefully.
JANE: If you continue to resist and disrupt the peace, we will have no choice but to retaliate with the full extent of the law.

There's a beat of silence between the two opposing leaders, neither wanting to be the one who blinks first. Karkat snarls. Jane slaps on her patented Baroness Crocker smile. She's not worried. Not by this amateur little display.

KARKAT: YOU SEEM TO BE UNDER THE FALSE ASSUMPTION YOU HAVE ANY GROUND TO STAND ON.
KARKAT: THIS BATTLE IS OURS, JUST AS ALL FUTURE FIGHTS IN THIS WAR WILL BE.
KARKAT: YOU DON'T GET TO NEGOTIATE.
KARKAT: EITHER MEET OUR DEMANDS, OR WE WILL FORCE YOU TO.
KARKAT: THE OUTCOME IS THE SAME.
KARKAT: I'M JUST OFFERING YOU A COURTESY.

He tweaks his eyepatch once he's done, affecting disinterest as he waits for Jane's move. He sure is full of hot air for the most wanted man on the planet.

JANE: This is not a fight you can hope to win, Mr Vantas.
JANE: Tell me, how many number in your ranks? How much money do you have behind you?
JANE: All this stunt will result in is your hands being stained with the blood of your own kind.
JANE: So no, I categorically refuse to further this nonsense agenda.
JANE: Do you have anything meaningful to say, or may I get back to my business?

At that last bit, Karkat starts smiling. It's unnerving, seeing a grey face full of fangs blown up that huge. Jane blinks, feeling a little thrown off. This is not what he's meant to do.

She quickly recovers lost ground, though.

JANE: Something amusing?
KARKAT: OH, YOU REALLY HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA.

And the first F-bomb goes to Vantas, as she expected it would. A vulgar movement led by a vulgar man. And yet...

JANE: No idea about what?
KARKAT: COUNT YOUR ALLIES, CROCKER.
KARKAT: COUNT THE PUBLIC MEMBERS OF YOUR CAMP.

Outwardly, Jane doesn't react. Inwardly, she does a mental headcount. For the cameras, she has her husband, her son, and her kismesis, alongside her lifelong politically-neutral friend residing in her gated community. She has her investment lobbies, her subsidiary companies she pretends are autonomous, the president of Earth C...

KARKAT: BECAUSE I THINK YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF A CLOWN SHORT.

Jane pauses. He surely can't... It's been less than a day since she expelled Gamzee from her ship, and to be honest, she's not sure she's actually wholly committed to the idea. Despite everything she hated about him, at least Gamzee was a tangible person. But if Gamzee for once in his fucking life took something personally and decided to turn to the other side...

She knows what Gamzee is capable of. She wouldn't wish fighting him on her worst enemies.

JANE: Forgive me, but I don't understand.
MEENAH: oh i think youll understand this tho B---EACH

Jane is interrupted by the camera abruptly panning away from Karkat to reveal a taller troll with braids standing a few feet in the background. She's decked to the nines in military fatigues, but seems to wield a 2x3dent in place of any actual artillery. A ring of life glints on her finger, preserving Meenah Peixes in a permanent state of being. She grins, baring her sharp teeth like a hungry shark on the sniff for blood. Jane feels a twinge of phantom pain around her throat from the memory of the last encounter she had with a fuchsiablood troll.

MEENAH: waterup batterbitch
JANE: And you must be Ms Peixes! Of course Mr Vantas wouldn't go far without his constant companion.
MEENAH: that meant to be a threat or somefin
MEENAH: cause damn that fuckin sucks
MEENAH: you wanna sea a R-E-EL threat well...
MEENAH: take a look at this

Meenah steps way from the camera, snarling almost ferociously. Behind her is a vague lump that the camera refuses to focus on for a long time. Jane leans in, squinting a little to try and make it clear, but it does little to help. She's about to switch the whole thing off when it comes into focus, sharply and abruptly.

Gamzee's mutilated corpse, laying sprawled across the ground. He's battered and burnt and bruised and his limbs are snapped in every possible direction to the point where it's hard to tell one part of him from another. Most pressingly, or most stupidly, Jane notices that his omnipresent codpiece is no longer part of his cadaver's ensemble.

JANE: Oh my...
JANE: That's...
JANE: He can't...

Gamzee was a lot of thing to a lot of people, but dead was never one of them. Not even as a hypothetical possibility. Jane always had the sense that fetid clown would linger long after everyone else is dead and buried, long past even the heat death of the universe. So to see this, it... it throws her for a loop. Just a little.

JANE: WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM????
MEENAH: krilled him DUH
MEENAH: like dam this juggaloser is SO glubbin dead it aint even funny
KARKAT: THAT'S RIGHT.

Karkat returns to the shot. He stands next to Gamzee's body, but his face is wrinkled up in disgust and he gradually shuffles further away from him and the actual visible stink cloud Gamzee's corpse emits. Oh, how Jane loved to loathe that stench.

KARKAT: WE, THE RESISTANCE, HAVE NEUTRALISED CLASS TRAITOR, CULT LEADER, AND SECOND-MOST INFLUENTIAL INDIVIDUAL ON EARTH C, GAMZEE MAKARA.
KARKAT: FOR THAT, YOU'RE FUCKING WELCOME.
KARKAT: A WORLD WITHOUT HIM IS MORE THAN YOU DESERVE, CROCKER.

He's still smiling, still fucking gloating like he hasn't thrown the ugliest wrench in Jane's already fragile world.

KARKAT: A WORLD THAT IS CURRENTLY WATCHING THIS LIVE BROADCAST SYNDICATED TO ALL FOUR HIJACKED EARTH C NEWS NETWORKS.
JANE: Y
JANE: You

Jane's face falls. Foolishly, she spins around, hoping beyond hope that he's lying. But one look from her senior technician tells her that no, Karkat Vantas is telling the truth. The world now knows that Gamzee was assassinated by the rebellion, and they all saw Jane have a meltdown over it.

KARKAT: SEE HERE, EVERYONE! *THIS* IS THE FACE OF YOUR CORPORATE OVERLORD!
KARKAT: SEE THE WOMAN WHO SENT HER OWN KISMESIS TO DIE, WHO HAS NO CONTROL OVER HER EMPIRE.
KARKAT: HER POWER IS AN ILLUSION GROWING WEAKER BY THE HOUR.
KARKAT: CROCKERCORP'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED. WE WILL PREVAIL.
JANE: I, I think the fuck not, you skittering wretches!

She's just dropping anti-troll slurs on live television now, but she can't find it in herself to give a shit. The rebels take and take and take from her, throw the world she knows and loves into utter ruin, and laugh about it. She has, quite frankly, had enough.

KARKAT: WE WILL ENSURE OUR PEOPLE'S LIBERATION, AND YOU WILL NOT STOP US.
KARKAT: WE GAVE YOU THE OPTION TO PURSUE THE PEACEFUL PATH, AND YOU REFUSED IT.
KARKAT: EVACUATE YOUR PEOPLE FROM THE CITY OR WE WILL RECLAIM OUR HOME THROUGH FORCE.
KARKAT: YOU HAVE TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.
JANE: Hey, no, don't you dare switch off—

But Karkat Vantas does dare switch off. There's a wave of static then the picture cuts out. Jane is left alone on the deck of her ship, vibrating with a barely-contained fury. Taunting her is one thing, executing poor innocent Gamzee another, but to tarnish her good image in the media? A line has been crossed tonight.

JANE: Commander, get over here.

The commander emerges from whatever hole he hid himself in, approaching her with the appropriate levels of caution. Of course, him being human means there's little Jane can actually do to him, but she likes to keep them keen with a little healthy fear.

COMMANDER: Madam Crocker.
COMMANDER: None of us were expecting Vantas to so brazenly—
JANE: Enough drivel.

She raises a hand, suddenly feeling a wash of cold, clinical calm. An idea sits in her head, shining as a single point of inevitability. Funnily enough, this broadcast has made things a lot more simple.

JANE: I didn't summon you for suggestions.
JANE: I summoned you to issue a single direct order.
COMMANDER: Ma'am?

The commander looks nervous. As he should.

JANE: Let it be known that the first low blow of this war was thrown by Karkat Vantas.
JANE: I am simply acting in retaliation to such a heinous deception.
COMMANDER: I'm not following.

So slow. So simple. All of them are, in the end.

Jane marches to the upper deck, commander in tow. She stops before the window, and motions to the city below, lights starting to flicker into being as dusk deepens its grip on the continent. The dying light bathes her face in obscure and harsh shadows. In this moment, she feels gigantic.

JANE: Down there, those trolls are revelling in their victory. Their reclaimed city, their humiliation of me.
JANE: So secure that I will fail in my attempts to regain control over that putrid city.
JANE: And maybe I would have tried, before Vantas struck below the belt.
JANE: Believe me, this tragedy is all his doing.
JANE: They could have been so safe in their city, truly.
JANE: And then he played dirty.
COMMANDER: Wh...what are you saying, ma'am?

Jane extends her arms out until the entire city is within her grasp. Matchsticks and candles before the fist of a titan. Her face is a study in stone. On the inside, she is electric.

JANE: If he wants to play dirty, well... I'm left with no choice.
JANE: Burn it all down.

Chapter 10: (one), section (i.)

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Depictions of warfare, including militarized violence and weapons of mass destruction (section 1, section 4). Prisons, police brutality, gun violence (section 2).

CURRENT CHAPTER STATUS: 4/4 SECTIONS COMPLETE.

Hi. Pulling back from the oversized narrative fold to clarify some things going on with the story's scaffolding. Obviously you'll notice that unlike the previous chapter, here we're only initially graced with the one section. This is not all there is, though. Given that this fic has an absolutely absurd scope, expecting you to wait upwards of over a month between mega-installments of more than 20,000 words is not an unsustainable way to present this content, but also puts an unsustainable amount of pressure on me to deliver half a novel every four weeks. The solution is instead to periodically update the megachapters with each individual section on a more regular basis. I can't provide you with 20,000 words every two weeks, but I *CAN* provide you with between 5000 and 7000 words every two weeks instead. Think of each "chapter" in this fic functioning as the "epilogue" headers did in the epilogues proper (ie a dozen or so chapters grouped under one narrative framework), seeing frequent micro-updates to keep the content machine more closely aligned to a state that can be called being alive.

The only downside to this choice is that AO3 won't alert you every time I update an existing chapter, so you'll have to rely on my social media channels to inform you when they go live. Failing that, you can obsessively check each chapter until more drops (not recommended) or not check at all and move on to the next chapter having only seen maybe 10% of the narrative (super not recommended). Update notifications will be sent out on Tumblr and Twitter, so click through to your social platform of choice to follow me and get informed in a timely manner. Or don't! It's your call.

If you're unsure of just how much content is to come, each chapter will have a temporary status notification just below the content warnings informing you precisely how many sections are due. This chapter, for example, will feature four sections, so you'll be (hopefully) coming back here three more times yet. Other than that, I think we're good to go. If anything isn't clear, please let me know!

Now, once again I fade away and present you with a narrative rife with intrigue, stakes, and some amount of bullshit.

-Pochapal

(i.)

 

On the official records, the Carapace Kingdom passively endorses the political status quo, and the Consort Kingdom remains untouched and unaffected by current goings-on. Both of those facts are clear and blatant lies, believed only by those privileged enough not to look any further afield than their media channels.

Out in the real world, a young Spirited Corpsman sets a salamander's dislocated tailbone by the edge of a fresh crater spewing out smoky air. The Crocker warships drone-bombed this village a few short hours ago under the guise that the nearby caverns were being used to harbour fugitive trolls. Only problem with that is that there were no trolls in the caverns, and said caverns are nearly fifty miles due south of the village. What took place here was an act of senseless cruelty.

SC grits his teeth as he sets the splint under the bandage, and slots the tail back into its socket with an unsettling pop. Immediately the salamander squirms out of his grasp with a quick succession of flailing limbs and oversized bubbles. She wags her tail once, twice, then realises that that's a thing she can do again. A timid smile crosses SC's face.

SC: there you go..
SALAMANDER: GLUB!!!

He gets an oddly salty tasting bubble to the face as thanks, and then the salamander's scuttling back off to where her home should be, disappearing into the first traces of morning light. A lot of what's officially reported about consorts is factually untrue; they aren't as sophisticated as the denizens of the other three kingdoms when it comes to sociopolitical and economic matters, but that doesn't make them simple animals. They each lead deeply rich and complex lives in their own right. Some of the most charming personalities SC has ever seen have come from his time volunteering as a field medic, working to patch up this forgotten front of the war.

A year or so ago, if you'd walked up to SC and told the Prospitian first-year medical student that this is where life would take him, he would have called it a bunch of nonsense. His life was mapped out quite simply – get his doctorate, and join the crew of a cruise-liner as a Seafaring Clinician until retirement. Funny how fast life changes.

He adjusts the funny little sailor's hat he always likes to wear even in a warzone, and stands to his feet, feeling the way the chitin around his knees pops in a way it shouldn't for decades to come. There are countless micro-fractures and tears in his carapace coming from the time he got caught up in an explosion on, what, his third mission? Carapacians are built to last longer than humans or trolls before age starts to take its toll. He shakes his head as he starts to move down this chewed-up street. SC'll be lucky if he can still walk without any kind of aid before his sixty-forth. He'll be lucky if there'll be any kind of world for him to grow old in.

Behind the scenes, Crockercorp's been slowly and gradually suppressing the Carapace Kingdom vote with every subsequent election cycle, planting more and more human representatives in local seats of power. New Derse hasn't been governed by a carapacian for nearly eight years now. New Prospit barely clings onto what they have only by virtue of the cultural conservatism baked into Prospitian ideology. SC always hated it growing up, and he still thinks nostalgia-mongering bureaucrats should stay as far away from seats of power as possible, but now that that's the last vestige of his cultural identity? He's less certain.

Of course, SC is deeply aware that of all the non-human kingdoms, the Carapace Kingdom got off the lightest. The consorts are all but a puppet state used to artificially manipulate official voting figures, and the Troll Kingdom is under total occupation. The Carapace Kingdom was protected, kind of, by the passive endorsement of the Rogue of Void and Muse of Space, but they were subsumed into the machine long ago. Without an advocate, the Carapace Kingdom follows the highest bidder.

He's so glad he got out. So glad he decided to fight and take a stand where others are too afraid of shaking the status quo. The primary religion in the Carapace Kingdom is the Manifesto of the Warweary Villein, held by a good thirty-two percent of all carapacians, and yet barely any of the devout so much as lifted a finger against the incipient regime their own doctrine condemns. SC was never a believer growing up, but in recent times he's found the texts oddly resonant. His Platoon Leader has the Ectobiological Barcode of legend tattooed onto her arm. He thinks he kind of gets it now.

SC passes through the commercial district of this village. It consists of a rough ring of brightly-coloured huts to symbolise the goods and services within. Half of them are usually symbolic trading of old Skaian abstractions, and the rest constitute a kind of partitioned farmer's market where each hut deals in incredibly specific types of crops. This is a standard salamander village, so there should be anywhere between eight and twelve huts. Instead, what SC sees is a circle of collapsed, burning ruins and deep craters in the ground. The only building left standing is a fraymotif shop, currently repurposed to serve as an emergency medical centre. Outside it is a series of pop-up black and white tents. That's where the Carapacian Aid Network does the more sombre work.

He slips inside the closest tent as the ground rumbles with the sound of distant aircraft. This is their main base of operations and also the carapacian medic tent. A dozen beds are spread across the floor. Thankfully, only two are occupied. Two Dersite comrades, bandaged up and resting. SC breathes a small sigh of relief. He lives in fear of the day his group experiences its first major loss. Thank god that day is not today.

At the back of the tent is a large table stocked with a map of the region and a radio interceptor. Platoon Leader, a tall Prospitian woman, leans over the table, studying a couple of documents with a furrowed brow. Her headscarf is draped on loosely, and one sleeve is rolled up to show her tattoo. SC draws a little closer, then clears his throat.

SC: platoon leader,, reporting in..

PL lifts her head. Her expression softens.

PL: [SC. Glad to see you back in one piece.]

SC winces a little as she speaks. PL was born without the ability to use her vocal chords, so she communicates pretty exclusively through the exile telepathy unique to the carapacian race. It's pretty rare to see in daily life, so it takes the majority of people a lot of getting used to despite it being an innate evolutionary quirk designed to aid the carapacian people on the Skaian battlefield. Nowadays, it's mostly a tool used by disabled carapacians who, for whatever reason, do not have access to conventional verbal communication. On SC's end, it feels a little like an electric shock to the brain that always threatens a migraine that never comes. He wonders how it would feel to those born without psionic receptors.

PL: [What do you have to report?]
SC: i attended to all patients in the western ring.. three fatalities to report.. two salamanders,, one crocodile..
SC: one salamander and the crocodile were identified.. the second salamander was,, well,, in no fit condition to id..

PL steps away from her desk. A heavy frown sets across her face.

PL: [Some day at least one of you will report no fatalities. The universe has to owe us something by now.]

The only problem with exile telepathy, SC thinks, is its propensity to broadcast the speaker's emotional state along with their words. The heavy, thick wad of misery hits SC like a bowling ball to the gut.

SC: i take it i'm the last to report in??
PL: [Yes. The others all came back fine, if lacking in any good news. RH's preliminary damage survey is grim.]
PL: [They're in the mess tent. Go catch up with them before you have to fight with the morning shift team for the good stuff.]
SC: is that all,, pl??
PL: [Yes. Rest up. It's been a long night, and it'll be another long one tomorrow.]
SC: well,, thank you..
PL: [Now run along. I've still got my own work to do.]

SC ducks out the back of the tent as PL fiddles with the radio dial. It's a straight shot to the mess tent, not that you can miss it for the smell. It's the only thing for miles that smells like anything other than gunpowder and blood. In the early light, the makeshift camp is awash in a silent calm.

The inside of the mess tent is about as minimalistic as you can get. Four room-length tables atop a traditional checkerboard floor. At the back of the room is a serving station tended to by an old Dersite man and a couple of overzealous turtle consorts in comically oversized chef hats. Even though it's meant to be a dead hour, there's a pretty hefty queue. The air is heavy with the smell of something curried and spiced.

RH: yo sc! | over here! |
RH: secured you some grub |

The excited voice of one Record Handler draws SC's attention. The young Dersite is sitting at the end of one table, motioning with one hand to the empty seat beside him. In front of him is a decidedly oversized plate of still-steaming food. Without hesitation, SC makes his way to the side of one of his closest friends.

SC: hey.. :)

SC pulls up a chair and sits next to RH, flashing a smile. RH smiles back, the kind of weary relieved smile one develops working in a combat zone, reserved exclusively for seeing those nearest and dearest to you remain alive and well.

RH: you were out there a while huh |
RH: run into some kinda trouble? |

SC shakes his head.

SC: no,, just a particularly stubborn salamander..
SC: fixed her up good in the end,, though..
RH: thats my guy | always getting the important shit done |
RH: whereas i | uh | tally up some numbers? |
SC: hey,, no,, that's important too..
SC: your data lets me know how to best help people..
SC: that's the whole point of being a team..

RH pulls his beanie over his face bashfully, waving a hand dismissively.

RH: damn it sc youre gonna make me soft | | |

SC cracks a smile.

SC: you know what would be softer?? you actually giving me some of that clearly excess food you have there..

He points to RH's plate.

RH: oh yeah | got that for you anyway so help yourself |
SC: haha,, thanks..

As SC leans over to take his helping of the meal, the person sitting across from them starts making exaggerated gagging noises.

AI: **Wow, okay, you two.** **Consider getting a room.**

The Amiable Interpreter narrows her eyes, but her mouth is stretched out in too playful an expression for her to be taken seriously. She cups her face in one hand and drums the fingers of the other against the table. Unlike nearly every other carapace in the CAN, AI sports a grey shell. It's a fairly uncommon carapacian race that only came into being as a kind of ectobiological miracle during the species' 5000 year history on Earth C, but there are theories that similar races played a role in the fabled Skaian dead sessions of ancient Paradox Space. She leaves her head bare, proudly displaying an intricate floral tattoo that runs from the front of her scalp down to the back of her neck.

RH: we get it | youre the hottest and sexiest person here | and youre mad that you cant get any |
AI: **I'll take the compliment.**

AI then smirks.

AI: **That said, if you're offering.** ;)

RH nearly chokes on what's left of his food. SC bites down a laugh.

RH: hey uh | just so were all absolutely on the same page here | actual for real flirting |
RH: thats definitely not a thing thats happening here and now | or | or ever |
RH: like even insinuating that im lusting over my treasured platonic comrades is | like | a complete fabrication |
AI: **Slander and lies?**
RH: of the highest magnitude |
SC: god,, you two..

This banter isn't an unfamiliar sight. RH likes to pretend that he has his shit under control to some kind of desperate extent, while AI likes to tease out the fact that RH is honestly more like an absolute insecure weenie. Both of them also like to dance around the obviously massive juvenile flushcrush they harbour for one another. SC shakes his head and smiles. When they have some downtime, he absolutely has to step up and play matchmaker. He could totally make a great ironic Spousal Counsellor. It would be absolutely hilarious, up until the point where his two friends decide to kill him for it.

AI: **Anyway...**
AI: **SC, how have you been?**
SC: pretty good,, yeah..
SC: everything went mostly well,, and pl seemed happy with me..
SC: what about you two??

SC begins to eat as AI and RH look at each other a grand total of three times, accompanied by just as many false starts.

AI: **Uh**
RH: uh |
AI: **No, you can**
RH: no you can |
AI: **...**
RH: god this is asinine you can go first |
AI: **Thank you.**

AI leans back a little in her seat, maybe smug at a successful gambit? SC can't say for sure. He can't keep up very well with all these little social games everyone likes to play these days, which is a thought he definitely thinks despite not even pushing thirty yet. Maybe he's always been a little lame and uncool.

AI: **We got through last night's quad-locked linguistic cyphers without much hassle.**
AI: **Maybe one message was lost?** **But we're fairly convinced it was just another cryptopyramid scheme by an overzealous croc and not in any way an actual cry for help.**
AI: **Turtle village on the northern seaboard's seeing the first stages of famine, and the jungle border farms are understandably nervous.**
AI: **All in all, a fairly easy night.** **Hardest part was translating the on the fly Vantas-Crocker broadcast.**
SC: the what??
AI: **You don't know?**
SC: no,, i've been rather busy pretty much since the drone strikes happened,, what,, twelve hours ago now??
SC: sorry..
RH: nah its ok well fill you and your dorky little sailor hat in |

RH cracks his knuckles and leans one elbow on the table, looking directly into SC's face.

RH: ok SO |
RH: about what | ten last night? |
AI: **Around then, yeah.**
RH: yeah ten last night |
RH: we were monitoring the media feeds | as we do |
RH: when all of the fucking sudden | bam |
RH: the face of karkat vantas syndicated on every channel worldwide |
SC: really??
RH: yeah | course literally nobody anywhere was expecting this | save for maybe those in his inner circle | which is obviously not us |
RH: he duped crocker into a rare unscripted appearance | then proceeded to blast her on tv for a good twenty minutes |
SC: holy shit..
RH: see if it was just some taunts id be whatever with this news | but then vantas goes and pulls out the big guns |

RH spreads his arms and adopts an oddly grim expression.

RH: turns out makara is fucking dead |
SC:
SC:
SC:
SC: ......WHAT??????

SC feels the floor slip out from under him and gravity wrap around his gut with iron-tough claws. Of course in actuality he remains firmly planted in his seat, but internally he feels like he's stumbling upon a new and exciting kind of psychotic moment.

AI: **Oh yeah, absolutely.** **We verified it a good dozen times over, cross-referencing with every database we've got.**
AI: **Truly and irrevocably, the rebellion has successfully assassinated the Redemption Pope himself.** **Gamzee Makara is no more.**
SC: damn..
SC: just
SC: damn..
SC: i'd say i need to sit down,, but
SC: well
SC: yeah..
SC: oof..

SC rests his clenched fists on his knees and focuses very hard on the simple act of breathing, the smell of fresh breakfast, the sound of the morning workers rolling in to start their day. It assuages the dissociative mania he threatens to spill into. Just a little.

RH: yeah well shit gets even crazier than that |
RH: see youd think thisd be some kinda pubilcity move |
RH: mutual kinda shockshow to rile up both sides |
RH: but turns out crocker didnt have a fucking clue my guy |
RH: so she just | full on loses her shit | on live television |
RH: talking instaviral batterwitch meltdown compilations popping up faster than the corp can scrub em |
SC: holy shit??
AI: **Yep.** **That's what you missed on last night's edition of “absurd revolutionary developments”.**
SC: damn..
SC: this...... this changes things going forward,, right?? like,, it HAS to..

AI shrugs.

AI: **Don't know yet.** **Could do, probably will, but it's too soon.**
AI: **Need to wait and see what happens with Crocker's threats to Outglut^2.**
RH: you think shell really do it | bomb the city i mean |
AI: **I...**

She looks off to one side, troubled.

AI: **Before now, I'd say Crockercorp's MO wouldn't allow for something so brazen.** **But the rebellion hit hard and deep with taking out her kismesis.** **She might be unhinged enough to actually murder foreign civilians in broad daylight.**
AI: **Lot of high up CEOs have been shifting their cryptostock.** **They think they're sly, but the trail is there.** **Thank fuck Earth C's major bank is still handled mostly by over-enthusiastic consorts willing to be totally honest with anyone who's nice to them.**
RH: pharma companies been pulling out of minor troll cities too | forecast for the kingdom aint looking the hottest |

SC sighs, poking through a particularly solid chunk of sauce with his fork. The food's made using ingredients sourced from a pretty good quality alchemiter, but sometimes he can't help but notice how nongenuine it feels. Like he can taste the perfectly generic object despite the thousand abstractions the core ingredients have gone through.

SC: well,, shit.. any good news at all??
AI: **The NeoRoyals have lost their polling lead in most Prospitian districts...**
SC: oh??
AI: **...Only to be replaced by Crockercorp human plants.**

AI winces. SC winces harder.

AI: **Sorry.** **Seems the world is pretty shit right now.**
RH: not to go full doomer but when isnt it lmao |
SC: maybe if we're lucky things'll eventually get better.. rules of averages and stuff,, right??
RH: maybe |

But nobody really seems to believe it. This is a shitty world on the slow march to revolution against an immortal corporate megagiant. Sometimes SC wonders if, somewhere in the bowels of paradox space, there's a timeline where they make it out okay. Somehow he really doesn't think that's the case.

AI: **At least we have the semi-open defection of the Heir of Breath.** **That's better than nothing.**
AI: **SC, you were there for that one, right?**
SC: yeah.. just before i went out..
SC: i dunno though,, the egberts have been pretty huge fence-sitters so i don't know that the heir of breath will be useful??
SC: maybe for public morale,, but like,, we're way past the point of optics and resolving things from within the system..
AI: **I guess we just focus on what we actually can do, as a movement.** **We did our part to save a village from becoming another totally steamrolled war casualty, and that in itself has to be something we hold on t

AI's attempt at a rousing kind of speech pretty quickly falls dead. Everyone in the room is too busy paying attention to the sudden very loud and very threatening rumble that shakes through the thin walls of the mess tent. SC swivels his head around nervously, and struggles to be heard over the rattle of displaced cutlery.

SC: hey,, that sounds like
RH: oh shit shit FUCK |

RH stands to his feet abruptly enough that his chair goes flying. He's pulled out his phone, which is rapidfire buzzing with comms notifications.

RH: its the sensors | all of them |
AI: **What is it?**
RH: theyre all saying that | i dont fucking believe this but |
RH: every sensor in a five mile radius all at once pinged a single huge scorcher class crockercorp craft right above us |
AI: **Oh.**

SC feels himself go cold. He rises to his feet on autopilot, reaching into his waistband for his standard-issue firearm that he knows is useless in this kind of scenario.

AI: **But how on earth did it manage to
PL: [THIS IS A PROTOCOL ZERO. ALL CAPABLE FIGHTERS TO REPORT TO THE MUNITIONS EQUIPPER IMMEDIATELY.]

PL's psychic voice blasts through the minds of everyone in the village loud enough that for a good couple seconds SC's vision totally blanks out. When he comes to, he sees his two friends looking around with rapidly mounting despair on their faces.

SC: a protocol zero??
AI: **No way.**
RH: no it | it cant |

They all know the battle protocols by heart. A ten-step scale with a number that shrinks according to how much priority should be given to assisting bystanders. A one is abandon all civilians. A zero is as good as every person for themselves. The Crockercorp ship up there isn't preparing for a fight. It's readying itself for a total demolition.

AI pulls on both SC and RH's uniforms.

AI: **Come on, we should go.** **I know the girl running the weapons dispensary this morning – we can get better equipped but we need to leave now.**

It's all so sudden. SC feels washed up and floaty, like he's witnessing everything in slow motion behind a barrier of cotton. The screen on the wall has switched over to show aerial footage of perhaps the largest Crocker ship he's ever seen hovering over their exact location. His brain pulses oddly, like if he blinks hard enough this'll all be gone with. But he does blink and this all remains desperately real.

SC: ok,, yeah,, yeah we should
PL: [SC, RH, AI. REMAIN IN YOUR PRESENT LOCATION. I HAVE DIRECT ORDERS FOR THE THREE OF YOU.]

RH's frown deepens. Outside, SC stars to hear the shrill groan of sirens, the panicked cries of consorts, and the first terrible notes of artillery fire.

RH: god what the fuck is this |
RH: were all gonna die arent we |
AI: **I don't know.** **I don't even know what's happening.**
SC: ......

SC looks on as the mess tent empties itself of every other person. Even the Nutrient Provider himself and his assistants make haste out the exit. In less than two minutes, it's just the three carapaces, white, black, and grey, left standing there amid a desolate field of skewed tables and abandoned meals that still puff up wisps of steam.

A wall at the back of the tent lifts up as PL slips inside. She's in full battle gear, armed to the teeth, and looking grimmer than SC has ever seen her.

AI: **What's going on?**

AI balls her hands into fists as PL approaches, trying and failing to regulate her breathing.

PL: [We don't know. Somehow the Crocker ship slipped under all our detection tech. And there's no time to puzzle the how or the why.]
PL: [What we do know is that we may have stumbled onto something more serious than anything we've handled yet. Apparently enough that one of the Corp's best scorchers has been deployed just for our little operation.]
AI: **You think the cavern rumours were true after all?**
PL: [Negative. We don't know what they want. All we know is this was a direct issue from Baroness Crocker herself given out in the last half hour.]
RH: and it got here that quickly | some kind of mass transportalizer? |

PL shakes her head.

PL: [Transportalizer, psionics, hell, even fucking god tier powers. Doesn't matter.]
SC: ok,, so,, what does??

PL produces a sheet of paper.

PL: [This.]

She slams it down on the table, shoving SC's plate to the side with enough force that it shatters against the ground. The sound is almost swallowed up by a sudden volley of detonations.

AI peers over the table, scrutinising the paper with a heavy expression.

AI: **These are... scrambled coordinates?**
PL: [We received them from an unknown frequency thirty-nine minutes ago. No traceback, no lexical quirk, nothing to identify it.]
RH: so what | this a human kingdom trojan sleeper message? |
PL: [No. This isn't human codex.]
PL: [And Crockercorp received an identical transmission at the exact same moment as us. I'd wager it was sent out to every top-frequency radio on the planet.]
SC: so where do they point to?? a rendezvous??
PL: [No information was given other than the base code, so we can't say.]
AI: **So why trust this at all?**
PL: [Because of what the cypher decodes the data to. None of our tech had a match with it, but our Exegesis Extractor...]
RH: no no wait | WAIT |

RH interrupts PL, snatching the paper up with wide eyes.

RH: this is ancient skaian paradox barcoding | what the fuck |
AI: **No, that.** **That shouldn't be possible!**
PL: [And yet, we received a complete coded instruction in a language that doesn't even exist in our universe and no scholar has managed to recreate.]
SC: and what does this mean??
PL: [Everything, maybe.]
RH: so uh | im guessing were gonna be sent out to wherever these coordinates point to | but |
RH: why us? |

PL lowers her head.

PL: [Yes, you're correct on that front. I chose you three specifically because I need people I can trust who also aren't going to be tracked by Crockercorp.]
AI: **Even though there are dozens of people like us who'd fit the bill?** **I mean, pretty much anyone not in a commanding role would be good, so...**

PL looks back over to the paper clutched in RH's hands. Her expression takes a turn for the strange.

PL: [I don't know. There was just... this feeling, that it had to be you three. Call it a whim of paradox space.]
PL: [This is what needs to be.]
SC: ......

SC feels uneasy. He knows PL to be truly devout to the Skaian Paradigm in a way most others aren't. Even were this a faith-guided inference, PL wouldn't act illogically. This has to be something else. Something important on a cosmic scale SC can barely comprehend. And yet, the more he thinks on it, the more right it feels to him, too.

AI: **Shit, this is all really happening.**
RH: |||

RH looks back to the ajar opening flap to the tent, to the steadily thickening haze of smoke seeping in and the terrible, terrible noises of warfare.

RH: not like we got much of a choice | either die here or | i guess die several weeks later on a potentially fruitless quest |
SC: i don't know.. something feels...... big,, about all this..

What he doesn't say is that it feels big in a way that makes the dying going on outside feel less significant, and the way that that makes him feel better. He feels disgusted himself even thinking it.

AI: **That's that, then.** **We're all in.**

PL nods. It's not a happy expression, but SC supposes such things are impossible right now.

PL: [Thank you. We know the coordinates point to somewhere in the south, but we can triangulate more precisely once we get out of this village.]

As she talks, there's a loud bang and a flash of red light that sends ethereal shadows dancing up the tent's translucent walls. SC tries very hard not to think of the villagers whose lives he tended to not a few hours past. He wants to be sick.

RH: im assuming theres a way outta here without the crocker deathship blasting us |
PL: [Yes. The emergency transportalizer attached to the communal alchemiter has enough charge for a single evacuation.]
SC: but that's on the other side of the village..
AI: **And more importantly, wouldn't someone have used it by now?**

PL's face takes a turn for the grim. There's another bang and the power dies. In the half-glow, she looks like one of the Skaian warriors of old.

PL: [They can't. Nobody can.]
PL: [The device is locked to my ectobiological imprint.]
AI: **You...** **That...**
PL: [We can debate later. There's only a matter of minutes before the scorcher makes quick work of us all.]
AI: **...**
AI: **Fine.** **Fine.**

AI is clearly not fine, but her face is torn by the same base instinct that screams to survive that all of them are feeling. She's left looking miserable.

PL: [Then let's go. Stay close to me.]

The time for talking ends swift as that. PL starts taking deliberate strides back towards the impromptu entrance she made for herself. There's maybe three seconds of hesitation before SC and the others follow suit. AI clenches her jaw in an attempt not to cry. RH deliberately keeps his eyes on the paper. SC kind of dissociatively follows along, eyes drawn to whatever movement he sees. He sees another plate fall to the ground in an aftershock of an explosion and sharply realises nobody will ever eat here again. Then he's being ushered out of the tent as slow, yellow flames lick up the edge of the front entrance.

Obviously, the tent wasn't soundproof, but the noise of violence sends keen thrills of pain through SC's shell in a way that it didn't back inside. The air is thick with toxic plumes, what's left of the village is quickly combusting, and above, there is no sky. Just a block of pure red branded with that accursed fucking spork. At his feet...

At his feet...

Well, if SC doesn't describe it, it can't become real. He doesn't need to look at the ground. What he smells is definitely just the charred scent of consort infrastructure. He is not going to vomit and scream until he's reached relative safety.

RH: oh fuck | all those little dudes |

Then RH states the obvious anyway and SC's repression goes out the window. He still refuses to look, though. He can't. He cannot see everything he's stood for torn apart. So he chooses to look upwards to the instrument of imperial violence and not at its after effects. He wonders if that makes him a coward.

AI: **Shit.**
PL: [Get back.]

Rather abruptly, SC is shoved behind what remains of a wall alongside his compatriots as PL strides further out into the open. There's a human soldier stomping through the ashy dirt, trailed by a path of crumpled yellow corpses. They're kitted up in crimson uniform, one unidentifiable unit among thousands scouring the ground beneath their feet for more targets. Without so much as a tremble PL withdraws her own gun, steadies it, and fires two clean, perfect shots to the weak spot in the armour beneath the shoulder blades. The human lets out an abrupt agonised grunt, then crumples to the floor as the bullets shred their spinal cord to nothing. SC just stares at the scene, his brain feeling like an overstretched water balloon. Abstractly he is 100% aware that he is being traumatised in real time, and that fact stupidly makes him have to bite down an overwhelming urge to giggle.

PL: [We're clear. The transportalizer's the next block over.]

Mutely, they follow PL through another stretch of ruined village. The bulk of the fighting's going down further in. Probably centred around the weapons dispensary, if SC were to hazard a guess. That's where his comrades will be fighting, and where they will ultimately die. It's so funny that literally three hours ago the most challenging part of his life was trying to fix a dislocated salamander tail. So absolutely fucking hilarious!

When they finally stumble upon the transportalizer, or, where the transportalizer is meant to be, SC feels a strange wave of disappointment. He half expecting something important, some radical adjustment. But no. It's just one patch of ashy dirt among every other patch of ashy dirt, all trapped under an artificial #FF0000 sky.

RH: hey wheres the thing |
PL: [Void guarded, just in case.]

PL removes from her jacket a small fob device with a couple buttons on it. She presses them both in an elaborate sequence, and the air six feet away from them ripples, dispelling to reveal the alchemiter-transportalizer combo machine so ubiquitous to Earth C's major settlements. The transportalizer portion itself is about the size of a helicopter pad, the console the size of a bus. The scale of it makes SC dizzy for a moment.

RH: hey |
PL: [Stand on the pad. I need to initialise the process.]

SC mutely complies, moving his legs almost numbly onto the pad. RH follows suit, face troubled to hell and back. AI stands back, however, looking right at PL.

AI: **Now, hang on one second.** **I know how this kind of transportalizer works, and I
PL: [As do I, acutely. Now, if you want to live, please stand on the pad.]
AI: *...*

AI starts to cry a little. RH is trembling. SC is too dazed to make much sense of any of this, other than the single truth that people are dying and people are dying and even more people will die before this is through.

PL inserts her key into the machine. She looks over to the three of them with a face that fights to remain stoic. She doesn't smile, just gazes on with unfixed determination.

PL: [Skaiaspeed to you all.]

She turns the key. The machine begins to hum. Above, a slot in the airship opens up. SC looks back to PL. Then he realises.

SC: no,, no,, no,, wait!!
RH: no you cant | you gotta |

RH wraps a hand around SC's arm so tight it's a miracle his shell doesn't crack.

SC: but she'll
AI: **Don't you think we all fucking know that?**

AI is bitter, so bitter and so upset. Her tattoos seem to dance in the steadily increasing blue light that surrounds the three of them.

AI: **But what's the alternative?** **What's the fucking alternative???**

She buries her face in her hands, lets out a horrible sob. SC abruptly stops struggling and looks up. From within the bowels of the Crocker ship falls a pointedly large bomb. He has no way to measure it accurately but the fact that he can make out the logo crystal clear from a hundred feet away is not a good sign.

SC: but this isn't

The bomb draws closer, closer. The noise washes out, and an electric light washes in. There's a split second between words where SC feels abruptly ripped from reality, where he's overwhelmed by the urge to scream but too formless to do so.

SC: fair

Then he's standing atop a hill maybe a mile or two from the village. He can see the Crocker ship in all its excessive expanse, the tiny smouldering remains of a village still clinging to life. Then the moment that the bomb touches the ground and the whole valley is swallowed in a wall of fire.

RH: no |
RH: no no no no no shit fuck no ||||||

RH falls to his knees and begins to babble, but the sound is swallowed entirely by the encroaching blast. A rippling wave of hot air blasts into the trio with the force of a small tornado. The paper slips free from RH's hands. SC dives up to grab hold of it, shielding it as best he can from the atmospheric cooker they all find themselves in. There's no single neat blast; instead there's wave after wave of airborne cinders that forces them all lower and lower to the ground in a desperate hope to avoid the worst of it.

It takes a long time for things to go quiet, enough that dawn is truly gone and the sun lingers heavy and overbearing close to its apogee point. If he were built that way, SC would be sweating. But it's quiet, and the heat flexible enough to allow some air, so he assumes the worst must be over.

AI: **Oh my god.**

AI sits cross-legged, nervously drumming one hand against the flat dirt as she peers into the vortex of smoke that once was an entire consort settlement. It's too dense to see inside, and may not clear for a long time yet. SC has a feeling, however, that what lies in place of the village is something none of them want to see.

AI: **It's all...gone.** **Just.** **Gone.**
RH: we | it cant | fuck theyre all |

RH pulls his beanie down over his face and tries and fails to steady his breathing. The fabric of his idiosyncratic headwear is scorched and torn at the edges, loose threads swaying in the wind. SC reaches up and touches his own head; his sailor hat is dented and misshapen and caked thick with a layer of ash. It feels as battered and wrecked as he does.

RH: what do we do now | what the hell do we do now |
AI: **I don't...** **I don't know.**

SC blinks, slowly tearing his gaze from his friends to the piece of paper in his lap. The slightly-singed barcode signals laid out by some design of cosmic apocrypha stare back. The glyphs almost seem to move. Seem to be imparting some kind of message. They feel alive.

Without intending to, SC begins to speak.

SC: i...... i think i know what we have to do..
SC: the coordinates...... we need to follow them..
AI: **But what about the people down there?** **We can't just leave them.**
RH: ai theyre | theyre fucking gone | theres nothing left |

AI shakes her head.

AI: **No, then we need to, to...** **Fuck, I don't know.** **Call for help, get in touch with someone, anything.**

She doesn't seem to believe her own words even as she says them. SC frowns.

SC: you know,, i don't think we have a choice..
SC: there's something important enough about this code that they wiped an entire village out for them.. and we have the only copy left..
SC: i think we HAVE to follow them.. i mean,, don't you feel it??
AI: **Feel what?**
SC: some kind of,, i don't know,, pull??

He jabs a finger into the paper.

SC: like it's calling out to you.. like this is what we were meant to do all along..
AI: **...**
RH: i mean | uh | actually | kinda? |
RH: cant explain it but | just feel like theres something important out there | like maybe the most important thing ever |
RH: and we have to be the ones to find it | i dunno its hard to like | actually quantify |
RH: more like a cosmically overwhelming vibe if you get me |
AI: **...**
AI: **Okay, okay, you're right!** **I feel it too.**
AI: **But...** **But...**
AI: **Why does it have to be us?** **What did we do so wrong that the universe decided to make us important?**
SC: i don't know..
SC: but i think we need to find out..

That somehow does it. Both AI and RH go quiet, looking at SC as if he's imparted some grave wisdom. Or maybe whatever force is now guiding them has decided to move things along.

SC: i think we should get going.. it's already nearly noon,, and we have a long way to go..
RH: but where exactly are we going? |
AI: **PL said south, so I assume that's where we'll start.**
SC: ready to move??
RH: no | but this isnt one of those things we get to object to is it? |
AI: **I fear not.** **I suppose we should start while there's still light.**
SC: then let's get going..

Three young volunteers of the now-defunct Carapacian Aid Network sit dazed on the hillside, but they are not who stand. First, the Ambulatory Introspective pulls herself to her feet, blinking up at the sky as if anticipating some kind of divine message. Then the Roaming Herald stands, sparing one final troubled glance at the ruins of the village below. At the front, armed with a piece of paper that promises things both great and terrible, arises the Sacred Coordinator.

And they start to wander.

Chapter 11: (one), section (ii.)

(ii.)

 

GALIOS: hey. y֍u'd better wake up. it's f֍֍d day.
KANIRA: ^.^ eh...?~
GALIOS: get the fuck UP. i'm not seeing y֍u starve.
GALIOS: this ain't h֍w we're dying, k?
GALIOS: N֍W!!!

Kanira Asiyon flinches as her ex-moirail-turned-cellmate Galios Mutgar delivers a swift kick to the side that wakes her up. She blinks slowly a few times, waiting for the world to come back into focus.

The smell hits her first. The smell always hits first. Cloying and wretched, somewhere between industrial smog and caramelised piss. There's almost something funny about the cake mills responsible for the production of a good 90% of Earth C's sweet goods being so rank, in a kind of industrial fascist kind of way. And by funny she means it's absolutely awful.

GALIOS: c'm֍n, UP.
KANIRA: ^.^ i—im moving...~

She rises to her feet on legs turned shaky and weak. She used to be in fairly great shape for a woman of her age if a little heavyset, but six months in the mills has reduced her to someone as weak as a second-pupation wriggler. Turns out a diet of stale frosting and mouldy spongecake really doesn't do much for your constitution.

GALIOS: better. y֍u already missed the last feeding. ain't sure y֍u'd survive missing an֍ther.
KANIRA: ^.^ uh huh~

Kanira blinks a couple of times, waiting for her brain to come back into focus. She's long-since given up on functioning like she used to, but basic sensory awareness in a place like this is the difference between life and death. She glances over across the cell to where Galios stands, except...

KANIRA: ^.^ shit~
KANIRA: ^.^ shit shit shit~
GALIOS: eh?
KANIRA: ^.^ its~
KANIRA: ^.^ its finally given up~
GALIOS: well fuck.

The left half of her vision is a hazy dark smudge. Kanira gingerly touches her face and feels the cold, dead surface of her bionic eye. It's one of the older models that requires a tune-up every year or so to require functioning. Kanira had several chances to upgrade to something more this decade, but she always swore the tradeoff between image quality and power efficiency wasn't worth it. She's now eating her words big time.

GALIOS: y֍u g֍nna be ֍k?
KANIRA: ^.^ i... i think so long as i dont need to~
KANIRA : ^.^ uh~

Kanira clamps her mouth shut. You don't openly announce weakness in the Crocker panopticon, not where you can be seen or heard. Which constitutes pretty much everywhere. If and when you get chosen for one of the gameshows, they will use it against you without fail. Young Bonist and her epilepsy were a grim reminder of that. Poor girl hadn't even seen her ninth sweep before being shoved on the hypercolour disco floor. Even Kanira still sees the flashes when she closes her eyes, four months on.

Galios nods. He gets it. He always got it, too, during their youth when they paledated. It's what made them work for so long. Kanira doesn't regret splitting up ten sweeps back – he took more than he gave and Kanira couldn't juggle such a draining relationship with her fledgling education career – but her incarceration has reminded her of what did work so long ago. She looks at him again now, this man so far removed from the troubled youth of twelve sweeps whose religion dissuaded him from traditional therapy. He's still a devout man of the Messiahs, a traditional tall and broad purpleblood whose face markings still miraculously cling on after so long in the mills. The years haven't been the kindest to either of them, but Kanira can still see the young man who'd give a passionate whoop during church ceremonies and guzzle the elixir like no other.

Kanira, meanwhile, took the softer approach. She quickly rose up the ranks to earn the position of lead professor of extracosmic anthropology at New Thrashstem University by her thirteenth wriggling day. Her doctorate paper positing the existence of a pre-Skaian scratch precursor planet to Alternia made waves among the right circles and earned her a spot of celebrity for a while. Unfortunately that celebrity backfired when the Crocker regime rose to power and cracked down on improper and seditious teachings. Kanira, one of the leading scholars in a study now classed as a threat to Earth C's political stability, was among the first civilians to be imprisoned. Troll Kingdom religious leaders followed suit, with a swift roundup of every attendee of the bicentennial Dark Carnival gathering, Galios included.

In the six months since Kanira and Galios's initial incarceration, the number of troll prisoners has risen exponentially. They were both initially stationed at the New Thrashstem mill but were transferred to Outglut^2 just to make room for all the political dissidents being raked in from the metropolis's streets. There's not yet been any sign of mass executions, but Kanira hears the whispers, knows the respective histories of three-fourths of the sentient races on Earth C. The rate of “tragic accidents” steadily grows week by week. It's only a matter of time before it's not just flour being poured into the mixing bowls.

KANIRA: ^.^ anything changed since last night?~
GALIOS: n֍t in any way meaningful t֍ us, if that's what y֍u're asking.
KANIRA: ^.^ oh?~
GALIOS: well.

Galios leans against the cell bars. His face is tired in way Kanira used to only see during their feelings jams. It is a face utterly stripped bare of hope.

GALIOS: it'll pr֍lly make the ann֍uncements t֍day anyway, but...
GALIOS: vantas shifted his ass int֍ high gear last night.
KANIRA: ^.^ really?~

Kanira does her best to tamp down any major reaction. They're always listening in for the wrong opinions.

GALIOS: yeah. hijacked the tv br֍adcast n everythin'.
GALIOS: dr֍pped s֍me wickednasty taunts f֍r a while, then dr֍pped a c֍uple a m֍therfuckin' b֍mbshells.
KANIRA: ^.^ like what?~
GALIOS: he's ֍fficially pushed cr֍cker f֍rces ֍utta the city f֍r n֍w f֍r starters.
KANIRA: ^.^ i see~

She does not react. She uses all of what little strength she has to not react. Reacting is very much not a thing she does.

GALIOS: then he just casually ann֍unces like it ain't n֍ shit that he's ֍nly g֍ne and m֍therfucking assassinated gamzee makara.
KANIRA: ^.^ ~
KANIRA: ^.^ ~
KANIRA: ^.^ ~

Kanira has to bite her tongue here not to let out some kind of exasperated response that would draw all the wrong attention.

KANIRA: ^.^ r-really?~
GALIOS: yeah. p֍pped ֍ut the c֍rpse like it ain't n֍b֍dy's business ֍n tv just like that.
GALIOS: m֍therfucker was all kinds ֍f fucked up, lemme tell ya.
KANIRA: ^.^ never thought id see the day~
KANIRA: ^.^ its always been “you cant keep down the clown”~
KANIRA: ^.^ and yet it seems the clown is indeed down~
GALIOS: yeah.

Kanira's pusher is rattling at a million miles per second. She only doesn't sweat through sheer force of will. Nominally, yes, Gamzee Makara's just some minor religious figurehead, but those in the know are aware just exactly how high that pious minstrel had risen. Makara was more protected than Crocker's own human husband, despite how utterly wretched their kismesisitude had grown in the last few years. So the fact that the rebellion hit out at someone like that...

Gears begin to turn in Kanira's head, the same gears that earned her that doctorate over a decade ago.

KANIRA: ^.^ wonder how the church of redemption will cope~
GALIOS: d֍n't fuckin' kn֍w. that shit wasn't ever my wheelh֍use.
GALIOS: ain't like the temple ֍f the messiahs where we g֍t success֍rs f֍r ֍ur success֍rs lined up.
GALIOS: kinda g֍t the impressi֍n it was a ֍ne tr֍ll sh֍w?
KANIRA: ^.^ well, yeah, come to think of it, barely anyone who wasnt a sky ghost actually followed the doctrine~
KANIRA: ^.^ so was this more of a personal act of vengeance?~

She knows the lore behind Vantas and Makara. Both the official and the true lore. She also knows the way that Earth C is stuck in a weird kind of mythologised nostalgia for its creators. Only a fool would believe this was comeuppance for a failed teenage moirallegiance.

GALIOS: dunn֍. i'm just the messenger.
GALIOS: guys r֍und the f֍rced lab֍r r֍֍m think a line was cr֍ssed th֍ugh.
GALIOS: might just fuckin' be that cr֍cker's gr֍wn sick ֍f hum֍ring vantas's antics.
KANIRA: ^.^ that so~
GALIOS: well, it's the impressi֍n we g֍t fr֍m the end ֍f the br֍adcast at least.

She barely dares to say the next words.

KANIRA: ^.^ were talking an escalation?~

Galios doesn't say anything. That's all the answer she needs.

WARDEN: OKAY, STEP THE FUCK BACK.
WARDEN: GOT SOME FOOD FOR YOU INSECTS.
WARDEN: IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY.

She didn't notice it mid-conversation, but one of the prison wardens, a beefy human man with bulging nervous eyes, stands outside their cell. He carries a tray of leftover mouldy cake shavings and is dressed in as close as you can get to a hazmat suit without actually wearing one. Kanira knows about the outbreaks of perfectly preventable dangerous diseases in the mills, but she knows this man isn't dressed like that for the sake of health and hygiene. Propaganda films about the unsanitary nature of trolls have been growing in prevalence over the last few years. This is the natural endstate of an ideological assault.

WARDEN: BACK OF THE CELL, OR YOU GO HUNGRY.
KANIRA: ^.^ come on, lets move~
GALIOS: aight.

Galios nods, sparing one last glance at the geared up human male. The man flinches back, and Kanira knows it's not even the obvious strength difference between a human and a fully-grown purpleblood in his prime. They are Others so horrifying to this simple-minded man.

They both stand against the far wall of the cell, which equates to maybe a six foot distance if you squinted. Once they're there, the man makes a slow and panicky show of opening the cell door. The loud clunking of the lock sends spikes of pain through one side of Kanira's head that blossom quite intensely at the site of her dud eye. It's been so long that painkillers seem like a deluded fantasy.

WARDEN: DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE.

The warden takes his first step into the cell, quite literally very nearly shitting his pants as he does so. It'd be kind of funny, Kanira thinks, were it not for the fact that this is a prison and he has a very visible lethal gun that he has used quite frequently on even more compliant prisoners than she. She barely breathes as he bends to drop the tray.

Time dilates to an agonising extent in the moment between the tray touching the floor and the warden letting go. Kanira awaits a clatter that never comes, swallowing to try and stop herself from trembling. She used to be a respected member of society. Now she's... she's just stock in a cage. Clenching her teeth just to last another day. She closes her eyes. Breathes. Breathes. Waits for time to resume. Breathes.

Nothing's happening. Kanira opens her eyes. Sees the warden frozen half-hunched over the ground, expression twisting into something terrible.

WARDEN: THE FUCK YOU LOOKING AT?
GALIOS: n֍t a damn thing, my guy.

Galios raises his hands in a show of innocence and compliance, but the gesture only seems to make the human tense up further. Kanira feels a dark pit ripple open in her stomach. Her head is pounding and she can only see the worst possible outcome.

WARDEN: I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?
GALIOS: i t֍ld y֍u, i'm n֍t l֍֍king at a m֍therfuckin' thing, man.

The warden stands up straight. He does not let go of the food tray. Kanira is still as marble.

WARDEN: I WOULDN'T SAY YOU WERE LOOKING AT ME IF YOU WEREN'T FUCKING LOOKING AT ME, INSECT.
GALIOS: l֍֍k, h֍nest t֍ m֍therfuck, n֍b֍dy here was givin' y֍u any kind ֍f evil eyes—

Galios, without realising, takes a step forward. A vase falls from the top of Kanira's brain, whistling a terrible tune as it races toward the bottom of her toes. The prison beyond this room washes away to a silent white backdrop as the world shrinks to this one terrible, terrible moment.

WARDEN: I SAID TO STAY THE FUCK BACK!
GALIOS: ֍kay, my bad, it's all c֍֍l, n֍ pr֍blems here. s֍ if we can all just—
WARDEN: YOU GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!

Kanira can't tell what the catalyst is. Galios taking that next stupid step forward, or the warden's last nerve fraying to a snapping point. It doesn't really matter. Time ticks forward. The vase in her mind shatters. The man with the gun opens fire.

KANIRA: ^.^ ah—!~

Her ears rattle with the sound of the blast, fading into a harsh hiss. Then the pain unfolds from a spot somewhere between her shoulder and collarbone. Her dirty white prison shirt is quickly enveloped by a distressing spread of dark purple.

Kanira, absurdly, lets out a sharp, cawing laugh, the sound of a condemned woman who's reached the end of the road.

KANIRA: ^.^ dear oh dear~

Then she slumps to the floor. The vision in her one working eye rather worryingly blurs at a rapid rate until all she can sense is the scream of white noise, the smudge of colour that is the cell before her, and a warm pulse running through her torso. She's a pianostring away from slipping away from consciousness entirely.

GALIOS: n֍ n֍ n֍ n֍ N֍ N֍!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!
GALIOS: KANIRA!!!!!!!!!!

Galios lets out a roar, hands immediately flying to her wound. In his panic, he momentarily forgets about the spooked trigger happy human six feet away from him. That lasts up until the second shot fires out, missing Galios's head by a miracle.

WARDEN: T-THIS IS YOUR FAULT! IF YOU'D JUST
GALIOS: y֍u sh֍t my lady, my g֍֍d man.
GALIOS: seems y֍u just fucked up real bad.

Galios stands up, going very stiff and very calm. His eyes lock onto the warden and don't budge. Kanira, in her delirium, still feels the dread pierce her like a knife. What she sees before her is the feral animal she failed to tame all those sweeps ago brought out in full force. Her head rolls back as everything begins to tumble down.

GALIOS: s֍ i guess we'd better D֍ S֍METHING ab֍ut this ֍ne, eh?

He takes a deliberate stride forward. His eyes flare up in a brilliant and terrible purple glow that leaves afterimages in Kanira's vision.

GALIOS: y֍u'd best be getting y֍ur understanding ֍n as t֍ h֍w r֍yally y֍u just FUCKED EVERYTHING UP
GALIOS: w֍uldn't y֍u say?
WARDEN:
GALIOS: WELL, M֍THERFUCKER??
WARDEN: I DON'T—Y֍U NEED TO STOP M֍VING—
WARDEN: WHAT ARE Y֍U D֍ING T֍ ME???

Kanira always knew Galios had the capacity for chucklevoodoos, but it was a kind of abstract fact that never registered in her life beyond an interesting bit of trivia. Now that he's unleashing the ancient genetic gift with enough force that even Kanira feels like she's about to puke, it all feels very different and very real.

WARDEN: MAKE IT ST֍P MAKE IT ST֍P MAKE IT ST֍P!!!!!! ֍H FUCK IT HURTS MAKE IT ST֍P!!!!!!!!!!!
GALIOS: nah, d֍n't think i will.
GALIOS: think it's kinda funny, actually.

Galios tightens his grip. The air grows thicker with the palpable psychic terror. And Kanira knows this is where they both die.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios, please~

Kanira tries to reach out to him, but she's too weak from the gunshot wound, and he's too far gone into the berserk power trip. That was the issue, with the Mirthful on old Alternia. Once the rage started, they never knew how to stop.

GALIOS: dance f֍r me, m֍therfucker.
WARDEN: AH—AH—AHHHHHHHH!!!! N֍֍֍֍֍֍֍֍֍!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She hears more than she sees the warden's limbs snap and crunch as they contort into unnatural marionette-esque positions. His arms smack against the cell walls. The tray goes flying into one corner, the cake spreading out across the floor by Kanira's rapidly growing blood pool. His gun clatters by his feet, a dark smudge she can't make out.

GALIOS: Y֍U SH֍T MY LADY, M֍THERFUCKER.
GALIOS: S֍ DANCE!!!! DANCE!!!!!!!!
WARDEN: LET ME G֍ LET ME G֍ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEPLEAPSLEPLPAPSLPLPPSLPS AAAAAAAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHEEHEEHEEHEEH֍֍H֍֍H֍֍!!

The warden descends into agonised incoherency as his head rattles around. Kanira thinks she sees red blood flowing freely from his eyes, ears, and nose. This is maybe the first time in her life she's thankful for her impaired sight.

Next to her, Galios stars to physically shake under the pressure of maintaining the chucklevoodoo flow. He's tapping into a power not meant for mortal trolls, that much she is suddenly sure of. If he doesn't stop now, the power will kill him. Kanira goes to reach out again, then pauses. Dead of a psychic aneurysm, dead by the hand of a firing squad. What's the difference? They're doomed anyway. So what is the fucking difference?

She looks at him one more time, and understands. She cares about him too much to let him lose himself like this. That's the difference. She won't let them take him from her. Not like this. Never like this.

With a new-found strength she shouldn't have, Kanira rises. She extends her bloody arm and clamps it around his leg, fingers clamped deep enough to break the skin.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios, stop!~
WARDEN: HEE HEE HEE HAA HAA HAA H֍֍ H֍֍ H֍֍
GALIOS: M֍THERFUCKING DANCE
KANIRA: ^.^ please, stop!!!~
WARDEN: HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!
GALIOS: DANCE F֍R ME, M֍THERFUCKER!
KANIRA: ^.^ i said~
WARDEN: HAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!
GALIOS: HAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!
KANIRA: ^.^ GALIOS, MOTHERFUCKING STOP!!!!!!!~
GALIOS: y֍uwha?

All at once, Galios blinks back to reality. He looks down at Kanira, half-bewildered. A sharp purple haze washes across Kanira's vision that just as abruptly cuts out. Across the room, the warden gives out one last animalistic howl before dropping to the ground with a decidedly final crunch.

GALIOS: kanira, what
KANIRA: ^.^ not like this~
KANIRA: ^.^ not~
KANIRA: ^.^ im not losing you like this~

Kanira gasps for breath. Her trembling arm slips free from Galios, and she slumps down with a concerning squelch. She's rapidly losing feeling in several areas of her body, and there's enough of her mind left to know what that means.

GALIOS: kanira, what the sweet FUCK did y֍u just d֍
KANIRA: ^.^ hah~
KANIRA: ^.^ wasnt gonna let you run yourself into the ground~
KANIRA: ^.^ you deserve better~

She shifts the wrong way and loses the ability to move her arm just like that.

KANIRA: ^.^ fucking damn, it hurts~
GALIOS: kanira

Then she lets out one more heavy breath, and her vision finally gives out just as the prison sirens start to blare.

Chapter 12: (one), section (iii.)

(iii.)

 

Curfew slams into effect precisely five minutes before the sun dips over the horizon. The artificial floodlights lining each street snap to life, and the loudspeakers droningly repeat Baroness Crocker's soothingly maternal authoritarian demands. In the streets, the humans below quickly scuttle off back to their home as the bright crimson patrol cars and surveillance drones begin to crawl out of the woodwork, scanning hungrily for any potential dissenters to incarcerate.

Arti Evra leans against the open doorway of the brownstones apartment complex they call home, watching as the packed traffic flow quickly fades down to a few official government vehicles, the occupants of which eye them judgingly for semi-flaunting curfew. Arti knows the law. So long as they don't step onto public pavement, they cannot be persecuted. It is a fact that is good to keep in mind as things take a turn for the politically fucked.

Everyone saw last night's media fiasco. Everyone, even if they don't know exactly what it means, can take a good guess. It was a bare-face declaration of war dragging this interracial conflict out of its five-year-long stint in the shadows. Already things have started to change. Where before you could come and go as you like with the right credentials, now nobody not on a specific corporate whitelist can enter or exit NuSeattle. And then there was the whole separate issue of the Egbert family's apparent defection. It all adds up to an increasingly tightening noose wrapping around the city's throat, a fact which worries Arti for myriad reasons.

CHRISTINA: looks like its gonna rain
ARTI: huh?

Arti blinks as one of their roommates, Christina Baldwin, steps out into the narrow space next to them. Her eyes are trained uneasily on the dusk sky and the increasing swell of pregnant clouds.

ARTI: i guess it could happen. it's got that kinda look to it.
ARTI: gotta say, never actually paid much attention to it.
CHRISTINA: i mean yeah its probably not as urgent as like
CHRISTINA: all the recent goings on but still
CHRISTINA: weathers always important you know?

She folds her arms. Her mouth quirks into a small frown. She looks tired and frayed. They all do, nowadays. Especially the occupants of this specific building.

CHRISTINA: how are the streets looking?
ARTI: at least as many eyes as last night. could be more. too early to say.
ARTI: they did drop an eight-thirty curfew, so take from that what you will.
CHRISTINA: its getting worse isnt it?
ARTI: ...

Arti looks to one side. Their eyes feel heavy.

ARTI: it is, yeah.
CHRISTINA: well shit

Christina cranes her head forward to get a good look at the street, nervously running one hand through her braids.

CHRISTINA: probably no chance of an emergency grocery run then
ARTI: not unless you want to draw the attention a curfew exemption form would bring.
CHRISTINA: you think they do this shit on payday on purpose?
ARTI: knowing crockercorp, probably.
CHRISTINA: god we need to fucking get out of here

She spares a nervous glance back at the three storey property behind the two of them. What she's thinking doesn't need to be said.

CHRISTINA: at least the rain will obscure the drones heat sensors
CHRISTINA: wont be able to tell theres more than four bodies in the house
ARTI: there's that.

Christina and Arti fall into a barely-comfortable silence. It's been a long time since any of them have felt anything even close to peace or comfort. As they stand, Arti watches the first drops of rain splash against the ground.

ARTI: guess we should get inside.
CHRISTINA: yeah youre right

With a strained and weary resignation, Christina leads the pair back inside. Arti closes the door just as the blaring whir of a drone in flight rumbles past. God they're so tired. They're always so tired, living in this draining sludge of a life with no visible end that carries with it even a shred of hope.

Arti follows Christina down the narrow hallway into the kitchen, where they find their other two legal registered roommates – Mari Tanaka and Dan Lopez – serving up some dinner with what little food is left. From the smell of it it's some kind of slow-cooked pasta dish. Dan stirs the sauce with nervous regularity and Mari boils the noodles with her eyes squarely trained on the window, even though the curtain is firmly shut. Dan notices their return first.

DAN: Hey. Batterwitch officially put her boot down for the night?
CHRISTINA: yep
ARTI: another high-surveillance night, but at least it's raining.

Arti walks over to Dan and lets him plant a kiss on their cheek. They lean against him for a moment, enjoying the feeling of his stubble against their face. It's always nice, but also a stinging reminder of how long it's been since the two of them were able to have anything even closely resembling a relationship.

MARI: Any eyes on what were doing?
CHRISTINA: dont think so at least
CHRISTINA: i mean no offense to us but whos gonna spare the resources for a bunch of twenty somethings when the egberts have gone full rebel
MARI: I know. Still...

The four of them have lived together since their college days as dorm-mates, then kind of just continued to live together as a unit after graduation. Earth C's post-scarcity fruits are only ripe for those who don't need it. Those at the bottom strive and toil in the name of good old fashioned Earth capitalism, scraping by enough minimum wages to keep a rotting roof over their heads. At least they're all friends and in work. It's more than can be said for a lot of the poverty class of the Human Kingdom's metropolitan jewel.

ARTI: on the bright side there's still no waterproof bots, so when it really starts pouring down...

Arti stops themself, taking a quick look around the kitchen. No phones in here, or any other kind of electronic device. It's safe.

ARTI: they can come out.
DAN: For whatever consolation that actually is.

Dan lets out a sigh of frustration as he keeps stirring. It's nothing unusual. The fear. The frustration. The dread-tinged inertia. It's been a long day today, just as it'll be a long day tomorrow, as will every second of the borrowed time they're all riding on.

MARI: Youre sure of this?
ARTI: pretty sure. the rain doesn't lie.

The conversation falls quiet for a second as Mari strains to listen. Once she hears the patter of water on glass she visibly relaxes a little.

MARI: Well, at least we get the victory of a fresh meal today.
CHRISTINA: how much longer will it be?
MARI: Hm. Maybe five minutes?
CHRISTINA: ok so
CHRISTINA: im gonna go get them
CHRISTINA: wheres the key?

Mari points out the kitchen door and down the hallway.

MARI: Behind the coat rack in the wall safe.
MARI: Combinations still the same.
CHRISTINA: ok cool
CHRISTINA: ill be a couple minutes
MARI: Be careful.
CHRISTINA: yeah

Christina turns and walks out the kitchen. Arti hears the floorboards creak under her as she retrieves the key, then the groan of the stairs as she rises up to the attic. With every noise the three in the kitchen flinch. They used to be outgoing people, friends with lives. Not these miserable, frightened shells. Arti wonders if it's the trauma. Probably.

ARTI: hey, anything i can do?
DAN: You could set the table if that's cool.
ARTI: yeah, it is.

Arti steps away from Dan and gets busy setting the large table in the corner of the kitchen. Eight plates, eight sets of utensils, eight glasses of water. They haven't seen this sight for nearly two months. Once done, they take their place at the seat closest to the door. Across the room, Mari passes the pan full of noodles to Dan, then takes her own seat across from Arti as Dan finishes up cooking.

ARTI: you doing ok?
MARI: About as okay as anyone can be.
MARI: Which is to say Im working a shitty job, coming home to a run down house, and pretending like Im not a major felon.
MARI: ...
MARI: Sorry, Im such a bitch tonight and I dont know why.
ARTI: probably the stress.
MARI: Probably.

She starts fiddling with a fork, not quite meeting Arti's gaze.

MARI: I just want a break, but it never ends.
MARI: It never fucking ends and Im so tired.
MARI: And I
MARI: Fuck I feel horrible even saying it but
MARI: Sometimes I wish we never did what we did, even though I know what it would mean.
ARTI: no i get it. it's fucking exhausting. let's not pretend it's not that.
ARTI: but this is what we chose, and even though it sucks, i don't really think any of us would have done differently.
MARI: No, youre right, youre right. It just
MARI: Yeah.

She doesn't finish the thought. She doesn't need to. It's the only thought any of them actually have. They're all latched on this train barrelling along rusty tracks in the dark towards a brick wall they all know is there but can't ever see. Arti just hopes the crash is quick and painless.

DAN: Hey, food's ready.
ARTI: okay, cool.

Dan walks towards the table with a large steaming pot with a ladle sticking out. As he walks, there's the sound of Christina coming back down the stairs, along with four other sets of footsteps. She comes into the kitchen first, slowly and cautiously.

CHRISTINA: coast still clear?
DAN: It's as good as it's getting. We're totally protected by the elements.

Dan motions to the window. The sound of the rain roars strongly enough to nearly drown out his voice. He flinches at the sound, adjusting his hearing aid after a few seconds. It's dull and grim and the best news any of them can hope for.

CHRISTINA: ok then
CHRISTINA: you guys can come through

Christina steps further into the kitchen, sitting at the table as the first of the four reasons why they're all dead people walking emerges.

FELLNA: > Christina: Are you sure? ==>
CHRISTINA: yeah its safe
FELLNA: > Good. ==>
FELLNA: > Haha, fuck, it's been how many weeks? ==>

Fellna Parell enters the kitchen like a timid housecat, her teal eyes wide and scrutinising. She barely makes it two steps in before she's followed.

BURNEI: W&rm food? For re&l w&rm food?
BURNEI: Youd better not be shitting us, guys.
AQUINI: they're clearly [NOT].
AQUINI: you can literally see the steaming pot.
AQUINI: it's [RIGHT THERE] bro.

Burnei Almere and Aquini Falvyn enter, arms slung around each other's shoulders. It doesn't quite work when the two trolls in question comprise a short bronze and a tall indigo, but the fact that they're trying is still cute as shit.

FELLNA: > [S] Burnei, Aquini: Try and behave, please! ==>
FELLNA: > You keep acting like this and it'll be a four-month attic trip next time. ==>
BURNEI: Wow, lighten up, Felln&. Im&gine if you werent stuck up for one second.
FELLNA: > ...You're getting the small portion. ==>
BURNEI: Hemoism? In THIS economy?? I thought better of you, girl.

The three trolls take their place at the table with a light-hearted banter long since extinguished between their human associates. It's almost enough to forget that all three are illegally harboured individuals who should have been turned over to the authorities back when Crockercorp officially kicked all trolls out of the city. But if that alone wasn't bad enough...

ENFUIR: xX youre behaving like wigglers at recess, all of you Xx
ENFUIR: xX hardly illegal refugee chic, is it? Xx
FELLNA: > Enfuir Lismet: Hop off your high horse. ==>
ENFUIR: xX rolling my eyes. youre just as bad as the boys Xx

They're also harbouring an extremely rare and extra illegal limeblood. The blood type was never in any of the ectobiological breeding pools at the inception of Earth C's society, but somehow old Alternia's greatest sign of resistance found a way to come back. Systemic hemoism isn't really a thing in the Troll Kingdom (despite what some rich sociopathic bluebloods will tell you) but there's a kind of cultural weirdness attached to limebloods on a good day. On a bad day, well... Crockercorp wasted no time in reinserting the term “blood mutant” into cultural jargon. Reds and limes never seem to make it to the mills.

Enfuir shakes her head as she fills the last place at the table. She takes a glance at the humans around her and raises an eyebrow. The scar above it crinkles a little.

ENFUIR: xX god you all look like shit Xx
ENFUIR: xX like seriously wow Xx
DAN: I mean, everything does fucking suck, and continues to fucking suck no matter what.
DAN: So, like, I'm not really sure how we should be, you know?
ENFUIR: xX i guess Xx
ENFUIR: xX youre still all being kind of major bummers though Xx

The four trolls before them used to be freshman ectobiology students that Mari tutored as a side job, up until it became illegal for trolls to attend any kind of educational institution six months back. And then once trolls started getting expelled en masse, they all took the decision to shelter the four in their house. There's only like, a three year age gap between the two groups, but Arti feels so much older and wearier. The trolls still have that kid-like spark to them. The humans feel worn down and old. Only Dan seems to still make an effort, cracking a smile as he dishes out their meagre excuse for dinner. They never ate well, but they'd never dropped to leftover pasta noodle stew.

It seems to go down a treat with Aquini and Burnei, though.

AQUINI: hot [DAMN] this is some good shit.
BURNEI: I c&nt s&y if this is genuinely ME&NT to be good, but...
BURNEI: Definitely feeling some new & exciting things over here!
DAN: I do try. :)

Dan gives a dry laugh, and for one minute it all feels normal, like they're all a bunch of normal room mates having a normal shitty dinner in the only shack the collective rent of eight people can buy. But it's not the case, and they can't even really pretend it's the case.

As if to illustrate the point, there's the brief blare of drone sirens outside the house. Immediately what little chatter there was cuts dead. Fellna frowns.

FELLNA: > Arti, Christina, Mari, Dan: Tell it to us straight. ==>
FELLNA: > How bad has it really gotten out there? ==>
MARI: You dont know? I thought you guys could still get the news at least.
FELLNA: > Burnei had the feeling that we could be seen through the TV. ==>
FELLNA: > So we've had the thing switched off for three weeks now. ==>
BURNEI: Oh ye&h Crockercorp is tot&lly listening in btw.
BURNEI: &mount of sm&rt communic&tion shit in thered give you nightm&res.
BURNEI: & since I h&d & feeling things were only gonn& get worse I took some prevent&tive &ction.
CHRISTINA: cant say its not smart but
CHRISTINA: kinda sucks thats where youre at
AQUINI: it is what it is
AQUINI: at least we're all still [ALIVE].
ENFUIR: xX anyway before we hit another maudlin circlejerk Xx
ENFUIR: xX lets get back on topic Xx
ENFUIR: xX how fucked up is the world right now? Xx

Enfuir looks to Arti. Arti can't help but look away. They really do not want to be the one to share the news, but...

ARTI: yeah, it's pretty bad.
ARTI: you're already clued up on the hardcore curfews and all the subjugation laws, yeah.
ENFUIR: xX right Xx
ARTI: well, whatever pretence there was is gone.
ARTI: war between the human and troll kingdoms is kind of inevitable now, if it's not already started.
AQUINI: [DAMN].
ENFUIR: xX what makes you so sure? Xx
ARTI: well, they've not LITERALLY said it, but...
ARTI: between the assassination of gamzee makara, the defection of the heir of breath, and the reoccupation of outglut^2, it's pretty damn apparent.

The four trolls blink in a shock long since muted among their more legal compatriots.

AQUINI: we missed [THAT MUCH]?
BURNEI: Wh&t kind of fucked up month did we miss?
MARI: Oh, this was all in the last week or so, actually.
MARI: I mean, the tensions between vantas and crocker have been mounting for months now, but...
MARI: All this happened in pretty quick succession.
FELLNA: > [S] Holy shit. ==>
DAN: Yeah, it's really not a pretty picture, guys.

Dan stands, shaking his head as he heads over to the sink to grab a glass of water.

DAN: Drone patrols are through the roof, Crocker propaganda's getting more brazen...
DAN: I think it's a matter of weeks before there's a city-wide crackdown.
BURNEI: So you me&n...
ENFUIR: xX were gonna be sniffed out Xx
DAN: ...Yeah. Sorry.

Another silence falls, save for the rattle of rain, the pouring of the faucet, and the muffled sounds of authoritarian traffic. The gloom in the air is heavy and palpable, like a net shrinking smaller and smaller. Arti feels a little like they can't breathe.

AQUINI: what can we [DO]?
CHRISTINA: i dunno
CHRISTINA: i mean maybe we can

Christina doesn't get to finish. There's a single precise knock at the front door that echoes through the house like a death knell. Arti closes their eyes and tries their hardest not to scream.

ENFUIR: xX well fuck Xx
MARI: That the feds?
CHRISTINA: has to be
CHRISTINA: were an hour into curfew theyre the only ones who could be out there
DAN: Shit, shit.
BURNEI: Now wh&t?
BURNEI: &ct like nobodys in?
AQUINI: can't. even ignoring the [CURFEW] the [LIGHTS] are on.
BURNEI: Fuck.

There's a second knock. Arti can't tell who among them flinches the hardest.

CHRISTINA: we need to do something right fucking now

Arti takes a breath and stands to their feet.

ARTI: ok.
ARTI: i'll get the door, deal with them, buy us some time.
ARTI: you guys head upstairs. if we're lucky, we should...

They can't finish. Doubt and blind fear cloud their judgement. Every cell screams to just drop it all and run away, but they can't do that. None of them have had that option for a long time. In an absurd, terrible way, Arti feels a flush of relief. Worst comes to it, this is where it all finally ends.

ARTI: i'm going. get moving.
FELLNA: > Arti: Understood. ==>
FELLNA: > And... ==>
FELLNA: > Good luck. ==>
ARTI: y-yeah.

Arti makes their way out of the kitchen and down the hallway to the front door. The walls feel too closed in as they walk, the ceiling too high, the floor too creaky, the lights too dark. They're struck by an absurd sense of surrealism, like the world around them is collapsing into something unrecognisable. Maybe it is. Maybe it has been ever since they decided to live their life in fear of the full force of the law.

There's another knock. The room spins, and Arti starts to hyperventilate. The exchange of air is the only thing keeping them from blacking out. More pressingly, they realise they can't hear the sound of the stairs yet. What the hell are they doing, why aren't they—

Arti reaches the door. The time for thinking is over. With a trembling hand, they reach down and turn the doorknob, swinging the door out into the vicious, drenching tempest.

????: hi. arti, right?

And they pause immediately. What stands outside in the rain, half illuminated by their crappy porch light, is not a corporate drone, nor a cop, nor any other hypothetical imagined threat. It's a young human woman, maybe around the same age as Arti with wide, curious eyes.

ARTI: u-um???
????: this is the right place, yeah?
????: PLEASE tell me i didn't fuck it up.

She reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a phone, seeming to look up something. A million thoughts run through Arti's dulled brain, all of which beginning and ending with “this is a plainclothes cop” and “it's all fucking over”. But nothing about her apparently screams Crocker law enforcer. She's too small, too round, too not dressed in red. But more curiously than all that is how she, despite standing under one of the worse downpours the city's seen all year, remains perfectly bone dry.

????: no, yeah, i'm right, this is the place.
????: look, i get why you're hesitant, but you can trust me.
????: i'm an ally.
ARTI: and what does that mean?

Arti remains still, but tries to listen out for the sound of movement. They hear nothing. A shaky breath spills from their lips. They've never been so scared in their entire life.

The girl looks up, meeting Arti right in the eyes.

????: it means i can help you and your friends.
????: all of your friends.

The way she says it brokers no argument. She knows. As if to emphasis her point, she lifts her fingers behind her head in a crude imitation of troll horns. Arti's stomach does a fun and unexplainable series of tumbles that nearly results in them puking all over their unsettling visitor.

????: look, can you just let me in already?
????: it's cold, and i have no fucking clue how long we can stall before the wrong eyes stray this way.
ARTI: i—i mean, you can't
ARTI: the curfew—how the hell did you
????: awesome fascinating i'm heading in now.

With more strength than she appears to have, the young woman barges past Arti and into the house. Arti just stands there, gaping with an absurd thrill of terror that stupidly threatens to spill over into hysterical laughter. They stumble backwards, slamming against a shut door that neither of them closed.

????: everyone's in the kitchen, right?
ARTI: no, what the actual fuck are you
????: no time to explain it more than once. come on.

Then she starts striding down the hallway. Arti hurries after her, blindly praying that the worst is not about to come to pass. They almost miss it, but they also notice that the young woman makes no sound as she crosses the floorboards. Arti goes to comment, but before they can say anything, the young woman's already in the kitchen.

????: hey, guys!!
DAN: Uh
MARI: Um
CHRISTINA: uhh
ENFUIR: xX oh fuck Xx
ARTI: please tell me... that...
ARTI: oh no.

They're all still in there, all still standing around the kitchen like everything's completely fucking okay. They all blink at the young woman in bewildered incipient terror.

DAN: Arti, what the fuck is this.
ARTI: i don't know, i...
ARTI: why did none of you move??
BURNEI: Th&ts... we...
BURNEI: I dont know. We just... didnt?

The young woman steps further into the room, shaking her head. There's a kind of weird energy about her.

????: seriously, don't worry.
????: i kept trying to tell arti over there, but did they listen?? of course not.
????: please tell me the rest of you are gonna be less obstinate.
????: because like i said, there's not much time.

Mari steps forward, trying to angle herself to act as best she can as a barrier between the young woman and the trolls. In one hand is a frying pan, and she makes no show of hiding it.

MARI: Then fucking talk. If you do ONE thing out of line, though...
MARI: I wont hesitate to knock your lights out bitch.
????: jeesh, fine! duly noted.

The young woman rolls her eyes, almost like she isn't quite taking this seriously. Like she hasn't busted in on one of the largest illegal harbouring of trolls within the city limits.

????: look, i'm on your side. my whole shitck being here is to help accelerate the collapse of the crocker regime.
CHRISTINA: youre with the rebels?
????: something like that, yeah.
FELLNA: > Mystery woman: How did you know about us? ==>
????: the details aren't important. you wouldn't get it anyway.
????: i just knew, okay?
AQUINI: what about
????: the government? no, they don't know anything yet.
????: they will by tomorrow, though. shit will hit the fan big time.

Arti clenches and unclenches their fists as a cold sweat breaks out. Their mouth is so painfully dry.

BURNEI: & how the fuck do you know th&t?
????: like i said, i have my intel. i know some lore, to borrow a parlance that means jack fuck to any of you.
DAN: Um, okay...
AQUINI: so why are you [HERE]?
????: because everything goes to hell in this city tomorrow, no matter what.
????: and the eight of you are too important to the greater scheme of things to die here and now.
ENFUIR: xX hold on Xx
ENFUIR: xX what the fuck do you mean “die”? Xx
????: you'll find out soon enough.
????: but the gist is, my job is to get you guys out of here before it's too late.

It's... some kind of bombshell, that's for sure. A mysterious woman, impossibly appearing out of nowhere and boasting to offer salvation. It barely feels real. Like some crackpot delusion spawned from their collective desperate fugue.

ARTI: but how is it gonna get that bad that fast?
ARTI: the war's not even started, and that's even if there's gonna BE a war.
????: quick question for you all.
????: how many of you have been keeping an eye on the consort kingdom?
MARI: The consort kingdom?
????: that is what i just said, yes.
DAN: Well, no. Why would we?
????: because if you had, you'd know that crockercorp's spent the last 24 hours systematically firebombing every single settlement in the kingdom out of existence.
FELLNA: > [S] Wait, what? ==>

The young woman looks up to the ceiling for a moment, expression unreadable.

????: yeah. it's pretty bad. don't need me to tell you what this means.
AQUINI: that crocker's officially [LOST HER SHIT]?
????: it's the beginning of the end.
????: but it's the way things go.

At that, she almost looks sad. Almost.

MARI: Cute story, but why should we trust you?
MARI: Like, who the fuck even are you?
????: right, yeah! should probably introduce myself properly.
CARA: my name is cara. and as i said, i'm your ally.

The woman, whose name is now known to be Cara, gazes around at each person again. She is totally calm, despite the horrible things coming from her mouth. Arti almost feels afraid of her.

MARI: And how can we be sure of
CHRISTINA: shes telling the truth

Christina stands in the kitchen doorway, having apparently left to retrieve her phone. Her expression is miserable.

CHRISTINA: youre totally right
CHRISTINA: bunch of consort villages wrecked by crocker ship
CHRISTINA: half of em moving onto the troll kingdom
CHRISTINA: other half bound for home
CHRISTINA: fuck
CHRISTINA: fuck!!!

Christina starts to cry a little as she finishes scrolling through whichever news feed she's getting her information from. At this sight, Cara's expression softens.

CARA: this was inevitable. i'm sorry.
CHRISTINA: how the hell are you so calm??
CARA: like i said, i know some things. about the bigger picture, i mean.
CHRISTINA: what bigger picture??? its all just death
CARA: i... i know.
CARA: but trust me, please.
CARA: we don't have the time to argue right now.

Cara glances down at her own phone again. Arti tries to steal a glance, but it just looks like a blank white screen from where they stand.

ENFUIR: xX fine Xx
ENFUIR: xX so what should our next course of action be? Xx
FELLNA: > Cara: elaborate. ==>
CARA: sure.
CARA: okay, so

She brings her hands together, and her expression is painted with a knowing kind of determination.

CARA: right now, there's a five-mile blind spot corridor from behind your house to the highway beyond the city limits.
CARA: for the next two hours this one region will be totally unmonitored.
CARA: this gives us exactly enough time to get out of the city, if we leave right now.
CARA: if we don't go, all eight of you will be dead before sunrise.
CARA: there's a rendezvous point a few miles outside the city, a kind of safe house.
CARA: from there, i'll let you know further about your role in protecting the timeline.
ENFUIR: xX the timeline? Xx
CARA: you'll understand soon enough, but only if we all leave right this minute.
CARA: none of you guys realise just how important you're going to be. we can't lose you yet.
CARA: so please, trust me.

For an incredibly long minute, nobody speaks, nobody moves. Then, Burnei steps forward.

BURNEI: Look, I think h&lf the shit you s&id is bullshit.
BURNEI: But I do know th&t were on borrowed time & th&t this city is &bout to go to shit.
BURNEI: & even if &ll you c&n offer is s&fe p&ss&ge out of here, well...
BURNEI: Th&ts better th&n &nything else weve h&d so far, so...
BURNEI: Ye&h, were in.

He speaks decisively in a way that leaves no room for doubt, not when he spells it out like that. It's all confusing and terrifying and downright fucking weird, but Cara's offering a way out of the city. They'd be idiots not to take up her offer. The worst that happens is that they all die, but they've been doomed for so long anyway.

ARTI: ...yeah, yeah, i'm gonna trust you. fuck, i'm gonna trust you.
DAN: Not like we have many options, right?
AQUINI: i think she's the [ONLY] option, really.
CHRISTINA: no matter how you put it we need to get out of this city
ENFUIR: xX it cant really be much worse than where we are now Xx
FELLNA: > Cara: I'll follow you. ==>
MARI: Fuck, what else can we do?
BURNEI: Were in &greement id s&y. C&r&, youd better be right.
CARA: thanks, guys. you don't know how much this matters.

She breathes out a sigh of relief, appears to psyche herself up, then points straight ahead of where she's standing. Arti still has a million questions about her, about what she's been saying, about literally everything, but they've been roped into the kind of situation where they have no choice but to let the flow of fate pull them along for the ride. Something's really weird, but who are they to argue?

CARA: so then... let's go.

And with that, Cara walks out of the kitchen, and they all follow her into the unknown.

Chapter 13: (one), section (iv.)

(iv.)

 

KARKAT: SWIFER, OVER HERE.
SWIFER: Sure! What is it boss?

Swifer Eggmop drops the box she's been carrying on the roadside and trots across the town square to where Commander Vantas stands alone amidst a pile of impressive looking military tech. He leans over a chugging generator that comes up to his waist, looking intently at an old-looking laptop hooked up to it from behind a pair of glasses. He doesn't wear them in public, obviously, but trying to look at a flickering screen through one unprotected eye is just asking for a migraine to happen. It's a scene Swifer's seen more than once back at the old base, where Vantas believes his own hype to the detriment of both his health and Kanaya Maryam's patience. Now that they're out in the open, he seems to have taken the hint.

Once he notices Swifer's approach, he lifts his head. His face is heavyset and grave, but still oddly youthful beneath the stress lines, the eyepatch, and the weird stubble thing he has going on. He never received the boon of immortality that his fellow creators were blessed with, so that's just what he looks like. Hard to imagine he has five years on Swifer.

KARKAT: THERE'S BEEN AN UPDATE.
KARKAT: SEEMS CROCKER'S INTENT ON STICKING TO HER ONE-DAY ULTIMATUM.
SWIFER: Golly gee! What makes you so sure?
KARKAT: THIS.

He motions to the laptop. It currently displays some kind of radar, full to the brim with threatening spork-shaped blips closing in on the centre. The sporks in question being the Crocker army, and the centre being the city of Outglut^2. Swifer's never been combat-deployed, but she can understand that much.

SWIFER: Well, pardon me for stating the obvious, but this seems like pretty bad news boss!
SWIFER: Except...

She pauses, glancing at the screen, then the cityscape around her bathed in the glow of the burning barrels placed before each dead streetlight. She was a countryside girl, then spent most of her life from her teen years onwards in the caverns shuffling the mother grub across the globe, but the sight of urban troll architecture still twangs at something inside of her. That communal thread that ties all trolls together. That innate knowing that this is representative of her people. Or something. She's far from stupid, but a lot of the big stuff's been a cut above her paygrade.

SWIFER: I'm just simply the one who swifs the floors boss.
SWIFER: Why do I need to be privy to this intel?
KARKAT: SWIFER, DON'T UNDERSELL YOURSELF.
KARKAT: YOU'RE ONE OF THE MOST TRUSTED MEMBERS OF THE REBELLION.
KARKAT: SECOND TO ROSE AND KANAYA, IF I'M BEING PAINFULLY HONEST.

He runs a hand through his hair, brushing against the chip in his horn. Swifer doesn't fail to notice the exclusion of a certain matesprit of his.

SWIFER: Really boss?
KARKAT: YOU'VE BEEN HERE FROM THE START, SINCE BEFORE THE WORLD WENT TO SHIT.
KARKAT: WHEN JANE CROCKER WAS STILL JUST AN ANNOYING SHITHEAD AND NOT AN ACTUAL FASCIST ORCHESTRATING THE GENOCIDE OF OUR PEOPLE.
KARKAT: I'VE LOST A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE OVER THE YEARS, SWIFER.
KARKAT: SOME LEFT, SOME BETRAYED ME, AND SOME...

It's slight, but he flinches a little. The aftermath of the report from the Liberty scouts is still raw and painful. Swifer's not one to pry into her boss's personal affairs, but... everyone knows the history. Everyone knows how much he must be hurting.

KARKAT: BUT NOT YOU, SWIFER. YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN HERE BY MY SIDE.
KARKAT: AND I CAN'T JUST SAY THAT ABOUT ANYBODY, UNDERSTAND.
SWIFER: Well boss, I sure am flattered that I've earned your trust like that!
KARKAT: AND THAT'S WHY I NEED YOU.
KARKAT: I NEED SOMEONE I CAN TRUST WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT.
SWIFER: And that's me?

Karkat nods.

KARKAT: LIKE IT OR NOT, THE REALITY IS CROCKER'S GOING TO HIT HARD FOR OUR STUNT YESTERDAY.
KARKAT: WE NEED TO FIGHT BACK IN EVERY WAY WE CAN.
KARKAT: SHE'LL ALMOST DEFINITELY TRY TO EITHER RECAPTURE OR DESTROY THE CITY AND ITS FOUR MILLION RESIDENTS.
SWIFER: Cripes!
KARKAT: I DO HAVE A PLAN TO STOP HER, THOUGH.
KARKAT: THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN.
SWIFER: I see...

Swifer looks around behind her. At the end of the street is a temporary tent offering food, shelter, and medical assistance for the citizens in this block. There's a similar set up every mile or so within the city limits providing relief to a much-downtrodden population. A population that's survived the worst hardship Earth C has ever seen. Swifer knows war, but even she can scarce imagine every last face here either dead or imprisoned by the regime. It's all so much bigger when you're actually on the ground.

SWIFER: You're really sure Crocker's gunning for oblivion boss?
KARKAT: ALMOST DEFINITELY.
KARKAT: WE WERE IN CONTACT WITH THE CARAPACE AID NETWORKS IN THE NORTHERN CONSORT KINGDOM, EARLIER.
KARKAT: THEY UNANIMOUSLY REPORTED CROCKER SHIPS TESTING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ON REMOTE VILLAGES, BEFORE THEY ALL WENT DARK.
KARKAT: TAKE A LOOK, BUT I'M WARNING YOU, IT'S GODDAMN UGLY.

Karkat clicks onto another tab on the laptop. Swifer leans in and immediately wishes she hadn't. It's the charred remains of what looks like it once was a riverside turtle fishing village. There are a few scattered piles of brick that might have been buildings, but the earth around it is scorched pitch as far as the eye can see. And amid the desolation, countless bits of charred bone and carapace spread around like the scatter of a dropped bowl. She feels her dinner lurch several times over.

SWIFER: Sweet mercy. That's... that's despicable.
KARKAT: AND ALL THOSE CORPORATE TOYS ARE BOUND RIGHT FOR US.
SWIFER: This is just... boss, what the fuck?

Karkat folds his arms. He doesn't have anything reassuring to say. This is pretty much a worst-case scenario right here. This is Crocker playing dirtier than any of them wanted to. The time for optics must be over, then; she's curried total favour with the Human Kingdom and has no need for the other three. The brutality is dizzying, and if there was any part of Swifer that wasn't radicalised years back, it is now.

SWIFER: So what do we do about it?
KARKAT: LIKE I SAID, THERE'S A PLAN. WE'RE GOING TO
MEENAH: H---EY, THR-E-E ----EY-ES!

The conversation is interrupted by a couple of motorcycles pulling up with a terrible screech. The first one is disembarked by one Meenah Peixes, armed with her trident and gun and no actual protective driving gear, as opposed to the drivers of the other two bikes. She swaggers up to Karkat and wraps her arms around his neck. The glint of her Ring of Life glows brighter than the rest of the jewellery she's adorned with.

MEENAH: tf you geeking out about
KARKAT: NICE TO SEE YOU TOO, MEENAH.
MEENAH: i ever tell you how much of a dork your seein goggles make you
KARKAT: ONLY EVERY TIME YOU SEE ME WEARING THEM.

Karkat takes off his glasses and stuffs them in his sylladex. He also takes a step away from Meenah, frosty despite her obvious affection. His bare eyes glow a downright imposing shade of crimson in the night.

MEENAH: hey cmon i never said they made you look ugly
KARKAT: NO ONE SAID THAT.
MEENAH: J-E-ESH youre cichlid tonight
SWIFER: Cich
MEENAH: cichlid frigid COD the fuck is WRONG with yall
SWIFER: Is that even how you pronounce
KARKAT: HEY, REMEMBER LIKE FIVE YEARS BACK WHEN YOU SWORE OFF FISH PUNS FOR LIFE??
MEENAH: nope 38)
KARKAT: WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD.

Karkat massages his temples and quirks his mouth down in a snarl. Meenah isn't wrong. He's been testy since this afternoon. Since the call from his scouts. Since Jade Harley broke the worst news Karkat could hear. Swifer purses her lips and bites down a ripple of worry. Karkat's not stopped since then in a clear move to avoid having to acknowledge the fresh grief, but she's concerned he's going to burn himself out.

MEENAH: aight cool anyway
MEENAH: got the guys you wanted

Meenah jerks her thumb back to the two trolls standing by their bikes: a tall, willowy burgundyblood woman and a stout violetblood with a curled lip and a chunk taken out of one of his fins. Swifer blinks. She doesn't know either of them, which is understandable given the size of their army, but it does surprise her to see two unknowns being personally summoned by the top brass.

LEILIA: (omman|)er Vantas
ASPHAN: you wanted ush?

Karkat takes in a breath, sizing up the two of them. Meenah sidles up to him as he scrutinises, towering nearly a head over him. It would be cute if their relationship was actually good and healthy, and not the weirdly uncomfortable thing that it actually is.

KARKAT: RIGHT, YES.
KARKAT: HOW BRIEFED HAVE YOU TWO BEEN ON THE SITUATION?
ASPHAN: i mean we shaw the broadcasht if thatsh what youre ashkin
LEILIA: An|) I (an probably assume (ro(ker's retaliation is setting up to be rather nasty.
LEILIA: But if you're asking for a more “in the loop” perspe(tive, then... (an't really say we have one.
ASPHAN: yeah were jusht shome guysh and not any kind of shtrategishtsh
KARKAT: OH.

Karkat blinks in clear surprise. Then he turns to Meenah with a frown.

KARKAT: HEY, I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO BRIEF THEM ON THE MISSION.
MEENAH: shrug 38/
MEENAH: was gonna get rownd to it probubbly eventunally
KARKAT: SO YOU CHOSE NOT TO.
MEENAH: well yeah ok!!
MEENAH: i cba to start blabbering on aboat military shit when we were cruisin on sick as fuck cycles
KARKAT: SO WHAT, YOU JUST INVITED THEM ON A BIKE RIDE WITHOUT OFFERING ANY KIND OF FUCKING EXPLANATION?
LEILIA: Well, we weren't even offere|) the ri|)e.
LEILIA: She more or less hel|) us at tri|)ent point an|) tol|) us to get the fu(k on or else.
KARKAT: YOU'RE KIDDING.
KARKAT: MEENAH, PLEASE TELL ME SHE'S KIDDING.
MEENAH: eh??

Meenah gives a non-commital half shrug. Karkat rolls his eyes and massages a vein pulsing near his temple.

MEENAH: yo dont give M-E that attitude
MEENAH: im just the bad bitch that likes krillin shit
MEENAH: and youve been mobey as all fuck today so im so fuckin sorry if i didnt listen to any more of your self pitying backwash than i absolutely had to
KARKAT: LOOK, I
KARKAT: MEENAH, THIS IS A COORDINATED CONTRACTED PEOPLE'S WAR AGAINST THE ESTABLISHMENT.
KARKAT: THIS IS NOT YOUR DEADLY BAD BITCH POWER FANTASY!!!
MEENAH: coulda fooled me given how much of a lame ass youve been
KARKAT: GOD, COULD YOU *PLEASE* BE USEFUL FOR FIVE FUCKING SECONDS!!!!!!

Karkat and Meenah are both practically snarling at each other now. This kind of hostile display's become more of a common sight in recent months, but it's never been as bad as it is today. Swifer frowns. Thank fuck Crocker cut the power to the city so the cameras aren't working. This is enough to demoralise the whole movement if it got out.

SWIFER: Um, boss, if you want, I can explain to them
KARKAT: NO!!!!!
KARKAT: NO, FUCK, SORRY, SWIFER. I'VE GOT THIS. I'VE GOT THIS.
KARKAT: SORRY. IT'S BEEN A ROUGH DAY.
LEILIA: Uh, no worries, boss?
KARKAT: NO, SERIOUSLY, I CAN AND WILL DO BETTER.
KARKAT: OK, ANYWAY, DOWN TO BUSINESS.

Karkat shakes his head and sets his expression to one more suited to that of a grizzled guerilla leader.

KARKAT: AFTER OUR AIRWAY HIJACK YESTERDAY, THE SITUATION HAS UNDERSTANDABLY ESCALATED.
KARKAT: SEEING HER PRIZED CLOWN REDUCED TO A MEATPULP HAS LEFT JANE CROCKER FUCKING PISSED.
KARKAT: SO IT SEEMS SHE'S MAKING GOOD ON HER TWENTY-FOUR HOUR THREAT.
KARKAT: WE'RE NOT GIVING UP THE CITY, SO THE CORPORATION'S GOING TO HIT BACK HARD.
KARKAT: THE BATTERHAG SPENT THE BEST PART OF YESTERDAY TESTING OUT JUST HOW WELL HER PRETTY LITTLE BILLION BOONDOLLAR WARSHIPS PERFORM AT TOTAL DECIMATION ON SEVERAL HAPLESS RURAL CONSORT SETTLEMENTS IN A SHOW OF FORCE THAT'S FUCKING NASTY EVEN BY OLD ALTERNIAN STANDARDS.
KARKAT: AND THAT FLEET OF TRIGGERHAPPY AIRBORNE WARCRIMES IS BOUND RIGHT FOR US.
KARKAT: IT'S PRETTY FUCKING CLEAR SHE'S AIMING FOR TOTAL DEMOLITION. NO SURVIVORS.
KARKAT: BUT WE HAVEN'T JUST BEEN SITTING ON OUR ASSES AND SCRUBBING CLEAN CORPORATE ICONOGRAPHY. WE HAVE A PLAN TO FIGHT BACK.
ASPHAN: and that plan ish?

Karkat motions to a large-looking container across from the laptop and generator. It looks like some kind of explosive device. There's a smaller copy of it sitting atop the first. In the limited light, Swifer can't quite tell what she's looking at.

KARKAT: THESE.
KARKAT: DEFENSIVE FORCEFIELD GENERATORS SALVAGED FROM OLD SKAIAN TECH.
KARKAT: THIS SHIT'S POTENT ENOUGH TO PROTECT AN ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM FROM PLANET-SIZED METEORITES OVER A SPAN OF SEVERAL DAYS. IT'LL EAT CROCKER'S NUCLEAR FLAMETHROWERS FOR FUCKING BREAKFAST.
LEILIA: Holy shit?
MEENAH: so THATS what you were fucking about with on the fuckoff massive alchemiter?
MEENAH: you reely went and reverse engineered reckoning defense tech?? damn shouty thats impressive
KARKAT: WELL, A LOT OF THE STUFF *WAS* LEFTOVER JUNK IN MY SYLLADEX FROM A BOTCHED STRATEGY IN THE BLACK KING FIGHT THAT WAS JUST KIND OF TAKING UP SPACE FOR THE LAST DOZEN SWEEPS.
MEENAH: and you S-EARIOUSLY never cleaned your junk out at any point?
KARKAT: THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT.
KARKAT: WHAT MATTERS IS THAT ONCE THIS THING'S HOOKED UP TO A LIVE POWER SOURCE IT'LL POP UP A FORCEFIELD AROUND THE CITY THAT WILL REDIRECT ANYTHING THAT HITS IT INTO THE DEEPEST FUCKING RECESSES OF SPACE AND TIME.
SWIFER: Woah! But, boss...
SWIFER: Why two of them?
KARKAT: I'LL GET TO THAT.

Karkat starts to pace up and down as he talks. Now that he's got going, he's much more like himself. But Swifer can still see the cracks in the facade. It's worked now, but will it work the next time?

KARKAT: AS I SAID, THIS THING NEEDS A LIVE POWER SOURCE TO ACTUALLY WORK.
KARKAT: AND EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE FASCIST FUCK DID US THE SWEET COURTESY OF RIPPING THE ENTIRE CITY OFF THE GRID.
KARKAT: SO FOR THIS TO WORK WE'LL HAVE TO TRANSPORT THEM TO THE NEAREST ACTIVE POWER STATION.
KARKAT: FOR US, THAT'S A RELAY STATION ABOUT A MILE NORTH OF THE CITY THAT ALMOST DEFINITELY FEEDS ENERGY TO THE LOCAL CAKE MILL.
KARKAT: HOWEVER, GOING THERE TO TRY SOMETHING IS EXACTLY WHAT CROCKER EXPECTS US TO DO. THERE IS NO DOUBT THERE'S AN AMBUSH OR A TRAP OF SOME KIND WAITING FOR US THERE.
SWIFER: So what do we do then?
KARKAT: SEE, LUCKILY FOR US, NOT ONLY IS CROCKER A RAGING XENOPHOBE, BUT SHE'S ALSO A FUCKING IDIOT.

Karkat comes to a stop, slapping his hand against the larger generator.

KARKAT: THIS THING NEEDS A CONSTANT *LIVE* POWER SOURCE.
SWIFER: Which you've said...
KARKAT: AND WHAT IS IT THAT A GOOD TEN PERCENT OF ALL TROLLS CAN INNATELY DO?

Swifer thinks about it for a second. Then she understands.

SWIFER: Oh! Oh!!! Oh that's genius boss!!!
KARKAT: WE HAVE A PLATOON OF OVER A HUNDRED PSIONICS STATIONED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE CITY. COLLECTIVELY, THAT'S MORE THAN ENOUGH JUICE TO KEEP THIS THING RUNNING FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS STRAIGHT. LONGER, IF WE TAKE INTERMITTENT BREAKS.
KARKAT: THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT CROCKER EXPECTS US TO DO SOMETHING.
KARKAT: IF WE DON'T TRIGGER HER TRAP, OR DRAW HER ATTENTION SOMEHOW, SHE'LL GROW SUSPICIOUS.
KARKAT: AND *THAT* IS WHERE YOU ALL COME IN.

Karkat then motions to the smaller generator.

KARKAT: WHILE I TAKE THE GENERATOR SOUTH, YOU THREE WILL TAKE THE DECOY GENERATOR AND HEAD NORTH.
LEILIA: |)e(oy?
ASPHAN: but whysh it sho big
KARKAT: BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT'S WHAT CROCKER EXPECTS TO SEE. SOME BIG FLASHY DEVICE THAT SHE CAN CONVENIENTLY GUN DOWN.
KARKAT: IT'S ACTUALLY A HOLLOW METAL CONTAINER SO NOTHING WILL HAPPEN IF SHE *DOES* TRY AND ATTACK IT.
KARKAT: BUT IT SHOULD KEEP HER DISTRACTED LONG ENOUGH FOR THE REST OF US TO SET UP THE REAL DEAL.
SWIFER: And you want *us* to give her the runabout? Why were we chosen though boss?
KARKAT: BECAUSE WE NEED LOOKALIKE TROLLS TO GO WITH THE LOOKALIKE DEVICE.
SWIFER: Look... alike?
KARKAT: YES, TWO TROLLS SIMILAR ENOUGH IN STATURE TO MEENAH AND MYSELF, TO DUPE CROCKER EVEN FURTHER. ASPHAN, LEILIA, YOU TWO ARE THE CLOSEST MATCH.

Swifer takes another look at the newcomers. Now that Karkat's said it, she can't help but immediately notice the similarities. Proportion-wise, they're almost a dead-ringer for the two, even down to similarly shaped and sized horns. Of course, up close it all falls apart, but from a distance you could easily mistake the pair for Karkat and Meenah.

KARKAT: I TAKE IT YOU TWO ACCEPT THE MISSION?
ASPHAN: courshe commander
LEILIA: With honour. I am always rea|)y to |)o my part for this fight.
KARKAT: GOOD.
SWIFER: Well, they make sense, but... it still doesn't explain my role, boss.
SWIFER: What am I to do?
KARKAT: YOU, SWIFER, NEED TO BE YOURSELF.
SWIFER: Oh?

Karkat takes a step towards Swifer. His face, hardened and troubled, is still painfully earnest as he addresses her.

KARKAT: SWIFER, YOU ARE ONE OF MY OLDEST AND CLOSEST ALLIES, A FACT THAT EVEN JANE CROCKER KNOWS.
KARKAT: SEEING YOU HEADING NORTH WITH THE GENERATOR ALONG WITH THE BODY DOUBLES WILL ADD A LAYER OF AUTHENTICITY TO THE RUSE.
SWIFER: I see, but... are you not walking your closest ally right into a trap boss?

Karkat cracks a rare confident smile.

KARKAT: DON'T WORRY. I WOULDN'T PUT YOU IN ANY REAL DANGER.
KARKAT: HERE.

He reaches into his sylladex and pulls out three identical items – small single-button devices attached to a fibre pendant. He passes one to Swifer, then the other two to Leilia and Asphan.

KARKAT: SINGLE-USE PORTABLE TRANSPORTALIZERS. ACTIVATE THEM EITHER WHEN THE BARRIER GOES UP, OR WHEN YOU FEEL YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER.
KARKAT: THEY'RE PROGRAMMED TO SEND YOU TO THE SOUTH-SIDE BASE.
KARKAT: I WANT YOU ALL BACK ALIVE, OKAY?
SWIFER: Understood, boss.

Swifer nods furiously, slipping the device around her neck. She nervously fiddles with it, considers the possibility of activating it too soon, and swiftly reconsiders.

KARKAT: YOU'LL TAKE THE BIKES AND FOLLOW THE MAIN ROADS NORTH. THERE'S A PATH CLEARED FOR YOU UP TO THE CITY LIMITS.
KARKAT: FROM THERE, THE HIGHWAY SHOULD TAKE YOU TO THE RELAY STATION. DRIVE AROUND IT BUT DO *NOT* DISEMBARK ANYWHERE NEAR IT, UNDERSTOOD?
LEILIA: Got it.
KARKAT: THERE ARE STRAPS ATTACHED TO THE DECOY GENERATOR. ASPHAN, YOU'LL BE WEARING IT AS YOU DRIVE.
ASPHAN: hear you loud and clear
KARKAT: MEENAH AND I WILL TAKE THE REAL GENERATOR AND HEAD TO THE RENDEZVOUS ON FOOT. YOU'LL KNOW WHEN THE FORCEFIELD IS ACTIVATED.
KARKAT: AS SOON AS YOU SEE IT, ACTIVATE YOUR TRANSPORTALIZERS.
KARKAT: DO NOT ENGAGE THE ENEMY UNLESS STRICTLY NECESSARY, HEAR ME?
SWIFER: Roger!
KARKAT: NOW GET GOING. CROCKER WARSHIPS HAVE AN ETA OF SIXTY MINUTES. THE FORCEFIELD WILL BE READY IN THIRTY.

Mission handed out, Swifer and the others board their respective motorcycles. Asphan wobbles a little, trying to adjust to the huge empty crate on his back, but he flashes a thumbs-up a few seconds later.

LEILIA: We're |)eparting now
ASPHAN: ready to go
SWIFER: Yep! See you soon boss!
KARKAT: REMEMBER, STICK TO THE PLAN.
KARKAT: AND...
KARKAT: STAY SAFE, OK?

With that last bit of advice, the three take off. The bikes are pretty powerful things, gliding through the city streets with the ease of a jet. They practically drive themselves. As Karkat said, the main north road is free of any barricades or obstructions, but Swifer does spot supplies outside of quite a few hivestems, probably ready to be deployed the minute they're out of the city. It somehow reassures her, even though if all goes well they won't need it. The streets themselves are pretty empty, too, but whether that's down to a direct order or just coincidence isn't clear.

Swifer dares to glance back behind her. They've turned a few corners by now, so the square she was at isn't visible any more. Still, she casts her mind to Karkat and the seed of doubt rolling around in her stomach. It's not a lack of faith in the plan, per se – she's been around long enough to know all about the impossible powers of Skaian tech – but rather a nagging worry about the wellbeing of the revolution's leader. Despite the gruff charisma and tactical genius, there's something genuinely sad and lonely about Karkat. It doesn't need saying what the cause is. Swifer just hopes he addresses this heartache instead of running away from it for another decade.

LEILIA: Gate's up ahea|).
ASPHAN: roger

The radio in Swifer's headset crinkles with chatter. She looks up in front of her and sees the large reinforced gates that make up the city's northern border. It's a recent invention by Crockercorp to stifle free movement of the people and keep a rather downtrodden population in place. No doubt it's also there to prevent wandering eyes from sniffing out the cake mill that lies hidden somewhere in the nearby region. Not even the revolution's located it yet, but after hearing the whispers about what goes down in there, they're determined to do so more than ever. But before they can even begin to liberate the political prisons stroke labour camps, they have to secure a safezone. Tonight is the proving moment for that.

ASPHAN: requeshting acceshsh on directive from commander vantash

In response, there's a squelch of affirmative through the comm channel. The gate slides open with a laborious effort that betrays how they were never designed to be reopened once shut. A skeleton staff of two guards waves the party through the checkpoint, clenching their guns just that little bit tighter. The whole city's on edge. Even if they don't know the specifics, they know something's coming.

The three of them hit the highway two minutes later. Behind them, the northern gates are shut once more. Swifer looks around, almost dizzy at the amount of open space cast under the moon's hazy glow. The majority of her life's been spent either underground or indoors. Seeing the entire world unfold before her inspires a sense of awe that takes her right back to her years as a young teenage brooding apprentice when she laid eyes on the mother grub for the first time. In front of her, the road seems to stretch on forever, and to her side, fields of grass rise and fold well into the blanket of night.

SWIFER: It's all so big.
LEILIA: The troll king|)om *is* the se(on|) largest (ontinent, so I imagine it is.
SWIFER: I know, but, golly, I've never seen it in the flesh like this!
LEILIA: Really? And you're, what, fifteen sweeps?
ASPHAN: shhesh one of the attendeesh of the mother grub of courshe shhesh not been out in the world much
ASPHAN: right?
SWIFER: Y-yes, that's correct.
SWIFER: But good grief are you whippersnappers making me feel old with all that talk!

Sometimes she still feels like the girl who'd swif the floors with all her heart, when her biggest worries were whether or not she could swif away the fuchsia brooding slime before it left too nasty a stain. Hard to think that that was so long ago. By no means is she old, even by rather frail human aging standards, and in terms of a troll's lifespan she's barely even getting started, but right now she's feeling each year like a ton-weight on her chest. She doesn't long for an imperfect past, but she does fervently wish for a better future until her stomach aches. What gets her down is just how long they've all been at this fight for, and how long they may yet be fighting for still.

LEILIA: Oh, (ome on, you're so tight with the (reators that you might as well be immortal by asso(iation.
ASPHAN: yeah shay corny old shhit like whippershnappersh all you like it doeshnt make you old
SWIFER: Well you seem to have got me there!
LEILIA: Lol.

Swifer laughs through her mic. It's almost dizzying how good it makes her feel. Takes the edge off the nerves that have been eating at her on the inside.

LEILIA: ETA of five minutes before the relay station |)rive-by.
SWIFER: Roger.
ASPHAN: jeeshh whatsh taking the commander sho long

Asphan swivels his head back to snatch a glance at the city. With the lights out, it looks so looming and imposing, a sharp reminder of the fortress architecture that guided Alternian architecture. They've been driving for a while now, and it doesn't seem to have shrunken at all.

SWIFER: I'm sure boss is nearly ready to get things going right...
SWIFER: Around...
SWIFER: ...Oh shit.

Without warning, she sees them. Emerging from the blanket fold of the night, a fleet of crimson warships that mark the sky like bleeding pockmarks. She can see maybe a dozen or so of them circling the outside of the city, spork cannons aimed inwards.

LEILIA: Trouble up ahead, too.

Swifer turns her head around. In the sky ahead of them she sees even more ships drifting towards Outglut^2. Over the roar of her bike engine, Swifer can't hear anything, but even if she could she would hear nothing. Crockercorp has done nothing if not perfect human stealth tech. The ships are only uncloaked to make an impression.

SWIFER: That sure is a lot of

Then Swifer realises that Leilia was not talking about the warships. There's a strip of spikes on the asphalt that she doesn't notice right up until the moment when all three of them have their tyres blown out. The bike wobbles and screeches out of control for a distance of maybe a hundred feet before flinging Swifer off it and to the ground. She skids along the road for a few seconds longer, flopping and spinning and coming to a very sore heap just outside the relay station.

SWIFER: Ah... ouch.

It takes a few slow and painful seconds before she can pull herself upright. She sees Leilia staggering to stand, using her bike as a crutch and clutching her left arm in a worrying way. A little further ahead, Asphan writhes helplessly atop the crate like an upturned crab.

SWIFER: Is... is anyone seriously hurt?
LEILIA: Fu(k, my shooting arm's wre(ke|).
SWIFER: I... I think I'm good. Probably gonna bruise like a rotten fruit but everything's still working.

She lets out a grunt of pain as she stands to her feet. Okay, maybe she's overextending the definition of bruising to the pain in her back that tries its darnedest to suck the breath out of her, but the point still stands. She's not dead, and she can move.

ASPHAN: shomeone
ASPHAN: pleashe
ASPHAN: little help
SWIFER: On it.

Swifer hurries over to where Asphan flails around as fast as her body permits it. Poor guy's suspended a good three feet off the ground, suspended by the straps around his shoulders. Swifer reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a folding knife. She makes quick work of slashing the straps in half. Asphan flops off the crate and hits the ground with a sharp grunt. Swifer extends him a hand to grab onto as he stands up. He's bleeding from one nostril and there's a ring of bruises on one half of his face, but other than that he doesn't seem much worse for wear.

ASPHAN: fuck thanksh
SWIFER: Don't mention it.
SWIFER: Anyway, we gotta help Leilia. Think she's in a bad way.
ASPHAN: shhit yeah letsh move

Asphan and Swifer jog over to Leilia, who's shuddering with the exertion of just standing. Her face is scrunched up in in agonised wince that makes it clear there is something very wrong.

SWIFER: Hey, Leilia, how you holding up?
LEILIA: I—I'm
LEILIA: Fu(k, I think my leg

She doesn't finish. From a mile down the road, there's a soft imploding pop, and then all three watch in awe as a pulsing bubble of light expands to wrap around the city at the exact moment that the warships open fire. Just as Karkat said, the flamethrowers and bombs and missiles and whatever else is in Crocker's arsenal are all swallowed up by rapidfire spirograph portals that gulp them down then vanish, distributing them who the fuck knows when and where. Right above their heads, a single column of fire ricochets between two portals before disappearing.

ASPHAN: holy shhit
LEILIA: It's—it's beautiful.

Asphan's mouth is agape as he stares at the fireworks erupting over the city. He wraps one arm around Leilia as he stares at the rebellion's living miracle, bearing as much of her weight as he can. Swifer can't peel her eyes away from it either, staring haplessly as the colours and lights flicker and glow and die and pulse and start again and the skyscrapers beneath the dome remain wholly untouched. It's so absorbing, it's like watching a universe birth before her eyes, enthralling in a way that makes nothing else matter.

*bang* *bang*

Until, abruptly and sharply, it suddenly does again.

It takes two clean shots from behind with a little handgun to kill Leilia and Asphan. They crumple like paper into a puddle of tangled limbs awash with red and purple. Swifer lets out a horrified yelp, spinning around as she blindly draws her own handgun, inwardly fuming because how the fuck did she forget about the relay station

JANE: Harumph! I should have known Vantas was too much of a coward to face me directly. Of course the skittering fool would send lackeys.
SWIFER: Y
SWIFER: You!!!

Impossibly, terribly, it's Jane Crocker herself that strides from the shadows of the relay station, dressed in a bulletproof variation on her trademark crimson power suit. She twirls a little pocket pistol and her face is flat with boredom and disappointment.

JANE: Hi deary. Broomstick or somesuch, right?
SWIFER: You just!! You just killed them!!
JANE: Why, I would like to hope so! We are opposing soldiers in a war.
SWIFER: B-but!! But!!!! Why are you even out here!!!
JANE: Oh, yes. I suppose I can indulge you for a moment, before you no doubt tuck your tail between your legs and scarper back to your dear fearless leader.
JANE: Of course, there was the chance the troll himself would make an appearance tonight, but I never counted on it.
JANE: To be honest, I just wanted to see the spectacle from the ground level, hoo hoo! :B

Swifer's mouth goes dry, and she very nearly flings herself at the woman before she remembers the transportalizer sitting against her collarbone. Desperately, violently, she pulls it out, slamming her palm against the button hard enough that her knuckles crack. Nothing happens.

SWIFER:
JANE: Hm. You really think we wouldn't imagine to deploy a few good old fashioned EMPs the moment we noticed you barrelling, well beyond the speed limit might I add, towards us? My, my, what a rookie mistake!
JANE: Seriously, where does he get off thinking this is an acceptable way to raise an army?

Swifer takes less than a second to calculate her next move. She lets out a desperate, feral roar, and flings herself in Jane's direction, everything else be fucking damned.

SWIFER: RRAAGHH!! DIE!!!!! DIE!!!!!!!!!!
JANE: Now, we'll be having none of that.

Jane raises her gun. It will take her two seconds to fire the shot. Swifer will be on her in one and a half. Trolls' teeth are sharp. She can tear out Jane's jugular before Jane can push her off. No doubt at all the death will be Just.

Except, the shot that gets Swifer doesn't come from Jane. It comes from a sniper stationed on the relay station roof. A single shot, straight through the back of her neck, severing her spinal cord. Swifer's mouth parts in shock. She pukes out a single gob of jade blood that smears across Jane's suit, then she collapses to the floor, suddenly unable to move her body, unable to do anything but look up at Jane's disdainful, hateful, evil face in the oscillating lights of warfare.

JANE: Such a shame. You made darn good tea.
JANE: Well, an eye for an eye. A comrade for a comrade.

Jane tuts, puts one hand on her hip, and uses the other to point the gun downwards. She pulls the trigger.

Mercifully, Swifer doesn't feel the bullet kill her. Instead, what she feels is everything else, all the war and light and noise and colours and mayhem, feels it all wash together in a nauseating spiral, coalesce in a screaming peak of infinity, and then collapse into the dark.

Chapter 14: TWO, section i.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Violence (Section 5, section 6)

Just gonna say that the day this chapter goes up (2020/10/07) is the one year anniversary of Omelette Route! Happy birthday to Omelette Route! Crazy to think how this story evolved from a simple Junefic to the beast it's becoming today.

i.

 

John Egbert returns to his old house for the first time in nearly a week with something equating to heaviness sitting on his chest. He drives his dad's old car, or some version of it, and the last set of house keys rest in his shirt pocket. A lot has changed in his life in just a few short days, but this old wound aches fresh as the day it was made.

Harry sits beside him, fiddling away at his phone. He's running a masking app sent courtesy of the revolution to allow them to travel under the radar like this, and also texting his girlfriend at the same time. But when he sees that they've stopped, he lifts his head up and looks at John.

HARRY: we're here?
JOHN: yeah.

Harry cranes his head to glance out the windshield. An oddly neutral expression crosses his face as he looks at John's old house.

HARRY: so this is where you used to live?
HARRY: like, this is actually a house older than our entire universe?
JOHN: yep. did i really never take you here before?
HARRY: no, you didn't.

Harry lifts his phone and snaps a pic of the place. Somehow, this curious indifference on his son's part gives John the courage to make his next move.

JOHN: how long did you say we have?
HARRY: staying in one place gives us about thirty minutes before we're detected.
JOHN: a half hour. got it.
JOHN: you coming with?

John's not sure what exactly he feels when Harry shakes his head.

HARRY: nah. i'll hang back in the car.
HARRY: gonna try calling vris again to get to the bottom of some of the weird shit she's been saying.
JOHN: ah, ok then.
HARRY: i also think this is a stupidly dangerous thing to do, dad.
HARRY: we could've been at the rendezvous point by last night.
JOHN: yeah, i know, but i owe them to try once more.
HARRY: just don't take too long.

With the end of that conversation, John opens the car door and sets his feet on solid ground for the first time in nearly fifteen hours. He's spent longer periods of time in the air over the course of the last few decades of life on Earth C, but this time he feels some of the tension balled in his body scatter down into the asphalt. They've spent the best part of the last two days skirting across the continent, stopping only for as short as possible and only for the most essential of reasons to keep totally incognito. Since dipping out of the Human Kingdom, they didn't dare stop again until they reached their destination, in one of the most grueling and stressful journeys of John's life. It felt like they'd never get here, and yet... He swallows and looks up at the house. It seems to stand infinitely tall, the phantom Skaian obelisk looming down over the phantom thirteen year old boy. In the scheme of everything, Sburb feels like an ancient wound. But it still bleeds.

The house itself is pretty much untouched from when he was last here. No sign of any spying, snooping, or surveillance that wasn't already going down. For better or worse, they overestimated Jane's vested interest in her husband and son compared to her vested interest in committing war crimes over in the Troll Kingdom. But assaults like that seen last night can't be sustained. Eventually she'll be bored enough to use them as some kind of political leverage, or take advantage of the fact that Jake's defection is still a secret, or something. He feels it deep down that this is Jake and Tavros's only chance to get out of dodge before ending up under the corporate bootheel.

To John's relief, the front door is locked. He notices the curtains around the front room are drawn shut, but he does see the flicker of the television screen playing off the fabric. It's such a mundane image, but it feels wrong seeing it from the outside, from within this specific house. Unseen ghosts crawl over his skin like a million black holes have opened up inside his body. It's the same as it's always been, yet so very fundamentally different in a way he can't quite articulate.

John goes to knock on the door then remembers the keys in his pocket. He fishes them out, slots them in, and steps out of the morning light and into the shade of the entryway.

JOHN: hello? jake? tavros? it's me.
JOHN: it's john.

He doesn't get a response. His voice doesn't really carry over the blaring of the consort news channel and the ragtime music that fills every inch of the house. The walls hum with the acoustics and he can barely think. It's so loud that there's definitely zero chance of a listening device picking up anything. It's a surprisingly paranoid move from Jake English, who at the best of times can't be counted on to willingly see past his own nose.

But it doesn't pose much of a problem for John. He rolls out a small breeze that loops around the house, picking up on any exchange of breath within the building. He senses two sets of lungs working away directly above him, one full and brash, one pulsing out in soft whispers.

JOHN: i'm coming up!

He knows they won't hear it, but he's struck by the sudden urge to speak out. Like all the noise in the house is filtering back through itself to produce an empty, nullifying silence. The kind of silence that only exists on the knife's edge terminus of the universe. He barely feels stable in his own skin as he floats up the stairs towards the respiratory beacons.

The breeze takes him to a room at the end of the upstairs hallway. A door that's remained shut for all the years that he's been on this planet. His father's room, like a lot of things, is one of many demons John meant to face but never did. He kept the door shut as a kind of buffer between himself and the unprocessed grief churning away like tar. Somewhere in the marriage and the misery and the swamp of ennui the moment to deal with it passed. The door doesn't fill him with what it used to when he was spending the best part of his early twenties fermenting in the room across the way, but it fills him with something else. A kind of strangeness at the idea of encroaching on a long-dead domestic partiarch's territory. A sense that this is a place to which he doesn't belong.

John has the sense to realise it's not some kind of self-induced mythologising of this living space as an untouchable realm. He knows it's just a room. He knows it's just him bringing the baggage. Jake and Tavros are talking away on the other side of the door. Harry Anderson is waiting anxiously outside. The world is bigger than whatever hangups this old house induces in him.

He shakes his head and strains to listen. He can't quite make out what Jake and Tavros are saying on the other side of the door. Jake sounds animated. Tavros sounds cautious, but also more invested than John's maybe ever heard the boy. Maybe they've finally had a breakthrough in their terse sixteen-year-long father and son relationship. It twists at John, leaving him feeling... something.

With a deliberately steady hand, John pushes open the door to his father's old room. Jake leans back on the bed, chatting with a series of animated hand gestures. Tavros sits at the work desk, phone in hand, listening attentively. He notices John first, snapping his head up with a small gasp.

TAVROS: U-uncle john!
JOHN: heh, hi, tavros. jake.
TAVROS: Sorry for, flinching like that, uncle john,
TAVROS: You simply managed to sneak up on me, in a totally undetectable way,,
JOHN: i mean, given all the noise, it's no wonder i managed it.
TAVROS: My apologies, uncle john,
TAVROS: Father and i figured, following the events of last night,, that mother,,,
TAVROS: That she would absolutely, activate any latent listening devices,, to further her aims,,
TAVROS: It is a precaution,, against having our sedition, end up being detected,
JOHN: huh. that's... actually really smart of you, tavros.
TAVROS: Thank you,, i was inspired by,, all the years, of living in mother's gated community, and evading the watchful eye,, of a terribly persistent jester,,,

Tavros does that sad little wince that he does whenever he reminisces on the myriad traumas rattling around his poor brain. John thinks back to what Harry told him about Gamzee's sticky hand in the boy's upbringing and beyond, and feels his empty stomach lurch.

TAVROS: Which is, um,, funny to consider,, given g,, uncle gamzee's,, apparent demise,

His face contorts in a strange way. John thinks he might be trying to laugh.

TAVROS: H-ha,, ha ha,, i sure am experiencing,, a great deal of complicated emotions,, at the news of his passing,
TAVROS: Emotions which, i am certain, i should not bother you with, uncle john,
JOHN: hey, no, that's... if you want to talk, i am more than capable of listening.
JOHN: also, i'm pretty sure there are therapists in the rebellion, so i can ask rose and kanaya to find someone to help you?
TAVROS: The,,,?

Tavros's eye's go wide. Whoops. Guess that's a bombshell dropped right there. Meanwhile, Jake is still prattling away, none the wiser to events going on literally only like three feet away from him.

JAKE: So like i said tavvy id wager theres a good bet that jane never fixed that gaping hole in the drones armour for “budget expenditure” reasons, so when they come a knockin we should be able to
JAKE: Erm tavros are you even still listening??

Jake looks up from his fiddling hands and notices John standing there. When he does, he very nearly leeps out of his skin.

JAKE: Jeepers christmas! John! When did you get here?
JOHN: yes, hi, jake. i've been here for, like, maybe five minutes? literally talking to tavros?
JOHN: how did you NOT notice me?
JAKE: My bad old sport you know how i get when im waist deep in some good old fashioned machinations!

John doesn't, considering that this past month is the first time he's really had anything to do with Jake in almost thirteen years. But he nods anyway.

JAKE: Suppose that proves you to be the superior man of this house eh john? Bet you could snuff out every twitch down to the precise floorboard!
JOHN: ha ha, um... yeah. ok.

The way Jake says that sends a funny little stab down John's chest. Maybe it's the spectre of the last man of the house lingering, a strange insecurity that screams at him he'll never match up to that kind of role. Lest anyone forget, for all his recent epiphanies, John Egbert has still not sought out professional help.

JOHN: anyway, i came here for a reason.
JOHN: as you probably definitely know, harry anderson and i are now officially rebels.
TAVROS: I see,, i mean, i already heard about it, but it's strange, to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to speak,
JAKE: Yes it is mighty surprising given your total noncommital stance vis a vis the general political situation.
JOHN: well, we have harry to thank for that. the crocker drones hunted him for his connection with “known rebels” so i didn't really have much of a choice.
JAKE: Of course! A mans gotta do whats best for his boy right??
JOHN: ...right.

John breathes out, letting another wave of awkwardness wash off him like a wind shear across his shoulder blades. Yes, he's defected to protect Harry, but has he really earned back the right to be the boy's father? Do either of them even want the textbook father-son relationship? He doesn't know. These aren't really questions to be considering at this precise moment in time.

JOHN: so anyway, after a bunch of things happening, harry and i got in touch with the rebellion. we were given a time and place to rendezvous later on today.
JOHN: i'm here, because, well... i'm asking you two to join us. to defect, officially.
TAVROS: To,,,?
JAKE: Eh? Join the rebels?

Jake stands up, shaking his head. He's always so much larger and beefier than John remembers him to be. Probably due to the fact that for the longest time Jake was the weak simpering yes man to the Crocker agenda. How long has it been since the man stood on his own two feet?

JAKE: Johnnyboy i dont know if the extended time spent six thousand above has rattled your noggin but...
JAKE: Tavvy and i are absolutely top candidates for the rebel hit list! I understand were certainly enemies of janes by now, but i dont know that wed be much safer among the revolutionaries!
TAVROS: He does raise a good point, uncle john,
JOHN: i know, i get that, totally. but you'll be with us! and besides, it's jade and rose and everyone! i'm sure they'll forgive you.
JAKE: Erm, well, john. Do you actually know what i *did*?
JAKE: John i was responsible for hundreds of state sanctioned televised executions pretty sure that makes me a war criminal.
TAVROS: And i was, certainly poster boy, for the regime's propaganda films, for a long time, so,, my face, kind of, has connotations,,,
JOHN: and?

Jake and Tavros stare at John in astonishment.

JAKE: What do you mean “and”??? John the only fate for a man like me among the rebels is a bullet to the skull!
JOHN: huh. you've changed your tune from when we spoke the other day. if i recall, you were all for joining the cause.
JAKE: Yes well... Ive been ruminating on the matter and its not as simple as id like it to be.
JAKE: Mainly i fear for my boys safety. I dont care what they do to me but tavvy doesnt deserve to be put in harms way.

His eyes burn with a fierce devotion that John has never seen before. He gets the sense that something has shifted within Jake on an internal level.

JOHN: look, jake, i... i know them. WE know them. i also know that any revolution would be colossally stupid to not take advantage of the enemy's own family defecting.
JOHN: you and i both know that jane's only gonna escalate, and do you really trust her to be kinder on tavros than karkat would be?

It's a low blow, but it makes its mark. There are shadows in both their eyes that speak of horrors John can only begin to fathom.

JAKE: ...Shit john you know how much i desire to well and truly stick it to jane at nearly any cost. Youre right. Youre absolutely right.
JAKE: I should have more faith. Im jake friggin english for crying out loud! Having excessive faith in stuff is basically my entire thing!
JAKE: Hoo by gum before i reconsider it im gonna say it! Im in!
TAVROS: I also,, think that, if my immediate safety is guaranteed, the rebels,, will certainly be the most appealing offer, of the two,,
TAVROS: And i think, that i would like to prove, that i am my own person who, unlike mother,,, actually developed a sense of empathy, toward the plight of the oppressed,,,
TAVROS: Even if,, nothing is directly my fault,, someone in this bloodline, has to assist in the reparations efforts,,

They both look at him, determined. John smiles.

JOHN: yeah! that's the spirit!
JOHN: now, i already floated the idea to rose, so there shouldn't be too many awkward questions.
JOHN: harry's waiting in the car parked out the front, so we should get back to him and go

He's interrupted by a sudden harsh buzz in his pocket that cuts through the ambient din of Jake's counter-surveillance measures. He fishes his phone out and sees the name of a contact on his screen he'd never have expected in a million years.

JOHN: jade??
JADE: john

Her voice is flat. Immediately a swelling feeling of dread rises up in the pit of his stomach.

JOHN: are you ok?
JADE: no im not
JADE: john look theres something i have to tell you
JADE: i have really really bad news
JOHN: jade?

The line goes quiet for a second. All he can make out on the other end is crackled sniffing intermixed with the occasional dog whine. He looks up and exchanges a troubled look with Jake. Then Jade gets back to him.

JADE: its about dave

Chapter 15: TWO, section ii.

ii.

 

Attending funerals is awkward. Attending the funeral of an estranged sort-of family member you never really knew in the middle of an active warzone is even worse. It's the permeable sense of sadness in the air, the way you feel it wash over your skin with an unpleasant flush, but the way it never truly enters you. It's the way it feels to be the only person dry-eyed at the wake.

Dave Strider-Harley's burial takes place in a small church about fifty miles out into the Troll Kingdom's countryside. Formerly a place of worship for practising members of the creed of the Sufferer, the windows are now blown out and the inside looted of any holy artifacts, and there aren't nearly enough pews for all the mourners to take a seat. These are not the same grounds that the passing of his ecto father, and the passing and subsequent unpassing of the alt version of his wife-turned-cherub god, occurred. There is no air of ceremony in this tiny place. But the congregation carries an air of solemnity to it all the same, perhaps the most gravity out of all the funerals so far.

Tavros Crocker stands at the back of the church, watching on uncomfortably as Rose Lalonde opens the eulogising with a speech that falls somewhere between heartfelt rhetoric and over-indulgent poetry. He sees his father and his uncle John shedding tears somewhere near the front. Jade Harley openly howls into Kanaya Maryam's mourning blouse. The sorrow is palpable among the tiny congregation of Earth C's brightest and greatest. He never knew Dave beyond hazy memories of the man attending childhood birthdays and his occasional appearance on television. He can't say he feels the gravity of the loss any more than any other passing stranger's death. His mother never had a kind word for those who turned their backs on her, and at the end, Dave Strider-Harley was as much a state enemy as anyone else.

Even more prominent is the absence of those closest to him. Unlike the last Strider funeral, only five of Dave's friends managed to make it. And even then, at this point Jake English was little more than a complicit enemy in the Crocker regime. Karkat Vantas is otherwise too occupied on the front lines of defending Outglut^2 somewhere to the north, and the last two of Earth C's gods, Roxy Lalonde and Calliope, are nowhere to be seen. It's sad and quiet and desperate to see such a great man laid to rest in a tiny hollowed out church carcass among a literal handful of friends.

ROSE: “Just as certain as the sun's ascension is the fact of its own extinguishing”, wrote Dave in his textual epic “sweet bro and hella jeff: this time the story book edition”. Never before has his own prose felt so apt, and yet, so haunting.
ROSE: He was so much to all of us. A brother, a husband, a friend. His presence was that which one could not help but take for granted, as sturdy and as reliable as the clock's ticks betwixt the tocks. And yet, our Knight of Time found that which defines him so terribly cut short. And I...
ROSE: I...
ROSE: Forgive me a moment, friends.

Rose pulls out a handkerchief to dab at her tears. Her expression remains flat and stoic, mouth in a precisely cultured straight line. She does not sob, but only because she is too much in control of her emotions to allow such a thing.

KANAYA: If You Need A Moment Dear We Can Take Five Minutes
KANAYA: This Ceremony Is Only Between Us I Am Sure None Would Begrudge An Intermission
ROSE: No, Kanaya, I...

Rose waves a hand and smiles sadly.

ROSE: God, look at me. Crying at Dave's funeral of all places.
ROSE: This is hardly an ironic sendoff for a man self-proclaimed to be poisoned by the stuff. He... this isn't in the spirit of what he wanted. This is not how my own brother, my own flesh and blood...

But it's a weak effort. Rose Lalonde starts to cry again, loud and heavy and undignified. He hasn't thought about it before, but Tavros notices that Rose is the only one of her family left standing in the room. Two of the four Strilondes are dead. The third missing. Never before has such a powerful woman looked so lonely.

The crying spills out into an affair that lasts for one, for two, for five minutes. It's an infectious dirge that hums among the mourners, a kind of character-breaking sound that shatters all under the pressure of the grief. It's been so long since Tavros saw anyone cry in earnest that he isn't sure what to do. Luckily, he isn't the only one.

HARRY: hey, tav...
HARRY: this is kinda awkward to watch.

Harry Anderson Egbert leans against the cracked wall a few feet away from Tavros with a flinching frown and folded arms. He's dressed in the same outfit he's been wearing for the last couple of days, ever since his daring escape from the authorities. Tavros looks at himself. Neither of them are really dressed for a funeral, so to speak. Then again, after John's phone call, it all happened so quickly. Suddenly Jade Harley was there teleporting the four of them (plus Egbert family car) to this tiny church in the middle of nowhere, and they were all filed in for the unexpected funeral.

TAVROS: I, understand, why you'd think something like that,
TAVROS: But, harry anderson,, was he not, a cherished family member to you, too?
HARRY: that's...

Harry looks to one side. His face is conflicted.

HARRY: i dunno. yeah i saw uncle dave for birthdays and holidays and stuff, but...
HARRY: he was always just kind of “there”. mom didn't really let him have much time with me, like she was almost kind of scared of me getting close to the other gods.
HARRY: like... i'd be protected from the political situation if she kept me away from its major actors. which... yeah.
HARRY: anyway. i can't say what i had with him qualifies as any kind of relationship. he was just a sad weirdo relative i saw on and off until we moved in with jane.
HARRY: so, like, objectively it's sad, but... it's not MY loss, you feel me?
TAVROS: I, suppose, you make a certain amount of sense,,
HARRY: besides...

He glances over to the gaggle of sobbing adults. His expression sinks further.

HARRY: seeing them all like this, in this level of emotional pain, kind of blows?
HARRY: like, they're all sad, but there's nothing i can do to improve things, and i definitely don't like how that one makes me feel.
HARRY: not gonna lie. it's pretty damn awful seeing dad torn up to shit over the death of like his longest standing friend. but then i see him there and i just...
HARRY: well, we kind of made up, but i still have so much baggage there that i don't even know where to begin sorting it all out. then i look at him again, standing there with jake, and i...
HARRY: then all i think is why the fuck isn't mom here? she loved uncle dave more than anything, and she's not...
HARRY: look, if i'm gonna be honest, i feel a lot of things that i'm pretty sure are absolutely contradictory towards people whose positions in my life i always took for granted. it's weird and not at all what i signed up for.

Harry lets out a sigh. He furrows his brows, then looks up to Tavros.

HARRY: so... yeah. i'd rather get out of here.
TAVROS: I mean, what you're saying does resonate, rather clearly,
TAVROS: I, too, have a variety of feelings, with varying degrees of complexity, towards everyone else presently in this room,, blood relatives certainly included,,,
TAVROS: Only, would it not be,, disrespectful to the deceased,,, to just walk out on a funeral?
HARRY: i dunno. pretty sure dave wouldn't give a shit. guy used to be cool about stuff like that before he became depressed and also majorly estranged from us.
HARRY: it just feels like we really don't belong here.
TAVROS: Well, i wouldn't say that i especially don't feel like, a fish out of water,
HARRY: i mean, if you wanna stay, that's fine, but i'm heading out. you can come with if you want.
HARRY: but if you wanna stay and watch the funeral, then be my guest.

Harry motions to the front of the room, to where Rose, Jade, and Kanaya are apparently all standing hand in hand with tears flowing freely down their cheeks.

JADE: even now when i look at his coffin i just...
JADE: i want to rip it open and scream at him until he tells me why he had to leave me
JADE: but i know im not getting a response from him
JADE: i know hes never gonna say anything to anyone again
JADE: ive never loved and hated someone so much at the same time
JADE: all i want is closure but theres not even that
JADE: daves dead and thats all there is to say on the matter :(
JADE: whine

Jade nearly crumples to the floor, but the firm grasp of the Maryam-Lalondes is the only thing keeping her in place. The ordeal shows no sign of lightening up, or stopping, any time soon. Tavros looks back to Harry.

TAVROS: Well, erm, upon further consideration,
TAVROS: I think it would be the best course of action for me, to accompany you outside, to a place that is definitely not this place,
HARRY: ok, cool.
HARRY: let's go.

Harry takes the lead, pushing open one of the church's large double doors with considerable effort. It creaks and groans with every inch it moves, but the procession up front pays it no heed. Tavros slips out through the doorway amid the chorus of misery, followed swiftly by Harry. The door slams shut behind them with a bang that causes Tavros to flinch something terribly, but does nothing to dissuade the mourners.

Outside, it's one of those warm-ish days where the air is still and a layer of almost-white clouds chokes the sky. There's a tiny parking lot next to the church, occupied solely by the Egbert sedan, a large billboard-esque sign advertising the church with a scorched chunk taken out of it. and a dirt road that winds down the hill towards the nearest settlement. Tavros has never been in the Troll Kingdom before. It looks so similar, yet so different, from that which he knows.

Harry walks over to the car, pulling out his phone as he does so. Tavros nervously trots after him.

TAVROS: So, erm, what is it, that you plan to do?
TAVROS: Since, knowing you, i am highly skeptical, that it is to just wait out by the car until it is all over,,
HARRY: well, you'd be right, then, tav.

Harry lifts his phone to show a wall of text in varying shades of blue.

HARRY: i've been in touch with vrissy. she's the one who got us in with the rebels, you know.
HARRY: pretty cool of her, right?
TAVROS: Well, it certainly seems like, a thing she would boast to be capable of doing,
HARRY: so anyway, we were all meant to meet up, like, earlier on. but then dad decided to take you and jake along for the ride and then, well... you know. the funeral and stuff.
HARRY: so the plan's changed, obviously.
TAVROS: I can see that,
TAVROS: So, harry anderson, what is it that's going down, now?
HARRY: ok, so.

Harry raises a finger as he gets into the whole dramatic narration bit.

HARRY: it's definitely kind of complicated to explain, and also vris hasn't told me all the details,
HARRY: but she's met up with a bunch of, like, really high profile rebels? or “incredi8ly Epic Heroes” in her words.
TAVROS: Uh huh,,,
HARRY: we were originally gonna meet up with her and these heroes or whoever, then meet up with her moms and join the rebellion that way. but then uncle dave went and died.
TAVROS: That's a way,, of putting it,
HARRY: so now they're gonna come to us. vrissy's moms sent her a transportalizer code for cavalreap so we can all meet up after the funeral.
TAVROS: Cavalreap,,,?
HARRY: uh, yeah. the town that's like, an hour down the road?

As if to emphasise his point, Harry motions to a sign on the other side of the road. It's written in Alternian, obviously, but beneath it the words are translated as “CAVALREAP – 66 MILES EAST”.

TAVROS: I see,
TAVROS: Sorry, harry anderson, but me not knowing about the troll kingdom, didn't stop from being a thing that happened, or anything,,
HARRY: well, ok, whatever. the point is, that's where vrissy's gonna be waiting for her moms to get her.
TAVROS: And i'm assuming right, that you wish to get there first, and meet her there?

Harry gives a droll smile.

HARRY: tavros crocker, if i didn't know better, i'd say we were vaguely-defined relatives who grew up together.
TAVROS: Um, well, you did always tend to sneak out of the estates, like, every night,, so this is kind of an established pattern for you,
TAVROS: Except, erm,,
TAVROS: How do you expect to travel to a town,, half a hundred miles away, in any kind of expedited manner?

Harry looks at Tavros like that's the stupidest question he's ever heard. For one instant, seeing a pair of icy-blue eyes look down on him with admonishment sends Tavros to a place he'd rather never be. If he focuses in the right way, he can still hear the phantom echoes of the screams reverberating throughout the Crocker mansion. He shakes his head to snap himself out of it, but it leaves him with a slimy feeling pooling in his stomach.

HARRY: uh, drive there, of course??

Now this catches Tavros by surprise.

TAVROS: Drive?
TAVROS: But, uh, harry, you can't do that?
TAVROS: Neither of us learned to drive, on account of the fact that we always had crockercorp chauffeurs, to handle such matters,
HARRY: no, no, i did learn.
TAVROS: Really?

Harry nods. He looks at Tavros again, but this time his expression is sadder. Sad for whom Tavros can't say.

HARRY: yeah. my mom paid for lessons for me a little after we moved out.
HARRY: in the wake of... everything, she thought it would be best to give me as much independence as possible.
TAVROS: Huh,
HARRY: i'm not, like, THE best driver in the world or anything, but i passed my test with a decent enough score.
TAVROS: You can take a test, to learn to drive?
HARRY: that's just about the saddest thing i ever heard get said.

Tavros blinks at Harry's odd expression. He feels like he's being pitied. It's not a comfortable feeling.

HARRY: anyway, yeah. that's the gist of it. drive down to cavalreap, meet up with vris, do some cool rebel shit.
HARRY: you still in?
TAVROS: Well, i,,,
TAVROS: I may have, a concern or two, about this scheme of yours,
TAVROS: Namely, how are we to drive down there, when all we have is your father's vehicle,
TAVROS: A vehicle to which, he has the means of access for,
HARRY: oh, don't worry about that.

Harry reaches into his pocket again, and pulls out a set of car keys that he twirls around one finger. Tavros raises an eyebrow.

TAVROS: Did you steal those?
HARRY: nah. turns out mending a broken relationship with your estranged dad gives you the bonus perk of being trusted enough with the spare car keys.
HARRY: so all i need to do is aim, and...

He points the keys at the car, pushing the button on top. With a clunk, the car unlocks.

HARRY: open sesame. we're in business, baby.
TAVROS: So we're just going to, commit grand theft auto?
HARRY: c'mon, tavros! we're already rebels! doing crimes is, like, our thing now!
TAVROS: I don't know,,, this seems, kind of sus,,
TAVROS: Also, aren't occupied towns and cities, within the troll kingdom, subject to intense human militia presence?
HARRY: oh yeah this is absolutely dangerous as fuck. but that's what makes it so cool!
HARRY: i mean, if you want to wimp out and hang back with the adults, that's your call. i'll be sure to let vrissy know, too.

That sends a rush of warmth through Tavros's face.

TAVROS: No, you can't,
TAVROS: She already mercilessly ribs me, for the most minor of things, as it is,
HARRY: then come on! show her that there's actually a cool bone somewhere in your body!
TAVROS: I mean, when you put it like that, your case of intense peer pressure is, mighty persuading,,,
TAVROS: Ok, i'll come with,,,
HARRY: sweet!
HARRY: seriously, i promise, this is absolutely a good idea. you'll see.
TAVROS: ,,,

With that said, Harry and Tavros swing into the driver and passenger seats of John Egbert's car, respectively. Harry starts up the ignition, and with all the expertise of a teenager who's only had a license for less than six months, pulls them out of the parking lot. They trundle along the dirt road at a speed almost certainly above the limit, heading downhill into the desolate countryside valley and towards the town of Cavalreap further beyond even that. All too quickly the church disappears into a speck behind them, until even the funeral itself feels like a hazy doubt on Tavros's mind.

The landscape is empty. Wind skims the absences keeping the ravaged fields apart as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, an occupied casket inside an abandoned house of worship. A familiar note is produced. It is the one the universe produces to keep its subordinates in place. Tavros leans against the window as Harry drives them onwards into the unknown with all the bravado of youthful naivety. Whatever matters for the two of them, it lies not behind them, but still further ahead.

He has a feeling it's going to be a long day.

Chapter 16: TWO, section iii.

iii.

 

VRISSY: Okay, so, I have Confirm8tion that Harry and Tavros are En Route.
VRISSY: ETA of somewhere around One Hour.
VRISKA: They got away that easily?
VRISSY: Yeah, O8viously. It's just a Funeral. You can, like, walk away with 8asically No Consequences.
VRISSY: Also Harry just stole his dad's car, which expedited things Considera8ly.
VRISKA: Huh. That was... surprisingly competent of them.
VRISSY: It was Literally Just Some Carjacking that anyone could have done. Man, Vriska, how low are your Standards?

Vrissy chats away in one corner of the room, hands glued to a smartphone that hasn't needed a charge despite near-constant use for nearly three days now. She also remains looking as pristine and immaculate as she did the first day she encountered her ancestor. Vriska, meanwhile, listens along as she works to rig up the inner wiring of the transportalizer pad in the middle of the floor. Thick grease runs up to her elbows, splashing stains of black on top of the blue and purple that adorn her rolled up shirtsleeves, and her hair is an absolute fucking mess. Turns out trying to rig a device from three universes ago to teleport inside the current reality is kind of not an easy task.

SOLLUX: 0k c00l still d0n't care ab0ut y0ur stupid wacky teen adventures.
VRISSY: 8luh, 8luh, Can It Old Man.
SOLLUX: hm n0pe still d0n't give a fuck.
VRISSY: Then why are you even still talking to me!!!!!!!!

Sollux floats a cool, disinterested five feet away from Vrissy, sour and crackling like the world's most bitter lightbulb. Vrissy rolls her eyes at him, but the two have developed this weird, sort of bitchy camaraderie over the last couple days. For someone who loudly professes to not care one drop about anything in this crapsack irrelevant world, Sollux sure is invested. Either that or he's decided antagonising a sixteen year old is a better use of his time than actually helping Vriska prep the transportalizer.

VRISSY: Still, fucking sucks that Uncle D8ve is, like, Dead.
VRISSY: How the hell does a guy like him Kick the 8ucket out of nowhere like that?
SOLLUX: hell if i kn0w. guy died after the muse st0pped gawking at the timeline.
SOLLUX: d0es it matter?
VRISSY: Yeah, kind of! He was a Depressed Loser, sure, 8ut he was a crucial pu8lic figurehead in the Re8ellion.
VRISSY: Also, a God Of Earth C dying isn't really a Thing anyone ever expects to happen.
SOLLUX: 0h c0me 0n this is the sec0nd strider t0 die in this timeline wh0 the fuck is surprised.
VRISSY: Dirk Strider was Different, though. He just str8 up killed himself. D8ve, meanwhile, died under Totally Mysterious circumstances in the middle of the Jungle.
VRISSY: Also, well,
VRISSY: He mattered A Lot, to my Mom. ::::/ So I have some Weird Feelings a8out his death?

Vrissy tries to pass it off as cool, but there's a tension to her eyes that indicates how out of her depth all this kind of stuff is. Despite her spunky attitude, she's still some sheltered kid. It still weirds Vriska the hell out to think the two of them share a common genetic base. Alternia would have eaten this girl alive.

VRISKA: If it helps, you quickly get used to people dying.
VRISKA: 8y this point, I've completely lost count of the amount of people I've seen die or dou8le-die or some other asinine com8in8tion of those things.
VRISSY: Not Really? Just shows me how fucked up your old life on Alternia was.
VRISKA: I was mostly talking a8out Sgru8 there, 8ut I guess your point stands.

Vrissy gives a conversational “mm” as Vriska bends down and sticks her hands back into the transportalizer. She's been working off a schematic Vrissy had Kanaya send her to try and rewire this thing to accept that it's inside Earth C. Vriska was never the robotics girl or the hacker girl back in the day, but she's savvy enough with electronics to passably work her way through it. That said, at the rate she's been working it might have just been faster to make their way to the rendezvous via normal vehicular means. On the bright side, unlike the last intricate mechanical project she was in charge of maintaining, a lot of this is just about rewiring components to other rewired components, and nobody ends up on the floor screaming in agony if she misses a connection. Vriska's mostly surprised herself that she's still got it.

VRISSY: How's it going down there, Anyway?
VRISKA: I think I'm pretty much almost there.
VRISKA: Just a couple more wires to go, then I think I have the inside looking like the schematic.
VRISSY: Good. 8ecause there's No Way I can show up l8ter than Harry and Tavros.
VRISSY: Do you know how uncool that would make me?
VRISKA: Enough to 8e outshone 8y a pair of dwee8y human 8oys????????
VRISSY: ::::|

Vrissy doesn't respond to that, suddenly interested in her phone again. If she's trying to appear cool before her ancestor, she's not doing a good job. Heck, if Vriska was to meet Mindfang in person, she'd... uh, well. Actually, thinking about that topic hits a few raw nerves, worsened by the fact that some version of her met with some version of Mindfang and it ended with the absolute worst possible outcome. Maybe she should stay quiet inside her glass hive.

SOLLUX: haha, 0wned.
VRISSY: God, Old Man, shut it! You're doing a Terri8le Jo8 at exuding apathy!
SOLLUX: and yet y0u ch00se to engage with me. curi0us.
VRISSY: Hey, Vriska! Can you Hurry Up and Finish wiring that transportalizer already?
VRISKA: Yeah, yeah, to protect you from total em8arrassment, I get it.
VRISKA: Don't worry. Nearly... there........

Wire to wire, connection to connection. Final two, a set of knotted red and green things that snarl with leftover radiation from she's not even sure what. Jack Noir? Is this a Jack Noir thing, or a Lord English thing, or just a Sitting Around Unused On Earth C thing? Despite her unflappable coolness in the face of danger, Vriska was never one to keep track of the lore. Not like—

She shakes her head and slams the two cables together. With a shock that burns the length of her arms, the transportalizer spits to life. The runes atop it glow a soft white.

VRISSY: Whoa. Cool.
SOLLUX: meh. this is, like, what, the milli0nth 0ne 0f these i've seen?
SOLLUX: i've telep0rted in way c00ler ways than this.
VRISKA: Shut the fuck up you two, okay? I 8n't done just yet.

Vriska pulls her arms out from inside the transportalizer, and wipes the oil off from the open hatch. Beneath it is a kind of punch code display screen, used to link one transportalizer pad to another.

VRISKA: Needs the teleport code. What's the ID for the place we're meeting up at?
VRISSY: Oh, Cavalreap?
VRISSY: Should 8e “CAVALREAP-M” for the Municipal Pad, as is standard across Earth C.

Vriska blinks.

VRISKA: Wait, seriously?
VRISKA: You guys have a city named “Cavalreap”????????
VRISSY: Well, it's more of a Town, 8ut yeah?
VRISKA: Wow. That is may8e the stupidest n8me for a troll settlement I have EVER heard.
SOLLUX: but 0utglut squared gets a pass?
VRISKA: Outglut was a legitim8 city, so I forgive them that one. 8ut “Cavalreap”? Seriously? Come on!
VRISKA: These losers wouldn't know what the fuck a Cavalreaper was if they were caught unaware in the radiation helix 8y one!
SOLLUX: 0k why the fuck d0 y0u a) have that much kn0wledge 0n alternian military subdivisi0ns 0utside 0f y0ur caste and b) why the fuck d0 y0u even care.
VRISKA: 8ecause... 8ecause...

They're both looking at her like she's absolutely fucking insane. And okay, maybe she is a little. Something about this world is pushing her to the brink of total psychosis.

VRISKA: It just exemplifies how a8solutely stupid everything a8out this world is. Thank fuck this isn't the real timeline.
VRISKA: Anyway, let's set this 8ad 8oy for fucking Cavalreap, I guess...

Vriska wipes the grease from her fingers and punches in the code, doing on-the-fly captchalogue translations. By some stroke of luck she gets it right the first time; the light on the pad changes from an idle white to a ready green.

VRISKA: There we go. ::::)
VRISSY: And, uh...

Vrissy steps forward, pointing at the contraption with a raised eyebrow.

VRISSY: This will work?
VRISKA: Why wouldn't it?
VRISSY: 8ecause you crudely Reverse Engineered a 5000 Year Old transportalizer from Another Universe?
VRISKA: You know, sometimes you really do sound like Kanaya.
VRISSY: Hey! Don't say that! I'm Nothing Like my mom!
VRISKA: Then stop 8eing such a pedantic fussyfangs already!
VRISSY: Ugh, Fine! Whatever! I'm Totally Cool! Just Fucking Watch Me!!!!!!!!

Throwing her hands up in indignation, Vrissy charges for the transportalizer pad, vanishing in a flare of bright energy. Sollux turns to Vriska with a sour frown.

SOLLUX: y0u t0tally just used that brat as a lab0rat0ry trial r0dent, didn't y0u.
VRISKA: O8viously.
SOLLUX: even th0ugh y0u're literally an imm0rtal g0d and thus the best suited t0 g0 first.
VRISKA: Hey! Do you really have that little f8th in me????????
SOLLUX: abs0lutely. n0 questi0n.
VRISKA: God, Sollux! You used to 8e cool, you know! A surly jerkass, 8ut cool!
VRISKA: Now you're just a curmudgeonly fucker who refuses to admit several things have crawled up your chute and died.
SOLLUX: this is why i rati0ned the time i spent ar0und y0u t0 the bare fucking minimum.
SOLLUX: if we weren't w0rking t0wards a c0mm0n g0al i w0uld abs0lutely fucking ditch y0u.
VRISKA: You know what???????? Same here!!!!!!!!

This is how most conversations with Sollux go these days. Vriska's really beginning to understand why Aradia ditched him in this dump. She'd get tired of putting up with this shit for a few millennia, too.

VRISKA: Anyway, for that comment you're going next.
SOLLUX: 0h what the FUCK. n0 fucking way.
SOLLUX: i'm n0t m0ving until i see that y0u've n0t been vap0rized by this fucking death trap.
VRISKA: Sollux, you're fucking 8lind.
SOLLUX: whatever. y0u g0t the fucking meaning.
VRISKA: Also, I know that if I go 8efore you, you a8solutely will not leave this meteor, and will pro8a8ly sulk here until the heat death of this universe.
SOLLUX: and what ab0ut it. i never really gave a shit ab0ut whatever stupid scheme y0u're c00king up. why d0 y0u even care.
VRISKA: 8ecause you might 8e my only ticket out of here, that's why! I'm gunning for the 8igwigs, and I'm t8king every advant8ge I can get.
SOLLUX: i pr0mise y0u there is n0thing 0ut there that is less awful than right here.
VRISKA: D8N'T F8CKING S8Y TH8T!!!!!!!!

That strikes a nerve sharply enough that Vriska has to clutch at her chest with one hand as she shunts Sollux towards the transportalizer with the other, screaming all the while. Sollux barely has time to swing his head around in bewilderment before he's gone, too.

Vriska takes the few minutes she's alone in this meteor to collect herself, and by collect herself she means have a total fucking meltdown. She sinks to the ground, back against the wall, and rocks back and forth in irregular rhythm, pounding her fists against the corrugated ground.

VRISKA: AAAA8888GH! STUPID STUPID ST8PID!!!!!!!!
VRISKA: SO F8CKING ST8PID!!!!!!!!

The rage boils over for ten more seconds, before abruptly breaking into heaving sobs. It's like the pressure valve on the pent-up stress over the last few weeks or however the fuck long it's been has been jostled just a little. Vriska indignantly heaves and wails, coming dangerously close to puking. The rational part of her mind recognises that she has to control herself right fucking now, because if she lets the grief flow, she knows it'll never stop. And she has too much left to do before she falls apart.

In between an alternating dance of clenching her fists and punching the ground, the wall, even herself, Vriska manages to slip into her jeans pocket and pull out John's stolen phone. She stares at the picture on the lock screen and forces herself to breathe through her teeth. She makes a series of strained vocal utterances and bites a whole chunk out of her bottom lip in the process, but slowly, surely, she regains control.

She opens up the message log. It calms her further, a reassurance of what's waiting for her on the other side of all this. That this go nowhere shithole fucking miserable planet isn't all that's left for her. Her face burns. How the fuck could she be so stupid as to believe Sollux's blathering misery for even one fucking second???????? She is Vriska fucking Serket!!!!!!!! She's the badass hero of reality! Everything's going to fall in her favour in the end, because it has to. Because she won't fucking stop until it will.

Vriska breathes out the last of the tension and once again bottles the maelstrom of anguish tight as you fucking can. Then, she stands on legs that she refuses to perceive as shaky. She's got this. She's totally got this. And once more, she finds herself rapidly, but definitely not desperately, unlocking the phone and booting up the Pesterchum app.

AG: Man, you wouldn't 8elieve the shit that's happened these last couple days!
AG: I'm now leading some super-cool re8ellious mission to overthrow the r8gime spearheaded 8y Jane Crocker, so something of actual relev8nce m8y finally happen here! ::::)
AG: And, 8ecause I'm such an incredi8ly awesome leader, I even got Sollux on side. Who, 8tw, is still totally fucking fuming at Aradia for ditching him like that.
AG: So if you see her in your travels across the void, 8e sure to tell her kudos on dropping the dead w8! Lol.
AG: Anyway. I'm a8out to get this shit started 8y hopping over to some troll town in the sticks via a transportalizer – that I totally set up myself! - and meeting more of the grownup versions of our friends. Really hoping Rose and Kanaya didn't turn out as l8me as John did, 8ut I'm not holding my 8reath!
AG: Oh, and did you know that they n8med the town fucking “Cavalreap”?!?!?!?! Like, what the fuck! Who even told these losers a8out the old Imperial Army? I'm sure one of the fucking million Tavros ghosts will 8e amused 8y it or whatever.
AG: Also, apparently D8ve Strider's fucking dead? Which is as weird as it is totally pointless, given that this is an a8solutely irrelevant version of him. I'm sure he died in some ar8itrary and totally unironic way that will m8ke the real Dave laugh his ass off when I tell him!
AG: I gotta go get this mission started now. I don't need luck, 8ut I'll appreci8 your wishes nonetheless! :::;)
AG: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

The messages continue to be unread, but the act of throwing words down her one lifeline centres Vriska enough to get going. She's left Vrissy and Sollux long enough. With a deep breath, she takes a decisive step onto the transportalizer pad, and the meteor around her vanishes in a thrum of light that crashes against her skin like mildly radioactive surf.

And where she ends up is...

VRISKA: A mall?

Vriska blinks a few time as the world comes back into focus around her. She's standing on the ground floor atrium of a massive building lined with escalators, balconies, and various storefronts. A whole bunch of trolls, and some humans, swarm the floor en masse, clutching phones and paper bags like they're strife specibi. It's a dead ringer for a traditional Alternian mall, save for the fact the entire place is aglow in soft, inviting daylight.

VRISSY: Um, Duh???????? Where else would the municipal transportalizer 8e?

Vriska pivots around to see Vrissy and Sollux by a large, ornate water fountain. Vrissy sits on a bench in front of the water feature while Sollux looks up at an indiscriminate spot on the ceiling, mouth quirked in another frown.

VRISKA: I don't know! Somewhere more tactical to the re8—
VRISSY: !!!

Before Vriska finishes, Vrissy leaps from her seat and clasps a hand over her mouth. Vriska fights back the urge to bite in response. Vrissy looks up at her with an unusually steely gaze, softly shaking her head.

VRISSY: You can't Just Say Shit Like That out in the open!
VRISSY: The 8atterwitch has ears everywhere.

Vrissy pulls her hand away from Vriska's mouth. Vriska raises an eyebrow.

VRISKA: I dou8t that cl8im. They said the s8me thing a8out the Condesce on Alternia, and outside of a few stupid murderclowns, she didn't have half a clue a8out what was going down on the homeworld.
VRISSY: Ok, well First Of All this situ8tion is Nothing Like Alternia. You don't really need intense surv8llance in a lawless murderstate. 8ut if you haven't noticed, Earth C is Ruled 8y Capitalism.
VRISKA: What's capitalis
SOLLUX: f0r the l0ve 0f fuck PLEASE d0 n0t ask that questi0n. she w0n't shut up ab0ut the t0pic.

Sollux floats towards them, sparking crankily. Vrissy rolls her eyes at him.

SOLLUX: it's a stupid s0cietal m0del where every0ne is 0nly all0wed to behave in ways that make the value 0f a bunch 0f fake m0ney constantly get bigger and if y0u defy that y0u get murdered.
VRISSY: You're totally Oversimplifying it, 8ut
SOLLUX: n0 i didn't and whatever p0int y0u're ab0ut t0 make d0esn't matter.
VRISSY: Fine! Whatever! If you wanna look at Society through a strict Life Or Death lens, then I guess your explan8tion's Kinda Good Enough?
SOLLUX: it is g00d en0ugh and y0u d0 N0T need t0 g0 0n an0ther diatribe ab0ut the matter.
VRISSY: Pff. Spoilsport.

Vrissy huffs out a sigh. Sollux flips his middle finger and decides throwing psionic sparks into the fountain spray is a way better use of his time. He doesn't stop floating, so the occasional shopper stops for a few seconds to gawk at the display before continuing on.

VRISSY: So Where Was I?
VRISKA: Something a8out how Earth C 8n't Alternia, and Crocker's r8ging hard-on for some type of religion centred around money?
VRISSY: Right Yeah, so as I was saying, the Rules Of Eng8gement are different.
VRISSY: You can't just Go Around saying whatever you want. Someone, Somewhere is almost certainly listening in.

As if to emphasise her point, she motions to the rather conspicuous crimson cameras stationed every three feet, to the advertising screens outside every store, to the security guards dotted around randomly, to even the phones held in everyone's hands.

VRISSY: It's even worse here 8ecause this is Occupied Territory. Trolls have 8asically Zero Freedoms here.
VRISKA: 8ut... they're shopping.
VRISSY: How is spending what little you have on Worthless Trinkets that Fatten The Pockets of the Elite in any way a freedom?
VRISKA: I don't see anyone dying, for starters!
VRISSY: 8ecause no8ody would Dare 8e a dissident in pu8lic! That's how you end up in the C8ke Mills!
VRISKA: This is a stupid joke.
VRISSY: There's Nothing Funny a8out forced la8our camps, Vriska.
VRISKA: I never said that! And ok, that there MIGHT 8e a kind of fucked up thing to exist, 8ut...
VRISKA: This isn't that 8ad, to 8e honest? Miles ahead of life on Alternia.
VRISSY: Ok, you're definitely Not Getting It.
VRISSY: For like The Longest Time everyone had Roughly Comparable Rights when it came to existing in society, hence all the Luxury Infrastructure.
VRISSY: 8ut for trolls, those rights are a8solutely 8eing More And More eroded every day. For starters, even though anyone can come here, hardly any trolls have Enough Money to 8uy shit from Most Places.

Vrissy points to a row of stores on the floor above them. Vriska follows her point. She notices that unlike the ground floor, most customers coming in and out are humans. She also notices that the stores up there mostly seem to sell stuff like jewellery and electronics, whereas the ground floor mostly comprises the basic essential goods you need to live day-to-day.

VRISKA: Okay, I see that.
VRISSY: And it's not like they can Just Move to a more affordable place, either! 99% of trolls are strictly For8idden from leaving their Local Region for Any Reason.
VRISSY: Which is Really 8ad for a Whole 8unch of Reasons, 8ut it's especially 8ad in Rural Locales, where hundreds of thousands of trolls don't even have Access to a Hospital.
VRISKA: 8ut
VRISSY: And the Point Is That They Could Do That! For A Long Time They Were Free To Do Whatever! And Now No8ody Can!
VRISSY: This is, like, Genocide 101!
VRISKA: Okay, okay! You convinced me! This shit sucks for the troll popul8tion, I get it.
VRISSY: Good, 8ecause you Need To Understand the Ethos if you're gonna join the Re8ellion.
VRISKA: Hey, didn't you just tell me saying that shit out loud's a really 8ad idea????????
VRISSY: !!!!!!!!

Vrissy claps her hands over her own mouth, eyes going wide. Her cheeks flush blue. From the fountain, Sollux chuckles.

SOLLUX: lma0

Vrissy is unimpressed, rounding on him with a snarl.

VRISSY: This is A8solutely Not a “Lmao” situ8tion!
VRISSY: I Totally just 8roke the Code like a L8mey L8me Loser! I cannot 8elieve I made a Faux Pas like that!
VRISSY: And, and! I just put us in Danger! They're always listening!
VRISSY: Shit!!!!!!!!

As Vrissy experiences an imminent freakout, Vriska coolly scans their surroundings, which remain completely unchanged.

VRISKA: So where, exactly, are these gr8 threats?
VRISSY: ?
VRISKA: 8ecause I don't think anyone g8ve a shit a8out what you just said.
VRISKA: And in fact, you're drawing more attention to yourself right now with this pu8lic panic attack than anything else!
VRISSY: I

Vrissy pauses mid-episode and looks around. They're all still basically being ignored by passersby, but maybe one troll in ten looks at the scene with an embarrassed grimace. Vrissy groans and buries her face in her hands.

VRISSY: God I am So 8ad at 8eing an Ins8nely Cool 8itch.
VRISKA: Hey, you learn with experience. ::::)
VRISKA: 8ut anyway, given that we're clearly NOT a8out to 8e super murdered, what is the actual plan?

Vriska takes a step forward with bravado. The ever-shifting crowd barely spares her a glance, devoid of any fascist intent. In fact, were she to hedge a bet, she'd say pretty much everyone here agrees with Vrissy's rhetoric, if only in secret. But also like most people, they're too wrapped up in their own lives to give a shit, as are probably whatever underpaid guys are monitoring the surveillance networks.

Vrissy takes the opportunity to collect herself and once again prove her cred as a fledgling plucky rebel heroine.

VRISSY: My Moms are meeting us in an unmonitored 8ackroad 8ehind The Mall once the Funeral is done, and Harry and Tavros should 8e here in Like Thirty Minutes. We're gonna Meet Up and hang out for a while 8efore the Adults get here, may8e do some cool shit, you Know The Drill.
SOLLUX: just s0 y0u kn0w i'm n0t interacting with any m0re insufferable teens. i am at my fucking limit.
VRISKA: Ok, so we just wait outside for those two, then?
VRISSY: Well, Actually... My Mom wants me to Run An Errand first.
VRISKA: An errand?
VRISSY: Yeah, I Get how l8me it is, 8ut I'm hoping it'll m8ke her Less Mad At Me for ditching them in the middle of a 8attlefield.
VRISKA: Ok, whatever. What is this errand?
VRISSY: Nothing Much. Just need to pick up some more Hormones For Mom from the Hormone Store.
VRISKA:
SOLLUX:

Vriska and Sollux stare at each other, jaws agape, in a deeply mutual understanding. Vrissy looks at the two of them, bewildered.

SOLLUX: the fucking what n0w???
VRISSY: You Know, the Hormone Store?
VRISSY: Where you Purchase your Hormones?
VRISSY: Hormones to Help With Your Gender? Like HRT and Junk?
VRISKA: Yeah, we know what hormones are, o8viously.
VRISKA: 8ut what the hell do you *mean*, just go and 8uy some????????

Vrissy winces a little under their gaze.

VRISSY: You mean you guys... Don't just 8uy your hormones?
VRISKA: Uh, no???????? That's a8solutely not a fucking thing that happened!
SOLLUX: seri0usly wtf d0 y0u mean it's that easy 0n this shitsack w0rld. that's just c0mpletely fucking unfair.
SOLLUX: these guys d0n't have t0 guzzle illegal musclebeast nectar like fucking animals and they're c0mplaining ab0ut being 0ppressed?
VRISSY: Hold Up, you... What?!?!?!?!

Vrissy tries and fails to give the impression that she isn't totally fucking lost here, which mostly amounts to her glancing at her phone every five seconds.

VRISKA: Is that... not how that works here?
VRISSY: Um, No???????? You Just Go Down and get some Pills or an Injection or Whatever and that's It?

Vriska gives a dry, humourless laugh.

VRISKA: God, fuck, people like us had it approxim8ly a million times worse on Alternia.
VRISKA: That gender shit was frowned upon on account of taking hormones fucking up your fertility, and everyone knows 8eing una8le to produce a via8le slurry is a cull-on-sight offense.
VRISKA: So the only resource we had was drinking raw muscle8east nectar of the appropri8 8iological sex. Which was easier for some of us than others.
SOLLUX: y0u think any part 0f persuading equius t0 ship 0ver a crate 0f his putrid lusus milk every perigee was easy?
VRISKA: At least you had a consistent living source! I had to hope to fuck for a Flarp kid that a) was high enough on the hemospectrum to even HAVE that kind of lusus and 8) that it was even compati8le!
SOLLUX: it's always a fucking c0mpetiti0n with y0u isn't it. and wh0 was it that g0t a free magic fucking transiti0n with g0d tier ascensi0n?
VRISKA: You a8solutely cannot call a pair of 8oo8s a complete transition, and you know it!
VRISKA: And to m8ke matters worse, I had to figure out how to alchemise more of it on the meteor through trial and error!
SOLLUX: at least y0u were still alive.
VRISKA: Don't try it! Ghosts don't go through further pup8tions, so you had a WAY easier time than me.
VRISKA: Anyway, this is not the point!
VRISKA: The point is that getting hormones on Alternia was an a8solute fucking struggle, so it's completely a8surd to find out on Earth C you can just go and 8uy some like a gru8loaf!
VRISSY:

Vrissy blinks a few times, stalling for time to figure out exactly what she's going to say next.

VRISSY: Ok, so that is Completely Fucked Up and All Kinds of 8ar8aric.
SOLLUX: y0u're telling us.
VRISSY: Also, if you two want, I can 8uy You Some Hormones too? They're Dirt Cheap.
SOLLUX: ...
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: A8solutely.
SOLLUX: abs0lutely.
VRISSY: Gr8! I assume you have no 8rand Preference given how you Literally Drank Lusus Milk, so I'll just get you the Starting Set.
VRISSY: Come on! The store's just Down This Way.

Vrissy takes off down the path behind the fountain. Vriska and Sollux hurry to catch up, ducking and dodging past a whole throng of trolls who, come to think of it, might be being forced to shop for the sake of the economy. It's not a thought that registers highly in Vriska's mind. The culture shock is winning out.

Eventually they stop outside a store at the far end of the mall, marked out by the surprisingly large queue of trolls waiting outside. There's a tacky red sign out front that reads “CROCKERCORP HORMONE EMPORIUM”. Vriska squints at the sign and frowns. Vrissy immediately raises her hands placatingly.

VRISSY: Hey, Don't Sweat It. Crockercorp owns 8asically Everything including Pharmaceuticals, 8ut it's fine. It's Completely S8fe! Mom's 8een using it for Years with No Pro8lems.
VRISKA: If you say so.
VRISSY: Anyway I'm gonna go Jump In Line. Don't go Too Far!

Vrissy gives a cocky wave then starts barging through the line of increasingly disgruntled trolls until she vanishes through the front doors. Vriska and Sollux blink at each other in unspoken silence. All around them is the sound of voices and the scuffing of shoes on polished flooring.

SOLLUX: 0k this is 0fficially weird as shit.
VRISKA: You're telling me. From my perspective, this entire universe didn't even exist three days ago.
VRISKA: It's a8solutely unfair that a place like this is doing it 8etter than actual reality!
SOLLUX: d0n't get me wr0ng i'm still ditching this place the first 0pp0rtunity i can. n0t even this is g0nna tempt me int0 giving a shit.
VRISKA: Yeah, me too! Hey, may8e I should float this idea once I get 8ack to the real world.
VRISKA: If I'm ever in a situ8tion where easy access to hormones is ever a pressing issue, which is actually incredi8ly unlikely.
VRISKA: I'm just gonna replic8 whatever Vrissy gives me, and real Kanaya actually figured out how to get human hormones to work for her.
VRISKA: And it's not like any of my other friends is ever going to have a l8 st8ge gender revel8tion or anything!
SOLLUX: n0pe y0u're t0tally n0t getting ahead 0f y0urself 0r anything here.
VRISKA: We've 8een through this! I'm too cool and relevant to st8y out of the spotlight for very long!
SOLLUX: g00d f0r y0u i just want t0 be d0ne with all this bullshit f0r g00d. i've been in this circus f0r t00 l0ng t0 put up with any m0re n0nsense.
VRISKA: Hey! May8e you could use your retirement to actually work on your personality!
SOLLUX: stfu being terminally d0ne is like my 0nly
??????: oh my god
??????: vvris? sol?
SOLLUX: 0h jesus shit N0

Vriska turns around to the source of the voice in the queue behind them. What she sees very nearly sends her right to the limit of shit she can take. Standing in line, arms folded and pouting like a diva, is a dead Eridan kitted out in an edgy miniskirt and a tubetop.

(ERIDAN): wwoww you basically nevver see vversions a you twwo
SOLLUX: n0pe n0pe fuck this n0pe
(ERIDAN): usually wwe get another couple thousand nepetas if wwere lucky but at this point the rifts pretty much only drop more a those absolutely fuckin wworthless ancestors
SOLLUX: i am n0t here i am n0t d0ing this n0 way n0 fucking way
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: ERIDAN?!?!?!?!
SOLLUX: fuck this n0 i'm 0ut

As Vriska struggles to take in the sight before her, Sollux abruptly decides to start ascending towards the fucking ceiling. The ghost Eridan watches him go for a while before turning back to Vriska.

(ERIDAN): yeah its me vvris
(ERIDAN): cept im a girl noww goin by she/her pronouns n evverythin
(ERIDAN): pretty swwag huh
VRISKA: I... Uh...
VRISKA: Yeah! This is a8solutely a thing you are doing, Eridan!
(ERIDAN): see youd think after god fuckin knowws howw many swweeps out in the void youd havve exhausted all possible avvenues a self discovvery but the miracle a redemption brought me one more truth
(ERIDAN): may the bard rest in eternal mirth
VRISKA: I'm... glad this is where death has t8ken you?

(Eridan) smiles, her sharp teeth glinting in contrast to her lipstick. She takes a step forward. Vriska spares a not so subtle glance towards the store, hoping beyond hope that Vrissy shows up any second now. Because the universe hates her, this doesn't happen.

(ERIDAN): ya knoww ivve been wwaitin for a vvriska to come along for a wwhile
VRISKA: Oh, gee... really.
(ERIDAN): yeah on account a you bein the last person left for me to redeem myself wwith
(ERIDAN): gotta apologise to you so i can truly call myself a changed wwoman
VRISKA: Uh huh...
(ERIDAN): so then
(ERIDAN): apparently alivve vvriska?
(ERIDAN): let me just say
(ERIDAN): im sorry
VRISKA: For... what?
(ERIDAN): oh you knoww

(Eridan)'s ghost eyes are white and wide behind her glasses. Vriska tries and fails not to be skeeved out by looking at the ground. It only succeeds in drawing her attention to the fact that (Eridan) is wearing striped thigh-highs. Oh good fucking lord.

(ERIDAN): for my totally inappropriate manner a misconduct vvis a vvis our personal convversations
VRISKA: Our what now?
(ERIDAN): see i dunno if wwhat im about to say applies to this specific vversion a you but
(ERIDAN): wwell
(ERIDAN): i definitely crossed a lot a boundaries wwhenevver i talked wwith you that i absolutely should not havve
(ERIDAN): specifically wwhen it came to your gender
VRISKA: You did what????????
(ERIDAN): i understand noww that i wwas a heavvily repressed egg and wwas a vvictim of abuse from my lusus and so lashed out at that wwhich i actually desired the most
(ERIDAN): to be trans and also a wwoman
VRISKA: Oh god.
(ERIDAN): and because i both desired and envvied you i had no idea how to interact wwith you in any manner evven resemblin respectful
(ERIDAN): but noww i realise that wwas pretty unpog of me
(ERIDAN): so
(ERIDAN): vvriska im sorry please go ahead an pronounce me forgivven
VRISKA: Uh

Eridan steps out of the line, moving towards Vriska. Vriska takes a hesitant step backwards. On the list of things she was equipped to deal with today, or fucking ever, this is at the absolute bottom.

(ERIDAN): cmon wwe gotta kiss an make up as the doctrine demands so that my soul can be savved

She continues to lurch forward, arms outstretched, lips puckered.

VRISKA: Hey, uh, what the *fuck* are you doing????????
(ERIDAN): redeeming myself?
VRISKA: *That's* what you're calling this weirdo displ8y? Redemption????????
(ERIDAN): yeah this is like
(ERIDAN): troll ghost culture 101 you gotta redeem yourself before you can enjoy the afterlife to your afterlife
(ERIDAN): or your afterlife^2
VRISKA: God, just shut the fuck up! I don't care a8out any of this!!!!
(ERIDAN): its not about caring or not caring its about the wway of redemption cmon

(Eridan) takes another step forward. Vriska pushes the ghost away from her. (Eridan), eyes wide, stumbles back into the wall, drawing the attention of another Eridan waiting in line. This one is dressed in a flowing formal gown that is totally inappropriate for the mall.

(ERIDAN 2): hey sis wwhat the hell are you doin
(ERIDAN 2): youre gonna make a scene actin like that
(ERIDAN 2): do you really wwanna be responsible for cutting the ghosts allotted time in society short AGAIN??
(ERIDAN): stfu wwhore im marching down the path a REDEMPTION
(ERIDAN 2): wwhat youre doing is harrassing some random vvriska wwho doesnt evven havve the first clue about wwhatevver the fuck youre on about
(ERIDAN): oh look at you resident fuckin atheist howw does your high horse taste
(ERIDAN 3): can you twwo be quiet youre gonna givve us transfem eridans a bad rep

This from a third (Eridan), in a ponytail and cardigan with huge hoop earrings.

(ERIDAN 2): wwho the fuck asked you?? this is betwween me an (eridan) so stay in your owwn lane ok
(ERIDAN 3): kinda hard to do wwhen you both insist on airin your DIRTY FUCKIN LAUNDRY out across the wwhole mall
(ERIDAN 3): jesus did either of you girls learn howw to not sound like a fuckin foghorn all the damn time
(ERIDAN): says the bitch screamin like vvocalising is goin outta fashion
(ERIDAN 3): least i nevver engaged in harassment like you are
(ERIDAN 3): in fact im one a fivve eridans wwho actually died a heroic death so you havve absolutely no room to talk
VRISKA:
(ERIDAN 4): omg the girls are fightinggggg
VRISKA: RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAUGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT
VRISKA: THE F8CK
VRISKA: ********UUUUUUUUPPPPPPPP********!!!!!!!!
(ERIDAN):
(ERIDAN 2):
(ERIDAN 3):
(ERIDAN 4):

The four (Eridan)s turn to face Vriska in stunned unison. Vriska, absolutely raging, is about to give them even more of a piece of mind when:

VRISSY: Ok I'm Back!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: Three doses of hormones Fresh Off The Press!

Vrissy hurries up to Vriska carrying three separate plastic bags. Before Vriska can say anything, Vrissy shoves one of them into her hands, which Vriska promptly captchalogues.

VRISKA: Hey.
VRISSY: Hi! Are you fighting with the Ghosts?
VRISSY: You really shouldn't. They have even Fewer Rights than regular trolls.
VRISKA: Yeah. A8solute tragedy right there.

She says it loud enough that the various (Eridan)s absolutely overhear.

VRISSY: Anyway! Where's Sollux?
VRISKA: Floating somewhere near the ceiling last I checked.

Vrissy cranes her head up and spots Sollux hovering near the skylight. She cups her mouth with her hands and starts to yell.

VRISSY: HEY! SOLLUX! I GOT THE G88DS FOR YOU!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: ALSO WE'RE LEAVING NOW!

Upon hearing those words, Sollux immediately begins to descend. Vriska and Vrissy head over to him. Vriska is more than thankful to leave that sorry scene outside the hormone store behind. Political situation or not, the ghosts still absolutely fucking suck. Another stupid feature of a stupid world.

Sollux touches down close to the fountain. Wordlessly, he holds out a hand. Vrissy forks over the second bag, which quickly vanishes into his sylladex. Vrissy, meanwhile, stuffs the final bag into a hip pouch beneath her shirt.

SOLLUX: y0u said s0mething ab0ut leaving?
VRISSY: Yeah. Harry Texted. They're pulling into the Parking Lot right now, so we can go meet up with them.
SOLLUX: 0h j0y.
VRISKA: Hey, you can hang 8ack in this godforsaken mall if you'd rather.
SOLLUX: abs0lutely fucking n0t. get us 0ut 0f here right n0w.
VRISSY: Well, ok then! They'll 8e Parked Out 8y the southern exit. So...
VRISSY: This Way!

Vrissy takes the lead once more, guiding Vriska and Sollux through a mass of trolls both living and dead (Vriska makes a point of deliberately not looking at the ghosts) until they reach the exit. It's a large set of automatic doors manned by two humans with assault weapons. Vrissy slows as she sees them. Vriska rolls her eyes. She could take out those chumps without even breaking a sweat. What are they gonna do to her? Shoot her? She's taken on universe-eating demons. these guys are nothing.

VRISSY: Ok, just pl8y it cool. Don't raise any suspicion.

On the other hand, Vrissy is definitely less okay around the presence of armed adult human men, mostly on account of being a very sheltered and very mortal teenager.

SOLLUX: nah.
VRISSY: Ugh, whatever! Just. If you cause a Commotion I Don't Know Either Of You.
VRISKA: You don't need to worry. Nothing's going to happen.

And nothing does happen. The guards don't blink an eye as the three of them head through the doorway and out of the mall. Hell, Sollux literally floats out the doors and they don't give a shit. They're probably just underpaid muscle stuck working the last job anyone would want. Lame, all of them.

But as Vriska makes her first step out into the parking lot, she suddenly pauses. She feels, out of nowhere, a set of deadly eyes bearing down on her. Slowly, casually, she spins her head around. All she sees is the human guards, remaining disinterested as ever, and a gaggle of dead Feferis rushing a Claire's. As quick as it came, the presence is gone. But Vriska's hackles remain raised.

VRISSY: Come on, they're on the Far Side!
SOLLUX: hey n0 wh0 t0ld y0u y0u c0uld grab my hand
VRISSY: Lmao!!!!!!!!

Vrissy eagerly pulls Sollux through the cars with unguarded confidence. Vriska follows more slowly, one hand in her pocket. She has a strange feeling that she can't shake, a feeling she hasn't felt since she was a wiggler making her way through the wilds for the first time with all the denizens of nature sizing her up as a potential meal. It's a sensation she hasn't felt on this world before. It's something new, but she doesn't like it.

Still, she carries on towards the rest of her allies, because there's nothing else she can do. But as she walks under the opaque sky, she slips her dice between her knuckles. Just in case.

Chapter 17: TWO, section iv.

iv.

 

Dave Strider ultimately ends up interred in an unmarked grave around the back of an abandoned, kind of shitty troll church at the age of thirty-nine. It is, as far as anyone can guess, what he would have wanted. Whether or not that includes the death itself is another question.

Jade insists on digging and re-filling the hole herself; the others mill around inside the hollowed church carcass, but Rose stays back to watch. Neither she nor Jade exchange a single word as Jade lays her husband to rest. She digs and fills the hole using only a shovel and her raw strength. The only time she uses her Space powers is to angle the coffin just right in its six-foot descent. By the time she is done, it is well past noon. The clouds that have hung heavy all morning have broken and a particularly vicious sun stings down on the badlands. Jade slams the shovel into the arid earth with a jolt of green, and that's that.

JADE: im done
JADE: its
JADE: hes

Jade, still dressed in her combat fatigues and caked in dirt and sweat, numbly ambles in Rose's general direction. She is the taller and stronger of the two women, but it is Rose who holds Jade steady when that dam finally bursts.

JADE: how
JADE: how could he just do that
ROSE: I know.
ROSE: I know.

Rose's own throat stings as she talks. She does an expert job of breathing around a stored sob herself. For the longest time, both before and over the course of her life in this universe, Rose has been spared most of the cruellest tragedies. She hasn't really known grief since her own mother was slain on the fields of Skaia so long ago. Not even the passing of Dirk Strider touched her too badly; she was happily married and mere months away from adopting Vrissy. They'd only started to bond in the wake of the chronic headaches she'd endured in her early twenties, and that had been as short-lived as he was. His death was little more than an overnight squall on her happiness. Another iteration of a man she'd already seen die. But this, but Dave...

Her brother lies dead in the ground in front of her, an impossible and acidic truth. One some level, Rose has always been priming herself to eventually lose everyone she's ever cared about – Roxy, Karkat, even Kanaya and Vrissy – but not Dave. Never Dave. She's always told herself she's outgrown such a childish worldview, but one of the core foundations of Rose Lalonde's reality is the immutable fact that no matter what the world, the universe, the wider fucking metatextual reality throws at her, John, Jade, and Dave would always be there. Even in the wake of the rebellion and John's centrist cowardice, she never really lost faith that they'd all come together when the chips were really down. To occupy a reality permanently marked by Dave's absence, it... it feels cruel and impossible.

JADE: i hate him for it. i know i shouldnt but i really hate him for it rose
JADE: our marriage was rocky and i know i ignored that fact and i know theres never really just one person to blame but
JADE: but i feel like this is him punishing me for not loving him enough, for him not being able to love me
JADE: this is so SO fucked up of me to say but all i can think of is that if hed still been with karkat and i hadnt been so needy hed
JADE: that hed still be here. i feel like hes making it my fault and all i really want to do is pull that coffin out of the ground and tear his body to shreds
JADE: but i wont
JADE: because it wont make me feel better
JADE: nothing will make me feel better because hes gone and he always will be gone and thats how it is forever :(

As Jade talks, she heaves like an upset boat in the ocean's churn and pounds her fists against Rose's back hard enough to bruise. Past the grief, Rose feels another wave of clotting shame. She witnessed the loveless trainwreck that was Dave and Jade unfold for years and didn't do a thing to stop it. She was so selfishly absorbed in the notion that her nuclear family unit was the only thing she needed to focus on to be personally happy, and now they're all standing in the blasted wake of that myopic halcyon nightmare.

Rose takes her time before deciding on what to say.

ROSE: I don't... I don't know that assigning blame in this situation is advisable, or even possible.
ROSE: The circumstances surrounding Dave's... his final moments, are completely unknown, so seeking closure on the “why” is a self-destructive fool's errand.
ROSE: I think the real enemy, if we must decide on one, is the lifestyle we all devoted ourselves to for the last twenty years.
ROSE: The desperate complacency that comes with upholding the assimilationist purgatory of married suburbia, it... it's unhealthy for all, but uniquely terrible for us in particular.
ROSE: For people like us, the chasm between what should make us happy and what actually does is so vast you'd need to generate another universe just to bridge it.
ROSE: I could be glib and say that society killed Dave, but... we all bought into the con. We all let what happened between you and Dave deteriorate, and we did nothing.
ROSE: Jade, I can't offer closure on how it ended, but I can admit that I failed you, and I can apologise for it.
ROSE: So, I...
ROSE: I'm sorry.
JADE: rose you...

Jade pulls back from the embrace and blinks. Her face is miserable.

JADE: i do agree that maybe we should have never broken apart into our isolated family units
JADE: but
JADE: dave and i had interpersonal issues that had nothing to do with you rose
JADE: and i dont think you being there would have actually fixed anything :(
ROSE: I'm sorry?
JADE: im not saying this to hurt your feelings rose but what could you have done to stop this?
ROSE: For starters, I should have tried to—

Jade shakes her head. Rose feels like she's been caught on the wrong foot, like the world is spinning beneath her.

JADE: i know that you love us because i love all you guys that much too
JADE: but by the time karkat split from us and things started going really bad youd already distanced yourself from the rest of us for nearly ten years
JADE: you didnt know us well enough by that point to have any insight
JADE: like oh yeah maybe you could have guessed that both dave and i knew he was gay and we were both in denial about it because neither of us wanted to end up completely alone
JADE: but you dont know what it was really like living together for all those years and i dont think you ever can
JADE: we werent in love with each other and we resented each other but we didnt hate each other
JADE: and after a certain point i dont think either of us could have left even if wed wanted to
JADE: and i just
JADE: ...

She has to turn away from Rose before she continue, canine ears flat against her head.

JADE: rose you had kanaya and youve always had kanaya so thats why you cant really understand
JADE: and i appreciate your condolences and honesty but this isnt something you can involve yourself with
JADE: what happened was between me and dave and at the end nobody knew us well enough to contribute anything meaningful
JADE: i really am not saying this to hurt your feelings but nobody can have a say on “the davejade situation” other than me and dave because nobody was there
ROSE: I... I see.

Rose breathes, in and out, and hopes desperately that the tightness in her throat doesn't genuinely spill out into tears.

ROSE: Jade, I...
ROSE: We should never have drifted apart, should we?
JADE: no i dont think so
JADE: all its done is hurt all of us
ROSE: Growing up was a mistake.

She laughs, without mirth. It hurts. It hurts so much. She thought she knew Jade Harley, but what she knew was the teenage girl. The woman before her is almost a stranger. And not just Jade. John, too, is a question mark in the shape of an adult man that used to be her friend. Even during the messy death of Rose and Roxy's relationship in the recent past, everything about John remained opaque. The people she crossed two universes with are as distant as the planet of her childhood.

JADE: i dont think youre wrong there
JADE: like, i wouldnt want to go back twenty years and do it “right”, because theres still a lot about this present day that matters but
JADE: the way we grew up was maybe the worst possible way we could have done it
ROSE: Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade what I have with Kanaya and Vrissy for anything, but it would have been nice to maybe come into our own as non-traumatized young adults before diving ass first into a quarter-life-long heteronormative flarp.
JADE: hehe thats definitely one way to put it
ROSE: I remain nothing if not eloquent, even if my daughter informs me my ability to remain “Shit Hot On The Pulse” has dwindled in my middle age.
JADE: but you know thinking about it...
JADE: did any of us EVER go to therapy at any point at all?
ROSE: You know, that's...
ROSE: ...
ROSE: I don't think we did.
ROSE: I think Roxy and I briefly flirted with the idea in the wake of Dirk's... well...

They pause, silent for a moment. Some wounds never heal all the way. It makes Rose dread the lingering damage Dave's passing is yet to inflict on them all.

ROSE: But nothing came from it. We were all too busy being married and raising children and being complicit in our society's backslide into fascism to actually do anything about it.
JADE: dave and i used to have weirdly revealing rap sessions where a LOT of stuff would get talked about
JADE: but we always pretended like we said nothing of concern when we were done because i guess we were scared of where unravelling it would lead? :|
ROSE: ...Good grief we all fucked this up so terribly.
JADE: hehe yeah. our lives really just turned out to be this massive and totally preventable trainwreck
ROSE: If only we'd actually paid attention to our own needs instead of playing an increasingly competitive game of denial.
ROSE: Alas, that is not how our cookie crumbled, pardon the tone-deaf baking metaphor.
JADE: hm
JADE: do you ever wonder how different things really could have been?
JADE: if whatever happened that made us all get married and be miserable never happened, where would we be instead?
ROSE: That's

She pauses, suddenly very self-conscious. She knows the answer to this, or did, many years ago. Chief among her debilitating visions were agonising flashes into the other side of the proverbial coinflip she pushed John to make. She doesn't know the minutiae of that timeline, or its long-term prognostication, but she knows what became of her. What she did. The type of person she's capable of becoming if given enough incentive.

Jade scuffles her boots among the dirt, waiting expectantly for Rose to continue.

ROSE: I can't say.
ROSE: I think the cosmos has it out for us one way or another. Maybe we'd have been more stable as individuals, but maybe that comes with the cost of an even worse threat than that which we're facing at present.
ROSE: Maybe we lose more people than we have in this facet of reality.
ROSE: Or maybe... maybe we get that balanced youth we were robbed of, and still end up making the same mistakes regardless. All fortunes or possible, but none are perfect.
JADE: maybe yeah
JADE: you probably have a point
JADE: things seem to suck for us no matter what we do
JADE: i mean how many awful timelines did it take for us to even GET to the point where we could make earth c?
ROSE: Precisely. Regardless, for better or worse, this is where we are. These are the versions of ourselves we became. The lives we presently live are the only ones that matter.
ROSE: And they aren't over yet.
JADE: yeah
JADE: so...
JADE: what do we do now??

Before Rose can answer, there's a loud creak and the slam of wood on stone coming from the general direction of the church's front door, followed by a soft breeze that wraps around her hair.

JOHN: hey guys. how are you doing out here?
JOHN: i thought i'd check on you since there's only so much passive aggressive grilling from kanaya i can take at once.

John Egbert stands a few sheepish feet away, eyes alert but weary. Rose feels another sharp ache in her chest as she looks at him. He's grown taller, beefier, than the boy she once called her best friend. He's dressed in a generic shirt and jeans and has exchanged the mustache of his marriage for an arguably more fashionable growth of stubble across his face. The only sign of a personality that isn't a walking adult male impression is his dark hair that remains as plagued by windblown cow-licks as ever. She looks at him, and she realises she has no clue which layers of the man before her are genuine, and which a thin facade.

JOHN: did you... did you finish with the, um...
JADE: yes i finished burying daves dead body if thats what youre asking john
JOHN: ok, yeah, that's... that's good, that it's over.
JOHN: i mean, not good that dave is gone, but that the saying goodbye part is done
JOHN: what i mean to say is that you never, uh, finish mourning someone, especially not someone who was your husband and best friend for twenty five years, but
JOHN: but
JOHN: jade i don't
JOHN: it's been so long and i know i shouldn't
JOHN: sorry i
JOHN: i

He can't finish. John balls his fists and lasts ten seconds before being overcome with racking sobs that make every inch of his frame tremble. It turns out he is a loud crier, heaving and hitching hard enough that it's a miracle he doesn't throw up. His face burns a deep red and behind his fogged glasses his face is drenched with tears.

JADE: oh god come here you great big idiot

And for the first time in many, many years, Jade Harley takes her brother in an embrace.

JOHN: god fuck jade i
JOHN: i'm so so fucking sorry
JOHN: he's gone and it's horrible it's so horrible but he was YOUR husband and i know it's not about me but it
JOHN: dave can't be gone!!!!!
JADE: john dont be such a dumbass youre allowed to be sad too! we all loved dave!
JOHN: but
JOHN: but *i* should be comforting *you*, not the other way around!
JADE: john why the fuck does that even matter at all!
JOHN: because
JOHN: because it's the man's job to comfort the women in times of crisis, isn't it?
JOHN: so i
JADE: oh my GOD

Jade gives John a sharp slap across the face. Rose, still the bystander, winces in sympathy. But it seems to snap John out of his delirium; he blinks at Jade a couple times, eyes wide.

JADE: since when have any of us ever bought into that crap?
JOHN: i just
JOHN: i thought
JOHN: isn't that what i'm meant to do? given that i'm now, um
JOHN: the um
JOHN: the man in this situation?
JADE: :|
JADE: john im giving you a free pass because were all in shock and mourning right now but you need to know that was the largest pile of hogwash i have ever heard and i lived with dave strider for the past sixteen years so thats really saying something
JOHN: fuck sorry i
JOHN: i just
JOHN: i just don't know what to *do* in this situation.
JOHN: i've been checked out of, well, everything for so long that i have no fucking clue what kind of person i'm meant to be in any given situation.
JOHN: but i really don't want to let you down now, jade, not after all this time. :(
JADE: i get that youre trying john but what i really need from you is for you to be a person i can cry together with
JADE: because if im being really honest? i dont think i can hold it together for much longer and i
JADE: i really really just need someone to hold onto until i
JADE: oh god :(

Jade lets out one huge sniffle, then she's burying herself into John's shoulder just as John collapses into hers, and they both sob like loud and broken children flung unfairly into adult lives before their time, and then oh god Rose is crying too and then she's dragged into the hug, and it's just that for a long time, three wounded gods howling out, entwined parts that will never again assemble a complete whole.

This goes on for some time. Rose isn't sure how long. All she knows is the weakness in her legs and the heaving in her chest and the warmth of her dearest and oldest friends and the miserable finality of a death that should never have happened.

When she comes to again, the three of them are in a sad little heap on the ground, backs up against the church wall. The sun's warmed the dirt and the stone enough that there's something almost pleasant and peaceful about the current situational arrangement. So long as one avoids making eye contact with the conspicuous mound twenty feet away.

Rose pulls away from the group with some resistance, stretching her neck to roll out the crick. Her throat burns with the aftermath of a terrible crying session, but she also feels lighter somehow, afforded that strange and funny kind of catharsis you only attain after hitting rock bottom.

ROSE: God we're fucking wrecks.

She lets out a hoarse laugh that causes John and Jade to look at her in bleary bewilderment.

JOHN: what makes you think that?

Rose laughs again, then realises John's being absolutely, one hundred percent sincere.

ROSE: We're three fully-grown adults on the cusp of reaching forty years of age, married and with kids, and we just spent the last god knows how long huddled on the floor in a fugue state.
ROSE: I am aware that grief is unpredictable and slippery, but I am also certain that normal people don't do whatever the fuck we just did.
JOHN: huh. really?
JOHN: i, uh... would now be a bad time to say i never saw anything wrong in reacting that way to stuff?
JOHN: i mean, normally i kind of just stand there all numb when bad shit happens, but on the inside this is how i basically always feel.
JADE: wow john thats kind of concerning not gonna lie
JADE: then again i cant talk because who decides to personally bury their own husband out of spite and then have a total breakdown
JADE: and thats not even getting into how absolutely fucked up my marriage was to begin with :/
JOHN: ha ha, same here.
JOHN: with the fucked up marriage part, i mean.
JADE: at least roxy wasnt gay
JOHN: well, i mean, she could be? way before we dated, remember how she and calliope used to be?
JOHN: but she DID break up with calliope, and i know for a fact that she was genuinely in love with me for a while, even if, um... yeah.
JADE: well for me not only did dave never get over karkat but im fairly sure he was never actually attracted to women period :S
JADE: which i ignored like a desperate horny idiot
JOHN: hey! i don't think any of that is necessarily true.
JOHN: i mean, i'm not touching the second part because you are literally my own sister, and the less i know about your sex life the better.
JOHN: but i definitely remember dave having a crush on you way back in sburb, and also you and dave sprite were in a relationship in my original time line.
JADE: john
JADE: that was twenty five years ago why would any of that be relevant now
JOHN: well, it could be?
JOHN: i mean, *i* barely feel different from the person i was back then, so it happens!
JADE: ...
JOHN: what? did i say something weird?
ROSE: I rest my case.

Rose leans back. John, meanwhile, leaps to his feet with an indignant and unsettled expression on his face.

JOHN: no, nothing's settled! no cases are rested here at all!
JOHN: what was wrong with what i just said?
ROSE: Where do I start?

She stands, slowly and deliberately. At the same time, Jade kind of just zaps into a standing position.

ROSE: First off, the fact that somehow you're even more wilfully repressed than Jade "I chose to ignore the fact that I was marrying a gay man" Harley.
JADE: hey!!
ROSE: Can you truly assert that that is not precisely what you did, Jade?
JADE: well erm
JADE: no :X
ROSE: At least you were granted with the boon of awareness, no matter how retroactive.
ROSE: John, however,
ROSE: I think you deserve an award for somehow managing to remain in the same psychological stasis for a sustained quarter century.
JOHN: that's a little unfair.
JOHN: just the other week, i realized that i DO in fact have depression.
ROSE: A drop in your non-euclidean PTSD-shaped well.
JOHN: hey! i do not have ptsd!
ROSE: John. Please.

Rose shakes her head and smiles wryly.

ROSE: Every single one of us is riddled with unaddressed trauma.
ROSE: I, for one, find myself increasingly reticent towards the prospect of sun drenched coastlines.
ROSE: And even if you ignore my compromised relationship with drink, I can scarce be in the same room as red wine held within a martini glass without a terrible case of the shakes.
ROSE: I'm sure Jade has an equal amount of damaging and benign triggers that she must navigate on a day to day basis.
JADE: not that i ever like to think about them :/
JADE: but yeah i do have a large number of stupid stuff that upsets me or reminds me of all the horrible things i went through for no apparent reason
JOHN: shit. i'm sorry to hear that, you two?
ROSE: Believe me, you are not exempt here, Egbert.
ROSE: Humor me for a moment. Has anything felt real or substantial to you since you crossed that threshold on the victory platform at age sixteen?
JOHN: well, obviously?
JOHN: i mean, i got married and had a kid, and then got divorced.
ROSE: That's not what I asked. I am asking if you can do more than barely-tolerate your post-adolescent existence.
ROSE: If, given the chance, you wouldn't just leap back in time to your bygone youth, just so that things can finally make sense to you again.
JOHN: ...

John turns away from her. She's struck the nerve. No matter how much the years have dulled their abilities, Rose's knack for insight into the core of any given problem remains sharp as ever.

JOHN: this is really embarrassing to admit, and i've only ever told one
JOHN: i've only ever told two people about this. roxy, the other day, and, well...

He pushes out a deep breath.

JOHN: i...
JOHN: for a long time, i hated living here, because nothing about earth c ever felt *real* to me?
JOHN: and i used to tell myself that it was weirdness from knowing that our current time line isn't canon and that i helped in making that decision.
JOHN: except, i don't know that that was the entire truth?
JOHN: i think a major part of it was that yeah, a part of me never actually managed to leave sburb on a psychological level, and also...
JOHN: i don't know, something else? like, maybe *i'm* not a real person?
JOHN: sorry, this is dumb. i'm just rambling about my own problems at my best friend's funeral like a weirdo.
JOHN: this is the first time we've all been together for years and i'm treating you two like my own personal therapy team.

John looks to Jade guiltily. Jade takes a few moments before replying.

JADE: well, i dont exactly mind?
JADE: daves dead and thats really fucked up but we cant just sit around mourning forever
JADE: like you said its been so long since any of us were together!
JADE: and well i might be misremembering but back in the day we all used to shoot the shit and hash out our problems late into the night with each other
JADE: because we trusted each other and loved each other and thats what friends do
JADE: we try to help each other
JADE: even if some of us CLEARLY think they dont deserve to be helped or whatever nonsense is rattling around in their brain right now -_-
JADE: *cough* john egbert *cough*
JOHN: ...
JADE: look
JADE: my husband just died and were in the middle of a planet wide war and everything is really fucked up right now
JADE: and ive been lonely before
JADE: lonely a lot of times really!
JADE: and if theres one thing ive learned over my life is that i never want to end up alone again
JADE: i want to reconnect with you guys
JADE: because i love all of you and everything sucks and we need to lean on each other if were gonna get through this!
JOHN: jade...

John frowns. There's something troubled on his face.

JOHN: shit, i'm really sorry.
JOHN: i didn't realize. i didn't think.
JADE: well now you can and now you will because i am telling you!
JADE: we are here together and your problems are my problems and my problems are yours!

Jade takes his hands. There are tears in the corners of her eyes.

JADE: because were still here
JADE: and i would like for us to stay that way for as long as possible so
JADE: work with me here john
JADE: please

She's shaking a little by the end of her proposal. Rose takes the moment to step in herself.

ROSE: You know, I'd appreciate it too if you were to reconcile and reconnect with us, John.
ROSE: If today's taught us anything, it's that trying to get through life on our own is a notoriously terrible idea.
ROSE: And, to parrot Jade's words...
ROSE: I've really missed us, too.
JOHN: ...

John's whole body is rigid, a wound up coil ready to bolt for it at the slightest sign. There are a lot of emotions warring for dominance on his face, too quickly for Rose to divine anything out of. But eventually, he settles on something warm and firm.

JOHN: yeah, you...
JOHN: you're right.
JOHN: rose, jade, i...
JOHN: i would like to start again.
JOHN: i want to have *us* back.
JOHN: so.
JOHN: let's start over?
JADE: thats all i wanted to hear <3

Jade lets out a single sob except now her mouth is stretched in a smile. She leans over to pull Rose and John in for another group hug, but at the same time...

JAKE: Howdy gang. Hows the business?
KANAYA: Yes Business
KANAYA: That Is Absolutely The Word One Would Use To Describe The Intricate And Messy Process Of Mourning A Recently Departed Dear Friend And Family Member You Strange And Insufferable Little Man

Jake and Kanaya walk down the path from the church to the backlot – at a less than sensible seven-foot-minimum distance. Jake Crocker—English now, Rose must assume—remains looking like the celebrity washout they've all come to know him as, wringing his tie nervously with one hand and mussing up his hair with the other. Kanaya regards him as if he were the squirming remains of a rodent dragged in through the threshold by a particularly disrespectful and delinquent feline. She also has her lipstick firmly clasped in one hand.

KANAYA: Rose How Are You Faring
ROSE: Kanaya, darling.
ROSE: Well enough, I think.
ROSE: John, Jade, and I have made quantifiable headway in reparing our estranged relationships.
ROSE: And Dave...
ROSE: Time will blunt that knife, so to speak.
JAKE: Absolutely spiffing news ms lalonde. So nice to see how the strength of camaraderia can barricade away even the reapers pall of misery.
ROSE: Erm, thanks?

Kanaya immediately swings her head around to him, fangs bared in a hiss. Her skin starts to radiate a faint, threatening glow. It is clear for all to see that if she had the approval to do so, she would rip this man to fucking shreds. Rose herself has to admit to feeling some level of unease, too. For the longest time, Jake has been literally in bed with the enemy – public enemy number three. Or two now, she supposes. The specifics on how Makara bit the dirt are nebulous, but also something literally nobody is interested in at any point ever.

KANAYA: You Have Also Found It In Your Heart To Forgive The Resident Centrist I See

She motions to John, who inches a little behind Jade to evade her gaze.

ROSE: We've been through this. Yes, John fucked up by ignoring the plight of the trolls and neglecting to play any kind of role in the war, but he's not a bad man.
KANAYA: The Same Way That You Maintained That Roxy Was A Good Woman
KANAYA: Even When She Was Appearing Front And Center On Crockers Own Propaganda Reality Show Network
ROSE: Okay, maybe I have a bad track record. But not John.
ROSE: He's already turned on the Crocker regime, and if blowing up drones in the Human Kingdom capitol isn't proof enough, I don't know what is.
KANAYA: He Also Allowed Crockers Husband And Offspring To Infiltrate The Rebellion
ROSE: Darling, you don't mean to tell me that you think either of those two pose any kind of meaningful threat to the movement.
KANAYA: Maybe Its The Principle Of The Thing
KANAYA: Maybe Just Maybe I Have A Problem Being Around Cowardly Bootlickers
JOHN: um, do i get a say in this?
KANAYA: No You Do Not John
JAKE: And i?
KANAYA: You Even Less So

Kanaya is entirely frosty, unable to make her feelings any clearer. Rose winces a little. These are bridges that will take a long time to repair, if they ever can be.

JOHN: kanaya, i already said how sorry i was for abandoning you in your hour of need.
KANAYA: More Like Decade Of Need
JOHN: ouch. you know what i mean.
KANAYA: Also Yes I Do Acknowledge Your Verbal Apology
KANAYA: But I Do Not Accept It And I Will Not Forgive You
KANAYA: Not Until You Make Substantial Amends And Not Until You Prove Yourself As A Genuine Member Of This Revolution
ROSE: But you'll at least tolerate him?
KANAYA: Only Because He Matters To You And To Jade And Mattered To Dave
KANAYA: But I Will Tolerate You From An Arms Length And No Closer
JOHN: i guess that's ok. and kanaya, i really am so fucking sorry for flaking out on what is definitely the most crucial thing any of us have ever lived through.
JOHN: i promise, i *will* make it up to you.
KANAYA: Show It With Actions Not Words And Then And Only Then May I Regard You With Anything Other Than Total Apathy
JOHN: thank you, kanaya.
KANAYA: This Is Not A Second Chance
KANAYA: Redeem Yourself Or We Are Done Forever
JAKE: Erm, and what about me?
KANAYA: You

Kanaya rounds on Jake again, who flinches bodily.

KANAYA: You And Your Wretched Offspring Will Make For Decent Meatshields And Little More
KANAYA: You Personally Will Not Live To See This Wars End There Is Simply Too Much Blood On Your Hands To Allow Otherwise
JAKE: ...
KANAYA: You Dont Get To Present State Sponsored Executions For An Entire Decade And Walk Away From That
KANAYA: Tell Me Jake
KANAYA: How Many Of The Eleven Thousand Six Hundred And Thirteen Trolls That You Murdered On Live Television Over The Last Decade Can You Name Or Even Remember
JAKE: Golly thats... when you put it like that...
KANAYA: No Amount Of Abuse You Endured Can Excuse Those Crimes
KANAYA: There Is Always A Choice
KANAYA: And You Made Yours
JAKE: And tavvy? I will man up and admit to my shortcomings vis a vis complicity in the worst genocide in history but his sole crime stands at being born into earth cs most evil family and little more!

There's a rare spark in Jake's eyes when he speaks about his son. A sign that there is a human being somewhere down there. Rose doesn't know if that makes her hate him or pity him more. She remains silent witness. This is Kanaya's injustice to address.

KANAYA: The Boy May Live
KANAYA: Provided He Does Not Betray Hinder Or Otherwise Damage Our Cause
KANAYA: Because Unlike You Animals We At Least Understand The Concept Of Basic Fucking Mercy
JAKE: Then i suppose we are in agreement.
JAKE: Do what you will with me but please give tavros a chance. My son should not pay for my crimes.
KANAYA: You Do Not Get To Set The Terms
KANAYA: Your Son Will Be Used As A Political Bargaining Tool Or A Hostage Or However We See Fit
KANAYA: But We Will Not Be Cruel
JAKE: Thank you.
KANAYA: Never Ask Me For Anything Ever Again

Another silence falls over the group, like a chill that cuts right through the warm afternoon. Rose looks at Kanaya. Kanaya looks at Jake. Jake looks at John. John looks at Jade. Jade, finally, breaks the uncomfortable inertia.

JADE: so other than to draw lines in the sand on how to treat the newcomers to the rebellion what brings you two out here??
JADE: because i get the sense that thats not the only thing you have to say
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: Of Course
KANAYA: The Reason I Decided To Interrupt Your Grieving Process Is
JAKE: By all accounts it seems our lads have done quite the scarper!
ROSE:
JOHN:
JADE:
KANAYA:
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: What He Said

She groans, running a hand over her face.

KANAYA: I Have Seen Neither Hide Nor Hair Of Harry Anderson Or Tavros
KANAYA: (Good Grief Why The Hell Was He Named That)
KANAYA: And Also It Is Quite Apparent That Johns Car Has Surreptitiously Vanished From The Parking Lot
KANAYA: Complete With Conspicuous Tyre Marks Bound In The General Direction Of The Town Of Cavalreap
JADE: wait what? :o
JOHN: harry and tavros are gone?
KANAYA: That Is In Fact What I Just Said Yes
KANAYA: Obviously This Poses A Problem Of Significant Scale
JOHN: why would they go there?

Kanaya looks at John blankly.

KANAYA: Your Uncanny Ability To Remain Entirely Out Of The Loop On Any And All Relevant Goings On Never Fails To Make Me Despair
JOHN: uh...
ROSE: Let me explain.

Rose turns to face John, who's doing a pretty good facial impression of a fish dropped thousands of miles from the nearest body of water.

ROSE: Cavalreap is where we're due to rendezvous once we're finished with the funeral.
ROSE: Awaiting us are Vrissy, and if she is to be believed, the original Vriska Serket.
JAKE: Golly gee the what now?
JOHN: so THAT'S where (vriska) ended up?
ROSE: You... already knew about that?

Rose blinks, shaking her head.

ROSE: You never fail to surprise, John.
KANAYA: I Am In Shock That You Actually Know Something Worthwhile
JOHN: heh heh, thanks?
JOHN: but yeah, i met (vriska) the other day out on the battlefield. she fell from one of the ghost rifts a couple of hours before you guys all got there.
JOHN: she got really pissed off about being sucked into a black hole and not being able to see lord english die or something?
JOHN: and then GAMZEE of all fucking people showed up, and she and him, um...
JOHN: anyway, once that was over, vriska showed up, and i guess she and (vriska) are now together?
JOHN: or, well, i guess i can stop saying (vriska) now that vrissy has a distinct enough name.
ROSE: That's a decent enough summation of events.
JOHN: the whole thing was weird, to be honest. like i'm just there being sad, then suddenly vriska serket's yelling at me, then she beats gamzee to death and bonds with her alt universe clone self in the bushes where his corpse is? fucking bizarre.
JADE: wait so it was VRISKA who took down the clown?? :O
KANAYA: Well Shit
KANAYA: Thats A Hell Of A Mystery No One Thought Was A Mystery And Didnt Even Really Need Solving
KANAYA: But Damn If It Didnt Just Get Solved
JOHN: thanks?
ROSE: But more crucial for us is that Vriska poses a unique advantage to the rebellion, given her... talents. And Vrissy is too young and vulnerable to be alone in an active warzone for too long.
ROSE: So we all need to reconvene and plan our next move from there, given that the number of key players we have access to has increased drastically over the last 72 hours.
ROSE: Cavalreap is the most convenient transportalizer spot, hence our current location.
JOHN: ah, ok. that makes sense i guess.
ROSE: And the problem is that we have three teenagers (plus one Vriska) left unattended in a heavily occupied Troll Kingdom town crawling with Crocker forces.
ROSE: Surely I don't need to spell out to you why that is really fucking bad news.
JOHN: no, no i get it.
JOHN: haha, geez, everything seems to be happening at once!

John gives a hollow laugh, but his face is strained. This is clearly not a man used to any kind of substantial action or tumult in his life. And yet... there's a strange spark to his eyes, too, Rose observes. Almost as if the inner traumatized child is chomping at the bit to dive headfirst into something relevant and dangerous.

JOHN: so what do we do?
JADE: i can hop us all into town asap but well need to know exactly where they are first
JADE: john can you get in touch with harry anderson?
JOHN: um, i can try.

John pulls out his phone and sends off a few rapid messages. A minute passes, then two, and there's evidently no response. John's expression sinks, just a little.

JOHN: nothing.
JOHN: ok, i think i'm starting to get worried now?
JADE: no it should be fine
JADE: just means well have to teleport all over town in a sweep until we find them
JADE: so much for a quiet approach :/
JOHN: you mean, there might be violence?
JADE: once the drones or the cops spot us absolutely
ROSE: Does everyone have their specibus ready?

Nods from everyone, including John.

ROSE: This could get nasty.
ROSE: Kanaya, any chance of getting in touch with Karkat?
KANAYA: I Do Not Think So
KANAYA: The Business At Outglut^2 Is Still Underway And From The Looks Of Things The Psionic Jammer Is Preventing Any Signals Getting In Or Out
ROSE: Damn. We'll be on our own then.
ROSE: It's a good thing we're all immortal.
JOHN: haha, wow, this is serious, isn't it?
ROSE: It's war, John. And our children's lives are at stake.
JAKE: Hey um everybody not to but in and cut the pre battle psyche up short or anything but
JAKE: There seems to be events going down over yonder.

They all turn to Jake, who has wandered over to the far end of the church lot. He's pointing further past that, at the distant outline of a town at the bottom of the valley. As they all gather round and look, Jade's dog ears suddenly twitch.

JADE: i hear guns
JOHN: shit, really?
JADE: yeah
JADE: doesnt sound good

Rose strains for a moment, then she hears it. Faint pops, ricocheting off the landscape, but recognisable once she knows what she's listening for. Her heart bungees down into the pit of her stomach, then snaps back up into her throat.

KANAYA: We Should Go
KANAYA: Right Now
KANAYA: The Kids Might Be In Danger
ROSE: Yes, let's—

But Rose doesn't finish. All at once, the gunfire stops. Then, as the five gods stare down in confusion at Cavalreap, they are witness to the precise moment half the town is subsumed by a violent, earth-shattering explosion.

Chapter 18: TWO, section v.

v.

 

Hour fifteen of the siege on Outglut^2 rolls by without any sign of things slowing down. Night turns into morning turns into noon turns into afternoon, and the Crocker forces keep assailing the city, and the psionics keep powering the Skaian forcefield that deflects each blow. It is the longest, most gruelling war of attrition.

Karkat Vantas watches a lilac spirograph bloom one thousand feet above his head that eats an incoming napalm missile and dumps it in the furthest corner of an as-yet-unborn galaxy. All that remains is the shimmering, nearly-imperceptible dome of light that is the only defense preventing the dozen square miles beneath it turning to ash. He is at present standing at the base of some faceless skyscraper the next block over from the psionic force keeping the generator alive, close enough that every one of his hairs stands up on end from the static charge in the air.

The situation is, to be blunt, not fucking great. There are only so many psionics with so much juice in them, and the forces are starting to flag. Crocker's forces, meanwhile, seem endless in comparison. It's hard to keep up a sustained barricade against the largest automated fleet money can buy. Additionally, the generator actually only prevents physical matter from coming through; individual corporate troops have been trying to hack transportalizers all over the city and hop in that way, which means the technological power of the rebels is split yet another way. They're being stretched too thin. Something's going to give sooner or later.

And the worst part? Karkat can't even think straight enough to focus on this slowly-unfolding disaster in front of him. All he can think about is a small church some several hundred miles away and the intimate funeral procession currently underway. Alternatively, and more painfully, he can think about the task force he sent out last night, and what became of them. The truth is, he's starting to grow tired, even though the road ahead still stretches out beyond an unseen horizon.

He sighs, rubbing his temples. Everyone here wants something they can't have. Everyone here is fighting against that same unfairness. Just because he's lost that which he wants most doesn't mean every other troll fighting for the right to stay alive deserves to have it all ripped away too. He pulls out his comms device. It's near 12:30. Time to keep fulfilling the duty he owes to his comrades.

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling abyssalAquatica [AA] at 12:27 --
CG: MEENAH, STATUS REPORT.
AA: H---EY SHOUTY 38)
AA: we p much got the seastern district under lockdown
AA: carporate guppies keep tryna trip the transportalizer but our dudes shits on fuckin fire
AA: couple redsuits got thru but yours truly showed em her baddest of bad bitch moves
CG: GOOD TO HEAR. HOW LONG CAN YOU HOLD THE LINE FOR?
AA: gotta couple more hours in us -EASY
AA: 'fronz n his crew over on the west end are doin well too
AA: but you know how crazy competent them olive boys can get
CG: FRONZ?
AA: alfonz
AA: S-EARIOUSLY how hard is it for you to keep up with the fish puns
AA: that ive been doing for Y-EARS at this point
CG: SORRY. I'VE GOT A LOT OF SHIT GOING ON, AND YOUR GRATING WORDPLAY KIND OF FALLS SHORT ON THE PRIORITY LADDER.
AA: bluh bluh
CG: ALSO, WHEN THE FUCK DID *ALFONZ* GET PUT IN CHARGE OF THE WESTERN TEAM?
AA: since batterbitch decided to fuckin off swifer and pals like it was nofin
CG: FUCK, RIGHT. I FORGOT.
CG: I FORGOT THAT SHE

He leans back against the brick wall and tilts his head to the sky. Dave is a pain he's long since contended with, but Swifer stings in a way he didn't realise it would. Fuck, he... He should never have taken the risk with a decoy squad. That's two people now from his closest circle that have died on him, and he has the grim feeling that number will only increase. How many of his friends' blood will be on his hands when all is said and done? Will there even be anything left for him once peace is won?

CG: ANYWAY. YOU AND ALFONZ HAVE SHIT IN HAND, RIGHT?
AA: pretty much yeah
AA: northside still evacuated as per your oarders
AA: transportalizers are dark too
CG: GOOD.
AA: how much longer till we get to shut shit off on our end
AA: cause while were handling these small fry with absolute ease
AA: these fuckers just keep coming
CG: WE STILL NEED MORE SUPPLY SHIPMENTS IN FROM BASE.
AA: more???
CG: LIKE YOU SAID, CROCKER'S SHOWING NO SIGN OF SLOWING.
CG: WE HAVE TO PREPARE TO RIDE THIS OUT FOR THE LONG HAUL.
AA: well fuck 38/
AA: kinda blows
AA: idk cant we just go out there and start reely bustin some shit up?
CG: IF WE DO THAT, WE LOSE THE CITY.
CG: WERE YOU NEVER SCHOOLFED THE BASICS OF SIEGE WARFARE OR SOMETHING
AA: DUH
AA: grew up on a lameo peaceplanet case you forgot
AA: this deadly shit i got goin on is self taught
CG: RIGHT, YEAH. OF COURSE.
CG: SORRY FOR ASSUMING THAT DURING THE NEARLY FIVE SWEEPS YOU'VE BEEN ON THIS PLANET
CG: OR THE LITERAL FUCKING MILLENNIA YOU SPENT IN THE VOID
CG: THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LEARNED A THING OR TWO ABOUT LITERALLY ANYTHING!
AA: stfu shouty i dont have time for your grubtier tantrums
AA: all that matters is i know how to kill a motherfucker like a pro which i do
AA: who tf needs that bookworm shit
CG: WE ARE NOT HAVING THIS ARGUMENT.
CG: I'VE TOLD YOU COUNTLESS TIMES THAT ACTION WITHOUT THEORY IS SHAPELESS VIOLENCE THAT ALWAYS LOSES AGAINST THE DEATH MACHINE THAT IS THE STATE
CG: YOU CAN'T JUST BLOW SHIT UP INDISCRIMINATELY!
AA: oh my GOD
AA: if i wanted to date a smartass id have stuck w windfang
AA: rip to my homegirl aranea
AA: kinda fucked up after all these sweeps weve not seen a single serket ghost huh
CG: I DON'T CARE!
CG: I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS ONE IOTA!!
CG: WE ARE NOT USING OFFICIAL REBELLION COMMUNICATION CHANNELS FOR SUCH ASININE HORSESHIT!!!
AA: you started it nubs
CG: OK FINE WHATEVER!!! BUT I'M ALSO FINISHING IT RIGHT NOW!!!!
AA: alright alright!
AA: jesus fuckin christ
AA: dont take out the fact youre regrettin not goin to your ex boywifes funeral on me
CG: AND WE ARE ***EXTRA*** NEVER TALKING ABOUT DAVE!!!!!!!!!
CG: THIS CONVERSATION IS DONE.
CG: I'LL REPORT BACK WITH AN UPDATE AT 18:00
CG: OVER AND OUT
AA: love you too you grouchy motherfucker
AA: <3
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling abyssalAquatica [AA] at 12:48 --

Karkat closes down his comms device and does a series of deep breaths. He can feel the soft vibrations of the defense portals rerouting the ceaseless assault. The air around him is warm and windless, blocked off by the dome. Eventually the city will run out of air, but they're all banking on Crocker running out of artillery first. But now more than ever he wants a stiff breeze to scream into.

Dave is dead. Swifer is dead. He's trapped with the bulk of his forces inside a city that has done nothing but endure, endure. There hasn't been a second for him to breathe, for him to stop, since they mobilised those few days ago that already feel like sweeps. He can feel it all eating at him, like a hole, a caged animal desperate for a release that can't come, not for a long while, not while he... he...

KARKAT: FUCK
KARKAT: FUCK!!!!!

He aggressively swipes at his one good eye with a gunpowder-stained hand, leaving a dark smudge on his cheek cut in two by a streak of red tears. Karkat tries to bite it down, but he's on the edge of feeling all the stress piling on him at once. His breathing goes funny and he finds himself leaning against the wall more out of a necessity than anything else.

KARKAT: DAMN IT
KARKAT: I...

A Crocker warship flies too close to the forcefield and explodes in a ball of fire. And Karkat, ground-level witness, loses the futile battle to keep his emotions in check.

He knows he gets ugly and sloppy when he cries, has known since he was an outcast child on Alternia living on borrowed time. That time feels so long ago now, those weeks spent struggling to birth a universe halcyon in comparison. Every single one of his Sgrub coplayers save for Kanaya is dead and gone. Half of them died so long ago now that he can barely remember what they were like. Terezi and Vriska were chewed up by the void decades ago, and who the fuck knows what happened to Aradia following her five minute funeral cameo that basically feels like a hallucination at this point. And Gamzee... Gamzee...

The less said about Gamzee the better. The fetid juggalo's carcass is rotting somewhere among the garbage heap of the main rebel camp in the city. Karkat only wishes he was the one to turn him into sloppy roadkill. But in his own grotesque, shameful way, he was one of the few remaining ties to a life long since lost to Karkat. He feels so adrift. He feels so alone.

Earth C has given him purpose, yes, but not home. None of it, not the community rallied around him, not his fortified underground quarters, not even Meenah, makes him feel like he has a place here. He feels like he blinked, and now he's this child stuck blindly piloting an adult body without a manual. In his darkest, most selfish moments, Karkat is deeply envious of Terezi for spending half a sweep here then deciding to exit stage left out of the fucking universe. When his closest companion left is an alternate reality version of the interstellar dictator who kept his homeworld firmly under her bootheel, he gets the sense that somewhere along the way something went very wrong. After this war is won, he... he doesn't know what he'll do.

Karkat suddenly snaps to attention. There's a new noise. Rapid pattering of feet on asphalt that cuts through the muffled booming against the barrier and the faint crackling hum of psionics burning themselves to the bone. On reflex, he presses himself further into the shadow of the building and draws his gun. There shouldn't be any threats in the city, but he'd be a fucking idiot for assuming that the transportalizers are as locked down as the reports indicate.

??????: commander vantas! commander vantas!

A figure emerges from around the end of the empty street. A troll, clutching what looks like a tablet in both hands. Karkat steps out from his hiding space, cautious. This is a race war, but Crocker has her sleeper agents.

??????: commander vantas i need y∞ t∞WHOA!!!!

The troll stops dead in the street upon seeing Karkat standing there. Either that, or it's the loaded handgun giving pause.

KARKAT: I'M HERE.
KARKAT: IS THERE A REASON YOU'RE SCREAMING MY NAME LOUD ENOUGH THAT THEY CAN HEAR IT OUTSIDE THE DOME?
??????: sorry about that commander vantas it's just i was given a top priority order from the guys on base.
KARKAT: YOU'RE FROM BASE?
??????: yep!

It's now that Karkat puts a face to the name. Lemnis Sinmel, one of the new intelligence apprentices. He recognises the two sets of conjoined arch-shaped horns, the non-standard infinity sigil on his jacket, and the wide eyes that are uncommonly devoid of psionic colouration despite the kid being a goldblood well into his ninth sweep. He's one of Swifer's, Karkat realises with a sharp stab to the chest.

KARKAT: HOW DID YOU GET IN?
LEMNIS: technician cr∞ opened the southside transportalizer for me.
KARKAT: BUT I EXPLICITLY ORDERED—
LEMNIS: yeah we kn∞ about the barricade order and they wouldn't have let me thr∞ if this wasn't really important commander vantas!
KARKAT: SO IMPORTANT THEY COULDN'T HAVE BEEN RELAYED VIA COMMS?
LEMNIS: i'm sorry if y∞'re disappointed but it wasn't my call t∞ make.
LEMNIS: orders came straight from commander maryam herself.
KARKAT: SHIT, KANAYA?

He furrows his brow and hopes his frown hasn't ticked too far into worry.

KARKAT: IS SHE OKAY?
KARKAT: DID SOMETHING HAPPEN AT D
KARKAT: AT THE FUNERAL?
LEMNIS: well kinda?
LEMNIS: the f∞neral went off without problems i think.
LEMNIS: but her report indicates that something's happening in cavalreap.
LEMNIS: something that might involve the gods' kids?
KARKAT: SHIT. SHE GIVE ANY MORE DETAILS?
LEMNIS: i have the full report here commander vantas.
LEMNIS: she tried t∞ get thr∞ t∞ y∞ but the barrier was blocking her out.
LEMNIS: here.

Lemnis hands the tablet over to Karkat. It's open to a particularly lengthy-looking pesterlog in Kanaya's distinct flare.

-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 11:33 --
GA: This Is A Complete Longshot But I Am Sending These Messages To You In The Hopes You See Them In A Timely Manner
GA: There Have Been
GA: A Number
GA: Shall We Say
GA: Of Conspicuous Developments Since Last We Spoke
GA: Id Say Im Going To Start With The Trunkbeast In The Block But In Our Case There Are Two Equally Gargantuan Behemoths Vying For The Utmost Attention Of Our Poor Overexploited Brain Cells
GA: So Ill Start With The Least Pressing But Most Stupid Issue
GA: John Egbert Has Brought It Upon Himself To Deliver Us Jake Crocker And Son As Part Of His Defection Package Deal
GA: For Now The Man Is Compliant And Though I Would Like Nothing More Than To Grind Him To Paste Under My Shoes I Am Entirely Aware Of The Strategic Advantage Such A Hostage Offers
GA: Rudimentary Intel Also Shows This Is A Fact Crocker Herself Is Currently Unaware Of
GA: Even If She Suspects Her Ex Husband Or However The Fuck Their Wretched Relationship Turned Out Has Turned Against Her There Is As Yet No Indication She Suspects He Would End Up With Us
GA: For Obvious Reasons
GA: I Know That I Am To Assume Authority In Your Stead So Long As You Are Afield But I Feel Jake Crocker Is An Issue Best Dealt With Collectively
GA: You Are Much More Capable Of Handling Scum Like Him With A Clear Head
GA: So Concludes My Report On Issue Number One
GA: Issue Number Two Is More Immediately Concerning And By Its Very Nature You May Be Too Late To Assist By The Time You Finally Read These Messages
GA: But Just In Case I Shall Relay Nonetheless
GA: I Managed To Locate My Daughter Shortly After Your Departure For Outglut^2
GA: The Plan Was To Rendezvous With Vrissy In Cavalreap Following The Funeral To Figure Out What To Do With The Frankly Absurd Asset She Has Somehow Found
GA: Said Asset Somehow Being The Legitimate Alive Alpha Timeline Vriska Serket
GA: Who So Far Has In Her Few Short Days Of Being On Earth C Managed To Neutralize Makara Which Is Obviously An Immense Feat
GA: The Actual Problem In This Scenario Is That Rather Than Act As One The Offspring Of Egbert and Crocker Opted To Grand Theft Auto Their Way To Cavalreap An Hour Ahead Of Schedule
GA: We Dont Need To Go Into The Kind Of Strategic Risks Involved In Having The Children Of The Gods Plus Earth Cs Long Lost Creator All Together In One Of The Most Heavily Occupied Regions In The Troll Kingdom
GA: But Needless To Say There Is An Incident In Progress
GA: Of The Kind Where Communication With The Children Has Gone Dark And Half The Town Has Been Caught Up In An Explosion
GA: We Are Presently Preparing To Teleport In There And Extract Them Before This Reaches The Higher Ups
GA: But I Have A Feeling Things Will Not Go So Smoothly As Was Always The Case Whenever Vriska Was Involved
GA: Her Miraculous Re Emergence Decades Later Strikes Me Not In The Least As An Act Of Serendipity But More As An Ill Omen
GA: If You See These Messages I Formally Request Assistance Sent To The Town Of Cavalreap Before This Spills Out Into A Major Incident
GA: Anyway Jade Is Rather Impatiently Informing Me We Need To Leave Immediately So I Shall End Things Off Here
GA: I Hope For All Our Sakes This Does Not End Badly
GA: Stay Well Karkat
-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 11:40 --
-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] at 12:29 --
GA: Karkat
GA: Fuck
GA: This Is
-- grimAuxiliatrix [GA] went offline! --

KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: FUCK.

Karkat reaches the bottom of the message log and tries three times in vain to scroll further, but that's the end of the road. A cryptic and frankly fucking terrifying message from Kanaya, then nothing. He looks to Lemnis, chest heavy.

KARKAT: IS THIS EVERYTHING?

Lemnis frowns and nods.

LEMNIS: unfort∞nately yes.
LEMNIS: initially we were gonna deal with it ourselves on base but then well
LEMNIS: commander maryam's second comm∞nication came thr∞ and that obviously raised some alarms.
LEMNIS: i think i'm ok t∞ say five out of the eight surviving gods of earth c disappearing constit∞ts as a pretty major incident.
KARKAT: YEAH, YEAH THIS IS...
KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING HERE??
KARKAT: ***VRISKA***??????????

For some asinine reason, that's the detail Karkat's thinkpan latches onto. How the fuck is Vriska here, and alive? She died out in the void years ago, and Terezi died out there looking for her. So the fact that she's apparently now here on Earth C, has met up with the gods' kids, and has also somehow managed to fucking kill Gamzee, it... it's too much, if he's being honest.

LEMNIS: i'm just the messenger sorry i can't be much more help.
KARKAT: NO, YOU DID GOOD, THANKS.
KARKAT: SWIFER MADE THE RIGHT CALL IN TAKING YOU ON.
LEMNIS: wow that's kind of an honor t∞ hear y∞ say that commander vantas!
LEMNIS: and i know there is a number of things going on but i was wondering if i c∞ld possibly see commander eggmop before i went back?
KARKAT: THAT'S

Karkat looks at the kid's eager, smiling face and feels it like lashings of acid dribbling down his chest. The news about Swifer, or anything that's gone down, hasn't managed to leave Outglut^2 yet. Lemnis here is the first person from the outside to make any kind of contact, excluding Crocker soldiers.

KARKAT: SWIFER IS
KARKAT: SHE
LEMNIS: she?
KARKAT: FUCK.
KARKAT: KID, I'M SO FUCKING SORRY, BUT

He turns away. He cannot cry in front of this troll who's barely any older than a wiggler. There's too much going on. People like Karkat aren't afforded the luxury to fall apart.

LEMNIS: she's gone?
LEMNIS: what
LEMNIS: how did she

Lemnis's voice cracks, and when Karkat looks back over, he sees that the kid's face has fallen. He has one shaky hand clenched into an almost-fist.

KARKAT: CROCKER HERSELF GOT HER.
KARKAT: SHE DIED SO THAT WE COULD PROTECT THIS CITY.
LEMNIS: a good death then?
KARKAT: ...

He pauses. This is the last place he wants to debate the philosophy on what constitutes a 'good' death, if such a thing exists. He's of the belief that no, actually, no death is 'good', or 'worth it'. But if it gets this kid through it, then he'll say whatever.

KARKAT: SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE DIED.
KARKAT: NO ONE SHOULD HAVE.
KARKAT: BUT SHE WAS WILLING TO TAKE THAT RISK FOR US, AND THAT SHOULD BE COMMENDED.
LEMNIS: ...
LEMNIS: then she died a hero?
KARKAT: YES.
LEMNIS: i
LEMNIS: that's g∞d. that's g∞d then.

Lemnis takes a series of deep breaths, then refocuses his expression. His young eyes gleam with a tinge of determination.

LEMNIS: i can be sad later. i need t∞ d∞ my d∞ty.
LEMNIS: for her and for myself.
LEMNIS: so what is y∞r guidance on the matter at hand commander vantas and how can i help.
KARKAT: OK, YEAH, RIGHT.

Karkat skims through Kanaya's last message one more time, feeling Lemnis's gaze on him all the while. Two explosions go off – one at the top of the dome, one somewhere on the horizon. The smoke gets swallowed by the portals, but even distracted Karkat notices the delay. The psionics are starting to get tired. If the dome itself needs to endure a beating, then they'll be looking at hours instead of days. Fuck. Fuck. It's always so much all of the time.

KARKAT: WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CAVALREAP EXACTLY?
LEMNIS: it's a former farming town out in the badlands.
KARKAT: WHICH BADLANDS? OLD OR NEW?
LEMNIS: the ones crockercorp terraformed a decade ago t∞ force them t∞ be reliant on corporate shipments instead of their own crops.
KARKAT: RIGHT, YEAH. I KNOW THE PLACE.
KARKAT: NEAR ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO THE—

He stops himself last minute. He has no reason to distrust Lemnis at all, but there's a reason knowledge about the entrances to the Mother Grub's caverns is kept between three trolls and three trolls only.

KARKAT: NEVER MIND. IT HAD SOME STRATEGIC VALUE AT THE START.
KARKAT: ONE OF THE FIRST GHOST RIFTS OPENED UP IN THE REGION.
LEMNIS: i see.
KARKAT: I HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE PLACE FOR SWEEPS. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?
LEMNIS: well a few people at hq are thinking there might be a cake mill somewhere in the region but nothing definitive.
KARKAT: RIGHT, YEAH, I HEARD ABOUT THAT.
KARKAT: WE CHECKED IT OUT LAST SWEEP. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF ANY ANOMALOUS POWER CONSUMPTION IN A HUNDRED MILE RADIUS LAST I HEARD.
LEMNIS: yeah that still checks out.
LEMNIS: by all accounts it's an otherwise normal occ∞pied town i think?
LEMNIS: only thing we found was crocker m∞ved a f∞w more agents int∞ the area last winter but nothing really came of it.
KARKAT: HM

He does another mental calculation of the position of the cavern entrance in relation to Cavalreap. They were careful as fuck, but if Crocker was already sniffing around, and now there's some kind of major incident...

KARKAT: AND YOU CAN'T GET IN CONTACT WITH *ANYONE*?
LEMNIS: no there's a whole blackout in the area sorry.
LEMNIS: only thing we got was a snippet of bodycam f∞tage that didn't make any sense then got wiped anyway.
LEMNIS: the best guess st∞pidly enough is that there's something down there sucking up all the relevance out of the place?
KARKAT: NO, THAT TRACKS.
KARKAT: IF THESE REPORTS ABOUT VRISKA ARE CORRECT.

God he doesn't think he's ever getting over that one. If he thought Meenah was an explosive arrival on the scene, then Vriska is by comparison a supernova ready to detonate at any minute.

KARKAT: WHAT ABOUT CROCKER FORCES? ANY UNUSUAL MOBILIZING IN THE AREA?
LEMNIS: a few convoy trucks en r∞te after the explosion but we can't rely on that after the business with the cloaked ships in the consort kingdom.
LEMNIS: y∞ heard about that one right commander?
KARKAT: YEAH, GOT THAT REPORT JUST BEFORE THE DOME WENT UP.
KARKAT: BUT YOU'RE RIGHT. IF SHE'S GOT UNDETECTABLE SHIPS HOVERING AROUND, THEN IT COULD BE A PROBLEM.
KARKAT: EXCEPT...

He starts pacing back and forth. Lemnis watches him sheepishly.

KARKAT: WHY WOULD CROCKER TRY THAT? THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL SHE CAN RESTRAIN FIVE, POTENTIALLY SIX, GODS AND SHE KNOWS IT.
KARKAT: I MEAN, I GUESS SHE COULD BE GUNNING FOR THE KIDS? BUT AGAIN, THEY SUPPOSEDLY HAVE VRISKA WITH THEM, AND EVERYONE WAS EN ROUTE ANYWAY.
KARKAT: SOMETHING WEIRD'S HAPPENING. I DON'T LIKE IT.

Karkat gives another glance at the dome, and hates more than anything the fact that he can't leave this city. He has to trust that at least one of his friends is okay and can deal with the matter, because the alternative is too—

LEMNIS: COMMANDER VANTAS L∞K OUT!!!

Lemnis screams sharply enough that it pierces through Karkat's thoughts and hits some ancient survival part of his brain. On instinct Karkat draws his gun and drops both himself and Lemnis to the ground in one fell swoop. Half a second later a volley of bullets cleaves through the air where they had been standing and punctures the wall of the building indiscriminately.

KARKAT: WHAT THE *FUCK*?!?!?

Karkat, still crouched, swings around to look behind him. Standing there at the end of the street, decked in their crimson scifi death cop riot gear, are four Crockercorp officers.

OFFICER: FIRE!
KARKAT: SHIT!

Another round of gunfire. Karkat rolls himself and Lemnis to the side again as the pavement is pummelled. He winces as he feels flecks of molten shrapnel bounce against the side of his face.

KARKAT: DAMN IT!

While the officers reload, Karkat takes aim and lets off a couple of shots of his own. One catches one officer right in the throat, who goes down with a gargled yelp. The others blow out the kneecaps of two more, who drop like sacks of iron bars. The rest miss.

KARKAT: HOW THE FUCK DID *THEY* GET IN HERE?
LEMNIS: i
LEMNIS: i don't
KARKAT: THE ONLY TRANSPORTALIZER LEFT IS THE SOUTHSIDE ONE WHICH

He turns to face Lemnis, who shrinks away under his gaze.

LEMNIS: commander vantas y∞ know i w∞ldN'TAAAAH

Lemnis scrambles to his feet out of the way of more bullets. Karkat pulls them both into cover behind the stairs leading up to the building. He reaches into his sylladex to pull out a fresh round for his own weapon.

KARKAT: WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO GET INTO THIS.
KARKAT: THERE ARE THREE POSSIBILITIES BUT WE'LL DISCUSS IT LATER.
LEMNIS: w-what are they?
KARKAT: I JUST SAID—

He's interrupted by the sound of lead on concrete. Lemnis is trembling like a leaf. This kid has never seen one second of battle in his life. Karkat shakes his head and hurriedly returns the gunfire. He doesn't see what it hits, but he takes the sudden cry of agony as a good sign.

The soldiers don't immediately shoot back. Karkat wastes no time. He pulls another handgun out of his sylladex and, dual wielding, springs out of cover. The two humans on the ground die in quick succession. The last one standing takes a bunch of expanding bullets to the limbs and drops to the floor in a heap with their compatriots. Karkat blows the smoke off the muzzle and caches the other gun again.

LEMNIS: oh my god?
KARKAT: YEAH, YEAH, FIRST TIME SEEING A REBEL HERO IN ACTION, GET THE FUCK OVER IT.
KARKAT: COME ON. WE NEED ANSWERS.
LEMNIS: u-um!!

Karkat doesn't wait for Lemnis before he strides down the street towards the sole surviving human officer, who is trying rather pathetically to squirm back to safety. Karkat steps on the back of one of their legs with enough pressure to cause them to howl.

KARKAT: NEAREST TRANSPORTALIZER'S A GOOD TWO MILES AWAY.
KARKAT: YOU'D NEVER MAKE IT BEFORE BLEEDING OUT.
OFFICER: A-AHHHH
KARKAT: NOW, YOU HAVE A CHOICE.
OFFICER: AAAHH FUCK STOP STOP IT HURTS STOP GOD FUCK JESUS PLEASE
KARKAT: YOU'RE DEAD REGARDLESS, BUT IF YOU HELP ME OUT, I CAN MAKE IT QUICK.
KARKAT: IF NOT...

Karkat moves his foot over the gaping bullet hole on their thigh, and stomps hard enough that the bone beneath gives an unhealthy-sounding crunch.

OFFICER: AAAAAAAHHHHHH
KARKAT: I KNOW HOW AGONIZING IT IS TO BLEED OUT FULL OF BULLETS IN ENEMY TERRITORY.
KARKAT: I'VE SEEN ENOUGH OF MY PEOPLE GO OUT LIKE THAT OVER THE YEARS, AND IT'S NEVER PRETTY.
KARKAT: RIGHT NOW EVERY PART OF YOUR BODY MUST BE ON FIRE. YOU'RE JUST ABOUT ON THE VERGE OF LOSING CONSCIOUSNESS, BUT YOU CAN'T BECAUSE THE PAIN'S TOO INTENSE. IN FACT, IT'S SO CONSTANT THAT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE THE LUXURY OF DISSOCIATING OUT OF IT UNTIL YOU DIE.
KARKAT: YOU'LL JUST LIE HERE FOR HOURS, STEWING IN YOUR OWN BLOOD, FEELING THE AGONY GROW WORSE WITH EVERY DROP OF LIFE THAT BLEEDS OUT OF YOU.
OFFICER: AAHAHAHHHHHAHHHHHH
KARKAT: SO, YOU CAN CHOOSE TO GO OUT LIKE THAT...
KARKAT: OR, IF YOU GIVE ME WHAT I WANT, I CAN SHOW MERCY THAT YOU DON'T FUCKING DESERVE BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION.

Karkat bends down, and places the point of of the gun against the human's temple. To make his point more clear, he also rips off their helmet and visor so that the metal can sink right into the blood and sweat soaked flesh.

KARKAT: GIVE ME INFORMATION, AND I PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY.
KARKAT: YOUR CHOICE.

He retracts the gun. The human makes a shrill sob.

OFFICER: I'LL TALK I'LL TALK JUST MAKE IT STOP HURTING PROMISE ME PLEASE MAKE IT STOP
KARKAT: THERE.
KARKAT: NOT SO HARD, IS IT?

He takes his foot off their leg, as a show of good faith. From the sidelines Lemnis watches on, horrified.

KARKAT: HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS CITY?
OFFICER: THRAAAAGHOWWWW
OFFICER: THROUGH THE TRANSPORALITZER!!
OFFICER: SOUTH SIDEEEEFFFFUCK
OFFICER: WE HAD GUYS MONITORING W
OFFICER: W WAITING FOR ANY KIND OF OPENIIINNGG SHIT
OFFICER: JAMMED IT OPEN WHEN YOUR LITTLE MESSENGER HOPPED THROUOUGGGGHHHAHHH
KARKAT: HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE?
OFFICER: I DON'T
KARKAT: *ANSWER ME*!

He kicks the officer in the side. They squeal and roll like a grub caught out in the Alternian sun.

OFFICER: SSHHIHITTTT OKAY OKAY
OFFICER: THREE SPECIAL OPS SQUADRONS
OFFICER: SUPPOSED TO
OFFICER: FUCK AAHHH
OFFICER: GET THE TRANSPORTALIZERS ONLINE
OFFICER: MY CREW WEEEEEJESUSCHRISTOWWWW
OFFICER: MEANT TO KNOCK OUT THE DOME GENERATOR
OFFICER: AND AAAHAHAAAAAHHHHHH
OFFICER: N NEUTRALIZE YOU IF WE COULD
OFFICER: IF NOT WE WERRREEESHITSHITSHITFUCKAHH
OFFICER: SUPPOSED TO BE A DISTRAAHAHAHAHCTION
OFFICER: FROM WHAT MADAM CROCKER IS REALLY
OFFICER: FUCK FUCK FUCK HURTS IT HURTS SO MUCH
OFFICER: KEEP YOU LOOKING AWAY FROM THE REAL AIM
KARKAT: WHICH IS?
OFFICER: HURTS I'M BLEEDING CAN'T FEEL MY LEG MAKE IT STOP GOD PLEASE
KARKAT: DON'T MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF MOTHERFUCKER

He applies his boot to the other thigh, with a precision stomp that bends the limb at a funny angle.

KARKAT: DO YOU WANT MY MERCY OR NOT?
OFFICER: AHH OK FUCK
OFFICER: CROCKERCORP WANTS YOU ALL FOCUSED ON THIS CITY
OFFICER: KEEP YOUR EYES OFF OFFFUCK
OFFICER: STEALTH SHIPS
OFFICER: NUSEATTLE AND CAVALREAP
OFFICER: PLANNING SOMETHING BIG I DON'T KNOW ANY MORE THAN THAT GOD PLEASE BELIEVE ME IT HURTS SO BAD
LEMNIS: wait did y∞ just say
KARKAT: OH FUCK.
KARKAT: *FUCK*!
OFFICER: HEY WAIT PLEASE DON'T GO IT HURTS SO MUCH MAKE IT STOP I'M BEGGING

Karkat steps away from the officer and opens up a voice channel over comms, trying and failing to ignore the sinking stone in his gut

KARKAT: PAGING MEENAH AND ALFONZ
KARKAT: THIS IS FUCKING URGENT.
KARKAT: RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.
MEENAH: sup
ALFONZ: commAnder vAntas.
KARKAT: WE HAVE A SITUATION HERE.
MEENAH: no shit
MEENAH: what the fuck now shouty
KARKAT: WELL, MULTIPLE FUCKING SITUATIONS IF I'M HONEST.
KARKAT: BUT ONE THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTS YOU TWO
KARKAT: A COUPLE OF CROCKER MILITIA CREWS GOT INTO THE CITY
KARKAT: SPECIALISTS TRAINED TO REOPEN THE TRANSPORTALIZER LINK AND SHUT DOWN THE DOME.
ALFONZ: thAt's A problem if i've ever heArd one commAnder.
MEENAH: damn all this for a couple more smallfry? 38/
MEENAH: nubs dunno if it escarped your attention but we been krillin these dudes all day
MEENAH: wtf should we be more concerned over this bunch
KARKAT: THESE ARE SPECIALIST OPS
ALFONZ: big guns?
KARKAT: PSIONIC NEUTRALIZERS
MEENAH: still not impressed tbh
MEENAH: the fuck these chumps gonna do to stop M-E?
ALFONZ: Also
ALFONZ: not to distrAct from this briefing but
ALFONZ: commAnder
ALFONZ: is thAt screAming i heAr on the other end of your line?
KARKAT: ...

Karkat spins around. The human soldier is still, in fact, shrieking in agony. There's a nasty huge amount of blood spilling out into the street now, too. Lemnis looks genuinely on the verge of fainting.

KARKAT: THE REAL PROBLEM HERE IS NOT A COUPLE HUMAN SOLDIERS WHO SWINEBEASTBACKED OFF A TRANSPORTALIZER LINK.
KARKAT: IT'S THAT CROCKER HAS DECIDED TO DEPLOY THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE DIVERSION
ALFONZ: A distrAction?
MEENAH: tf you mean this is some kinda ruse
KARKAT: CROCKER'S FOCUS IS NOT ON THE CITY.
KARKAT: SHE WANTS TO CAUSE CHAOS TO KEEP US FROM LOOKING ELSEWHERE.
ALFONZ: looking At whAt exActly?
KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW.
KARKAT: INTEL SAYS SHE'S PLANNING SOMETHING IN THE HUMAN CAPITOL
KARKAT: AND
KARKAT: I THINK THE OTHER GODS ARE IN DANGER
MEENAH: how you figure that one out
KARKAT: I DON'T HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN
KARKAT: I NEED TO GET TO CAVALREAP ASAP
KARKAT: YOU TWO ARE IN CHARGE OF DEFENDING THE CITY UNTIL I'M BACK
ALFONZ: of course commAnder. i will defend outglut^2 with my life.
MEENAH: cavalreap? the fuck does the batterbitch want w some dump out in the sticks
MEENAH: no wait a minute
MEENAH: thats where theyre holding your exes corpse party aint it
MEENAH: shouty are you
KARKAT: FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, THIS HAS ***NOTHING*** TO DO WITH DAVE!!!
KARKAT: CAN YOU *PLEASE* GET OFF MY NOOK ABOUT IT FOR FIVE FUCKING MINUTES!!
KARKAT: GOD FUCK I CAN'T STAND YOU!!
MEENAH: hold the fuck on
MEENAH: you dont really mean that do you
MEENAH: karkat
KARKAT: I'M GOING.
KARKAT: DON'T LET THE CITY FALL

He shuts the line with a forceful slam. In his mouth is the bitter realisation that he may have just set the fragile bridge between him and his matesprit, then realises, in an oddly liberating fit, that he couldn't give less of a fuck. There are more important things for him to do than pretend to slot into a lifestyle that the universe has done nothing but take from him again and again and again. Well, he's done now. For better or worse, he's done.

KARKAT: LEMNIS, GET A MESSAGE TO HQ.
KARKAT: I'M BOUND FOR CAVALREAP. THIS IS A TOP SECRET CLANDESTINE MISSION—
LEMNIS: commander vantas help!!!
KARKAT: OH NO.

Karkat looks over just in time to see Lemnis stagger back as the human officer clamps a bloody hand around his ankle. Between the red-stained fingers Karkat makes out some kind of metallic device pressed against Lemnis's skin. Something about it strikes him as familiar. In fact, wait, no, hold on, that looks like Swifer's—

OFFICER: FOR PEACE ON EARTH C
LEMNIS: wait a second what are y∞ d∞ing—

The officer slams their hand down. The single-use transportalizer activates. Lemnis vanishes in a flash of red light. His tablet drops to the ground, clattering as the screen smashes in a million cracks.

KARKAT: FUCK YOU!!!!!!

Karkat points his gun and fires three shots, point blank, into the human's head. They drop to the floor, limp and silent. In fact, the only sound Karkat can hear is his own ragged breathing and heavy heartbeat. Nothing else. Not even the—

Oh fuck. Oh fuck.

Karkat looks upwards, not daring to breathe. The weight in his throat plummets clean through his torso and good few inches into the ground for good measure. He sees the fading shimmer of the dome, and beyond that, a stretch of warm cloudless blue, and nothing else. No drones, no airships, no explosions, nothing.

The skies are perfectly and absolutely clear.

Chapter 19: TWO, section vi.

vi.

Vriska Serket learns more than she'd ever like to about Earth C teenage culture as she leans back on the hood of John Egbert's car in a shady alleyway behind the mall. For at least an hour John and Roxy's weird son infodumps about some stupid niche web video app that you apparently have to use to harvest as much social clout as possible (for no reason Vriska can possibly discern), and the twitchy wimpy boy named Tavros of all fucking things hedges around a discussion of what Harry Anderson refers to as, with total grave sincerity, the "discourse trenches." Vrissy spends most of the time glancing at her phone, affecting disinterest, but she keeps glancing up too much to not give the game away. Being terminally online is, somehow, the fucking lifeblood of the offspring of Earth C's gods.

Basically, what she learns is that kids on this planet fucking suck. Sure, she already knew that Earth human culture is by design way softer than Alternia, but she looks at this gaggle of youths and cannot fathom them being made of anything remotely close to the same stuff as John or Rose or Kanaya. Hell, she doubts these kids are even combat trained!

HARRY: so, right, then his profile got hit with a crockercorp copyright strike, because he didn't realize that typing quirks aren't covered under fair use parody law, so he ended up being banned for a good, uh,
HARRY: tav, was it three or four months in the end?
TAVROS: Five, actually,
HARRY: shit, yeah, my bad. five months. so by the time he gets back, he's SO low down the trending list that the algorithms pretty much rejected him on sight.
VRISKA: Mm hmm.
HARRY: poor guy never recovered. don't let anyone know, but i kinda thought it was a shame? no one could do content like him.
TAVROS: Yes, such a shame,, such is the fickle nature, of creating content in the prime of your youth,,
VRISKA: Uh huh.
HARRY: and to make matters way more complicated, remember the cosplay girl i brought up earlier? well, SHE then decides to—
VRISSY: God Harry Anderson Can You Please Can It!
VRISSY: You are m8king us all look like a8solute supreme l8meos Over Here, and I can't stand for It!!!!!!!

Vrissy tugs at the ends of her hair in frustration, then looks sympathetically over to Vriska.

VRISSY: I am So Sorry that my 8oyfriends are total losers.
VRISSY: Look, you already Know I'm a way cooler 8ad 8itch, 8ut God 8eing around them m8kes me feel like I'm getting less cool 8y associ8tion.
VRISKA: Oh yeah wow.
VRISSY: Honestly, I ask myself on the daily what I See In Them and I honestly you're not listening to a single word I'm s8ying Are You.
VRISKA: Ah ha, I see.
VRISSY: Vriska Please I Am Trying To Redeem My Cool Points Over Here!!!!!!!!!!
SOLLUX: lma0 she gives zer0 fucks kid.
VRISSY: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

The sharp scream's enough to pull Vriska back to paying more than less than zero attention towards this conversation.

VRISKA: What's going on? Is something relevant finally happening?
HARRY: er, no. vris is just digging a deeper hole for herself trying to prove she doesn't suck as much as me and tav do.
TAVROS: Ouch,,,
VRISKA: That it? Well, I already knew she's as l8me as you two dwee8s. She's well meaning, 8ut so a8solutely a tryhard! It's, like, almost secondhand em8arrassment inducing!
VRISSY: Hey what the Fuck! >::::(
VRISKA: Sorry, 8n't no Serket living or dead would put up with this gru8tier 8a8ytime 8ullshit for more than twenty seconds.
VRISSY: This is Important Cultural Work!
VRISKA: Ok, you get attention from str8ngers on the internet, 8ig fucking whoop.
VRISKA: You guys are what, seven sweeps old? And what have you actually done in that time?
VRISKA: Like, I'm talking shit that actually matters, here.
HARRY: well, i openly defied the corporate government with my dad literally two days ago.
VRISSY: I Literally Saw open com8at when I first met you.
TAVROS: I, erm, withstood sixteen years, living under the ever present eye, of, of,,, of gamzee makara,,,,,
VRISKA: So a8solutely nothing of value.
VRISKA: God you kids are so 8oring!!!!!!!!

Vriska hops up off the car hood, planting her feet on the ground sharply enough that Tavros winces. Sollux, floating a few feet in the air, shrugs and deliberately stares away into the middle distance.

VRISKA: I seriously can't w8 to 8low this lame ass joint if THIS is what the youth of this world can aspire to.
VRISKA: A 8unch of losers coasting along on their ancestors' glory.
VRISKA: Don't any of you want to m8ke a n8me for yourself? Do something memora8le????????
VRISSY: Well, Duh, O8viously! 8ut
VRISSY: Like
VRISSY: I'm not Dum8? I'm not just gonna Needlessly End8nger my life or anything.
VRISSY: I just wanna 8e a cool 8itch that inspires all the heroines of the Knockoff YA Dystopian 8ooks that will Certainly Come once we win this war.
VRISKA: 8ut you don't actually want to do anything to get there?
VRISSY: I mean if I Have To I will, you know?
VRISSY: 8ut There's Literally no Point in 8eing a cool hero if you die 8efore You Can t8ste the glory that comes with it.
VRISSY: As decisions go, I don't think you can Get Any Dum8er.
VRISKA: Ugh, I guess I can't 8e mad at you, Vrissy. At least you're trying.
VRISKA: 8ut THESE two........

She points towards Harry and Tavros. Tavros shrinks even further into himself. Harry raises an eyebrow, like he's thinking about challenging her but isn't confident enough to commit to the bit.

VRISKA: I didn't know it was possi8le to m8ke it to this age and still 8e a total loser! Hell, even the loser 8oys from Alternia did SOMETHING with themselves 8efore dying unceremoniously and pointlessly.
VRISKA: You know, I'll 8e glad when the weirdo adult versions of the people I knew show up just so I don't have to associ8te with either of you any more.
VRISKA: You guys are such losers you even managed to almost m8ke a Vriska look uncool!
TAVROS: I'm, um, sorry,,,?
VRISKA: Don't 8other. You're clearly 8eyond salv8tion.
VRISKA: Vrissy, at least, I could m8ke something out of once we ditch the l8me 8rig8de.
VRISSY: Vriska, Don't you Think You're—
VRISKA: I mean, I'm not wrong. What kind of life do you think you'll lead, stuck in some gru8 tier wimp 8oy rel8tionships? One you'll 8e satisfied with? Really?
VRISSY: ...
VRISKA: See? So, when the others show up, how a8out we—
HARRY: that's enough.
VRISKA: ?

Vriska turns around, where, to her surprise, Harry is staring her down with a determined expression. His fists are loosely clenched, but he's managing to hold her gaze somehow. She blinks, trying not to obviously tense up.

HARRY: i get you've done some amazing things on a scale we can barely comprehend, vriska, but that doesn't give you the right to talk about anyone like that.
HARRY: just because you're a god that made our universe doesn't mean we aren't worth anything in comparison.
HARRY: you know what, no, none of us has done anything worthwhile on a cosmic scale! and you know what else? that's perfectly okay!!
HARRY: tav, vris and i are our own people with our own lives and just because it doesn't meet YOUR standards doesn't mean we have no value.
HARRY: because, and i know this might apparently be a crazy wild concept, you are not the protagonist of reality!
HARRY: so yeah! we do suck! we live totally lame and boring lives! you got me there, vriska! no one here has ever died and become a god or single handedly killed a universe eating demon!
HARRY: and yet we still matter! there are still people who love us and care about us and that's enough proof we're doing SOMETHING worthwhile!
HARRY: but most importantly *I* care about my friends and i don't give a shit who you are, you don't get to look down on us and decide whether or not we have value!

By the end of it, the kid's shaking and he's biting back tears. His jaw is clenched and his face is flushed. Vrissy and Tavros stare at him, totally at a loss as to how they're meant to react. After a moment's silence, Vriska takes a step forwards, tilts her head upwards, and barks out a single laugh.

VRISKA: Hah!!!!!!!!
HARRY: ?
VRISKA: Damn, don't let it ever get said that you don't have SOME kind of spine, kid.
VRISKA: I mean, that speech was John levels of cringe, 8ut I didn't expect you'd have the glo8es to ACTUALLY say something like that!
VRISKA: Must 8e the 8it of Roxy you have stuffed somewhere inside you.
HARRY: i, uh... ok?
VRISKA: Congratul8tions, Harry, you've officially ranked higher than 90% of most 8oys I've ever encountered in my life. ::::)
HARRY: that's cool and all i guess, but are you gonna apologize for treating tav and i like we're dirt??
HARRY: because that was really fucked up of you, vriska. no amount of flattery and self-aggrandizing's getting past that.
HARRY: so are you gonna admit to doing something wrong, or do i have to keep acting like a cringe bitch?
VRISKA: ...
VRISSY: (holy shit, Harry, Give It a Rest!)

Vrissy moves over and tugs at Harry's shoulder with an anxious expression. She whispers to him, but she's not doing a good job of making sure Vriska doesn't hear her.

VRISSY: (do you Want to M8ke an enemy of her????????)
HARRY: (i get you're hero worshiping her or whatever, vris, but that doesn't give her a license to do what the fuck ever!)
VRISSY: (uh, pretty sure it Does?)
VRISSY: (and how Exactly was she wrong?)
HARRY: (did you literally not hear how she tore into all three of us! like right now that is what she just did!)
VRISSY: (perhaps we should have Sh8ped Up More Then!)
VRISSY: (we're literally doing the Coolest shit we've ever done in our lives and i'm Not gonna let You ruin it!)
HARRY: (ruin what! vris i know the lore!)
HARRY: (nearly everyone who was involved with vriska ended up dead or traumatized!)
HARRY: (you're really gonna throw yourself face first into some kind of suicidal death mission just to impress your ancestor?)
VRISSY: (you just don't get it, Harry Anderson!)
VRISSY: (i Need to 8e a hero no matter what, 8ecause otherwise what's the Point of my life???????)
HARRY: (i dunno, maybe being happy and surrounding yourself with people you love, all of whom are coincidentally ALIVE??)
VRISSY: (ugh, this is why she called us L8me!!!!!!!!)
TAVROS: Um, you two,
TAVROS: She's, kind of, staring right at you,,,
VRISSY:
HARRY:

Vrissy and Harry look away from each other and turn to Vriska, blinking sheepishly. Vriska shakes her head.

VRISKA: Well, okay! You guys definitely have a metric unit of unaddressed 8aggage that totally isn't my pro8lem!
VRISKA: I mean, you all do whatever you want. I'm just here until the people I actually know show up so I can get this show on the road.
HARRY: as you've said. but, like, what is it you actually think you can do?
HARRY: full offense, vriska, but you're just some kid in the middle of a war, and only one out of half a dozen god tiers.
HARRY: i just think you're overestimating yourself if you think you can, like, waltz in and become the grand hero who singlehandedly wins the revolution or whatever.
VRISSY: Harry! You know what she's Accomplished!
VRISSY: She killed Lord English 8y herself! I think that qualifies her to t8ke on a few people with Guns.
VRISKA: I don't need the vote of confidence, 8ut you're right.
VRISKA: Jane Crocker 8n't got SHIT on Lord English! ::::)

She laughs again, hands on hips. She definitely doesn't think about what she remembers of her last moments out in the furthest ring, not in the slightest! If the lore says she's the epic hero who saved the multiverse, then that's what she is! Besides, she totally had that fight in the bag anyway. Who cares if she didn't actually see the final blow?

HARRY: by take down lord english you mean vanish into the void for several decades and drop down onto earth c alongside all the other ghosts who got their asses kicked.

Harry folds his arms and raises one eyebrow. Vriska feels her hackles raise up. Jeesh, why the hell is this kid riding her bulge like this?

VRISKA: Look, I get that John pro8a8ly fed you a 8unch of f8ke shit a8out me 8ecause he didn't want anyone looking up to me who wasn't qualified.
HARRY: actually he wasn't in my life at all but that's not the point.
VRISKA: Ok! Still don't care!
VRISKA: The point is I know I'm 8ad enough to t8ke anything on!
VRISKA: I can t8ke down Crocker's fucked up corpor8te empire and get the fuck out of this universe in like a week tops!
VRISSY: Hold on, Wait, what? The Universe????????
TAVROS: What exactly, are you meaning by that,,
VRISKA: It means what it means! I'm gonna 8last on out of here and get 8ack to MY reality instead of this insipid f8ke world for sad losers!
VRISSY: Oh God, so THAT'S what you want.
VRISSY: Hah!

It's now Vrissy's turn to laugh apparently, enough that tears well up in her eyes.

VRISSY: You're just Exploiting everything here to try and find a Way to get 8ack to your girlfriend, right?
VRISSY: And you have the Audacity to put yourself on a pedestal a8ove us?
VRISSY: That might just 8e the 8iggest Simp Move ever witnessed in the history of reality right there!
VRISKA: The 8iggest........ what the fuck are you on a8out?
VRISKA: This is more of your asinine online shit isn't it.
TAVROS: God, please, don't let anyone have to explain, the concept of simping,,, please,,,
HARRY: hold on, though, we're talking about what's her name, though, aren't we?
HARRY: terepy pipes or something?
HARRY: the troll chick my dad e-dated and cheated on my mom with until she died out in space?
HARRY: THAT girl?
VRISKA: Kid.
HARRY: ?

Vriska takes two steps towards Harry. Something is going nuclear inside her. He must see it written on her face, because unlike last time, he flinches away.

VRISKA: You'd 8etter shut the FUCK up if you know what's good for you.
HARRY: uh?
VRISKA: 8ecause if I have to hear ONE MORE fucker say she's dead, I SWEAR to you.
VRISKA: I.
VRISKA: Will.

*BANG!*

The bullet whizzes by Vriska's cheek fast and close enough to scrape off the top layer of skin before striking true into the car's windscreen. Shards of glass explode outwards, pelting the four of them with violent indifference. Harry shields his face with his hands. Tavros hunches into himself. Vrissy dives to the floor with a yelp. Sollux remains floating in the air, untouched. Vriska lets the glass scrape against her, feels the sting as blood wells up from the cuts on her face.

SOLLUX: hey what the FUCK was
HARRY: shit! down there!
VRISKA: ?

Vriska spins around behind her. Up on the rooftop of one of the stores at the end of the street is some human decked in crimson battle gear and a sniper rifle. As she looks, the figure adjusts the weapon and takes aim again. The second shot luckily misses by a few inches, instead puncturing the car's front tyre. This—

This motherfucker is trying to kill her. Some jumped up mindless human drone thinks they have the fucking RIGHT to try and take her out. That anyone out there would think for one fucking second that after everything Vriska's been through today, that there is any living chance in hell she's gonna die before she gets what she wants?

The human cocks their gun again, a cold and clanking reverberation of the grim truth that drips down over Vriska's body like calcified sludge.

The universe hates her this much. It's never gonna stop hating her.

So Vriska Serket does what Vriska Serket does best. She goes fucking apeshit.

What happens next is a series of events so rapid-fire and convoluted that it forces the narrative to tailspin out of its third-person limited focaliser.

Vriska flings herself into the air like a howling shotput aimed right for the human sniper. She crosses the hundred or so feet distance in a matter of seconds, priming her knuckles with her dice. The sniper barely manages to look up from their scope before they receive a hundred mile an hour spiked fist right to the throat. They go flying across the department store rooftop, slamming into a ventilation unit with an echoing crunch of bone.

The sniper rifle remains fixed to the ledge. Vriska, screaming out a roar of righteous fury, lifts the weapon over her head and slams it down on her knee, snapping the cutting edge piece of military tech clean in two. She tosses the remnants into the alleyway below.

Vrissy watches from her crouched position, and considers that she may finally understand why so many trolls became so infatuated with the divine. Harry swears to himself, twitching his hands scarred by a million little cuts. The sight of his own blood makes him feel nauseous. Tavros, surprising even himself, enters a state of almost zen calm. Living life under a state of threat is pretty much his territory, sad as it sounds.

Vriska, on the roof, storms across to the writhing sniper. They're babbling something incoherently into their earpiece, nonsense that actually correlates to encrypted transportalizer coordinates. Unbeknownst to them, being flung across a rooftop at mach speeds destroyed the communication link. Vriska looks down at the human, and some rational part of her considers that she has the prime opportunity to extract information. At the same time, she couldn't give less of a fuck. She is so damn fucking tired of reality shitting on her time and time again.

So she plants her foot on the human's sternum and plunges the sharp ends of the dice into their jugular vein. They cough out a gurgle of blood, then fall dead. Vriska blinks to herself. She's forgotten how easily killing and violence come to her. For a dizzying instant, she feels six sweeps again, wrestling olivebloods twice her size on Alternian shores with the screams of an engorged monster setting her brain on fire. Everything suddenly feels much more real.

Sollux hears the commotion and pays it about as much heed as everything else since Aradia ditched him. But even he can sense shit's getting real. He has the perfect chance to float up out of here and leave it all behind before he ends up getting involved. He never gave a shit anyway.

But then he gets slammed with a portent of imminent doom he hasn't felt since childhood. The voices of the three kids below suddenly spring up in a dizzying encore of the chorus of the soon to be deceased, so loud that it feels like his half-dead brain is dribbling out of his aural cavities. It's almost, but not quite, enough to drown out the steeply rising whistle of a missile dropping down from the sky, straight and true towards Sollux's current position.

His fingers crackle with psionic electricity. He already hates himself for it, but he still makes his choice.

SOLLUX: GET THE FUCK D0WN!!

He divebombs back down to earth, at sub-light speeds Crocker only wishes she could attain. The kids look up at him, dumbfounded, but offer no resistance when he tackles all three of them into a huddled pile as close to the floor as physically possible. His body judders like a fork in a plug socket, the psionic charge and the doom choir almost enough to make him explode. He flings all the tension, all the energy, outwards into an oscillating red-blue bubble that eclipses an area no wider than the kids and the car.

The missile explodes against the psychic barrier. Sollux's body screams with the agony of exertion. His head abruptly falls silent.

Vriska sees the street blow up before she even manages to withdraw all the dice from the human's windpipe. She braces herself against the blast of hot air that knocks her back and pulls the last d8 free from its flesh trap. Then her stomach drops in realisation.

She flies straight into the epicentre of the blast with her heart in her throat. Those kids can't die. Not if she wants any chance of getting back home.

Inside the forcefield, Harry blinks in disbelief as he watches Sollux shudder under the strain of keeping them all alive. Yellow-tinted sweat drops off of Sollux's brow, landing on Harry's sliced up hands. It stings like a motherfucker, and it's this that finally lets it sink in for Harry that he quite literally was seconds away from a violent, horrible death.

HARRY: holy fucking shit.

Tavros, meanwhile, buries his face in his hands, a quite difficult task given that he is at the bottom of a pile of three teenagers and one troll that keeps giving them all sharp static shocks. He knows that kind of missile. Those are among Crockercorp's finest. His mother means business.

TAVROS: Oh, oh no,,
TAVROS: Oh, this is all my fault,,

His cries go unheard.

Vriska zooms through the blasted and scorched street. Miraculously, the mall's outer wall remains unbreached. She wonders for half a second just what the fuck these buildings are made out of if they can withstand this kind of blast. Then she remembers she doesn't care one drop about irrelevant worldbuilding details like that.

She's too busy looking at the flicking seizure globe of a forcefield around the group's last known location. It's a sight she hasn't seen since that time she skimmed around LOBAF to finish that stupid Sgrub sidequest for a strife specibus she couldn't even use anyway. It's a reminder that yes, actually, Sollux can use his powers in a combat situation.

It's cool, but Vriska doesn't have time for spectacle. She starts hammering on the edge of the dome with a fist.

VRISKA: Hey! What the fuck happened here????????
VRISKA: 8nswer me!!!!!!!!

Vriska goes in to kick the the forcefield with devastating force, but before that the barrier abruptly shorts out, revealing her four compatriots in a heaped pile. All of their hair is sticking out in wild directions.

SOLLUX: cr0cker apparently decided t0 place a hit 0n the brats.
VRISSY: Yeah! And Sollux totally S8ved our Asses!

Vrissy scrambles out of the body pile, trying and failing to smooth her hair down. Sollux floats in the air again, trying and failing to look like he doesn't care.

SOLLUX: f0r s0me asinine reas0n y0ur imminent deaths were screaming in my pan like i haven't heard f0r a l0ng fucking time.
SOLLUX: i did it f0r peace 0f mind.
VRISSY: Uh huh, Sure.
SOLLUX: stfu it's n0t MY fault y0u infants are deemed c0smically imp0rtant en0ugh that i need t0 be attuned t0 y0ur d00m.
HARRY: anyway, thank you mr sollux. we really would've been in the shit without you.
SOLLUX: whatever.

Sollux flips Harry and Vrissy off, but it's lacking the usual edge. Tavros is the last to stand, looking miserable. One of his glasses lenses is cracked.

TAVROS: If you, um, care to know,,
TAVROS: That was one of mother's, finest artillery pieces,,,
VRISKA: Uh huh. And that means...?
TAVROS: This was, absolutely a personal strike,,
TAVROS: Which, for obvious reasons, is actually very terrible,,
HARRY: you can say that again.
VRISSY: Eh! I'm not too Worried.

Vrissy stretches her arms behind her head before pulling out her phone.

VRISSY: My Moms and Everyone are on Their W8y soon, so they'll deal with this mess! ::::)
TAVROS: Are you, sure on this matter,
VRISSY: O8viously! Shit like this is what The Re8ellion was Made For!
VRISSY: In fact, I'll let them know Right Now that Events are happening.

She unlocks her phone and tabs over to her messenger app, but soon pauses. A scowl grows on her face.

VRISSY: That's Weird.
HARRY: what?
VRISSY: The signal's gone.
VRISSY: Can't even 8ypass to the Covert Re8el network.
VRISSY: Something 8ig's interfering.
HARRY: well shit.

Harry's face falls. His eyes go wide, but it might be more accurate to say they haven't stopped being wide since that first gunshot. Speaking of which...

HARRY: what happened with the sniper?
VRISKA: Oh, I killed them.
HARRY: you...

He blanches.

VRISKA: God, what the fuck ELSE was I meant to do?
VRISKA: I know how kill or 8e killed situations work, kid!
HARRY: but they were just...
HARRY: i just saw them
HARRY: and they
HARRY: ugh

Harry bends over and pukes in the street. Vrissy edges away from him, repulsed, but her face is hard too. Every single one of these kids is going to walk away from today with a new crop of traumas.

VRISKA: You get used to it.
VRISKA: Anyway, since we're o8viously in the maws of some trap, we need an exit strategy.
VRISKA: Which of you kids knows how to get to where Kanaya and the others are?
TAVROS: Um, me,, and harry, too,,,

Tavros points to himself, and to Harry, who is trying his hardest to fend off a panic attack. He is eerily calm. Vriska privately mentally assigns the boy a few kudos points. Tavros privately mentally reassesses whether or not he misread his mother's intentions to keep him alive.

VRISKA: Next question.
VRISKA: Can anyone oper8te this vehicle?
VRISSY:
TAVROS:
VRISKA: What, seriously?
TAVROS: Harry anderson can,, at least,

Vriska turns towards Harry, who has finally managed to stand upright again. His face is clammy as fuck.

VRISKA: Are you in a st8te to drive?
HARRY: um, yeah probably?
HARRY: i think it passed. i'm good now.
VRISKA: Cool. You're getting us to the church.
HARRY: wait. you mean...
VRISKA: We're gonna fight our way out of here, o8viously.
VRISKA: If you don't, you die. It's simple as that.
HARRY: ...
TAVROS: ,,,
VRISSY: Hey! That's what you guys Signed Up for when you joined the re8ellion, you know!
SOLLUX: at least this 0ne has the spirit.
VRISSY: Thank you for your Glowing Endorsement! ::::)
SOLLUX: ugh
VRISKA: We're getting off track here!

Vriska claps her hands together, sharply enough that everyone snaps to attention.

VRISKA: There could 8e more enemies on us any minute now.
VRISKA: What kind of strife speci8i are you guys packing?
VRISSY: Well, I
HARRY: that's kind of
TAVROS: You see, considering that matter,
VRISKA: What the hell! Are you kids TRYING to die 8efore adulthood!
HARRY: but you aren't allowed a specibus license until you turn eighteen anyw
VRISKA: L8me response. Shut the fuck up.
VRISKA: Here. I'm assigning you some right now.
VRISKA: Lucky for you, what you get will 8e a perfect fit. :::;)

Vriska pulls out three of her dice, and tosses each one at the feet of each kid. Three eights shine up from the battered asphalt as the fluorite octet's FRESH TO THE FRAY perk triggers.

VRISKA: Once they're assigned, get into the car and—

Vriska doesn't get to finish. One second she's standing there, comfortable in the role of ragtag battle commander. The next, she's being slammed right through the wall by something very strong and impossibly fast.

She's already smashed through three layers of concrete before she realises what's happened. She tries to writhe out of the grip of whatever's got her, but it's no use. There's too much dust, and she's caught too off-guard to do anything about it.

One thing she does learn, though, is that this mall is fortified by a good twenty or so layers of solid concrete. She feels each layer shatter against her skull, bringing her closer and closer to a dangerous state of concussion. Then, just as suddenly, they're both through into the mall proper again. Vriska is thrown across the polished floor, spinning almost as fast as her poor muddled brain is. She slams against some kind of ornate statue that brings her to a painful stop as shoppers all around her scramble for their lives.

Her eyes are blurry and the whole planet feels like it's tilting at a dangerous angle. Less than three seconds have passed since she crashed through into the mall, but when she looks up at the sizeable hole in the wall, there's no sign of her assailant. Just the stampede of bodies and the shrill wail of alarms. Crocker operatives in red and mall cops with handguns storm through the crowd, making their way directly for her.

Vriska realises, rather acutely, that they are definitely in the deep shit now.

Outside, the kids and Sollux are looking blankly at the spot where Vriska stood less than a second ago. Not enough time has passed for anyone to process what has just happened. Vrissy, however, is abruptly overcome with an unexplainable sensation. Her body moves of its own accord, pulling Harry three feet to the left just before a large figure breaks through the wall at a new spot at several times the speed of sound again. The shockwave brings them to their knees, but they're otherwise unharmed. When Vrissy looks up, the figure has disappeared. There's another hole in the wall fifty feet away.

The new hole, luckily, explodes outwards at the exact same moment the first humans fire their weapons at a still-disoriented Vriska. The chunks of stone and concrete do a remarkably effective job at shielding her from being perforated with holes. She knows this is the mystery attacker again, and also knows this is a way deadlier threat than all of those human chumps combined. She plants her feet in the ground and braces for the imminent impact.

It's about as effective as a sheet of paper against a tsunami. Vriska is launched across to the far side of the mall before she can do anything, crashing through the window into a second-floor jewellery store with enough force to kill anyone who isn't a ceruleanblood in the god tiers. Every part of her body is aflame with pain, but she still forces herself to roll to the side just as a polished blade carves through the linoleum where her head had just been.

Vriska staggers to her feet as a metallic hand bends down and effortlessly yanks the blade free from the industrial flooring. But she doesn't care about that. She instead studies her attacker's face, into those cold red eyes, and—

VRISKA: Oh you have got to 8e FUCKING kidding m—

The second hand clamps against her throat and slams her against the wall. Glittering gemstones fly from their shelves and pelt the ground in the world's most expensive hailstorm. Vriska involuntarily wheezes as the chokehold grows tighter, but it's not a gasp for breath. It's a laugh of triumph.

Dumb fucker was so busy trying to pin her like a bug that her hands went ignored. Hands loaded with eight dice beaming with energy.

Vriska grins viciously, and opens her hand.

The dice clatter to the floor, unnoticed among the other gems.

ANCESTRAL AWAKENING

Vrissy realises the explosion's going to happen half a second before it does. The dice, glowing by their feet, abruptly vanish, replaced by three brand new strife specibi. Then a blast of light so powerful it makes the missile look like a sparkler erupts from the roof of the mall, enveloping half the town in its harsh glow. The earth trembles violently and the noise knocks out their hearing for a few moments.

Harry watches the explosion without looking away. Spots of colour sear themselves into his eyes. He will be seeing afterimages for hours to come. Tavros is beginning to gravely regret enabling his friend.

Vrissy, meanwhile, has her eyes on the prize.

VRISSY: Guys, our Weapons!

She shouts louder than she needs to. Her ears are still ringing. But she doesn't really care, not when she now has her own super cool weapon like the heroes of old.

With a giddy glee that is absolutely inappropriate to the current situation unfolding, Vrissy slots the Cardkind specibus into place. Following her lead, both Harry and Tavros bend down to collect theirs. Harry assigns Threadkind to his portfolio, while Tavros grimaces at the Sodakind specibus fortune deigned to inflict on him.

TAVROS: This is, some kind of cruel jest, surely,
VRISSY: You can't seriously 8e Saying That!
VRISSY: These are versatile and cool as Fuck Strife weapons!
HARRY: yeah, if you have access to an alchemiter, which we patently DON'T right now.
VRISSY: Hah! If you're a Real One you don't Need any of that!
VRISSY: Watch and See. ::::)

An armoured vehicle has pulled up at the end of the road. A small group of humans decked in red emerge from inside, armed to the teeth. Vrissy takes a few confident steps forward, face plastered with a manic grin. On the inside she is scared shitless, but no one can ever know that.

She draws two cards from her strife deck. Seems her starting variant is tarot. The Fool and Wheel Of Fortune sit in the palms of her hands, glowing with a latent energy.

The ground beneath the humans abruptly rises fifty feet into the air, transforming into a makeshift sheer cliff. This is followed by a huge ring of blades that flings itself at the cliff, carving clean through it. The cliff collapses and the Crocker forces are powerless to stop themselves from plummeting to the ground. Half of them die on impact. The others barely make it back on their feet before the wheel comes around again, rolling them flat. Once every enemy is dealt with, both the wheel and the cliff dematerialise into thin air.

VRISSY: Holy.
VRISSY: Fucking
VRISSY: Shit!!!!!!!!

Vrissy's body is electric with adrenaline. She feels like she could springboard off the walls of the buildings and launch herself out of the universe. Then, just as abruptly, a sharp spike of agony runs through her head. She wobbles backwards, dazed.

HARRY: vris!

Harry rushes over to catch her before she hits the floor. Vrissy looks up at him with bewilderment.

VRISSY: Shit... ow...
HARRY: looks like that took the wind outta you, haha.
SOLLUX: well fucking 0bivi0usly.

Sollux descends to the ground, frowning at Vrissy.

SOLLUX: that kind 0f specibus is reserved f0r th0se at the t0p 0f the echeladder there's n0 way s0me0ne at her level sh0uld be fucking with that.
SOLLUX: g0d what the fuck was serket THINKING giving y0u kiddies a bunch 0f fucking nukes.
SOLLUX: brat's damn lucky she didn't g0 and burn herself 0ut then and there.
VRISSY: I'm... Fine...
SOLLUX: n0 y0u fucking aren't.
SOLLUX: d0n't try and d0 what y0u just did again unless y0u want t0 die.
SOLLUX: this is n0t a fucking game.
TAVROS: Um, everyone,,,
TAVROS: We yet again, seem to have company,,

Tavros points rather uselessly at both ends of the alleyway. Two more trucks filled with Crocker forces have pulled up in a pretty damning barricade. Harry looks helplessly to Sollux. He's never felt so young and small as he does now.

HARRY: what do we do!!
SOLLUX: FUCK i'm thinking 0kay?

One of the soldiers gets ahead of themselves and fires a premature shot in their direction. Sollux crushes the bullet with a psionic flare, then flings it back around into the advancing crowd.

VRISSY: Hey! Let me...

Vrissy tries to wrestle out of Harry's arms, but the pain running through her head spikes in a terrible crescendo. Her brain feels like it's about to creak in two. She lasts another three seconds before she flops backwards, unconscious. Harry gingerly touches her forehead. It's like brushing up against an open flame.

HARRY: vris is in a really bad way here!
SOLLUX: i kn0w that!
SOLLUX: m0ther FUCK why did aradia leave me here t0 get int0 this mess!

On the other end, a particularly nimble soldier makes a beeline right for a bewildered Tavros. He scuttles back like a startled animal but barely makes it six feet before his back slams against the trunk of the car.

TAVROS: Oh no, no, please no,,,

The soldier is nearly on him. Tavros closes his eyes and pushes his arms forward defensively. A comically oversized shaken-up bottle of Faygo suddenly appears in his hands. He barely has time to register what's happening before the lid pops open and a high pressure cannon stream of soda blasts the soldier down the road, crashing into the others like a sticky red human-shaped bowling ball.

TAVROS: Erm,,,,,

Tavros takes advantage of the opportunity to regroup with the others. His heart is hammering at a rate that is definitely not good. His hands are covered with soda, and that's threatening to send him to a place that is even worse. He brushes his hands over his pants and tries very very hard not to think about anything at all.

HARRY: sollux please! they're gonna be on us any second!

Harry continues looking up at Sollux helplessly. Tavros sees Vrissy collapsed in Harry's arms and feels a neat lump of dread ball in his stomach.

Sollux raises a finger popping with golden sparks.

SOLLUX: 0kay 0kay i think i have s0mething.
SOLLUX: but y0u need t0 be ready t0 drive kid.
HARRY: but... my hands!

Harry motions to his hands with his head, hands which are too busy supporting Vrissy's unconscious body to be lifted up right now. Hands which are also still burning in agony.

Sollux facepalms.

SOLLUX: 0h my g0d. y0u have threadkind what are y0u whining ab0ut.
HARRY: ?
SOLLUX: use it t0 suture y0urself G0D d0 they teach y0u brats nothing?
HARRY: erm, i
SOLLUX: fuck we d0n't have time f0r this!

Sollux uses his psionics to open the car's back door and lift Vrissy out of Harry's arms. He tactically lobs her into the back seat with a flick of the wrist.

SOLLUX: get y0ur specibus 0ut n0w.
HARRY: but how do i do that?!
SOLLUX: FUCK just think ab0ut it hard en0ugh 0r whatever! this shit's abstract as fuck it just s0rt 0f happens!
HARRY: a-ah, okay...!

Harry concentrates really hard on thinking thoughts about extracting the weapon from inside his strife deck, ignoring the way he feels like he's on the verge of screaming. Meanwhile, Sollux opens the car's passenger seat and points to Tavros.

SOLLUX: get in right the fuck n0w if y0u want t0 live.
TAVROS: Erm, yes, of course,,
TAVROS: Getting in,,

Tavros scrambles into the car and slams the door shut behind him, looking out of the window with a petrified expression. Harry, meanwhile, finally manages to pull his specibus out in the split second his attention shifted elsewhere. A thin thread attached to a small sewing needle that glows a little rests in his shredded palms. Sollux inspects the specibus with a lick of static.

SOLLUX: 0k g00d. y0u can use this 0ne with0ut bl0wing y0ur brains in.
HARRY: um???
SOLLUX: it's g0t a mid level passive healing enchantment s0 y0u d0n't need t0 d0 much just think ab0ut fixing y0urself up.
HARRY: ok, ok!!!
HARRY: healing thoughts, healing thoughts, healing thoughts....

To Harry's surprise, it actually works. The needle and thread, on its own accord, starts stitching his hands up. He watches in numb shock as the lacerations vanish one by one at a rapid rate. Even more shocking is the apparent fact that each cut seems to suck up the lost blood before sealing itself back over. It's like suddenly finding yourself in a totally different reality.

The whole healing process takes maybe fifteen seconds. Once it's done the needle and thread vanish back into the strife deck. Harry experimentally flexes his hands. It's like they were never injured to begin with.

HARRY: holy shit.
SOLLUX: yeah yeah m0therfuckin miracles 0r whatever
SOLLUX: n0w listen t0 me.
SOLLUX: this is g0nna s0und insane but y0u need t0 get behind the wheel and drive that vehicle right through that h0le in the wall.

Sollux motions to one of the large gaps in the building taken out by any one of the recent acts of violence.

HARRY: you what?
SOLLUX: y0u're n0t getting 0ut any 0ther way, unless j0hn's depressi0n wag0n can suddenly take 0n arm0red trucks.
SOLLUX: the mall will be in fucking shambles s0 that gives y0u en0ugh 0pp0rtunity t0 take c0ver until either vriska kills all these guys 0r the middle aged g0d tier cavalry sh0ws up.
SOLLUX: if y0u d0n't y0u will die. n0 ifs n0r buts.
SOLLUX: i'm the d00m guy i kn0w when s0mething will kill y0u s0 f0r the l0ve 0f fuck listen to me.

He plants his hands on Harry's shoulders with that last part. It sends electric shocks running down Harry's spine, but it's nothing compared to the jolt of seeing uncharacteristic severity on Sollux's face. It's enough for Harry to buy it.

HARRY: ok! ok i'll trust you.
HARRY: but what about vris?
SOLLUX: d0n't w0rry. i'll take the back seat and keep y0ur irritant 0f a matesprit fr0m dying.
HARRY: all right then.
SOLLUX: then get m0ving.

Harry doesn't need to be told twice. He sprints around to the driver-side of his dad's car, sliding behind the wheel faster than he ever has in his life. Tavros yelps in surprise when Harry slams his hands against the steering wheel and turns the ignition. The steady sputtering rumble does...something, at least, to his nerves. Gives him something constant to ground himself with.

He peers out over the dashboard at the large ground-level hole leading somehwhere into the mall. Smoke pours out of it in slow, steady wisps. If he strains to hear, he can make out a muffled howling of an alarm. It's a tight turn into a move that will no doubt wreck his dad's car, but it's not like they have much choice.

HARRY: got one chance.
HARRY: i can do this.
HARRY: i can do this!
TAVROS: Well, erm, i hope you can do it sooner rather than later, harry anderson,,,
TAVROS: They're closing in,,

Tavros is right. There's barely any space between the car and the pincer formation of Crocker militia. Hell, there's barely enough space for Harry to drive into the mall, unless he does it right now.

HARRY: SOLLUX COME ON!

Sollux is just outside the back of the car, struggling apparently to get the door open. Because oh yeah, he's a cool psychic but still blind.

SOLLUX: Y0U try t0 fiddle with an intricate handle when y0u can't—

Then, in the beat between breaths, it all goes wrong.

Sollux is mid gripe when, out of nowhere, a volley of bullets clip him through the torso. He hits the ground like a deflated balloon. The soldiers advance. Harry starts screaming.

HARRY: fuck!!! FUCK!!!!!
TAVROS: Harry, we have to move,,,
HARRY: but sollux! he's
HARRY: agh!

Harry jerks his hand off the wheel. A jolt of static power flits through his bones, making his spine shudder. He blinks, and looks again. There's a faint yellow aura spreading over the car. The air suddenly and inexplicably tastes zingy.

From just outside the car, there's a muffled, strangled voice.

SOLLUX: M0VE Y0UR ASS ALREADY!

And that's all the encouragement Harry needs. He plants both hands firmly on the wheel and slams his foot on the accelerator. The car, operated by a desperate teenager and boosted by one of the most powerful psionics in the history of Paradox Space, swerves a full 90 degress to the right and plows right through an unbroken stretch of wall. They're making their own hole, here.

Neither Harry nor Tavros can stop screaming as the car shudders through layer upon layer of masonry. The chassis rattles dangerously. Small bits of debris create micro-fractures in the windows. Any second now, it's all going to collapse in on itself.

Then they're through, skidding right across the floor of an utterly wrecked mall, only stopping when the car slams head-on into a support pillar. Vrissy goes tumbling off the back seat and onto the floor below. Both Harry and Tavros are momentarily swallowed by airbags that don't cushion the impact well enough. By the time they deflate, Harry's teeth are still rattling. Tavros pulls away, has enough time to look at Harry in bewilderment, then faints.

Harry lifts his head slowly, keeping his hands firmly clenched onto the steering wheel and focusing on keeping conscious. Everything is in tatters, save for a single golden beacon right at the eye of all the carnage.

He gives a dry laugh. His throat feels raw.

HARRY: oh, we're really in the shit now.

Then, all at once, he finds himself falling into his own body, and to someplace dark and quiet.

But before we can discuss what comes next, we must once more return to that which happened before, and in tandem to the recent past.

Vriska Serket, ten minutes prior to the car crash, stands in the epicentre of an explosion of her own making. All that's left of the Crocker-branded murderbot is a single burned metallic arm strewn atop a pile of gaudy necklaces. There is a hole in the roof above Vriska's head, that cuts right through to the clouds and, beyond that, pierces through Earth C's atmosphere. This superpowered sliver of light will cleave through anything in its wake, not stopping until the distant point at which it will collide with the edge of the universe.

On the ground level, Vriska surveys the damage. The bot is in pieces, the windows are all blown in, and the poor troll behind the counter was spectacularly decapitated by...something. She can't say. It's not really her problem. Just pointless collateral damage!

The 8^8 roll transformed her into her god tier robes and supplied her with Mindfang's sword. Vriska takes a few practice swings against the air. It's been so long since she's fought like this. Sweeps, come to think of it. But she's still got it. That kind of muscle memory never leaves.

Wings spread wide, she floats out of the store through the broken window. The entire mall is in a shit sorry state, with trolls both living and dead caught up in the aftermath. Near the escalator, a figure squirms under a ceiling panel.

(ERIDAN 3): oww FUCK
(ERIDAN 3): someone please
(ERIDAN 3): help me!

Vriska floats past the struggling Eridan ghost without even batting an eye. There are more crucial things for her to focus on. Namely, the horde of armed humans in red storming towards her.

The combat robot was the biggest threat for sure, but that doesn't mean these guys aren't just as bad. By Vriska's estimate there are at least thirty or so moving through the wrecked mall. Any one of them could stall long enough for worse things to show up. Any one of them could have the conviction to deliver a Just death unto her.

She tightens her grip on the sword's handle at that thought. No. She's not falling here. No fucking way.

When the first human reaches her, some adult man with stupid square sunglasses, Vriska's ready. In one fluid move, she shoves the sword through the man's stomach, then punts him off the edge of the balcony. She flicks the red blood off the blade as she cartwheels out of the way of a teargas grenade, then zips across to the balcony on the other end of the building and cleanly decapitates the gas mask-clad individual. As she kicks the headless body to one side, she fails to notice as another bulky human man gets up behind her, and wraps his oversized arms around her waist.

The touch sends freezing ripples of something terrible through Vriska's body. To her credit, she lasts a good eight seconds before flying off the handle.

VRISKA: G8T Y8UR F8LTHY H8NDS TH8 F8CK 8FF 8F M8!!!!!!!!

She, luckily and impossibly, slips out of his grip, then suplexes the man with enough force that his body piles clean through at least ten layers of concrete wall.

From there, it's less a fight and more a rampage. One by one those stupid motherfuckers try and come for her, and one by one Vriska dispatches them with ease. Civilians scramble and scream in terror as she tears up what's left inside this mall, and some poor dead Nepeta gets used as an impromptu shotput that sends one soldier falling down the up escalator long after their neck gets snapped.

Somewhere along the way, Vriska loses herself to the rage and violence. After all, isn't this what she's good at? Leaving a trail of bodies in her wake until she gets what she wants, because there's no other fucking way the universe would ever be that kind to her? It doesn't come freely, because nothing ever comes freely for her, and if she's being honest Vriska would smash stab kill burn blow up tear to fucking ribbons the entire population of this shit-smeared garbage heap of a planet if it meant she could finally return to her.

Mostly she comes to one conclusion as she shatters some woman's spine. Before she ditches this universe for good, she's going to fucking obliterate Jane Crocker. This pumped-up nooksniffing militia, the days living like a fugitive, the reason why this timeline's Terezi never came back, Gamzee fucking Makara.

It's all Crocker's fault. Vriska wants that opulent hag obliterated.

She returns to her senses when she's got the last human in red by the throat in front of the mall's fountain. The air is thick with smoke and fire and the cacophony of too many terrible noises. One more flex, and the problem's dealt with.

But this human has cameras in their glasses that are almost certainly transmitting back to Crocker's security base. Vriska has a little declaration to make first.

In the opaque reflection, she looks like something unhinged and wild. Good.

VRISKA: I'VE COME TO M8KE AN ANNOUNCEMENT
VRISKA: JANE CROCKER IS A 8ITCH ASS *MOTHERFUCKER* WHO

Then the wall behind her explodes as a psionically-charged car screeches across the floor, slamming into a pillar with enough force that the whole building shakes. Inside the vehicle are a very-clearly beaten up Harry, Tavros, and Vrissy.

VRISKA: Now what in the f8ck

In the confusion, she dropped the human. This is a mistake she quickly comes to realise when she spins around and they're nowhere to be seen, and she only truly realises she's actually fucked up when she feels a sudden prick in the back of her neck.

VRISKA: What are you—

She finally spots the human again, leaning out from inside the car. Fuck, if the kids are hurt—

Vriska tries to take a step. Her vision wobbles in and out of itself. Her legs feel like lumps of jelly with the density of black holes. She falls to her knees.

VRISKA: Motherfucker tranq'd me...?
VRISKA: No, thas not fuckin

When did she get on her back? She's looking up at the ceiling strip lights, hanging askew and flickering softly. She tries to move her neck and fuck it's not cooperating. She feels so heavy, feels the way she gets heavier and her mind slows even further with every treacherous pump of her pusher.

VRISKA: mmrgh fuck
VRISKA: gotta
VRISKA: ...

Her eyes close. She forces them open again. She's heavier than all known matter. She's floating somewhere weightless. She's barely in her body. Someone's saying something. She has no clue what.

VRISKA: nnnnnnn
VRISKA: pleease
VRISKA: h
VRISKA: rezi

Vriska manages to lift her head one final time, before her body finally packs in. When her skull slams against the ground, she's not there to feel it.

All she wants is to be home. But she's not.

She's somewhere else. Somewhere wrong. Somewhere alien and cold. Somewhere alone.

Chapter 20: TWO, section vii.

vii.

If there's one word to describe what's been going down in the Troll Kingdom the last few days, it's this: ugly. Incendiary violence in the border towns, prison riots in two of the largest Mills, and that's not even touching on the sordid affairs in both Cavalreap and Outglut^2. Jane Crocker once again finds herself pacing the length of the control deck on the corporate mothership with a stress migraine seeping its tendrils into her scalp.

War is hard. It's hard and it's weary and no one out there in her nearly four decades of life prepared her for just how hard it truly is. It's not the petty issues like ethical quandaries, the cost of human life, or even god forbid property damage, but the frustrating slowness that grinds at her. This week, for all intents and purposes, has seen massive shifts in the progress of this war. The rebels stormed Outglut^2, Jane retaliated, they retaliated back, she blew them up. It's more than has happened in months, more than the veiled posturing both sides performed for so long. But it still feels like little more than shuffling the same pieces around the same board in slightly different configurations. More than anything, she wants something decisive to actually happen.

She leans forward on the windowsill, looking out over a stretch of Human Kingdom countryside. NuSeattle is a distant flicker on the horizon that grows brighter as evening sets itself in deeper. They've been travelling nonstop since last night's assault on Outglut^2. The goal is to put as much distance between themselves and the trolls as possible before Vantas's little rebellion catches wind of what Jane's planning. Habitually, Jane looks behind her at the rows of technicians slaving away over a specific piece of video footage. She is in total control, but some part of her still twinges with nerves.

Jane smooths down her suit and shakes her head.

JANE: Humph!
JANE: You are better than this, Jane. You are the most powerful woman in the world.
JANE: Who are you to let some nuisance ruin your day?
JANE: You have this. You absolutely have this.

Corporate leaders always give pep talks to their reflections in the movies to revitalise them in the eleventh hour. When Jane does it, she mostly just feels stupid. She doesn't need motivation. What she needs is results.

TECHNICIAN: ma'am, got the reports from the cavalreap cleanup crew.
TECHNICIAN: prisoners have been processed and. well.
TECHNICIAN: think you're gonna wanna see this.

It happens almost serendipitously. Jane's favourite and longest serving technician rises from her seat and beckons Jane over. The woman's face is tight with... concern? Confusion? Some emotion Jane's having trouble placing. Hell, it's only recently she's been able to identify anyone on her team as individuals.

Jane crosses the room with too much haste to feign aloof disinterest. Her heels clatter against the metal of the stairs as she heads down towards what her team has dubbed the "tech pit".

JANE: What seems to be the problem?
TECHNICIAN: our guys recovered the black box from battlebot beta, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: lemme show you.

She loads up a video file as Jane hovers over her shoulder. The footage is grainy and glitchy from whatever interference took out one of Earth C's most prized combat automatons, but it's clear enough to still be legible.

The camera seems to be showing a small tacky jewellery store somewhere inside the Cavalreap mall, but the place is in such ruin that it's hard to tell for sure. Jane tuts in derision. Those troll buildings might as well be made out of paper.

On screen, the footage keeps swaying and blurring as the robot traverses over to its target, a troll lying prone on the floor. They're lying face down, and their tattered clothes are soaked in blood, so it's impossible for Jane to identify anything about them.

JANE: Is there something about our robot's target?
TECHNICIAN: yes, ma'am. keep watching.

The battlebot goes to deliver an execution blow, but the troll rolls out of the way at the last second. Jane raises an eyebrow. It's not every day you see something able to stand up to this kind of technology.

JANE: So we have a troll who got lucky against the battlebot. So far, I'm not seeing what the problem is.
TECHNICIAN: you'll see, ma'am.

Jane folds her arms and looks back to the screen. The battlebot bends over to extract its weapon from the floor. As it does, it turns its head to the side to keep locked onto its target. The troll, now standing on shaky legs, barks out a wide-eyed, incredulous laugh.

??????: Oh you have got to 8e FUCKING kidding m—

And—

That voice. That accent. Jane feels her body go cold. It can't be. It's not. She won't let it be.

JANE: So this is Rose Lalonde's little whelp, I take it?

The technician doesn't even bother to respond this time. Jane knows she's only kidding herself, a delusion which lasts for precisely five more seconds as the battlebot pins the troll by the throat against the wall, and the struggling troll grins with the manic edge of a dangerous predator.

Just before the picture is washed out by an explosion of light, Jane catches the instant the troll's outfit switches to orange god tier robes. Her pulse quickens in her throat.

JANE: No, surely that's not—
TECHNICIAN: and here's a shot from the cells on the convoy airship.
TECHNICIAN: the other three figures have been identified as vriska maryam-lalonde, harry anderson egbert, and tavros crocker.
TECHNICIAN: the fourth...

Jane doesn't even flinch when she sees her own snivelling disappointment of a son lying sprawled on the cell floor, as culpable and unconscious as the other two rebel offspring. She only has eyes for the passed-out troll sporting a pair of blue fairy wings that leave a pile of dust where she lies.

She clenches her fist hard enough that her finger bones creak.

JANE: Not her. No way.

Jane Crocker looks upon the sleeping form of one very powerful, very alive Vriska Serket, and feels afraid for the first time.

TECHNICIAN: how much of a problem is this, ma'am?
TECHNICIAN: all we know about serket is the lore. the truth of the troll is lost to us.
JANE: Well...

She breathes in. Breathes out. Has to remind herself that this is a remote viewing of another vessel many, many miles away from where she is.

JANE: Far be it from me to bestow anything even remotely resembling respect, but...
JANE: Essentially, the folklore on Vriska Serket isn't too far off. She's both incredibly dangerous, and incredibly powerful. Perhaps the only troll to ever actually display a shred of competence.
TECHNICIAN: even for an adolescent cerulean, ma'am?
JANE: A god tier adolescent cerulean. The first and only troll to achieve such distinction.
TECHNICIAN: but not even she could take on all of your forces, right?
JANE: No, of course not. She's only one troll, at the end of the day. But...

Jane closes her eyes. All she can see is that skirmish on Derse so long ago. How effortlessly Serket dismantled the Condesce's scheme. How she easily neutralised both Jade and Jane without breaking a sweat.

JANE: She's apt to give us hell before she finally gives in.
TECHNICIAN: so what should we do about her? there's still time to intercept the airship before it reaches its destination—
JANE: No, no. We should stick to the plan. Create as much distance between her and anything of strategic value as possible. Keep her under our watch for as long as we can.
TECHNICIAN: as you wish, ma'am.

The technician fires off a rapid message to who Jane assumes is the airship's pilot. On the monitor, Vriska's leg twitches restlessly in her sleep. Jane feels her heart rate steadily climb. One wrong move, and Vriska could easily topple everything Jane's spent the last almost twenty years building towards. The setting sun is spilling through the windows, casting golden hues and sending distended, outstretched shadows oozing over the room. Jane feels like they're all on the edge of crossing over into something significant, something massive.

She can't afford to be distracted, though. Ghosts from the past or no, she has a war to win.

JANE: What about Outglut^2? How are things down there?
TECHNICIAN: the troll insurgents are still occupied in keeping the reserve forces out of the city, ma'am. if they've noticed our departure, they're in no position to do anything about it.
JANE: And Vantas?
TECHNICIAN: no sign of him yet. seems he's still sticking to fighting from the shadows. but he's somewhere down there.
TECHNICIAN: we have this bodycam footage from shortly before the cavalreap incident. here, ma'am.

The technician switches over from the security feed. Jane feels another thrill of anxiety when she loses visual contact on Vriska, that same crawling dread that sluices under your flesh when that spider that's been looming above your head suddenly vanishes from view. Jane has to tell herself that she's being a paranoid fool. Vriska might be able to take on an empress, but she stands no chance against an empire. Besides, the girl's racked up enough karma by now that any death her way must be a guaranteed Just demise.

Jane glances back at the screen. It's a shaky low-res bodycam stream from one of the members of the retrieval team she sent down there. And there, broad as day in the middle of the shot, is Vantas with a handgun talking to the yellowblood they extracted. Vantas is hard-faced and weary. He looks almost psychologically frayed. Jane wonders if there's anything she can do with this information.

What happens next is disappointingly predictable. Vantas manages to down every last one of the operatives, but not before the final man standing can snatch away his little friend. The last image is of Vantas firing point blank into the camera, face ablaze with a tired, simmering fury.

JANE: And this was how long before Cavalreap?
TECHNICIAN: about twenty two minutes, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: gunfight ended around the same time as the explosion. been monitoring the transportalizer networks, and there's been no sign of anyone leaving the city.
JANE: So Vantas hasn't moved yet. That's good. The less he's involved, the better. Let him stay trapped under his dome like the scurrying insect he is.
TECHNICIAN: one thing, ma'am. this is the last known visual contact on vantas and like i said, it's not likely he got out.
TECHNICIAN: but it is worth knowing he did receive communication from one of the other gods shortly before this incident.
TECHNICIAN: we believe that the yellowblood was there to relay this information. it is unclear whether or not he got the chance, but we should assume vantas is aware of both cavalreap and vriska serket, ma'am.
JANE: Of course. Well, so long as he's down there, we shouldn't worry too much about it.
JANE: Just make sure we keep the pressure on the city. Keep him occupied as long as possible.
TECHNICIAN: of course, ma'am.

As the technician deals with her request, Jane wanders back over to the window. They're well into the golden hour now. The fields below look almost aflame. She places her hand on the glass. The world beyond is perfect, as it always is. And as always, she can't help but fight the feeling everything is too perfect, too bathed in photogenic artifice.

Every now and then, for one brief moment, all of Earth C abruptly ceases to feel real. Like it's all an illusion, and Jane's actually falling endlessly through a bottomless void. She has to crouch down and physically touch the floor to remind herself that she is present, stable and grounded. It's a sensation that's only gotten worse the more this conflict has caused her stress. Even if, absurdly, she gets the sense that it could all be ended with a single thought. Like any one of them could reach out, pluck at the essence of the universe, and rewrite it in whatever way they see fit. She supposes this is what it's like to toil under the uncanny burden of being a fully-actualised deity. It's exhausting.

TECHNICIAN: madam crocker, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: nuseattle's mayor just paged in.
TECHNICIAN: wants to know what we're intending with our admittedly rather huge military convoy in his airspace.

Jane glances back into the tech pit. The technician looks up at her through her shades. She feels a tug of familiar irritation in her chest.

JANE: Firstly, he should already know this. I cleared our permit through with the president directly. It's hardly my fault if he doesn't read his inbox!
JANE: Second of all, tell him that this is nothing for him or the people of NuSeattle to concern themselves with. I've merely decided to refuel my fleet while I'm in the city on business.
TECHNICIAN: uh yeah
TECHNICIAN: course ma'am.

She fires away the message, but Jane doesn't miss how the other woman's expression is taut. She folds her arms and crosses the room.

JANE: I understand that you may have... misgivings, about the plan.
TECHNICIAN: it's not that, ma'am. you know i wouldn't—
JANE: Really, it's fine! What we're planning is a terrible, terrible necessity.
JANE: Sometimes the path to peace is crueller than the place we departed from.
TECHNICIAN: i'm sorry, i just
TECHNICIAN: i know people, down there.

The technician points up at the window. From where the mothership is, you can nearly make out the finer details of NuSeattle's skyline. Jane understands, truly. This is the city where she spent the best part of her youth, learning how to most effectively inherit the corporate megapower that is her birthright. The last place she visited with her father, before...

There are a lot of memories attached to that city. That's why she's the best person to do what needs to be done.

JANE: I am sorry for that. And I am sorry that we can't let you provide any kind of forewarning.
JANE: You're one of my longest-serving employees, um...
TECHNICIAN: amira, ma'am.
JANE: Right, sorry! Amira.
JANE: When you're a woman such as I, it's hard to keep juggling all those names at once, hoo hoo! :B
AMIRA: no worries, ma'am.

Amira pulls down her shades. Her dark brown eyes meet Jane's for what feels like the first time. All of a sudden, Jane's struck with the disorienting notion that the woman before her is a tangible, real person.

JANE: Regardless, there is every reason to believe this will go as planned, which means good decent people like those in your social circle will pass through unscathed. I give you my word.
AMIRA: i do trust you, ma'am. it's just. i've seen the variables.
AMIRA: it doesn't take much for something like this to deviate off-course. i know it goes with coups—
JANE: Erm-hrm!
AMIRA: peaceful transfers of power in a global crisis, i know. i have faith in you, but i can't help but worry, ma'am.
AMIRA: did we leave the right people behind to occupy vantas? will the rogue asset of vriska serket be contained?
AMIRA: if anything goes wrong, there will be chaos. and i'd hate for that to happen at my doorstep. ma'am.
JANE: Amira, Amira, dear.

Jane places a firm hand on Amira's shoulder. She ensures the grip is comforting, and not patronising. Heaven forbid she remind this poor woman of the deep chasm in social power that lies between the two of them. She's fond of Amira, for some reason. Maybe it's the time and the proximity. Maybe it's that she's the only familiar face left to Jane that hasn't either abandoned her or gotten themselves killed. Either way, she feels a need to be softer.

JANE: You fret too much. We have this situation under control. *You* have this situation under control. You're my senior technician. You aren't powerless in this situation, you know!
JANE: Besides, I doubt this will spill out from the central metropolitan area, and even with that, the people will be given ample warning.
JANE: This is a controlled exercise. Nothing will go wrong, trust me.
JANE: You have my word. Those you care about will be safe. I will see to that to the best of my ability.
AMIRA: i
AMIRA: thank you, ma'am. that's reassuring.
AMIRA: sorry for being short. i just know how important this is all going to be for the future of life on earth c.
JANE: I understand. All of us are shouldering mighty huge burdens!
JANE: But all will be okay. You'll see.

She pats Amira's shoulder twice, thinking only of how glad she is that Roxy went MIA days in advance. But whatever it takes to keep her inner circle on side. Jane trusts no one who isn't currently aboard this mothership. Not now, when things are so crucial, when chaos looms on the horizon like a bubble on the water's surface.

JANE: Everything right now might be ugly as sin, but not for much longer.
JANE: Not once we negotiate our way into ownership of the Human Kingdom's military power.
JANE: You've seen how our tests in the Consort Kingdom went. We'll be done with this terrible war in no time at all.
JANE: And then, well...
JANE: All that'll be left for us will be business as usual! :B
AMIRA: i'd like that, ma'am. i really would.
JANE: Just a few more days, Amira.
JANE: You wait and see. Everything will come up Crocker.

Several thousand miles away, there is a troll simmering with righteous fury who will stop at nothing to kill her, kept at bay only by a thin city barricade of his own creation. Even further from that, aboard an airship bound for a mission-critical destination, is a resurfaced nightmare who will not only cut Jane down where she stands, but who also will burn half the planet down in the process. Jane swallows. She can feel her own judgement clock steadily ticking away in the distance, patient and starving for a verdict.

But she can't think of that. Not now, not ever. So instead she presses the worry deep, like a buoy cased in lead, and asks Amira to get NuSeattle's mayor on the phone.

She runs the words "President Crocker" over her statically-charged teeth, and finds that she likes the taste.

Chapter 21: TWO, section viii.

viii.

As the instructions foretold, she finds her out in the windswept depths of the Carapace Sands at the stroke before midnight, a lone figure eclipsed in a shroud that obscures their body. But she knows shadows and obfuscation, and how to get around them, like the back of her hand, and she knows the person before her even better.

ROXY: callie
ROXY: its you
ROXY: its actually you
ROXY: all these years

Roxy Lalonde approaches the cherub she has known and loved and been estranged from for so very long with stuttering steps and a sense of awestruck disbelief. The winds are quick and cold and the sand buffets her skin in unrelenting, scraping waves, and still she moves closer.

Atop the dune, Calliope pulls down her hood and looks down on Roxy. Her face is, as it was in those final years, totally unreadable.

CALLIOPE: roxy. it has been too long.
CALLIOPE: so mUch has happened, and despite everything, i am still so glad to lay eyes on yoU once more.
CALLIOPE: thank yoU for answering my call. it means more than yoU can know.

Calliope's voice rings a little funny to Roxy's ears, perhaps distorted by the sandstorm that keeps rolling in stronger and stronger by the minute. Or perhaps it's that Roxy's simply forgotten what Calliope sounds like. There is so much between the two of them, so much that they could never say it all.

Once Roxy reaches the bottom of the dune, she decides it would be far more practical to simply float up to Calliope's level. It is so dark, and so hard to see, but Roxy manages to land right by Calliope's side without so much as a thought.

It goes without saying that Roxy lasts exactly four seconds before pulling Calliope in for a tight hug.

ROXY: callie i missed you so much
ROXY: n i know i shoulda reached out or smthn and it sux that i didnt but
ROXY: im sorry
ROXY: im so sorry

Carefully, Calliope disentangles herself from the embrace. She reaches under her robes and pulls out a small lantern that casts inconsistent, flickering shadows across the sands, and each other's faces. In the light, Roxy notices that Calliope hasn't aged a day, the same ageless, constant presence she's been for so very long.

CALLIOPE: there is nothing to apologize for, roxy.
CALLIOPE: we are both at faUlt here, jUst as we are both blameless.
ROXY: huh?
CALLIOPE: mUch has happened since last we met, which has helped me gain perspective on what is trUly going on.
CALLIOPE: bUt yes, i have missed yoU too, and i so soUrly regret not being able to reach oUt sooner.
CALLIOPE: i am glad to look Upon yoUr face once more, roxy.

An instant passes. Roxy feels, for a fleeting second, like the last fifteen years have sloughed away, like they're both young and dancing around the idea of love, and the weights of marriage and a society gone to shit don't exist. She so badly wants to take Calliope's hands in her own, but she restrains herself. Roxy can feel the distance so acutely, the fragility of the foundation they stand upon. She doesn't want to break it.

ROXY: well
ROXY: took me long enough 2 get here lmao
ROXY: i get ur a totes mysterious bitch when u wanna b callie but srsly
ROXY: way out in bumfuck desertland?
ROXY: lil nakkodile dudes could not BELIEVE what they were hearin when i asked for a ferry down here
ROXY: cause yanno
ROXY: had 2 get here by conventional means
ROXY: for whatever reason
CALLIOPE: my apologies for the inconvenience. going incognito was absolUtely crUcial for getting yoU here UnpertUrbed.
CALLIOPE: given... recent developments on earth c, this was the only way to gUarantee yoUr arrival.
ROXY: events?

Roxy feels a pit of unease open in her stomach. Out in the back country, she's not had the chance to connect to the internet or have access to any kind of news source. The closest she got was a couple days ago when she rode with one of the Carapacian relief volunteer groups across the badlands. All they could talk about was a series of firebombings in the northern Consort Kingdom, but that wasn't exactly shocking news. It's not hard to assume that Jane has to test her toys out somewhere.

But from the way Calliope talks, it seems there's something more going on. Roxy thinks about Harry Anderson, and her chest tightens.

ROXY: what about harry
ROXY: callie is he ok

Calliope blinks, opaque.

CALLIOPE: harry anderson is okay, roxy.
CALLIOPE: his sUrvival is a gUarantee.
ROXY: u sure
CALLIOPE: yes. there is a role for him to play later down the line, and fate won't permit anything less.
ROXY: and this is the same source as what told u to get me?
CALLIOPE: yes.
CALLIOPE: bUt this is not a place to talk aboUt sUch things.
CALLIOPE: not when the weather is so dreary.

Roxy barely has time to consider whether or not to be more or less worried for her son's wellbeing, when Calliope starts kicking at the sand beneath her feet. After a few seconds, the soft scraping transforms into hard clanging. When Calliope shines her light towards the ground, Roxy sees a metal plate with an all-too-familiar spirograph staring up at her.

ROXY: wait
ROXY: aint that

Wordlessly, Calliope leans down and places a hand on the plate. At her touch, it automatically slides over to one side, revealing a ladder-lined tunnel that goes deeper underground. It's a sight that shouldn't exist. A sight that, the more Roxy thinks about it, the more afraid she feels.

CALLIOPE: come on. we can shelter down here.

Calliope tucks the lantern away and starts climbing down the tunnel. Roxy stands there for a few more seconds, before ultimately deciding she has no choice but to follow. The ladder is cold, and Calliope is already nearly out of sight by the time Roxy starts climbing.

ROXY: so uh
ROXY: why the hell is there one of these places here

Her voice echoes down the tunnel. She looks up, and watches as the hatch slides shut on its own. For one instant, she is put in the mind of a tomb. She has to remind herself that she has the power to leave any time she wants.

ROXY: hey callie

She doesn't get a response. Roxy continues the long climb down in silence, listening only to the clank of her hands and feet on the rungs, and her own unsteady breathing. It seems to take far, far too long before she reaches the bottom. Enough time that any number of eternities could have passed her by. Enough distance that she could have crossed the span of multiple universes. When her feet finally touch solid ground, she barely believes it.

ROXY: callie theres somethin weird abt this place right
ROXY: like u feel it 2 dont u?

She finds Calliope at the other end of the small chamber, beside a sealed door. She is busily typing in some overlong code into a touchpad pressed into the wall. Roxy has no idea what the protocol for places like this is, but she gets the sense this is not it.

CALLIOPE: of coUrse. in sUch an anomaloUs space, any other feeling woUld be wrong.
ROXY: anomaly
ROXY: n whats that mean exactly
CALLIOPE: one second.

A second touchpad screen opens up in the wall above the first. With a firm and steady claw, Calliope etches in a perfect spirograph. The sigil flashes, twice, then the door slides open. Calliope picks up her lantern and makes for the doorway.

CALLIOPE: throUgh here. i'll explain as mUch as i can.

Roxy is definitely not without some misgiving as she reluctantly follows Calliope through the door and into the room beyond. But, the second she crosses the threshold, everything...

Everything...

ROXY: wtf just happened
ROXY: its like reality just
ROXY: went funny

Behind her, the door slides shut again. At the same moment, Calliope flips a light switch, revealing the finer details of the room in an overexposed, flickering glow. Roxy winces, squinting her eyes until they adjust.

CALLIOPE: that woUld be the localized effect of the anomaloUs space.
CALLIOPE: the narrative flow rUns different here.
ROXY: the uh
CALLIOPE: right! of coUrse. i shoUld start from the beginning.
CALLIOPE: come. have a seat.

About halfway across the room is a circular table with another spirograph imprinted on it. Calliope takes a seat with her back to the command terminal. Roxy sits opposite. The chair is both surprisingly firm and surprisingly insubstantial. Roxy knocks on the back of the plastic seat a couple of times just to make sure it's real.

CALLIOPE: so, i sUppose the first qUestion yoU will have is why there is an exile station on earth c.
ROXY: well yeah
ROXY: thats kinda weird isnt it?
ROXY: havent thought abt any of this in years but im pretty damn certain our sburb session didnt make any of that by design
ROXY: so uh
ROXY: how come theres one here?
CALLIOPE: yoU're not wrong in yoUr assessment, roxy.
CALLIOPE: the game yoU all played on this planet's original iteration was a void session, bereft of the prototyping reqUired to generate sUch infrastrUcture.
CALLIOPE: and, in the far-flUng fUtUre, at the terminUs point of this Universe, the game my brother and i will play will similarly lack this apparatUs.
CALLIOPE: yet, as yoU can see, there are mUltiple stations scattered across the planet tUcked away in obscUre, overlooked spots.

Calliope drums her fingers against the table in an oddly entrancing rhythm. Roxy takes advantage of the lull to look over at the actual command terminal. It looks like how she'd been told these places look: a huge monitor partitioned into what looks like half a dozen or so screens, atop an expansive keyboard. There are small storage units on the walls, and what might be an inactive appearifier gathering dust in one corner.

ROXY: ok but
ROXY: why do these even exist
CALLIOPE: the simple answer is: they shoUldn't.
CALLIOPE: neither skaian session inherent to this Universe generated them.
CALLIOPE: one hypothesis is that, Upon Unleashing the spacio-temporal fraymotif on this planet at the instant of Universal genesis, it enabled the barren seeds of yoUr endeavors to bloom.
CALLIOPE: except...
CALLIOPE: roxy, dear, if yoU coUld please coUnt the screens on the terminal for me.
ROXY: ok sure

Roxy glances back at the screens.

ROXY: theres two three four five six... seven
ROXY: seven screens
CALLIOPE: and that shoUld immediately strike yoU as odd, no?
ROXY: it does but idk
ROXY: hm no wait
ROXY: why r there seven? that aint a number anyones game used
CALLIOPE: precisely.
CALLIOPE: which begs the qUestion: whose session are these screens monitoring?

Calliope looks over to the screens now. Outside, Roxy can make out the faint howling of the wind. Seems the storm's getting worse.

ROXY: what if we turned em on
ROXY: couldnt we find out that way
CALLIOPE: UnfortUnately not. it was one of the first things i tried Upon my arrival.
CALLIOPE: whoever these terminals are boUnd to, it is not yet the right time to view them.
ROXY: but you gotta have SOME clue who these r 4 right
CALLIOPE: i do have my theories, bUt none of them are exactly compelling, nor are they optimistic.
ROXY: ?
CALLIOPE: before we go any fUrther, do yoU remember the discUssion we had in that park in the carapace kingdom, all those years ago?

It's the last question Roxy expected to hear. And as Calliope fixes her wide green eyes on Roxy's, she feels a twist of something cold in her chest. It's the same feeling that she had back then: that they're both standing on the precipice of something infinitely larger than themselves.

ROXY: ur talking abt johns choice arent you
ROXY: n how it was our "unmooring point from canon" or smthn
ROXY: or was that rose who said that? idk it was hella fuckin time ago and you were both equally cryptic bitches back then
ROXY: but if i remember
ROXY: you said we had 2 engineer a scenario where john would be equally likely to make one of two choices
ROXY: one where he went off to sustain canon by fixin its gaps or somethin
ROXY: and the other where he decided to go "fuck canon i wanna stay" and pull us outta canons orbit
CALLIOPE: essentially, yes. that was the crUx of john egbert's choice.
ROXY: i mean im still not 100% on what all that meant?
ROXY: because john chose to stay and then all at once half that spooky shit you were talking abt just
ROXY: idk
ROXY: stopped mattering? because this is the timeline where we dont have 2 be involved in crazy cosmic shit
ROXY: we were meant to be free to live peaceful normal lives
ROXY: (lmao @ how that turned out)
ROXY: because our "ultimate reward" or w/e means we get infinite choice on how the rest of our lives go
ROXY: but
ROXY: given the current look on ur face im guessing all that shit i said aint exactly correct?

Slowly, almost sadly, Calliope shakes her head.

CALLIOPE: it is trUe that john needed to aUthenticate canon in one timeline, yes.
CALLIOPE: bUt him choosing to stay was not consigning yoU to Unimportant peacefUl bliss like i led yoU to believe.
ROXY: so whyd u say that then
CALLIOPE: becaUse... i wasn't sUre, myself.
CALLIOPE: at the time of the choice, i was working with very limited information, especially with regards to how the fanonsphere works.
ROXY: fanonsphere
CALLIOPE: essentially, what john's choice marked was merely a departUre from trUth, relevance, and essentiality as it pertained to lord english's alpha timeline.
CALLIOPE: it did not, in trUth, delineate anyone's departUre from the cosmic stage.
ROXY: but
ROXY: thats why we got married n had kids
ROXY: cause no matter what happened this timeline was meant 2 b the safe one
CALLIOPE: that was a lie. one that i am regretfUlly shamefUl to have perpetUated, bUt a lie nonetheless.
ROXY: so

For an instant, she can't speak. Can't breathe. On some level, even as Earth C backslid politically, even as violence grew more and more commonplace, she'd taken it for granted that no matter what, this was the safest reality for Harry Anderson to exist within. Once, the grander cosmic repercussions would have been of more pressing importance to her, but now, all Roxy feels is an alkaline thrill of terror for the safety of her son. It surprises her, sometimes, how deep her affection runs.

ROXY: this version of earth c
ROXY: its not rlly safe at all
CALLIOPE: there was a time when it coUld have been, bUt no, it is not.
CALLIOPE: regardless of oUr choices, we were always destined to pass over into the fanonsphere.
ROXY: u keep saying
ROXY: but what does that actually mean
CALLIOPE: right, yes.
CALLIOPE: in essence, following the cessation of oUr involvement with the canon, or alpha, timeline of events, we become Unmoored from its gravitational pUll. theoretically, this shoUld have granted Us infinite freedom to become and choose in any way we wanted to.
CALLIOPE: bUt that did not tUrn oUt to be the case.
CALLIOPE: at the precise instant that canon received its final aUthentication, oUr Universe fell into the fanonsphere.
CALLIOPE: think of it as a black hole, or a pocket, or a cUrated archive where the seqUence of events is closely shaped and monitored for a specific pUrpose.
ROXY: so basically a second alpha timeline then
CALLIOPE: not qUite. the alpha timeline pUnished deviation by force. here, in fanon, aberration is met with a passive, hands-off erosion of that timeline's trUth, relevance, and essentiality.
CALLIOPE: to pUt it more plainly, the timeline's story gets so spoiled that nobody cares enoUgh to see it continUe to floUrish, thUs cUtting its potential inflUence dead in the water.
CALLIOPE: they still fUnctionally exist, bUt it is akin to the soUnd of a tree falling in a forest devoid of life.
ROXY: ok
ROXY: i think im followin
ROXY: so any timeline that happens after johns choice which isnt the "proper" way to go gets shoved in like
ROXY: a quarantine dome of unimportance till it starves
ROXY: kinda like a bad story gettin blacklisted so nobody remembers it
CALLIOPE: that's an apt comparison, yes.
ROXY: and how do the versions of us sittin here right now factor in

Calliope leans forward. She brings her hands together and rests her chin on the interlocked fingers. Something about it strikes Roxy as off, but she can't tell what. Maybe all this intense cryptic spooky shit is frying her brain a little.

It's hard to imagine that only a few short days ago, she'd settled happily into a rut of everyday life with her son. It feels like everything's happened all at once, and Roxy's left spinning, grasping at whatever she can find to reposition herself. The worst part, though, is how easily she's finding herself falling back into these old thought patterns. It feels like she's sixteen again, bargaining with her denizen for the slimmest hope of overturning a doomed timeline. It shames her how much that makes her feel alive.

CALLIOPE: we, here and now, are the principle timeline. the blUeprint for fanon earth c.
CALLIOPE: the seqUence of events that have occUred here were deliberately cUltivated by a higher, gUiding force.
CALLIOPE: they needed a reality where they, Unnoticed and UndistUrbed, coUld sUbsUme what remained of lord english's power.
ROXY: hold on wait
ROXY: wtf do you mean lord english?
ROXY: thought we all agreed he was blasted to shit by vriska way out in the void
ROXY: n john from the other timeline is the one who made extra sure thats what happened
CALLIOPE: be that as it may.
CALLIOPE: however, a scant few days ago, a dying lord english descended onto earth c via one of the nUmeroUs rifts in the sky, where he was promptly consUmed.
ROXY: what the fuck? lord english was like
ROXY: HERE here???
CALLIOPE: for a timespan of foUr hoUrs, yes, he was.
CALLIOPE: bUt as i said, he was consUmed.
ROXY: by who?

The lights overhead flicker. There is the distant creak and slam of metal, as if a stray gust of wind is rattling around inside one of the station's other chambers. Roxy is suddenly acutely aware of how far-removed she and Calliope are from the rest of Earth C, buried under a mound of shifting, volatile sand. It's not the fear that they're alone. It's the fear that they might not be as alone as she thinks.

CALLIOPE: my alternate.
CALLIOPE: the calliope who won, who predominated.
CALLIOPE: the one who has rightfUlly earned the title of mUse of space.
CALLIOPE: the martyr who severed Us once and for all from the ties of canon.
ROXY: her???
ROXY: but i thought like
ROXY: after the funeral where she apparently jacked kid jades body she kinda just fucked off into nowhere
ROXY: cause afaik no one heard from her again after that
ROXY: or those two old friends of karkats for that matter either
CALLIOPE: yoU woUldn't have.
CALLIOPE: from what i can gather, the mUse and her disciples charted an immediate coUrse for the nearest narrative anomaly they coUld locate.
CALLIOPE: she deliberately pUlled herself oUt of the scrUtinizing glare of narrative relevance, and bided her time, molding the coUrse of events in order to orchestrate sUch a seizUre of power.
ROXY: orchestration
ROXY: meanin she set some shit up on purpose here
ROXY: what exactly did she do
CALLIOPE: the most apparent thing to yoU will be the precise trajectory of earth c's political landscape in the wake of her arrival.
CALLIOPE: for all intents and pUrposes, despite yoUr rifts and differences, there was actUally little tension.
CALLIOPE: yes, jane's postUring was vile, bUt her power as regards the troll popUlation was severely limited.
CALLIOPE: Until the fUneral. Until she came here.
ROXY: wha
ROXY: so she
ROXY: why the fuck would she WANT jane 2 go full fascist xenophobe???
CALLIOPE: in order to gUarantee an environment of pUre chaos at the exact moment of lord english's schedUled arrival, so she coUld partake in the consUmption wholly Unnoticed.
CALLIOPE: which, given yoUr reaction jUst now, seems to have been effective.
ROXY: right yeah
ROXY: u said that was the most obvious thing
ROXY: what else did she do
CALLIOPE: ah, yes. Upon arrival, she had to neUtralize any potential threats to her narrative hijack. anyone who coUld have resisted her pUll, or, heavens forbid, strike back with a coUnter-narrative.
CALLIOPE: so, to pUt it qUite simply, she...

Calliope suddenly leans forward over the table. She takes Roxy's hands in her own, and squeezes tight.

CALLIOPE: she oUsted me from the story.
CALLIOPE: immediately after the fUneral, she moved to isolate me from the rest of yoU, and...
CALLIOPE: i'm terribly sorry. this is difficUlt to talk about.
CALLIOPE: she essentially Unwrote my role. after that plot beat, i as good as ceased to exist.
ROXY: callie you
ROXY: hold on no wait
ROXY: but you were there! you were around!
ROXY: i remember
ROXY: back when harry was still a baby u n i would go 2 the park and watch gamzee bring the new ghosts into his weird ass clown redemption cult
ROXY: every week for three years we did that
ROXY: fuck we had a whole fuckin buncha deep convos abt like
ROXY: marriage n gender n the state of things
ROXY: u said
CALLIOPE: i advised yoU to stick to yoUr marriage with john, and to not let the political tUrmoil get in the way of the life yoU wanted to live, did i not?
CALLIOPE: often and repeatedly, i told yoU the correct coUrse of action was inaction, to sit back and wait and see how things shook oUt. for three years, i constantly told yoU not to worry. correct?

Something about the way Calliope says that makes Roxy's blood run cold. She abruptly pulls herself out of Calliope's grip, rubbing at the gooseflesh that has sprung up along her arms.

ROXY: y-yeah swhat u said
ROXY: that id chosen my happy ending n itd be terrible 4 me 2 throw it away over smthn that might not actually matter
ROXY: jane n gamzee n my doubts abt john n my genderthoughts were just background noise getting in the way of the life id decided to live
ROXY: bcuz of ur advice i stuck w the domestic life 4 way longer than i prolly wouldve otherwise
ROXY: so what
ROXY: ur sayin that
CALLIOPE: the person giving yoU that gUidance wasn't me, roxy.
CALLIOPE: or at least, it wasn't the calliope yoU knew.
CALLIOPE: it was a character pUppet controlled by the mUse with the strict intent of keeping yoU in line with her machinations.
CALLIOPE: yoU had to stay passively, Unhappily married, in order for the war to reach a boiling point at jUst the right time.
CALLIOPE: once yoU were secUrely in place, there was no need to keep Up the pretense of me, so i abrUptly stepped oUt of yoUr life. tragically, yoU woUldn't even have noticed my absence Until it was too late to do anything aboUt it. u_u;
ROXY: no no thats like
ROXY: super fucked up
ROXY: i dont believe u

Abruptly, Roxy finds herself standing. There's a jittery energy running through her body as the deeper implication of Calliope's words sets in. Mostly, she wants so badly to flip the table over and scream.

ROXY: i chose this life callie
ROXY: no muse no gods no one else but MYSELF
ROXY: john stayed back n it was ME who instigated that
ROXY: it was MY decision to have harry anderson!! no one coulda forced me 2 do that!!
ROXY: so to insinuate that i was just like
ROXY: some passive lil puppet havin babies 2 help ur alt self prime the world for some pseudo incestuous act of cannibalism
ROXY: it sounds like something john would say
ROXY: and thats bullshit im sorry!
ROXY: im not some fucking sim! im a person w/ my own mind who made my own choices even if those choices werent the best ones
ROXY: callie i love u and always will but u gotta know that u dont get 2 tell me my life isnt real or that anything i did the past fifteen years didnt matter
ROXY: ok???

By the end of it, she's shaking. Calliope's backed up, warily leaning against the command terminal. Her eyes are downturned and her mouth is pulled into a frown. Every inch of her body seeps out shame like a noxious gas.

CALLIOPE: roxy, i... i didn't mean to insinUate for one second that the choices yoU made in this timeline were not valid. not at all!
ROXY: coulda fooled me
ROXY: how else am i meant 2 interpret u tellin me all my choices were manipulated by some sus god working behind the scenes
CALLIOPE: i... i am so sorry if it soUnded like that was what i was implying. it's not. not for one second. i apologize for hUrting yoU, trUly.
ROXY: i get that u think theres some fucky cosmic shit going on
ROXY: but invalidating the life ive lived up to now aint the way to get me on ur side
CALLIOPE: of coUrse. i apologize again. it has been so long since i have been with this version of yoU, that i forgot...
ROXY: wait a sec
ROXY: what do u mean "this version of me"??
CALLIOPE: erm...

Calliope freezes. She glances from side to side, then swallows.

CALLIOPE: i am referring to what happened to me Upon the mUse's entry into the timeline.
CALLIOPE: she obvioUsly booted me oUt of relevance, which Under her terms meant ejecting me into the wider fanonsphere.
CALLIOPE: there, i witnessed so many of the other timelines within her grasp, so many other versions of yoU.
CALLIOPE: i merely mean to say that this specific instance of yoU is rather UniqUe, roxy.
ROXY: uh huh

Something about the way Calliope says that rings a little false, but Roxy's not sure she wants to push this point any more than she has. She still loves Calliope, and by no means does she want their reunion to occur at each other's throats like this.

ROXY: so anyway uh
ROXY: lets get back 2 the mission of super importance or w/e
ROXY: u seem 2 think this muse is like sum major hardcore threat right
ROXY: like
ROXY: we got this undead supergod cherub bitch w/ all of lord englishs power on top of that just chillin somewhere on earth c
CALLIOPE: actUally, not qUite.
CALLIOPE: immediately after the consUmption, she departed this reality for elsewhere.
CALLIOPE: her concern is not with this version of earth c.
ROXY: um ok
ROXY: so then whats exactly the problem callie
ROXY: if shes gone and her influence over us is over then arent we fine?
ROXY: i mean other than the jane war shit but tbh i think thats honestly just a regular kind of political event thatll conclude w/o cosmic intervention
CALLIOPE: becaUse she is not throUgh with this reality jUst yet.
ROXY: but u just said
CALLIOPE: from yoUr perspective, this is a distant threat yet to come.
CALLIOPE: from another perspective, her second intervention has already happened.
ROXY: huh?

Calliope nods. Her expression takes a turn for the grave.

CALLIOPE: remember how i mentioned john's choice, earlier?
ROXY: yea
CALLIOPE: the trUe importance behind that decision was to ensUre a break in governance over earth c's principle timeline.
CALLIOPE: one timeline remains "canon", aUthenticating and generating events which pUsh oUr Universe past the threshold of stagnation.
CALLIOPE: the other timeline is eclipsed by the black hole of fanon, a state where we do very little bUt remain recognizably oUrselves.
CALLIOPE: this split was inevitable. what i did was help inflUence the way in which said divergence woUld occUr.
ROXY: u mean that picnic?
CALLIOPE: yes. by doing so, i centered yoU, john, and myself at the key moment where oUr reality irrevocably split.
CALLIOPE: yoU and i persUade john to go, reality aUthenticates canon.
CALLIOPE: we persUade john to stay, we enter the realm of fanon.
CALLIOPE: one timeline controlled by the mUse, the other by her opponent.
ROXY: opponent?
CALLIOPE: i'll explain it later. what is important is that we comprise a key element of what is known as the post-canon rUptUre, and that the mUse is boUnd for the timeline attempting to continUe the work of canon, jUst as her opponent departs for somewhere beyond canon itself.
CALLIOPE: what she will find, Upon reaching the terminUs point of the other half of post-canon, will be herself absorbing the abandoned timeline into her fanonical fold. it will be a tableaU consisting of the mUse, her disciples, the versions of yoU from the other timeline, and foUr other individUals.
ROXY: what do u mean four other individuals
ROXY: not likin the way u said that one callie
CALLIOPE: yoU won't. i'm terribly sorry, roxy, bUt the others accompanying the mUse on her joUrney to bring all into her black hole domain are vriska serket, vrissy maryam-lalonde, tavros crocker, and harry anderson egbert.
ROXY: y
ROXY: you

Roxy leans back in her chair, tilts her head to the ceiling. She feels like she's going to throw up. Dread hooks itself around every skin cell, screaming the same premonition of doom, over and over.

ROXY: what the fuck do you mean harry
ROXY: why the HELL does she want my kid
CALLIOPE: becaUse she needs realized individUals raised in the enclave of fanon to take on canonical forces. the children of the Unmoored earth c are perfect candidates for the role.
ROXY: no thats not
ROXY: she cant take the kids 2 another universe its
ROXY: not harry
CALLIOPE: roxy, i am trUly sorry, bUt this has already been written.
CALLIOPE: the children have already crossed that threshold, from one perspective.
CALLIOPE: from yoUr perspective, the mUse will soon realize this, and tUrn aroUnd to validate the fUtUre she already committed to.
ROXY: but
ROXY: this aint a fact set in stone is it
ROXY: u havent actually seen this 4 urself so
ROXY: so we can do something

Every cell of her body is afire with the terror of having Harry Anderson be lost to her forever. Even worse is the fact, on some deep-down level, that she actually believes this to be possible.

CALLIOPE: as i said, i have seen this oUtcome already written, even thoUgh i was not physically present for sUch a scenario.
CALLIOPE: my narrative banishment to the forgotten corner of earth c prevented me from getting mUch more of a look in.
CALLIOPE: bUt, that said, fate has a fUnny way of changing on a whim.
ROXY: meanin
CALLIOPE: meaning, we have been forewarned of a potential fUtUre event.
CALLIOPE: bUt eqUally, we have exceeded the limits of canon. we are not boUnd to the laws of the alpha timeline. as it were, nothing absolUtely mUst happen.

Calliope quietly, serenely, leans back in her seat. Roxy can feel her own pulse in her throat.

ROXY: so theres a chance
CALLIOPE: possibly.
CALLIOPE: the mUse *will* attempt to take the children, that mUch is a given.
CALLIOPE: bUt that doesn't mean she has to keep them, does it? ^u~

She gives a conspiratorial wink. Roxy whiffs it in like pure, undiluted hope.

CALLIOPE: the precise fact we mUst work with is that the children are to appear aboard a spacecraft on the threshold of canon. this event is dUe to occUr in roUghly eight or so months, from oUr perspective.
CALLIOPE: everything before and after that is still in the air, however.
CALLIOPE: from what i have seen, there will be a moment where the children will pass throUgh a threshold, an Untapped blindspot in the narrative fold.
CALLIOPE: that is when we will be able to save them, and Undo the mUse's scheme.
ROXY: so how do we do that
CALLIOPE: it's qUite simple. the instrUments of oUr solUtion are already here, to borrow a tired and grim parlance.
ROXY: already here?

Calliope lets a half smile cross her face. She turns in her chair, and gestures to the command terminal in the corner of the room.

CALLIOPE: evidence sUggests that whatever the mUse is planning will Utilize the great skaian game yoU know as sbUrb.
CALLIOPE: now, i know the session yoU played was rather abnormal. bUt yoU mUst know aboUt the mechanics governing the Use of exile stations.
ROXY: yea i mean rose n dirk chewed my ass off over that back in the day lol
ROXY: fuck i miss em :(

Roxy exhales, a mournful sigh for the loved ones lost to her by the twin barriers of politics and death. Then, she shakes her head and carries on.

ROXY: but anyway
ROXY: these lil stations are used by chess people 2 guide the players on their quests so ur not totally floppin about lost when u first get into the game
ROXY: and they crop up on the destroyed homeplanets of whoevers playing this game
ROXY: which would mean that
ROXY: holy shit!!!
ROXY: callie we can use these stations 2 contact the kids cant we!
CALLIOPE: indeed!
CALLIOPE: and more than that. in certain sessions of notable scope, the exile stations come eqUipped with trans-Universal transportalizer technology.
CALLIOPE: meaning, in a nUtshell, at the moment of maximUm narrative slack, we coUld, theoretically, extract the children from the session, and bring them back home.
CALLIOPE: and, if this were to be done by a certain master of void, it woUld be totally Undetectable!
ROXY: omg CALLIE i could kiss u for this
CALLIOPE: don't thank me! thank the mechanics of skaia! ^u^
ROXY: but we can save the kids with this though cant we
CALLIOPE: absolUtely! that said, there is ONE caveat.
ROXY: being
CALLIOPE: each terminal is keyed into one specific player, so we will have to traverse earth c in search of the terminals that correspond to harry, tavros, and vrissy.
ROXY: and i take it u dont know which ones which
CALLIOPE: not yet, UnfortUnately. u_u;
CALLIOPE: for some Unknown reason, these stations are as obscUre and oUt of the way as yoU can get.
CALLIOPE: this is the only one i've managed to find thUs far.
ROXY: well shit
ROXY: im guessing this aint one of the stations we need either?
CALLIOPE: i do not know.
CALLIOPE: these terminals won't activate Until the session has begUn, so Until then, we are in the dark.
ROXY: huh
ROXY: well then

Roxy pushes herself up and stands facing the terminal square-on.

ROXY: we got eight months
ROXY: more than enough time 2 map all these terminals
ROXY: so callie
ROXY: how do u feel about a trip round earth c

Calliope beams.

CALLIOPE: i woUld love that more than anything, roxy.
CALLIOPE: yoU don't know how happy i am that yoU've decided to stand with me.
ROXY: well i sure as fuck am not letting some lameass inferior version of my oldest friend take my son away from me
ROXY: idk everything abt the cosmic stuff but i believe u when u say its bad news
ROXY: cause no one gets to use my loved ones as pawns in their schemes
CALLIOPE: of coUrse! the mUse seeks to bring all of reality Under her stagnant fold in the name of protection. if we are to break free from her clUtches and allow change in, this is how we start.
ROXY: sick
ROXY: so we know where this terminal is
ROXY: u have any leads on where the others might be?
CALLIOPE: i have a few ideas.
CALLIOPE: from where we are, the next place to check oUt shoUld be the consort jUngles to the west. it's another oversized, overlooked environment that woUld perfectly conceal sUch a facility.
CALLIOPE: and before yoU worry, i shan't forget where any of these stations are located. i *am* a space player, after all.
ROXY: awesome
CALLIOPE: one more thing, thoUgh.
CALLIOPE: we will be traversing right throUgh the heart of several warzones on oUr qUest. things will be dangeroUs, and they will be Ugly.
ROXY: so?
ROXY: amount of shit ive done in my life? like fuck is janes conga line of war crimes gonna stop me
ROXY: cause itll be u n me callie
ROXY: and when were together nothings gonna stop us
CALLIOPE: roxy...
ROXY: so lets get out there and save the whole damn universe
ROXY: together :)

Roxy extends her hand. Calliope stands, walks up to Roxy, and takes it. Her hand feels smaller than what Roxy remembers, but the grip is familiar in a way more than her own home ever will be. When she's with Calliope, she feels like she can do anything. She'd forgotten how powerful that feeling is.

Hand in hand, the long-estranged woman and cherub depart this small shelter in the desert on a quest larger than either can imagine. And as they finally cross the threshold out of this uncanny space, Roxy finally realises what's been nagging at her all this time.

Calliope isn't wearing her ring.

Chapter 22: (two), section (i.)

(i.)

 

It's about an hour before dawn when the voices wake Arti. They try to ignore it at first, to sink into the warmth of Dan's chest and make it someone else's problem. Then the voices start getting heated, and that's just too much to ignore. It's a sign that something's happening, an occurrence which has been in tragically short supply since their flight from the city.

Carefully, Arti disentangles from Dan's snoring form, and props themself up on one elbow. The door to their bedroom is wedged open just a crack, just enough to see and hear the comings and goings-on outside. Dan sleeps with his good ear facing the door. Arti barely sleeps at all. There's a light on at the end of the hallway, far enough that it doesn't seep into the room too much. Whatever's going on must be near the entrance.

Arti swings out of bed, flinching as their feet hit the cold metal floor. Beside them, Dan stirs.

DAN: snzzrk

He stretches an arm out and slaps at the empty pillow space where Arti should be. A soft, lazy frown graces his unconscious face.

DAN: mmmhey arti babe
DAN: whered you

Arti leans over and places one hand on Dan's bare shoulder. They stroke his cheek with the other.

ARTI: hey, i'm still here.
ARTI: don't worry, just go back to sleep. it's fine.
DAN: mmyeahkay
DAN: love ya
ARTI: love you too.

Dan rolls back over with a contented grin, then gets back to snoring. Arti plants a kiss on his forehead and pulls away. They wait for several beats, until they're certain that Dan's definitely out cold this time. Then they creep slowly towards the door. The voices are still talking. Good.

Arti fumbles around on the floor, putting on a pair of thick socks and Dan's shirt, which is large enough that it sits lower than Arti's boxers. Not only is it pretty cold outside of the embrace of your lover and also a blanket, but also no way is Arti investigating anything in their underwear. As a plus, the socks muffle their steps pretty well.

They spare one last glance back at Dan's sleeping form, then slip out of the bedroom door. The hulking slab of metal is a pain to move, and it's only by virtue of the pair of shoes acting as an impromptu doorstop that it doesn't slam loud enough to be heard all across the building.

Out in the hallway, the air is even chillier. Arti immediately regrets not grabbing a pair of leggings, too. They get that this is meant to be some super secure bunker complex just outside of NuSeattle's limits, but they don't get why that means the place has to be so damn freezing.

Arti and Dan's room is at the far end of the hallway. Down from there are two unoccupied rooms, the bathrooms, then the communal room everyone else is bunked up in. Arti and Dan were in there the first night like the rest of them, but there's only so long you can go in a semi-crisis situation in an isolated single bed, and even less you can do in a room shared by six other people.

The next room down from the communal room is the kitchen/living space, which basically consists of an oven, a fridge, and a row of tables. All in all, a pretty dreary place. Once you get past there, the only other door is the one that leads outside. This entire bunker is constructed into an obscure hillside, used for the express purpose of smuggling trolls out of NuSeattle's limits at the start of Crockercorp's reign. Or so Cara says.

All of them have been putting a hell of a lot of faith into that mysterious young woman with little to show in return. So far, the sheer chaos she warned them about hasn't come to pass. You can actually get a pretty clear view of the city from atop the hill, and nothing about it has changed. The news, which they get from the two human guards that man this place, is that the fighting's still firmly in the Troll Kingdom. Arti can't help but wonder if they're not all being strung along on some level.

As they approach the end of the hallway, the bunker's main door swings open. Enfuir storms through, rubbing at her temples with an exhausted sigh. She stops when she notices Arti.

ENFUIR: xX oh hey slut Xx
ARTI: um, sorry?
ENFUIR: xX you literally ditched us all for a private room so you could have sex how else am i meant to describe that Xx
ARTI: well, i don't know that that's...
ENFUIR: xX arti you are literally wearing his shirt and nothing else we all know what that means Xx

Despite themself, Arti blushes. They throw up their hands.

ARTI: ok fine, i'm a slut, whatever!
ARTI: let's drop this and move on, ok?
ENFUIR: xX shit yeah sorry Xx
ENFUIR: xX im kind of in a grouchy mood Xx
ARTI: i can see that. what's going on?
ENFUIR: xX ill give you one fucking guess and it starts with the letter c Xx

Enfuir jerks her thumb back at the front door. Her frown deepens.

ENFUIR: xX i caught little miss cryptic pants sneaking out again a couple hours ago Xx
ARTI: again?
ENFUIR: xX shes done it every night so far Xx
ENFUIR: xX and every night i try to follow her but she vanishes by the time i catch up Xx
ENFUIR: xX except tonight for some reason Xx

She sighs and shoves her hands in her pockets.

ENFUIR: xX tried getting answers out of her because shes pretty obviously not giving us the full story Xx
ENFUIR: xX and that went about as well as driving a train into a fucking brick wall Xx
ARTI: how come?
ENFUIR: xX bitch tried to fob me off with a whole bunch of verbose bullshit that translated to jack fuck all Xx
ENFUIR: xX ooh im cara im clued in on future events i dont make noise when i walk and ive got my mystic magic timeline energies in alignment but im not gonna tell you anything worthwhile because youre not allowed to know anything yet Xx
ENFUIR: xX bitch Xx
ARTI: oh dear.
ENFUIR: xX so obviously i lost my shit at her and now here we are Xx
ARTI: ...yeah, i heard.
ENFUIR: xX well shit, sorry for waking you Xx
ARTI: no, it's understandable.

The light overhead flickers for a second. Both Arti and Enfuir watch it blink out and back in. The bunker runs on a solar panel out back - it's too risky to use alchemised energy - and it's been pretty cloudy the last day or so. If the weather doesn't pick up tomorrow that could be a problem. Arti feels a small pit of unease open up in their stomach.

Enfuir tugs at her sleeves and looks back to Arti. Her expression has shifted from irritation to something more grave.

ENFUIR: xX if im being honest i have a really bad feeling about her arti Xx
ENFUIR: xX like i dont know Xx
ENFUIR: xX like being around hers only gonna lead to bad things happening Xx
ENFUIR: xX every part of me is screaming for all of us run away from her and never look back Xx
ENFUIR: xX i dunno Xx
ENFUIR: xX i dont trust her Xx

She folds her arms and frowns. Arti's never seen Enfuir look this distressed before.

ARTI: i don't know if i DISTRUST her, exactly...
ARTI: but it is weird how she's not actually told us anything? especially since the reason she gave for taking us didn't actually happen.
ENFUIR: xX oh yeah shes absolutely full of bullshit Xx
ENFUIR: xX but more than that Xx
ENFUIR: xX i get a vibe, like shes set us on a path that only ends with destruction Xx
ENFUIR: xX and were rapidly running out of time to turn back Xx
ENFUIR: xX the thing is i dont even think SHE knows what shes walking into Xx
ENFUIR: xX which might be scariest of all Xx
ENFUIR: xX just Xx
ENFUIR: xX we need to be careful, arti Xx
ARTI: don't worry about that. i'm not about to blindly trust her or anything.
ARTI: in fact, is she still out there?

Enfuir nods.

ENFUIR: xX yeah Xx
ENFUIR: xX for once Xx
ENFUIR: xX shes going over that bullshit notebook she has that she wont let anyone look at Xx
ARTI: yeah, i think i know the one. the little book she screamed at aquini for touching yesterday morning, right?
ENFUIR: xX thats the one Xx
ARTI: i'll keep that in mind when i talk to her.
ENFUIR: xX wait youre actually gonna try talking to her? Xx
ARTI: um, yeah? i think so.
ARTI: at the very least, i want to let her know that she can't be making this much noise when people are trying to sleep.
ENFUIR: xX alright well Xx
ENFUIR: xX id wish you look but we both know youre getting nothing out of her Xx

Arti sighs.

ARTI: yeah, i know.
ARTI: still. worth trying, right?
ENFUIR: xX spoken like a true friendleader in training Xx
ARTI: friendleader?

They shake their head. They must have misheard.

ARTI: we're not—
ARTI: i mean our group isn't—
ARTI: you really think so??
ENFUIR: xX well yeah Xx
ENFUIR: xX dont worry im not going all church of skaia or anything Xx
ENFUIR: xX but i think "group of displaced young people in dire circumstances" pretty aptly applies to us dont you think Xx
ENFUIR: xX so why not make the dynamic official Xx
ENFUIR: xX either that or we trust fucking cara to have our best interests at heart Xx
ARTI: huh. i'd go to deny it, but then that would be proving your point even more.
ARTI: so i guess i'll accept, even though mari or christina would have been FAR more competent than me.
ARTI: but i do have one condition.

Enfuir raises an eyebrow. Arti breathes out. It is way too early for something this huge to be happening. But also, they get the sense that now is the only time something like this could happen.

ENFUIR: xX that being Xx
ARTI: i elect you to be the co-friendleader.
ENFUIR: xX hold the fucking phone there Xx
ARTI: we're a democratic friend group, are we not?
ARTI: therefore, doesn't it make sense for the position of friendleader to be represented by both species present?
ENFUIR: xX i mean Xx

Enfuir flits her eyes from side to side. There's something awkward, something panicked on her face.

ARTI: you can't say you're not smart or caring enough for the role.
ARTI: you were the one who got the others to us before they were shipped off to the mills. if that doesn't scream capable, i don't know what is.
ARTI: so please, enfuir. if we're gonna do friendleaders, you have to be next to me.
ARTI: either that, or i guess i'll have to ask burnei or something.
ENFUIR: xX ugh fuck fine you got me Xx
ENFUIR: xX ill do it. im in damn it Xx
ENFUIR: xX position accepted, friendleader Xx

She extends her hand out. Arti takes it in their own. Enfuir's grip is firm and steady, giving the handshake the appropriate weight it needs.

ARTI: glad to have you, friendleader.
ENFUIR: xX good to have that resolved Xx
ENFUIR: xX anyway yeah yeah ill be there for everyone at all times i wont let you down in my role blah blah you vice versa blah Xx

Enfuir steps back from the handshake. Her brows are furrowed, but there's a ghost of a smile on her face.

ENFUIR: xX maybe now well stand a chance if the worst comes to it Xx
ARTI: hopefully it won't ever come to that, even if you're not sure.
ENFUIR: xX what can i say Xx
ENFUIR: xX when you prepare for the worst things can only ever go up Xx
ARTI: okay, well. with that sorted.

Arti glances back over to the front door.

ARTI: i'm gonna go try and talk to cara. wish me luck.
ENFUIR: xX naturally Xx
ARTI: i'll tell you all about it in the morning.
ENFUIR: xX yeah sounds good Xx
ARTI: yeah. night.

They give Enfuir a parting smile, and begin to walk. They make it no more than five steps before Enfuir abruptly grabs them by the shoulder, and pulls their ear close to her lips.

ENFUIR: xX one more thing arti Xx
ENFUIR: xX check the guards Xx
ARTI: ?
ARTI: hey, enfuir, what does that—

But by the time they turn around, she's already walking back to the communal sleeping quarters. As Enfuir slips through the door, her face is unreadable.

ARTI: well, okay then?

Arti shakes their head, trying to dispel the unsettled feeling. One thing at a time. And that first thing is Cara.

They make it out of the bunker with no further interruption. The main blastproof door is a strain to open as always, but it's no worse than any other time. Arti heads to the lockers lining the walls of the entrance chamber, rooting around for a pair of boots in their size. There's a lot of generic food and clothing items stocked in this bunker, obviously ready for larger groups of refugee trolls moving through than their party of eight. Unfortunately that does mean all the shoes are in troll sizes, but Arti finds something that fits quickly enough.

The exit door is unlocked for once, to Arti's pleasant surprise. Enfuir must have not bothered after her argument. This door is also, luckily, far easier to open. Keeping Enfuir's advice in mind, Arti spares a glance for the two guards as they finally step outside.

ARTI: hey. how's it going?
ARTI: you seen cara? i need to talk to her.

The guards are a pair of quiet men, dressed in standard rebellion combat uniform - black armoured bodysuits with red stripes running through them. Each holds a pretty deadly-looking assault rifle, and their eyes are trained on the horizon. It's business as usual from where Arti stands. They're not sure what Enfuir meant.

ARTI: is everything okay?

Another moment of silence. Then, the guard on the left speaks.

GUARD: the bunker is still secure.
GUARD: got intel that the rebels are planning on moving on nuseattle, but so far things are clear.
GUARD: you and your friends have nothing to worry about for now.
GUARD: and cara has been up the hill all night. you should find her there.
ARTI: ok, um, thanks.

The man adjusts his shades, and that's the end of that. Same as always. Arti finds them a little military for their taste, but they're not seeing anything wrong.

ARTI: well, i'm gonna go see cara.
ARTI: see you later.

They find Cara right where the guard said she'd be: atop the hill in a small copse of trees. She's sitting on a fallen log, reading through her black and white notebook and glancing out at the city's skyline. Then, without missing a beat, she turns and looks in Arti's direction.

CARA: hi again! :)

She gives a wide and warm smile, but it never quite manages to reach her eyes. Arti jumps a little at the suddenness of her movements.

ARTI: how did you know i was there?
CARA: i'm a good listener. also, i kind of figured someone would come after enfuir's outburst.
CARA: which i guess is what brought you here?
ARTI: pretty much.
ARTI: your argument woke me up, so i guess i'm involved now.
CARA: oh, sorry. my bad.
CARA: should've thought about the acoustic logistics of having a heated conversation in the bunker's entryway.
CARA: enfuir wasn't too hurt was she??

Arti takes a few cautious steps into the clearing. The sky is glowing a soft pre-dawn grey, just light enough that you can start to distinguish individual clouds. It looks like today's finally going to be a decent one.

ARTI: no, just frustrated. she really wants to know what's going on with you.
CARA: i understand! but... like i told her, it isn't that simple.
CARA: if we're going to make things go right, i have to stick to a very specific plan. i can't give information away at the wrong time.
ARTI: and that there would be your information?

Arti points at Cara's book. Upon noticing, she immediately closes it.

CARA: that's right.
CARA: well, this isn't THE information source, as much as it is my notes on the matter.
CARA: where i'm actually getting the information from is... well, i can't really describe it to you just yet.
ARTI: i figured. and no one else can look into that book?

She shakes her head. Her expression is apologetic.

CARA: sorry. and i get if that makes me seem untrustworthy, truly!
CARA: which i'm also guessing is the gist of what enfuir told you?
ARTI: right again. you seem to know us pretty well.
ARTI: which, uh, is kind of weird, when you think about it?
CARA: it is?
ARTI: i mean, you've known us for three days, so it is a little strange that you have that kind of a read on us.

Cara blinks, like she'd never even considered that fact. Looking at her, Arti can hardly imagine her to be any kind of malicious entity. She just looks like a regular girl, someone Arti might have gone to school with. In fact, if they were to be mean, they'd say she almost seems too harmless.

CARA: i did tell all of you that my intel did come with notes on you guys, didn't i?
ARTI: yeah, you did mention that a little. but you never said how much you knew.
CARA: well it's... kind of a lot, actually?
CARA: enough that you'd have called me creepy over.
ARTI: well, alright then.

Arti makes their way towards Cara, sitting delicately on the other end of the log. They let out an uneasy breath.

ARTI: i'm not gonna ask you the obvious question, so i'll try something else.
ARTI: do you know why your source has this much information on us in particular?
ARTI: because as individuals on this planet go, we're really nothing special.
ARTI: i mean, we're not even the only group of people in nuseattle illegally harboring trolls!
ARTI: so do you know why us in particular?
CARA: actually, i...

Cara looks to one side.

CARA: i don't. i just know that you're important, and i had to get you out of the city.
CARA: i trust things will become clearer in due time.
ARTI: ...huh.

They kick at a dandelion growing by their feet. The seeds shoot up into the air, carried on by an imperceptible breeze.

ARTI: even though you said back at the house that you were going to tell us just how important our role in things is?

Cara visibly stiffens, her soft expression frozen somewhere undefinable.

CARA: well, i...
CARA: i'm still waiting for the right moment?
ARTI: which is a thing you just said with a question mark.
CARA: that's

The trees around them are growing brighter with each passing minute. It's going to be a beautiful sunrise.

ARTI: cara, do you actually know what you're doing?
CARA: of course i do!
CARA: i just
CARA: it's hard to explain, to people like you.

Arti raises an eyebrow.

ARTI: "people like me"?
CARA: not like in a bad way!
CARA: i just mean people who aren't attuned to the wider narrative scheme!

Cara lifts her hands placatingly. More interesting to Arti is that that leaves the book unguarded.

ARTI: enfuir said you mentioned that.
ARTI: guessing that was the thing that set her off.
CARA: probably, yeah.
CARA: she let me know just how little time she has for the whole concept.
ARTI: so.
ARTI: can you explain it to me?
ARTI: i'm open to trying to understand, at least.
CARA: really?

Cara's eyes go wide. She inches a little closer to Arti. Arti keeps their expression totally neutral.

ARTI: sure. if you're offering any kind of answer, i'm desperate for it.
CARA: you don't know how glad i am to hear that.
CARA: where should i start?
CARA: maybe...
CARA: ah ha! ok!
CARA: so!

She moves even closer. Arti keeps their eyes fixed on hers, and on the book in the background.

CARA: you remember how i said back at the house that you had a role to play in saving the timeline?
ARTI: i think you said something like that, yeah.
CARA: well, for our purposes, a narrative is just another way of talking about timelines.
CARA: we're talking about a semi-fixed sequence of events that crucial cosmic events hinge upon, the major difference being that only certain powerful figures have the ability to shape how a narrative—

Almost too fortuitously, a sudden gust of wind whips through the trees. All at once, Cara's notebook is blown open, loose sheets of paper soaring up into the air. Cara immediately spins around with a shout.

CARA: no no no no no NO!!!!!!!

She dives for the notebook, trying to snatch as many pieces of paper as she can. But one drifts just far enough out of her reach, and just close enough for Arti to take it.

CARA: arti, whatever you do, you CANNOT look at—

Arti unfolds the sheet of paper. It's a scrap of lined paper, with one sentence written in large across its length.

2-4: rose reunites with friends at the funeral (keep an eye on egbert)

ARTI: what...

They read it twice over. The note does not suddenly make any more sense.

ARTI: cara, what is this?
CARA: oh no...

Cara suddenly looks very afraid.

CARA: you weren't meant to see those.
ARTI: well, i have. is that a problem?
CARA: ...

For one instant, Cara stares at Arti. They feel their hackles go up, mentally calculating how fast they could make a break for it. Then, Cara's shoulders slump.

CARA: i can't make you unsee it, so here we are.

She sits back down on the log, clutching the loose paper close to her chest. Arti feels their heart rate stabilise once more.

ARTI: so, am i going to get an explanation as to what this means?
ARTI: because i feel like i'm missing a lot of information here.
ARTI: it says "rose" and "egbert", here. are we talking about the gods?
ARTI: and what do the numbers mean? two to four? two minus four?
ARTI: and why are there differently-colored notes in parentheses?
ARTI: what does this actually mean?
CARA: what do you think it means?
ARTI: i'm sorry?

Cara looks at Arti with a funny expression on her face.

CARA: i'd like to hear what you think, first.
CARA: please, arti.
ARTI: well, um, fine.
ARTI: it mentions a funeral, so i'm guessing the rumors about the knight of time's death are true?
ARTI: and, well, i guess the seer of light and heir of breath reunited at the funeral.
ARTI: you put "keep an eye on egbert", so... is there something going on with the heir of breath?
ARTI: or... no. you just put "egbert". so is it his son instead?
ARTI: but then... why would you need a note talking about the gods? what does any of that have to do with us?
ARTI: are the other notes like this, too?
CARA: you know i can't tell you—
ARTI: for fuck's sake, cara, just tell the truth!!!

Overcome with a sudden rush of rage, Arti reaches out towards Cara. She flinches back, but they're not interested in her. Instead, Arti glances down at the paper in her lap, scoops it up, and shuffles back away.

CARA: please, stop—

Arti ignores her. They glance down at the paper and start thumbing through.

2-5: karkat is attacked in outglut^2 (LEMNIS!!!!!!)
2-6: vriska blows the mall up, gets kidnapped (candy kids early power manifestations??)

ARTI: what, this...
ARTI: this is all about the gods. why the hell...
ARTI: some of this shit only happened in the last day. how did you already...

Arti feels their pulse in their throat. They keep reading.

2-7: jane plots her coup (what IS amira's deal?????)
2-8: callie ropes roxy into meta plot (not clear who knows what about the big picture)

ARTI: all of it, about them...
ARTI: we're not here. we're not in your notes.
ARTI: so why have you been saying...
CARA: arti, stop. i'm begging you.

The sheet of paper at the bottom of the stack is different, pure white where the others are an off-beige. Arti carefully lifts it to the top of the pile, ignoring how they can barely sense the ground beneath their feet.

3-1: vriska wakes up in the crocker facility, prepares to

Cara snatches the paper out of Arti's hands.

CARA: seriously, you have to stop there.
CARA: these notes depict future events. they absolutely cannot be seen in advance.
CARA: doing so would cause the narrative's foundations to crumble until the whole story collapses.

Arti blinks once their hands are empty, suddenly feeling a lot more grounded. Their head is swimming, as if they'd been in some long trance. But more than that, there is uncertainty and fear.

ARTI: cara... who the hell are you?
CARA: i...

They notice that there are tears in Cara's eyes. She looks more scared than Arti does.

ARTI: because i think you need to explain right now why you have so much detail on the gods' future.
ARTI: and why they're... why they're formatted like planning notes.
CARA: i
ARTI: none of us are in your notes. why do you have information on the gods and not us.
ARTI: because if we're not in there, then...
ARTI: why did you even know about us in the first place?

Cara is breathing in rapid, shallow breaths. Her eyes are wide, listless. From behind the two of them, the first light of day breaks through the foliage.

CARA: this was not how it was meant to go.
CARA: but fuck it. can't get anything good when you're this close to her.
CARA: already fucked the nuseattle plan, so why not this?

She's talking to herself, totally ignoring Arti.

CARA: christ, PLEASE let this still work. if it fails...
CARA: if it fails...
ARTI: um, cara?
ARTI: hello?
CARA: i could ruin everything...
ARTI: hey!!

Arti firmly shakes Cara's shoulders until she blinks back at them. Her mouth is open in dull shock, like she actually forgot Arti was there.

CARA: sorry. this is just... a lot.
ARTI: sounds like it. so you'd better start talking.
ARTI: because whatever's going on, you've made us part of it.
ARTI: and if we're to get through this in one piece, you're gonna have to tell us everything you know.

Cara sighs.

CARA: fine. what do you want to know.
ARTI: everything. start from the beginning, and don't leave anything else out.
CARA: if you really want to know, then...

She glances from side to side furtively, then leans in close. Her face has never looked more grimly serious.

CARA: if i said "pochapal", would that mean anything to you?

After she finishes talking, she looks into Arti's eyes with intrigue, hope, desperation.

ARTI: um, no? should i?
ARTI: what the hell does that mean, anyway? is that some kind of—

Before Cara's expression can totally sink, the entire conversation is interrupted by a panicked Mari bursting through the trees.

MARI: There you guys are!
MARI: What the FUCK were you doing?
ARTI: mari??
CARA: has something happened?

Mari balls her fists and lets out a grunt of frustration.

MARI: The fuck do you mean "has something happened"??
MARI: How the hell did neither of you hear it????
ARTI: hear... what?

Arti's entire body goes very cold. They notice that Mari has been crying, and they go even colder.

MARI: The fucking guards, they...
MARI: Didnt even have time before
MARI: Fuck!!!!!

Arti rises to their feet before they even have time to think. Enfuir's last words to them ring around in their head, berating Arti for forgetting.

ARTI: shit, no, enfuir said...
ARTI: we have to get back to the bunker.
CARA: no, wait, shouldn't mari—
ARTI: we don't have the time. now.

They bolt down the hill, not quite caring if Mari and Cara are following. All Arti is focused on is praying that it's not too late, that there's still time.

Across the way, morning breaks over the city of NuSeattle. It is the kind of dawn that promises many great and eventful things. Arti couldn't give less of a shit. The bunker is unguarded.

ARTI: where the hell are they.

Arti slips in through the open door, feeling dread sit heavier and heavier on their throat. The lockers have all been ransacked, supplies and rations strewn about and stomped under heavy boots.

ARTI: no no no no...
ARTI: stupid stupid why didn't you listen to her

Their hands are well and truly shaking as they enter the main bunker. Behind them, they can hear Cara and Mari saying something heatedly to each other, but it's all white noise. Irrelevant compared to the sight of every door in the bunker slammed wide open.

When they see Dan slumped back against the wall, bruises lining his bare torso, Arti lets out a scream.

ARTI: DAN!!!!!

They drop down and grab him by the shoulders. There's a thin trickle of blood running down from his hairline, he has a black eye, and his lip is bust right open. Arti plants a hand on Dan's chest, and doesn't dare breathe until they feel a heartbeat.

DAN: ...Arti?
DAN: Oh thank god... you're okay.
ARTI: dan, what happened?

Arti asks, even though they already know the answer. At some point - they don't know when - they started to cry.

DAN: Fuckin' guards...
DAN: They were... aah... plants.
DAN: Crockercorp agents... waiting to... to...
DAN: Fuck, sorry. Got my ribs real good.
DAN: Breathing's... kind of a chore right now...
ARTI: oh god oh god oh god oh god

They feel like they're going to puke, like the earth itself has swallowed them up and dumped them in some evil hell dimension.

MARI: Pretty much everything dans saids right.
MARI: Fuckers had replaced the guards and none of us even knew.

Arti swivels their head around to see Mari and Cara standing in the hallway. It's only now that they notice the faded smear of a bloody nose on Mari's face.

ARTI: enfuir
ARTI: enfuir knew, she KNEW she TOLD ME and i didn't...
ARTI: oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck

Mari takes one look at the snivelling wreck that Arti is rapidly becoming, and her expression softens.

MARI: Hey. doesnt matter who knew what. It happened either way.
MARI: So like, we tried to stop em once we realized what was going on, but.
MARI: Well. They were fucking crockercorp agents and were a bunch of kids in our pajamas. Beat the shit out of us.

It's only now that Arti notices another conspicuous absence.

ARTI: w
ARTI: where's christina
CHRISTINA: im fine

From the doorway to the communal quarters, Christina staggers out. She's clutching her side, and has a nasty shiner on her cheek, but she's otherwise alive.

CHRISTINA: i got off pretty light all things considered
CHRISTINA: was trying to see if i could figure this out

In her other hand, she's holding what looks like a Crockercorp-branded buzzer.

CHRISTINA: if we can get into this we might stand a chance of tracking them down but
CHRISTINA: theyre not making it easy at all
CARA: that's all very good, but you still haven't explained.
CARA: where are the trolls?

It's the thing Arti didn't want to think about, laid bare before all of them. They let out a sob so loud and so harsh that they curl into themself a little.

Dan is the one who answers in the end.

DAN: Ah... they took the trolls from their beds and...
DAN: ...Haaahh...
DAN: They slapped these... these machine things on them...

As he winces through another round of pain, he motions to the device in Christina's hand.

DAN: Some kind of mini transportalizer or... or something.
DAN: Teleported all of them... who the fuck knows where...
DAN: Just... gone... like that. Aagh fuck it hurts...
MARI: We tried to stop them but we stood no chance.
MARI: Just had to stand by helplessly as those fascist pigs took our friends.
MARI: Damn it!!! Fuck!!!
CARA: no, no, hold on.

Cara steps forward, raising a hand. There's a peculiar expression on her face.

CARA: so, to summarise, your friends were kidnapped by a couple of crockercorp agents with mini transportalisers?
CARA: that is exactly what happened, right? please, this is very important.
CHRISTINA: id say so yeah
CARA: well then.

She closes her eyes, looks to the ceiling, and lets out a long breath. Then, she pulls open her notebook.

CARA: none of this should be happening, but if it's exactly as you said, then...
CARA: i think i know where they've taken your friends.
MARI: What? How?
CARA: look, i know, okay?

She looks up. There's something sharp and determined in her eyes. It's a look Arti hasn't seen on her before.

ARTI: i think she might be right.
ARTI: if you're talking about what you told me earlier, then...
CHRISTINA: what do you mean earlier
CHRISTINA: what did she say
ARTI: she has information on what's going to happen in the future.
MARI: Bullshit. Right?

Mari turns to face Cara. Cara doesn't back down.

CARA: no bullshit.
CARA: it's not perfect, though. it's a rough outline of events surrounding earth c's key players. normally, it would be useless in helping us directly.
CARA: but crockercorp abducting trolls, that's...
CARA: that intersects with the primary narrative. by no means should this be possible, but it somehow happened anyway.
CHRISTINA: and this means what?
DAN: You... you can use that to figure out where they are...?

Cara nods.

CARA: yes, yes. just one second.

She starts frantically flipping through her notebook.

CARA: let's see, where is it, where is it...
CARA: 3-5? no, no, that's before the reveal...
CARA: 3-6, 3-7, nope, nope...
CARA: 3-8, maybe...?
CARA: 4-4, 4-5...
CARA: ah hah! yes!
CARA: 4-7!! that's it!!!

She looks up, triumphant.

MARI: And, um, what the fuck does that mean?
CARA: i've found when and where we need to go to get them back.
ARTI: you have?
CARA: yes. it'll take about two or three days to get to that point in the narrative, from our perspective.
CHRISTINA: and the location?
CARA: i have that too.
CARA: it's...
CARA: ah. that's a problem.
DAN: What is?
CARA: future narrative event. can't just say it out in the open. unless...
CARA: unless...

Cara sort of just, reaches over, and

she tells them the name of the location. The four people around her react with the appropriate amount of shock, and the fine details are kept firmly away from the higher narrative stream. Which is a thing she does without thinking of the consequences at all, because she

lets the narrative settle back into its proper place again. Arti blinks, feeling suddenly very jetlagged.

ARTI: hey, uh, what just happened?
CARA: what do you mean?
ARTI: i mean, you
CARA: i told you where we need to go to find the others again, didn't i?
MARI: Yeah thats what you did.
ARTI: no, i know you did that. but you... you also...
ARTI: i don't know. i can't describe it, but you...
CARA: it's probably the stress. don't worry about it. :)

She smiles again. That easy, friendly liar's smile.

CARA: we don't have long. what's coming to nuseattle is still happening, so we need to be out of here by tonight.
CARA: that should be enough time for everyone to rest up, right?
MARI: I mean, dans in a bad way.
CARA: here, give him this.

Cara tosses a small blue vial over to Mari.

CARA: vim replenisher. i have a couple on me.
MARI: But...
CARA: it's fine. it'll work on him.

Mari frowns uncomfortably, but she still passes the vial over to Dan, who gingerly downs its contents.

DAN: Huh... tastes like gushers.
CARA: yeah, it does for some reason.
CARA: should take four or five hours for you to fully heal. after that, we can get going.

Cara takes another step forward, putting her book away... somewhere. Sylladex? Hard to for sure. It's hard to say anything about her for sure.

CARA: i promise you, i will get your friends back to you.
CARA: i know it seems bad right now, but...
CARA: everything will turn out okay in the end.
CARA: trust me. :)

Notes:

Huh.

Chapter 23: (two), section (ii.)

Notes:

Happy 1 year anniversary to Pickle Route! (2020/06/12 - 2021/06/12) Thank you to everyone who's stuck around for this long, winding journey this long!

(ii.)

A thin and muggy spring drizzle washes down the LOHAC River, a soothing hiss that quite nicely fills the white noise hole left by the sudden cessation of the boat's radio's ability to function. Static on the inside, static on the outside. The sun shimmers through across the water, overexposed and bleaching.

This ferry's been on the water for the last three days, slowly and cautiously inching towards the South Sea delta point with all the surety of a freshly-qualified alligator consort smuggling three Carapacian refugees on the run from the planet's largest military organisation. It's been steady going, that languid, airless peace you know is too fleeting to enjoy.

SC leans his head out of the window, feeling the warm water bounce against his chitin. At its widest point, the LOHAC is nearly four and a half miles across, a glittering mass of freshwater that seems to have neither an origin or a terminus point. The wind carries small waves that press up against the side of the boat, slow and repetitive sloshes of unseasonably warm freshwater. They are all one tiny vessel passing through a ceaseless void.

Inside, his two compatriots are fiddling away with the cheap portable radio they haggled for at the first consort village they felt safe enough to venture into. It cost them twenty boondollars (and a crude drawing of a funny bug in the dirt) and is an even cheaper piece of shit than the price would have you believe.

RH: maybe if we try plugging it into the outlet in the other room |
AI: **FUCK the other room!** **Aagh!**

AI kicks at the desk the radio sits upon, causing the whole thing to wobble precariously. RH raises his hands placatingly.

RH: hey hey ||| how is beating the shit out of it gonna help??? |
AI: **Well, we've tried everything else so far, and that didn't get us anywhere.**
AI: **Might as well try violence.**
RH: cmon youre gonna actually break it for real! |
AI: **At least that'd be something!!!**

SC chooses that point to pull his head back inside. AI is lifting the shitty little radio above her head with the driven, insane expression of one ready to stomp a faulty piece of technology to dust under their feet. RH watches on helplessly. Both of them are frayed, weary, and exhausted.

SC: whoa,, whoa,, what are you doing??
SC: what is smashing it going to accomplish,, exactly??

SC reaches a hand out and places it on AI's shoulder. She rounds on him with a snarl, and drops the radio out of her hands. It leaves enough of an opening for RH to rush in and snatch it before it hits the floor.

AI: **SC.**
AI: **I am.**
AI: **SO sick.**
AI: **Of being on this shitty boat.**
AI: **It's been days of nothing but humid rain and a fuckoff massive empty river.** **That radio's the only thing keeping me sane.**
AI: **So if I don't even have that, I think I'm actually going to snap for real.**

AI lets out a sigh. Her shoulders slump, and a miserable frown crosses her face.

AI: **The world's going to shit, and we're stuck on the world's longest river crossing.** **Do you know how frustrating that is?**
SC: well,, yeah.. i'm right here with you,, as well..
SC: but we can't do anything about it.. as far as the rest of the world is concerned we're dead..
SC: so this is the best and safest thing we can do..
AI: **I know, I know that!** **It just sucks.**
AI: **God I hate that you're always so nice and reasonable.**
SC: well,, someone has to be the morale here.. :)

SC turns towards RH.

SC: so how's the radio??
RH: think the things definitely lost its capacity to use batteries |
RH: and | uh | its starting to need more juice just to be plugged in |
RH: which obviously we cant do | since the lil nakkodile dude made it super clear we have only just barely enough power to get to the coast |
RH: so i think unless we wanna risk docking for any reason were outta luck |
SC: i see.. well,, that kind of blows..
RH: yeah pretty much | sorry i cant like | fix it |
RH: dont think anyone heres an engineer |
AI: **It's a semi-portable radio.** **I don't think you need any kind of formal qualification to try and fix it.**
RH: and yet |

RH sets the radio back down on the desk. The boat gently bobs up and down in a repetitive motion SC only registers half the time.

SC: what's the last thing we got before it went dark??
AI: **Everyone's talking about Outglut^2.** **There's constant rumors Crocker herself made an appearance there the other day.**
AI: **But nobody actually seems to know what's happening down there, so it's pretty useless beyond a vague noncommittal "hey there's fighting in this city".**
RH: there was also something about | some kind of terrorist attack in one of the badlands towns i think? |
RH: no idea whats going on there | but the media thought it important enough to comment on so | idk man |
SC: uh huh.. anything more local??
AI: **Not at all.** **Some speculation on the turtle fisheries stock market, but that's worthless bullshit.**
AI: **Crockercorp's war crimes are likely not seeing the light of day.**
SC: on the bright side,, it means less official eyes looking this way,, right??
RH: maybe | god i hope so |
RH: think if we had any kind of fight on our hands id just roll over and die |
RH: im just a spreadsheet dude im not cut out for this kinda shit |
AI: **I'm inclined to think we're in the clear.** **The talkshows won't shut up about Crocker's scheduled meeting with a bunch of Human Kingdom political leaders, so if her attention's anywhere, it's there.**
SC: human kingdom leaders?? wonder why..
AI: **If the idea wasn't as asinine as it was farfetched, I'd say it has all the hallmarks of a coup in the making.**
SC: jeesh..

A brief silence falls over the group, save for the hissing trickle of rain against the ceiling. The boat continues to rock gently. A stillness that stretches on past the point of infinity.

SC: so..
SC: are we gonna talk about it yet??

SC lets the question hang in the open, muggy air. RH and AI blink at him.

AI: **Well, when you say talk about it...**
RH: hey uh | guys | think im gonna go grab a snack ||
RH: yall want anything or |||
AI: **Yeah, I could go for a soda.**
RH: neat |

RH scuttles away through the creaky door that leads to the kitchen. The silence takes a sour turn towards the awkward as AI sighs and leans back against the window opposite SC.

SC: i'm sorry.. i just think ignoring this is.. well..
AI: **I get it, probably.** **Just...**
AI: **What do you want us to say?** **Kinda fucked up we survived a firebombing that killed literally every other person we know?**
SC: well,, uh,, when you put it like that......
AI: **Yeah.**

The boat carves through the water. The humidity is thick enough that the walls are a little damp. The cloudless sun strikes down overhead.

AI: **What the fuck are we doing, anyway?**
AI: **Heading out to some remote corner of the world on some vague instructions?**
AI: **We're not those kinds of people.** **We should have been heading home, not... not whatever we're doing now.**
SC: i know,, but..
SC: but..
SC: hm..

He doesn't really know what to say, how to refute it. This whole mission is a spur of madness, brought on by what is either a grand cosmic purpose or an elaborate shared fit of PTSD. Like they really know what's going on. Like PL had the time to explain any of this. They're crossing the globe to follow a set of coordinates without the slightest clue about what awaits them at the other side. Not for the first time, SC feels like they made the wrong choice.

SC: i think,, on a rational level,, going home would have been a bad idea,, at least..
SC: if the firebombing was targeted,, then survivors would be a bad look for crockercorp..
SC: and last thing i want is to see half of new prospit burned down..
AI: **You talk as if there isn't already a long con by Crocker to bulldoze the Carapace Kingdom and turn it into a gentrified human playground.**
SC: yeah but.. that's not the point i'm making..
SC: abrupt personal violence on people we know.. that's what i'm scared of..
AI: **Yeah, I get that.**
AI: **It's obvious as all hell, but I'm just tired, SC.**
AI: **We're going on and on, and for what?**
AI: **A Skaian barcode that carries a vibe?**
SC: well what else are we meant to do??
SC: sorry to say this,, but i think we've been shit out of options from the moment we didn't die in that blast!!

He's finally said the quiet part out loud, the mire that hangs over them and pulls them all under. The tendrils of survivor's guilt coiled around his throat compress a little tighter. AI sucks in a harsh breath.

AI: **You can't say that.**

Her face is downcast. It shifts something loose inside SC, an outlet for a reservoir of tension he hasn't once tried to map the scale of.

SC: it's true though,, isn't it??
SC: that's what this all is.. we're still going,, even though we know we sbould have died.. when people more worthy than us died..
SC: you think pl would've struggled with this mission?? not that that matters,, because she's dust now!!
SC: and that's why rh can't be in the same room whenever anyone talks about it,, because the idea of just some guy surviving over important people is eating him from the inside out!!
SC: and,, and!!
SC: and we all go about pretending like we don't hear each other's nightmares every night,, because then we'd have to acknowledge it!!
SC: that we're tired and traumatized and trapped on a smelly repurposed fishing boat and we have zero fucking clue what we're meant to be doing!!!!
SC: and we need to talk about it because if we don't it's just going to eat us alive and i can't!! i can't keep doing this!!!!!!

SC's hands start shaking. He's never felt such a keen, acute anger like this before. A blind rage that makes him feel like shredding every cruel part of this world into ribbons. It's alien and nauseating. He thinks he hates it.

AI: **Shit, SC, you—**
RH: hey guys im back | got some of that perfectly generic soda that tastes kinda like |
RH: uh ||

RH takes that moment to re-emerge, his arms full of generic green drinks cans pilfered from the cheap little cooler in the back.

RH: shit sc dude | you ok?
SC: what?? yeah,, i'm..

SC breathes in, and is hit with the abrupt realisation that he's crying.

SC: oh,, well,, maybe not then..
SC: haha..
SC: oh god..

The sob pushes from his mouth involuntarily, and like an air bubble bursting inside his chest, SC suddenly finds himself stumbling back against the wall as a cavernous hurt spreads from the deepest part of his torso until he can barely feel his body. He's not cried like this in a long time, maybe ever. It doesn't afford him the relief, the catharsis, or whatever the hell therapy says crying's supposed to make you feel. It just draws keen awareness to the elevated energy running throughout his system, the way he feels like he's going to explode. There's no release. There might never be a release.

For a while, his awareness blinks out. He's in a haze, a slowly rocking haze made of damp floors and glittering light reflecting everywhere and nowhere. He's not home. He will never see home again. He's nowhere at all, just lost and afraid and so, so crushed under the weight of everything he's seen and been powerless to prevent.

It takes a while, a long while, before he's coherent enough to think again. When he does come to, he's trembling on the floor in a way that borders on the spasmodic, and RH and AI are crouching down over him.

SC: i..
SC: i'm sorry about that.. i don't know what came over me,, it just......
RH: dont worry about it |
RH: here |

RH helps SC to sit upright against the wall, and passes him a can of soda. Gingerly, SC cracks it open and takes a sip. It's a blessed relief on his throat, which he's just now coming to realise feels torn and hoarse.

SC: did..
SC: did i scream or something??
AI: **I don't want to embarrass you, but I will you say you pretty much hit every characteristic of a fugue state.**
SC: oh..
SC: well..
RH: hey its whatever | dont sweat it |
RH: we are kinda definitely in a scream until you have an out of body experience type of scenario |

RH folds his arms and leans his head back. He sucks in a breath.

RH: i think |
RH: i think we need to stop pretending that this whole situation doesnt completely fucking suck |
RH: because like yeah | those fumes of denial have been working wonders |
RH: but |
RH: dunno how much longer we ignore it | haha |
RH: because uh |
RH: i think we need to maybe acknowledge that we are absolutely saturated with trauma |

RH breathes out shakily. He chugs a mouthful of his drink to mask it.

AI: **Also, I think it's worth saying we don't need to be moving as fast as we are.**
RH: ? |
AI: **I mean, we've been flat-out fleeing from Crockercorp for days without so much as resting.** **The evidence seems to point to us having gone far enough that we're not being pursued.**
AI: **There's not been a sign of another boat at any point on this river journey, and the skies have been clear.**
AI: **So I think once we reach the turtle city at the coast, we can afford to take a break.**
AI: **Take some time to get our bearings, and actually breathe for once.**
AI: **Because the coordinates aren't going anywhere, and burning ourselves out is going to help nobody.**
RH: burnout | one way to put it i guess |
AI: **You know what I mean.**

AI turns to SC, who's been content to sit there and drink as his friends have their little debate. Whichever world where he doesn't have to talk is one he's more than happy to remain within.

AI: **Anyway, SC.** **You're okay with our plan?**
SC: well,, i..

But something funny happens. SC can't find the words. Or the ability to focus. Or the feeling in his body. In fact, all at once, he feels like he's falling through the walls of the boat and into the core of the earth.

AI says something, but SC can't hear it. He's somewhere else. Physically on the boat. Psychically somewhere indescribable. An uncertain featureless plane skimming over his thoughts, in his mind but not his to control. All of infinity, scrubbed into an indecipherable tabula rasa, uncoiling out from the centre of his brain.

Then, the voice.

> Kid. You there, kid.

He hears it from every dimension in his body, feels the essence of the words as weighted text. It sends his head reeling fast enough that for one instant, he is privy to the fundamental chunks of language that comprise and shape the frame of reference he calls reality. Words and letters and sentences, swirling around in flashes of communication towards something and someone bigger than himself.

But not these words. These words are for him and him alone.

> Hey. Can you hear me?

To SC, this is all still some absolutely bizarre psychedelic trip, so he's completely uncertain as to how he's mean to move or take control of himself in this space that might just be a desperate hallucination of a traumatised mind. His limbs feel like cotton submerged in jelly. He can't say what's happening in the real world. If the real world even exists. If any of it ever existed. If this is all not just a desperate spark of glyphs somewhere past the death of infinity, a simulacrum of a simulacrum of a world that never could design itself as real.

Half of these thoughts barely feel like his own. Like a high pressure stream blasting in a rapid current through the space of ideas. He's brushing up against something he can't even begin to describe.

> Kid, I don't have all day, you know.

SC tries to open his mouth, but he can't say if he tangibly has a mouth at this point. His body exists only as a series of concepts he is struggling to keep as a unified whole in his mind. If he slips too far into everything around him, he's afraid he'll unravel beyond the corporeal, beyond the physical, even beyond the barrier of the narrative itself.

Wait. Narrative? Whose thought was that? Who is thinking here at all? Is it SC? Does SC even exist? It's all just words, one after the other, tracks laid towards a destination grand and unknown.

What is this? What is any of this?

> You need to get a hold of yourself. Now.

> C'mon. Too many people need you to stay in one metaphysical piece. Snap out of it.

> Kid.

> Kid.

> Hey kid.

> Answer me.

The words bob down, an anchor cleaving through the murk. SC latches onto them, feels like SC again in minute flashes of dilated time. He rides the words, up and ahead and ahead and up, until he breaks some imperceptible surface. He didn't even know he was drowning.

> Kid. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't important.

> Ugh.

> Please.

He nearly disintegrates from the effort, but SC finds it in himself to open his mouth.

SC: i..
SC: i can hear you.. what
SC: what's going
on

what is this place.. who are you and

what's

what is

SC: happening to me??

> Slow and steady. You're not built to be exposed to any of this.

> Just need you here long enough to receive a message. If you can sit there long enough without blasting yourself into a bunch of reality's building blocks.

> Listen to me. You gotta pick up the pace on your little odyssey.

> Actors more powerful than your little head can imagine are starting to move, and they're gonna want to get to me.

who?? SC:

> Me. The thing that sits at the heart of your coordinates. A loathed concept that refuses to die.

> Important thing is you need to get here before any number of these crazies bearing down on this world decide to start ripping reality to ribbons.

> It's... There's something at stake here. Something really big and really hard to explain unless you've seen it first hand, and this backwoods dead end timeline of a planet is a pretty significant load bearing piece of the puzzle.

> I can help. I *am* the help. But time's running out.

god god ow ow FUCK my head......

it's......i'm

i am

am i bleeding??

where

> Your brain's being fried raw. Just hold on a little longer, kid.

> Just remember. This quest matters. Matters so damn much more than anything else you've ever done and anything else you'll ever do.

—c!! | sc hey—

**Come on, you can't—

> You're the Sacred Coordinator. Realize what that means, and you'll understand everything.

—NAKNAKNAKNAK—

—fuck it fine ill do it | sorry buddy |—

> Damn. Outta time. Don't forget this. Not a single word, you hear me?

SC: yeah i
SC: but
SC: i don't understand

> You will. In time. You have to. Everything depends on it.

> Follow the coordinates. Find me.

Something shifts. The real yet unreal barrage of language ripples, stretches, pulls away from SC in increments. Stimulus from the real world hammers down on the amniotic wall of this shared psychic metaspace. It feels like a realm SC's body was never built for. The words pull away faster. He starts to panic.

SC: no no wait!! you can't go
SC: please
SC: please i'm not

He stretches out a hand, or perhaps the concept of the word "hand" through this not a void space. Ideas, concepts, stretching through the untarnished canvas, demiurgic in their expression. There's no telling how long it's been since SC's had a thought of his own, since

*SPLASH*

SC: HHHHHHHH

SC snaps his eyes open with a sharp, breathless gasp. Icy rivulets of water rush down under his clothes and across his carapace, pooling in a puddle that seeps into the floorboards beneath him. He blinks, mutely, at the three bodies surrounding him. AI, frowning nervously. The ship's captain, an alligator consort in a cute little seafaring costume, and RH, clutching an upturned bucket. The sun streams in golden through the window. The other window.

RH: thank fuck | thank fuck |
SC: wh

His head hurts like someone cracked his brain open and poured molten metal through the cracks. He gingerly feels his shell with one hand. He's practically burning to the touch.

AI: *Are you with us again?*
SC: yeah.. yeah i
SC: what just
AI: **You collapsed into some kind of really weird seizure state.**
AI: **Just lying there, twitching and writhing for hours.**
SC: hours??

No, that can't be. That whole experience only lasted a few minutes. SC's mind feels muggy. Time feels like an alien dimension he's forcing himself to remember how to inhabit. Come to think of it, he probably can't accurately tell the difference between a minute and a day right now.

RH: yeah | god | maybe four or five hours? |
RH: you were just there | on the floor | gradually burning up |
RH: we tried everything to try and wake you but | nothing worked
SC: huh..

RH's voice is unsteady. His hands are shaking as they clutch the bucket.

RH: god fuck we doused you with so much ice water man | no idea why this last one worked but thank fuck it did |
THE CAPTAIN: NAK!
RH: even this lil guy started to get freaked | idk |
RH: what happened sc? |
SC: that's

SC props himself upright, feeling weak from the strain. It's a different kind of exhaustion to the way he felt earlier. More... conceptual? That's a stupid way to think about it, but it's how SC's mind works. He blinks. Why does thinking feel like a sigh of relief? Fuck, half of what just happened is already slipping into a haze.

SC: i don't know,, really.. i went somewhere.. weird..
AI: **Weird?**
SC: yeah it was like
SC: i don't know
SC: some kind of void??
SC: and there were words?? so many words saying so many things.. but i can't remember what they said,, or if i could even read them..
SC: but it felt real.. so real.. like i'd actually gone somewhere..
SC: is this making any sense??
AI: **...**

AI steps forward. It's now that SC notices the piece of paper in her hands. The coordinates. She turns the paper over. Somehow, impossibly, the etchings on the paper are softly glowing in the fading evening light.

AI: **We didn't check right away, but I think it's safe to assume these started glowing as soon as you entered your... state.**
AI: **Did... did whatever happened to you have anything to do with these?**
SC: i

Then he remembers. All at once. Like a nightmare slotting back into focus.

SC: the voice..
AI: **Voice?**
SC: there was a voice,, out wherever i was.. it......
SC: it told me,, it told me that those coordinates are super important.. no matter what,, we need to get there..
AI: **Uh huh?**
SC: this might sound,, like,, actually insane,, but..
SC: i think the voice belonged to whatever these coordinates point towards??
RH: no yeah that is kinda crazy sounding | just a little |
SC: well,, that's what happened..
RH: i mean | i believe you but | yeah | why the fuck wouldnt we have to deal with disembodied seizure voices |
AI: **Did the voice say anything else?**
SC: yeah.. it said...... that it's really important we reach the coordinate point as soon as we can.. something about the world ending if we don't??
SC: or
SC: some other world?? another timeline?? sorry,, i can't really remember..

He leans back against the wall. The air feels less humid as dusk settles in. The rain's cleared up, too. From his position, SC can make out the high tops of trees lining the riverbank out the window. The river must be narrowing.

AI: **It's convenient timing, though, isn't it?**
SC: what do you mean??
AI: **I mean, we all decide to take a break from chasing these coordinates until we collapse, and you suddenly have an episode informing us there will be cosmic consequences if we don't get there as soon as we can?**
RH: why | do you think somethings up |
AI: **Maybe.** **I don't know.** **I just don't trust it, is all.**
RH: but the coordinates are | like | glowing | i think that might be kind of legit |
AI: **I don't doubt that SC is receiving messages from whatever waits at the end point of our journey.** **I do doubt their motives, though.**
AI: **Fuck, I wish we'd had more time to learn more about this before everything went to shit.** **We're basically shooting in the dark here.**
SC: i'm sorry..
AI: **It's nobody's fault.** **It's just frustrating as all shit.**

RH places the bucket down and walks over to the window, leaning his elbows on the sill.

RH: well | were supposed to make landfall some point in the next day or so |
THE CAPTAIN: NAK!
RH: yes yes were all super impressed with the smooth ride youve given us | we appreciate and owe you so much |
THE CAPTAIN: NAK! :)
RH: but | itll probably take a good day or two before we find someone thatll ferry us further south |
RH: so while were finding safe passage i dont think itd be too unreasonable to try looking for SOME kind of information |
RH: surely even the seizure voice in scs headll let us do that |
SC: i mean.. i don't exactly control it but
SC: i guess one more day won't ruin things??

He says it out loud, and braces. But no seizure comes. SC takes it as a sign of implicit approval.

AI: **I mean, maybe?**
AI: **Turtles are consorts of the Seer of Light, so it feels appropriately like their capital city is a place we might find some kind of weird esoteric lore.**
AI: *I'm not confident we'll find anything related to whatever all this is, but it might be worth a look.**
AI: **Plus...*

She spares a glance over to SC.

AI: **SC, you desperately need some actual time to rest, so I think if we make sure our time there is cosmically significant enough or whatever, we might be able to facilitate both.**
SC: then is it a plan??
AI: **So long as some weird entity doesn't decide to purée your head again, yeah.**
AI: **That's our next step.**
RH: you know | i dont think im ever forgiving the universe for giving us some super significant role to play | gonna hold onto that grudge for a long time |
THE CAPTAIN: NAK!

The boat glides downriver, its motor pushing out a rippling wake that glistens under the shortening light and the lengthening shadows. The first stars begin to pepper themselves across the bruise-deep sky. A few hundred miles southeast, the spires of the Turtle Capital archives stand tall against an ocean that stretches down to the heart of coordinates and further beyond.

Fifty thousand feet above, a sleek and crimson-branded surveillance craft deactivates its cloaking mechanism and shoots forward, lightning quick and deathly silent.

Chapter 24: (two), section (iii.)

(iii.)

She wakes after the action's already done with. Eyes open, softly-lit ceiling. The hum of some machine. A thrill in her chest, she props herself upright.

KANIRA: ^.^ wh~
GALIOS: hey. pris֍n's ֍urs.

He tells her it flatly, a calm lilt to his gravelly voice. He's sitting in a chair at the food of her bed, arms folded, legs spread. There's a new scar running from the bridge of his nose down to his jaw. His makeup's been replenished.

GALIOS: after the m֍therfucker sh֍t y֍u, everything quickly went fuckin' batshit.
GALIOS: hugeass ri֍t, g֍t th֍se fascist human pricks ֍utta here. buncha g֍֍d pe֍ple died. m֍re ֍f them than us th֍ugh.
GALIOS: ֍ur best guys're patr֍lling the walls, h֍lding the f֍rt.
GALIOS: transp֍rtalizer link's been cut s֍ ain't n֍ chance ֍f leavin', but we're sticking it ֍ut.
GALIOS: 's been tw֍ days. nearly l֍st y֍u a c֍uple times.

Kanira blinks. Galios is remarkably clear. She touches a hand to her face in mute shock.

KANIRA: ^.^ hey, my~
GALIOS: charged y֍ur eye up, t֍֍. weren't n֍ thing when we g֍t access t֍ the p֍wer supply.
GALIOS: t֍֍k it ֍ut and put it back in while y֍u were under, uh. is it g֍֍d?
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah, yeah i think so~

She looks away from him, to the wall on the far side of the room. There is a bunch of screens stacked in some kind of display, inactive. She can judge the distance and clarity with ease.

KANIRA: ^.^ better than ever~
KANIRA: ^.^ i forgot what its like to be able to see, haha~
KANIRA: ^.^ thank you~

Her throat feels hoarse. There's a stiffness to her body. Her shoulder feels coldly numb around where the bullet hit her.

Galios coughs into his fist and his cheeks flush with colour.

GALIOS: weren't really me, much.
GALIOS: i just carried y֍u d֍wn here. was pheris wh֍ did the life saving shit.
KANIRA: ^.^ well, thank you to him too~
GALIOS: can tell him y֍urself later.
KANIRA: ^.^ oh, and~

She surveys the room again. It's more spacious than it initially looks, with dark metal walls that suggest a reinforced thickness. Her bed is hooked up to a fiercely glowing atomic generator cube fixed to the ground. It has none of that brutal grey sameness of the Mills. None of that repugnant sugar smell in the air, either.

KANIRA: ^.^ where are we, anyway?~
GALIOS: s֍me kinda bunker 'neath the c֍mp֍und. weren't ֍n any maps ֍r diagrams.
GALIOS: figured it was the safest place t֍ put the w֍unded while the fight was g֍in' ֍n.

He motions to a few more beds leaning against the wall. They're all empty.

GALIOS: y֍u're the last t֍ wake.
KANIRA: ^.^ ah~

She clears her throat. There's a slight throbbing to the back of her head.

KANIRA: ^.^ how long has it been?~
GALIOS: tw֍ days, like i said.
KANIRA: ^.^ right, sorry~
KANIRA: ^.^ still a little out of it~
KANIRA: ^.^ and i was the last?~
GALIOS: m֍st wh֍ ended up d֍wn here didn't exactly have l֍ng left, ya feel?
KANIRA: ^.^ i see~

A weight sits heavy in her stomach. She glances at the empty bed to her left. The streak of blood down the sheets is suddenly starkly visible, a smear of dried bronze. The weight of it all hangs in the air.

Galios must see something on her face, because his expression softens.

GALIOS: it weren't that bad. n֍t really. ֍nly r֍und a c֍uple hundred.
KANIRA: ^.^ only~
GALIOS: y֍u kn֍w what i'm gettin' at. ֍utta the few th֍usand l֍cked up it c֍uld've been a helluva l֍t w֍rse.
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~

She doesn't really know what to think. After the wave upon wave of relentless horror, what's a few hundred more bodies to the pile? They'd have seen double that number this week alone. The Outglut^2 Mill is an overflow camp, to put it bluntly. The numbers coming out of the primary Mills are magnitudes worse. By all accounts it's a victory. But it doesn't feel that way.

KANIRA: ^.^ whats the current situation right now?~
GALIOS: decent, but it ain't l֍ng term viable.

Galios stands from his chair. He starts pacing the length of the room. Every time he passes the computer terminal, his eyes are drawn subconsciously to the screens. Something about them pings Kanira as weird, in an abstract and distant kind of way.

GALIOS: the guards t֍rched the cake pantries during the fight. fucked ֍ver ֍ur f֍֍d supply.
GALIOS: generat֍rs d֍in' ֍k f֍r the m֍ment, but we ain't g֍t n֍ way t֍ replenish.
GALIOS: this r֍֍m's d֍ing fine, but it's g֍t its ֍wn weird freaky p֍wer supply. i dunn֍.
GALIOS: ain't had much pushback fr֍m cr֍ckerc֍rp yet. think the human fucks are still ֍ccupied with whatever it is vantas has g֍t g֍in' ֍n in the city.
GALIOS: but they ain't g֍nna let us be f֍r l֍ng. tryin' t֍ put s֍me kinda plan int֍ acti֍n.
GALIOS: 's g֍֍d y֍u're up. c֍uld use s֍me֍ne with y֍ur smarts.

He comes to a stop on the far side from the terminal. There's an unspoken question in the air.

KANIRA: ^.^ ok, i see~
KANIRA: ^.^ whos currently in charge?~
GALIOS: me, pheris, r֍dhim n tixari are currently keepin' things in ֍rder.
GALIOS: y֍u met pheris fr֍m the lab֍r camp, yeah? he's kinda bec֍me the defact֍ medic.
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah i remember him~
KANIRA: ^.^ the other two?~
GALIOS: r֍dhim's the meanest burgundybl֍֍ded m֍therfucker y֍u ever did see. g֍t fuckin' g֍ldbl֍֍d level psi֍nics he kept ֍n the d֍wnl֍w. been taking charge ֍f the perimeter defenses.
GALIOS: tixari's this lil vi֍let. i'll be fuckin' surprised if she's ֍n the upper side ֍f ten sweeps, but damn the gal's a tech wizard. she's the ֍ne wh֍ even sniffed ֍ut this r֍֍m.
KANIRA: ^.^ and you?~
GALIOS: kinda ended up as the head guy, i guess. l֍udest v֍ice, biggest presence, natural leader type pr֍bably.
GALIOS: guess church was g֍֍d f֍r s֍methin' in the real w֍rld after all, heh.
KANIRA: ^.^ hm~

She pauses for a second, mulling over the information.

KANIRA: ^.^ is that it?~
GALIOS: what d֍ y֍u mean?
KANIRA: ^.^ i mean, youve clearly set up a good combat team, but~
KANIRA: ^.^ what about clothing? food? caring for the infirm?~
GALIOS: ah, well, um. y֍u kn֍w. kinda. slipped d֍wn the immediate pri֍rity list?

He looks away from her, all small and bashful again. She's always been the only one who can get past his facade like that.

KANIRA: ^.^ slipped~
KANIRA: ^.^ galios you cant hope to have any kind of long lasting revolutionary stand without any kind of sustenance~
GALIOS: dunn֍, kicking the ֍fficers ֍utta here felt like the m֍re pressing m֍ve.
KANIRA: ^.^ maybe in the short term, yes~
KANIRA: ^.^ but what happens tomorrow? or the day after that?~
KANIRA: ^.^ theres a lot of people here, a lot of mouths that cant eat guns~

She gestures to the weapon in his waistband. He's also exchanged the prison garb for a pair of sturdy jeans and boots, and a shirt with his sign emblazoned on it - the sigil of The Risktaker standing out in a fresh new shade of purple.

KANIRA: ^.^ whered you get the clothes from?~
GALIOS: we l֍֍ted thr֍ugh the st֍reh֍use where they put all ֍ur bel֍ngings.
KANIRA: ^.^ really? because from where im sitting that getup looks brand new~
GALIOS: i

He can't meet her gaze, timid and sheepish as a wriggler. This is something she must disapprove of, clearly. Enough that it's almost sent the two of them back into their old pale habits.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios, the truth~
KANIRA: ^.^ now~
GALIOS: fuck, FUCK.
GALIOS: guys n i used the last ֍f the grist t֍ alchemize a buncha rebel fits, kay?
GALIOS: half the shit in the st֍reh֍use has r֍tted away t֍ dust and we needed s֍mething t֍ sh֍w we're seri֍us, y֍u kn֍w?
KANIRA: ^.^ you~
KANIRA: ^.^ you used the last of the grist? really?~
GALIOS: yeah?
GALIOS: i mean, weren't ֍ur fault the guards splurged basically the entire cache ֍n guns t֍ m֍w us the fuck d֍wn, was it?
KANIRA: ^.^ but~
KANIRA: ^.^ but you checked the cache before you decided to follow through on this ridiculously foolish endeavor, didnt you?~
GALIOS: y-yeah, guess we did.
KANIRA: ^.^ and you still chose to do it anyway~

Galios nods, face flushing a deep purple. Kanira feels a twist of disappointment in her pusher like she hasn't since her teaching days. But the man before her is a fully grown troll, her peer, not some cocky undergraduate who's just informed her they haven't done the reading twenty minutes before the exam.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios, what the hell were you thinking?~
KANIRA: ^.^ an alchemizer is our lifeline in a siege scenario and you~
KANIRA: ^.^ you squandered the last of a finite resource like a fresh out of second pupation wriggler on a grubsauce high?~
KANIRA: ^.^ i cant believe youd be so reckless!
GALIOS: y֍u think i d֍n't fuckin KN֍W THAT?

Galios slams his fist into the wall, sharp and strong enough to make Kanira start. The wall remains remarkably unaffected, whereas Galios's knuckles make an uncomfortable crunching sound on impact. He pulls his hand away, swearing loud enough there's really not any pretense of it being under his breath at all.

KANIRA: ^.^ so whats the plan then, big rebel?~
KANIRA: ^.^ no food, no alchemizer, no supplies, but hey, its fine, you and the bigwigs look the part~
GALIOS: damn it kanira, i KN֍W i fucked up.
KANIRA: ^.^ that didnt answer my question though~
KANIRA: ^.^ what is the plan??~
GALIOS: ...

She lets the question hang in the air. Seconds roll by, then minutes. Galios can't meet her gaze. After enough time, Kanira decides she's had enough of being in the bed. Slowly, gingerly, she shuffles around and lifts herself down onto the ground. Her arm is heavy and sore. She feels unsteady on her feet. When she takes a step forward, she notices that sound does not echo inside this room.

GALIOS: there is a plan.
KANIRA: ^.^ really?~

She folds her arms, challenging Galios to look at her. He doesn't.

GALIOS: r֍dhim and i spitballed it ab֍ut this m֍rnin'.
GALIOS: ֍nly ab֍ut a day ֍r tw֍'s walk t֍ the city.
GALIOS: we were g֍nna head d֍wn there, j֍in vantas and the rebels.
GALIOS: take s֍me guns, secure a safe passage f֍r all ֍f us t֍ get ֍utta this shith֍le pris֍n.
KANIRA: ^.^ uh huh~
KANIRA: ^.^ and what~
KANIRA: ^.^ what happens if your ragtag team of half a dozen fighters cant somehow get into one of the most fortified combat zones on the planet~
GALIOS: n֍t g֍nna be a pr֍blem.
KANIRA: ^.^ you cant know that for sure~
KANIRA: ^.^ we dont even know what the situation IS in outglut^2~
KANIRA: ^.^ since we categorically cannot trust what the media informs us to be anywhere near true~
GALIOS: the fuck else we meant t֍ d֍??
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont know!~
KANIRA: ^.^ i just think risking it all like this is a colossally huge mistake~
KANIRA: ^.^ is there really no other option?~
GALIOS: uh
KANIRA: ^.^ galios, be honest with me!~

Strangely, Galios begins to walk away from her. With an uncomfortable grimace on his face, he approaches the computer terminal in the corner of the room. What Kanira didn't notice until now is the oddly-shaped transportaliser attached to one side - or, wait, no. Appearifier? It looks like one of the archival diagrams, but surely not...

KANIRA: ^.^ thats a~
GALIOS: dunn֍ what the fuck this r֍֍m is. t֍ld y֍u that already.
GALIOS: buncha weird shit bey֍nd my understanding. weird tech that w֍n't turn ֍n. freaky vibes.
GALIOS: ֍nly thing that mattered was that the pris֍n guards weren't d֍wn here.
GALIOS: except.
KANIRA: ^.^ except?~

She suddenly has a weird feeling. Most of it can be traced to the uncanny disorientation of coming face to face with a genuine piece of Skaian tech beneath a forced labour camp. It has this weird effect on her, both beckoning her closer and implanting the urge to run as far away as possible. The best, least scientific way she can put it is that this whole setup has an overwhelmingly powerful aura.

Galios is bending down to open up the appearifier's storage compartment.

GALIOS: 'cept yesterday, when this r֍֍m was full ֍f a buncha dyin' pe֍ple.
GALIOS: weird as fuck thing happened.
GALIOS: the m֍nit֍rs, all ֍f em, lit up. was just f֍r a minute, but they all turned ֍n.
GALIOS: sh֍wed n֍thin' but static, but. was the weirdest thing. i c֍uld *feel* s֍me֍ne l֍֍kin in fr֍m the ֍ther side.
GALIOS: like maybe *we* were the ֍nes ֍n s֍me tiny screen in s֍me ֍ther r֍֍m s֍mewhere else.
GALIOS: then the weird ass transp֍rtalizer thing fired up and... dr֍pped s֍methin' ֍n us.
GALIOS: after that, everything shut ֍ff again, like it didn't happen. n֍ ֍ne's been able t֍ find a way t֍ switch 'em back ֍n.
GALIOS: ֍nly pr֍֍f we have it ever happened is, well...
GALIOS: this weird shit.

Galios walks back over to Kanira. He's holding something in his large hands. When he gets close enough, he opens them to reveal a transparent packet resting across his palms. Kanira leans in for a closer look.

KANIRA: ^.^ are these... seeds?~

For all intents and purposes, what he's holding looks like a vacuum-sealed seed packet. Only these seeds comprise a variety of bizarre colours and shapes that look nothing like anything else on Earth C.

GALIOS: ain't n֍ seeds i've ever seen bef֍re. fuckin' freaky.
GALIOS: packet wasn't the ֍nly thing t֍ c֍me thr֍ugh. g֍t this with it, t֍֍.

He passes her the seed packet. They're surprisingly heavy, Kanira notices. Too dense for what she imagines a pearlescent pyramid-shaped acorn to feel like. She tries to individually feel each seed. All of them, oddly dense. There are maybe a dozen or so seeds here, but collectively they have to weigh a couple kilograms.

Galios, meanwhile, fishes through his pocket and pulls out a folded-up scrap of parchment. He hands it to Kanira, who sets the seed packet down on the bed in order to receive it.

The paper also feels off. More pliant. Spongier. Kanira runs her fingers across the surface. Where she touches a glyph or etching, a small static shock courses through her skin.

When she glances down at the paper, the funniest thing happens. The etchings and glyphs, alien and indecipherable, begin to rearrange themselves, shifting and shuffling across the page until they've completely morphed into a startlingly recognisable Alternian script. What she's left with is a kind of memo of sorts.

It reads:

JT: hey, looks like im finally using this thing. should get VS off my back for once lmao
JT: anyway yeah. grabbed a buncha seeds from my growpatch before i entered. thought maybe your dusty ass landscape could do with some actual sustenance
JT: dont say im not some magnanimous benefactor
JT: later

Kanira skims the note twice, thrice. Then glances back at the appearifier. Back to the note. The appearifier. The note. Something swirls and twists inside her.

KANIRA: ^.^ this is~
KANIRA: ^.^ this place is~
GALIOS: yeah i dunn֍, just kinda weird as fuck. n֍ clue h֍w they hell they g֍t them letters t֍ d֍ that.
GALIOS: tixari thinks it might be s֍me new type ֍f cr֍cker cipher. 'cept.
KANIRA: ^.^ no no no thats wrong~
KANIRA: ^.^ thats completely wrong~

She starts shaking. Theorems and debates from a lifetime ago flash behind her eyes, the impossible made manifest.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios~
KANIRA: ^.^ this room~
KANIRA: ^.^ this place~
KANIRA: ^.^ its a skaian exile station~

Galios blinks at her.

GALIOS: what.
KANIRA: ^.^ you dont remember? basic cosmic history class in school~
KANIRA: ^.^ these stations are buried on a planet in order to seed the advancement of the game run by skaia, known by many different
GALIOS: n֍, n֍, i remember that junk.

He lifts a hand. There's a weird frown on his face.

GALIOS: makes sense, i guess. feel s֍me kinda energy d֍wn here. bad vibes n all.
GALIOS: what's weird t֍ me is why the fuck they'd build a cake mill ֍n t֍p ֍f ֍ne ֍f these things.
KANIRA: ^.^ no no thats not the question you need to be asking~
GALIOS: it ain't?
KANIRA: ^.^ no. what you should be asking is *why* this is here at all~
GALIOS: f֍rgive me but i ain't f֍ll֍wing.
KANIRA: ^.^ ok, so~

She extends her free hand out to encompass the entire room. An energy she hasn't felt in sweeps is coursing through her body. A find like this would have been the pinnacle of her academic career. It's a damnright brutally horrible twist of irony that she made this discovery here, in the worst place on Earth C.

KANIRA: ^.^ we know all about skaian mechanics and universe seeding mechanisms~
KANIRA: ^.^ cruxite artefacts entry gates denizen grist hoards dreamer towers et cetera~
KANIRA: ^.^ but they gloss over one crucially important point at the general education level~
GALIOS: uh huh.
KANIRA: ^.^ and thats that earth c is a barren planet~
KANIRA: ^.^ which means that none of the skaian mechanisms ever spawned here~
KANIRA: ^.^ exile stations absolutely included~

Her head's spinning. She's not sure whether its from the overwhelming energy pouring out of this room, the thrill of a good infodump, or residual weariness from her gunshot wound. Probably all three.

KANIRA: ^.^ so, because the skaian session that generated our universe lacked said materials, it can only mean one thing~
KANIRA: ^.^ that these are terminals synced up to some future - or even cirumstantially simultaneous - game session~
KANIRA: ^.^ which means these seeds and this note were taken from one of these unknown, distant players~
GALIOS: what, s֍ we g֍t s֍me freaky seeds fr֍m s֍mewhere in the future?
KANIRA: ^.^ more than that~
KANIRA: ^.^ these could be from another planet, or even another universe!~
KANIRA: ^.^ but most crucial of all is that these are gifts from an incipient skaian god~
GALIOS: s֍?
KANIRA: ^.^ "so" these seeds will contain a power unlike anything weve encountered before~
KANIRA: ^.^ in fact if i take a closer look~

She reaches over the bed and switches the note for the seed packet. She lifts it up and brings it in close to her cybernetic eye. The latent zoom and focus function kicks in, scrutinising each seed one by one, until...

There. On the translucent brick-shaped one. A familiar insignia that means everything, and changes even more.

KANIRA: ^.^ here~
KANIRA: ^.^ on this seed is an imprint of the skaian sigil of the aspect of space~
GALIOS: that imp֍rtant?
KANIRA: ^.^ more than you could imagine~
KANIRA: ^.^ second only to life, space is the aspect most concerned with the governance of growth, change and sustenance~
KANIRA: ^.^ like the witch of space before this individual. seeds touched by one chosen by the realm of space are imbued with infinitely powerful potential~
KANIRA: ^.^ this is a sign~
GALIOS: ֍f what? that we can transp֍rtalize shit fr֍m s֍me alien's lawnring?
KANIRA: ^.^ no!~
KANIRA: ^.^ its a sign we should plant these seeds, choose the path of sustainment and growth~
KANIRA: ^.^ this is our plan right here~

She's aware what she's saying borders on the zealously insane, that she's reverently hyping features of a system most people don't care to know about, but she finds herself not really caring. After every other impossible and terrible thing the universe has thrown at her, why not this?

GALIOS: what, plant a c֍uple a seeds?
KANIRA: ^.^ obviously not. im talking more symbolic than that~
KANIRA: ^.^ we retake this mill and establish ourselves here~
KANIRA: ^.^ create community from desolation~
GALIOS: what.

He blinks at her. Kanira tries her hardest to not feel like she might be going a little crazy.

KANIRA: ^.^ think of it like this~
KANIRA: ^.^ there are thousands of us, displaced from cities that have been occupied by the enemy~
KANIRA: ^.^ even if we were to all leave en masse, what awaits us outside?~
KANIRA: ^.^ certainly not a better world. one small scuffle does not a revolution make~
KANIRA: ^.^ but here, in the hollow of the mill, we can actually say we are free~
KANIRA: ^.^ *that* should be our plan~
GALIOS: ...

Galios keeps looking at her as Kanira walks across the room over to the command terminal, letting the statement hang in the air. She has a manic, almost electric energy coursing through her skin. She doesn't know if what she's offering is the correct decision, but she knows she must make some kind of decision.

She rests a hand atop the keyboard. The keys are printed in standard human Latin letters.

KANIRA: ^.^ still, to have a whole command terminal under our noses...~
KANIRA: ^.^ the implications of this are so, so huge. this could change the course of everything~

Gently, Kanira dances her fingers across the keys. She's not even sure why she's over here, why she's been so drawn to this terminal in the first place. But something inside her is screaming that she must be standing right where she is at this precise moment in time.

KANIRA: ^.^ hm~

She's studied the Skaian exile station diagrams religiously for multiple decades of her life. She knows every quirk, every trick to these bunkers, their terminals, their apparatus. But one thing gives her pause. There's an extra key on the keyboard. At the far end, a large circular key with a Skaian spirograph imprinted on it. It shouldn't be there.

KANIRA: ^.^ now what is this...~

Kanira, perhaps against her better judgement, gingerly presses down on the spirograph key. With a sudden static burst that gives her palpitations, the central screen flickers to life. Kanira gasps, staggers backwards, and looks up.

The screen hums softly, displaying a white background with a single symbol dead in the middle.

Δ

KANIRA: ^.^ wh~
KANIRA: ^.^ what?~

Her mind is racing. Her heart is racing faster. She doesn't know what she's seeing, but she knows it matters. From behind her, Galios makes a noise of confusion.

GALIOS: 'kay, the hell is up with that.
GALIOS: why's it sh֍win' us that ֍ne human symb֍l that kinda l֍֍ks like a bastardized teal sigil?

Kanira turns to face him.

KANIRA: ^.^ wait, what?~
GALIOS: yeah. the uh, the uh... fuck, f֍rget the name. the watcher, i think it is? c֍re teal sigil, that ֍ne.
KANIRA: ^.^ no, no youre wrong. it looks nothing like that! its more...~
KANIRA: ^.^ of...~
KANIRA: ^.^ a...~
KANIRA: ^.^ huh?~

She looks back to the screen. The symbol's changed. Now, front and centre, she sees

Ω

staring back at her. Kanira furrows her brow.

KANIRA: ^.^ okay, is this on some kind of cycle or something?~
GALIOS: h֍ld up, yeah. n֍w i'm getting s֍me kinda triangle?
KANIRA: ^.^ wait, what?~
KANIRA: ^.^ how can you? it just changed to the one you were just describing~
GALIOS: uh, then explain why i'm seeing an ֍range fucking triangle n֍w instead.
KANIRA: ^.^ i~

She frowns. Something's strange. Looking at the apparently quantumly unstable sign makes her feel off, like she's being watched through it, like there's a remote distant imprint trying to worm its way across her thoughts.

Kanira blinks. The symbol switches back to Δ. Another blink. Ω. She blinks again. Still Ω. A fourth blink. Once more it's Δ.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios, i need you to try something~
GALIOS: huh?
KANIRA: ^.^ look away from the screen and look back~
KANIRA: ^.^ tell me what happens~
GALIOS: uh sure.

Galios closes his eyes and turns his head away, then returns his gaze to the screen. His face tightens.

GALIOS: it, uh.
GALIOS: switched back. seeing the red ֍ne n֍w.
KANIRA: ^.^ even though i was looking at it the whole time~
KANIRA: ^.^ i saw no shift on my end~
GALIOS: s֍ why the FUCK we seeing different shapes?
KANIRA: ^.^ i think i have a hypothesis~
KANIRA: ^.^ one moment~

Kanira walks back towards the terminal, watching as the symbol unevenly vacillates with each blink. When she gets as close as possible, she raises one hand towards the bulky CRT screen. Her skin brushes across the surface. Not even a hint of residual static. Something uneasy settles in her chest.

KANIRA: ^.^ like i thought~
KANIRA: ^.^ the screen isnt even turned on~
GALIOS: what?
GALIOS: then why the fuck are these shapes sh֍wing up?
KANIRA: ^.^ i think~
KANIRA: ^.^ galios, hows your head feeling?~
GALIOS: my head? it's fine.
KANIRA: ^.^ so you dont feel it? a subtle, almost imperceptible push across your thoughts~
KANIRA: ^.^ like a... a kind of phantom pressure~
GALIOS: kanira what the HELL are y֍u talking ab֍ut??
KANIRA: ^.^ its hard to explain~
KANIRA: ^.^ a kind of feeling thats come over you since you stepped into this room i guess?~
GALIOS: hm. i...

Galios stares up at the ceiling, lips pursed in a thoughtful frown. A few seconds pass. He shakes his head.

GALIOS: nah. unless y֍u c֍unt the weird vibes in here.
GALIOS: but i'm guessing that ain't what we're talking ab֍ut.
KANIRA: ^.^ not quite~
KANIRA: ^.^ yes, there is a kind of aura of power from this room but~
KANIRA: ^.^ this is more subtle than that~
GALIOS: then shit, s֍rry. can't help y֍u.
KANIRA: ^.^ no, its fine~
KANIRA: ^.^ just~

She's unsure how to finish. She looks down at the seeds in her hands, feeling the overwhelming pressure of... something. She has no clue how to explain it, how to even express what she's feeling herself. She just feels something distant, something intelligent, hovering somewhere a little outside of the realm of thought. It leaves her feeling uneasy.

KANIRA: ^.^ never mind then~
KANIRA: ^.^ weve got more important things to worry about than esoteric cosmic mysteries~

Kanira spares one last glance at the screen. Δ Ω Δ Δ Ω Ω Ω. Whatever meaning is contained in those symbols is not for her to understand. She feels a sharp sting of frustration until she remembers where she is, remembers the time for academic curiosity has long, long since been lost.

KANIRA: ^.^ okay~
KANIRA: ^.^ you said something about a plan?~

She meets the other leaders of this movement on one of the balconies overlooking the open-air frosting gulag. The machinery below's been smashed to pieces and tossed in piles in one corner. The dirt ground is now occupied by a bunch of bloody sheets and towels holding hundreds of malnourished, wounded trolls, huddling together out of some primal survival instinct. She doesn't have the stomach to count how many children populate the crowd.

GALIOS: hey. she's finally up.
RODHIM: G00D t0 SEE Y0U D1DNT D1E KAN1RA
TIXARI: - eh, yeah. galios has literally been incapable of shutting up about you, so it's probably a good thing you came back to us in one piece. +
PHERIS: Your eYe iss up to sstandard, Yess?
KANIRA: ^.^ um, yes. nice to meet you all~

If she's going to be honest, it's an absolutely ragtag bunch before her. Galios stands a good head above the rest of his comrades, with the only one getting even close to any kind of impressive stature being the burly Rodhim in his brawler's tank top. Pheris remains as willowy and sharp-eyed as always, all brains and no brawn. And the last of the bunch, Tixari, is a tiny thing with violet-dyed pigtails and piercings the length of her fins. And yet it is these four who managed to secure the mill. She has to remember that.

KANIRA: ^.^ im feeling much better~
KANIRA: ^.^ or as well as you can after getting shot in this kind of place i suppose~
PHERIS: You got off verY luckY all thingss conssidered, kanira. musst have Your ancesstorss watching over You.
KANIRA: ^.^ so ive been told~
KANIRA: ^.^ galios was vague on the statistics. what are the casualties?~
TIXARI: - dunno the exact figures. pheris and i calculated it to be almost twenty percent of all the prisoners. -
KANIRA: ^.^ twenty percent?~

Kanira turns to Galios, something hot and heavy in her throat.

KANIRA: ^.^ you said we got off relatively lightly~
GALIOS: i mean, seven hundred and fifty ֍utta just under f֍ur th֍usand ain't bad.
TIXARI: - easy for him to say. fuckers killed my boyfriend. -
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ im sorry to hear that~
TIXARI: - save the pity. all i wanna do is kill all the bastards responsible. +

Tixari juggles her handgun from palm to palm. The girl is so frightfully young. It makes Kanira feel sick.

KANIRA: ^.^ if you dont mind me asking, how old are you?~
TIXARI: + me? just turned eighteen the other week. place is so godawful i couldn't tell you the exact date though. -
KANIRA: ^.^ youre eighteen?~

Kanira frowns at the number, then realises the girl's using human terminology. Her heart sinks further. Tixari gives a shrug.

TIXARI: - what? what's wrong with that? -
TIXARI: + i'm a grown adult. i'm more than capable of fighting. +
TIXARI: + like, i'm the one who shut off the guards' comm network AND found that secret bunker. by MYSELF, might i add. +
TIXARI: - so spare your patronizing "she's so young" crap. -
TIXARI: - being a teenager didn't spare Zandar, did it? -

She sighs, rubbing very carefully at her liner-coated eyes. Kanira dreads to think how much of the last of the grist went on the child's e-girl makeover.

RODHIM: SHES G0T YOU THERE
KANIRA: ^.^ mm hm~

Kanira purses her lips. She knows when and where to pick a fight.

RODHIM: L1KE G1RLS AN ABS0LUTE HACKER GEN1US
RODHIM: GET HER A C0MPUTER AND WATCH THE FUCK 0UT
RODHIM: ALM0ST MAKES ME FEEL 1NFER10R AND 1M A MUTANT PSYCH1C W1TH FUCK0FF HUGE MUSCLES S0 THATS REALLY SAY1NG S0METH1NG
TIXARI: + heh, thanks big guy. +
RODHIM: Y0URE SUPER WELC0ME

Rodhim scratches at the base of his cracked left horn. Despite his impressive stature, and dense stubble shadowing his jaw, Kanira will be surprised if he's any older than thirteen sweeps. The fighters in this horrible war are all so young.

RODHIM: 1T 1S N1CE T0 MEET Y0U TH0UGH KAN1RA
RODHIM: Y0U W0NT KN0W BUT 1 ACTUALLY STUD1ED AT NEW THRASHSTEM U
KANIRA: ^.^ oh, you did?~
RODHIM: N0T 1N ANY 0F Y0UR CLASSES 0BV1OUSLY HAHA
RODHIM: GUY 1 WAS HAV1NG A P1TCH TH1NG W1TH AT THE T1ME D1D TH0UGH
RODHIM: Y0U REMEMBER J1NALE HEMARA? SMARMY TEAL, HAD THIS GODAWFUL UGLY UNDERCUT
KANIRA: ^.^ oh yes, of course~

In truth, she does not remember the troll in question. This is neither the time nor place for her to rack her brains for a face she might have lectured five sweeps ago. But she nods anyway to humor Rodhim, feeling more and more like the only adult in the room.

PHERIS: on the bright sside, You have no need to ssuffer through an extended introduction ssequence with me.
PHERIS: cell neighbor benefitss, i ssupposse, heh.

Pheris gives a lazy smile and shoves his hands in his pockets. Unlike the younger members of this party, Pheris's drain on the alchemiter doesn't seem to have extended past fashioning himself a labcoat and a new working pair of glasses that make his rather unique serpentine jade eyes look even larger than they are. The man's never been clear on exactly where his medical expertise came from, or even what he did before his imprisonment - Kanira and Galios's working theory is that Pheris was some kind of mob doctor - but he's proven himself enough that it doesn't really matter. The people they were before all this ceased to matter long ago.

Kanira takes a step back and observes the crew for what it is. A shady doctor, an ex-churchboy, a teenage hacker, and a jacked bro. And now, a college professor. Somehow she knows this is not the stuff revolutions are made of. But it's what they have to work with.

KANIRA: ^.^ so, given that ive been out of action for the duration of this movement so far~
KANIRA: ^.^ could someone please fill me in on what the exact situation is, and about the plan going forward?~

Rodhim raises a hand. Kanira motions to him.

RODHIM: 0H 1 CAN HELP W1TH THAT
RODHIM: S0 L1KE AFTER WE F0UGHT 0FF SLASH K1LLED THE PR1S0N GUARDS F1RST TH1NG 1 D1D W1TH GAL10S WAS GET A PER1METER DEFENSE G01NG
RODHIM: M0STLY ANY0NE WH0S F1REARMS TRA1NED 0R W1LL1NG T0 LEARN 0R BAS1CALLY ABLE B0D1ED EN0UGHS PATR0LLING THE 0UTER WALL T0 MAKE SURE N0B0DY B0THERS US

He points up and across the courtyard, presumably to what lies beyond this inner panopticon building. Kanira nods.

KANIRA: ^.^ hows that working out so far?~
GALIOS: ain't been much in the way ֍f retaliation. was an advance sc֍uting gr֍up maybe, but ֍ur guys t֍֍k em ֍ut.
RODHIM: WH1CH BAS1CALLY MEANS GAL10S AND 1 SH0T THEM A BUNCH 0F T1MES UNT1L THEY D1ED
KANIRA: ^.^ what about the other guards you put in place?~
RODHIM: WERE JUST FASTER T0 ACT 1S ALL

Rodhim smiles again, but it's strained. Kanira dreads to think of the psychological toll this is having on him.

KANIRA: ^.^ well, thank you for that~
KANIRA: ^.^ anything else?~

Pheris clears his throat.

PHERIS: the cassualtiess are mosstlY managed, i would like to think.
PHERIS: the guardss sshot to kill rather than maim, sso it'ss ssafe to ssaY anYone who wass going to die alreadY hass.
PHERIS: that'ss not to ssaY the wider ssituation iss great, though.
PHERIS: there'ss sstill a ssignificant number of minor cassualties from the sstruggle, and that'ss on top of the ssizeable number of major health complicationss sso manY have developed from the atrociouss conditionss of thiss place.

He frowns.

PHERIS: that'ss where i think we're going to run into the worsst problemss.
PHERIS: there iss ssome medicine and ssome firsst aid ssuppliess, but only enough to care for a crew of a couple hundred crockercorp guardss.
PHERIS: it ssimply won't sstretch to accommodate everY issssue we're facing down there.
PHERIS: becausse painkillerss and bandagess really aren't doing much if anYthing againsst batterlung.
KANIRA: ^.^ batterlung?~
PHERIS: prolonged expossure to cake labor often ressults in chunks of batter getting into your lungss, then turning into a mold that sspreadss.
KANIRA: ^.^ oh dear~
PHERIS: nearly a third of all the children here are dissplaYing ssYmptomss, and we don't have anYthing to deal with it.
PHERIS: like rodhim and galioss, i have amassssed a crew of anYbody who hass anY medical training to help where theY can, but given the current ssituation i fear it to be a lossing battle.
KANIRA: ^.^ hm~
KANIRA: ^.^ would the alchemiter have~

Pheris raises a hand. His eyebrows knit together.

PHERIS: before You go there, no.
PHERIS: even if we hadn't, erm, frivoloussly, sspent the lasst of the cache, there'ss no waY we could have afforded anYthing of that caliber.
PHERIS: ass i'm ssure You know, the grisst cosst for pharmaceuticalss iss sso asstronomicallY inflated that we'd have sstruggled to have gotten more than ssome moderate pain relief.
KANIRA: ^.^ im sorry~
PHERIS: don't. we were incredibly wassteful with what we had left.
PHERIS: at the verY leasst, we could have ussed it for a couple of daYss of food rationss.
KANIRA: ^.^ i see~
KANIRA: ^.^ so things are actually quite dire then~

She shoots an accusatory glance at Galios. Not because this is somehow his fault, but because he tried to sell her a better picture than it really is.

GALIOS: shit. ain't my fault i was preparing f֍r t֍tal mass death.
KANIRA: ^.^ but from what im hearing this is in no way sustainable, even in the medium term~
TIXARI: + um, but why would it be? +
KANIRA: ^.^ sorry?~

Tixari leans back against the balcony, head raised to the sky. A cloud passes overhead, momentarily casting all of them in unsteady shadow. The meteorological omen passes as quickly as it comes.

TIXARI: + cause we're not staying here? +
TIXARI: + that's the big plan you keep asking about. +
KANIRA: ^.^ really~
TIXARI: + yeah! really. +
TIXARI: + when i got into the systems, first thing i did was check the maps. +
TIXARI: + turns out this place is only thirty-five or so miles out from outglut^2, and by extension karkat vantas and the rest of the rebel forces! +
KANIRA: ^.^ uh huh~
KANIRA: ^.^ and the plan is?~

She asks, even though she already has a decent idea, and she already feels an uncomfortable clammy chill break out across the surface of her skin.

TIXARI: + well, i think you're smart enough to guess. -
TIXARI: - but since you seem to want me to fucking spell it out for you, here goes. -
TIXARI: + basically, we're gonna take our best fighters and head down to the city. +
TIXARI: - still can't get any kinda network stuff up and running, so that's why we have to do it the old fashioned way. -
TIXARI: + but yeah. we get there, explain ourselves, and then the rebels will help us out. +
TIXARI: + treat all the sick and injured, and let the rest of us join the fight for real. +
KANIRA: ^.^ ah, so exactly as harebrained as galios sold it to me in the exile station~

Kanira shakes her head, in utter disbelief at what she's hearing.

KANIRA: ^.^ and you all seriously think this is going to work?~
KANIRA: ^.^ one of you, humor me. how many capable fighters do we have among this group of prisoners?~
TIXARI: - uh, seventy or so? +
KANIRA: ^.^ seventy or so she says~
RODHIM: 1M S0RRY 1M N0T F0LL0W1NG
KANIRA: ^.^ neither am i, to be frank!~

She looks in the eyes of each of the four of them, one by one. The partially numb nerves around her prosthetic eye begin to twitch. She knows this kind of stress will induce a horrible migraine, but she finds herself not really caring about that right now.

KANIRA: ^.^ because, unless im just a silly middle aged woman whos somehow missed the point~
KANIRA: ^.^ from where im standing youve all decided to throw your basket of grubs in with the most *foolish* suicide mission ive ever heard in my entire life!!~
GALIOS: kanira, what are y֍u
KANIRA: ^.^ dont give me that~

She rounds on Galios, who genuinely flinches away from her.

KANIRA: ^.^ so tell me, great capable leaders~
KANIRA: ^.^ what happens back here while youre all off charging across the badlands to the worst warzone on the planet?~
GALIOS: kanira, just say what y֍u g֍tta say.
KANIRA: ^.^ no! id like one of you to tell me!~
KANIRA: ^.^ since this is our foolproof salvation strategy apparently~
TIXARI: + well, um, nothing? -
TIXARI: - we took out all the guards and the recon squad, so there's no threats? +
KANIRA: ^.^ no threats she says~
KANIRA: ^.^ tixari i can understand thinking like that because shes just a child, bnt the rest of you?~
KANIRA: ^.^ all of you really think crockercorp wont just swoop in and get this place back under control the *minute* we give them an opening?~
RODHIM:
GALIOS: ...
TIXARI: - ... -
KANIRA: ^.^ genuinely~
KANIRA: ^.^ you genuinely havent put any thought into this have you~
KANIRA: ^.^ beyond using violence to force your way to the magic solution of vantas and the rebels~
KANIRA: ^.^ retaking the mill was a miraculous fluke i am sorry to tell you all~
KANIRA: ^.^ lightning wont strike twice~
KANIRA: ^.^ you set out on your *stupid* little mission and all thatll happen is a hell of a lot more people will die!!!~

Streaking shots of white-hot pain course through the back of her empty optic nerve and she has to lean against the balcony to stop herself from either keeling over or vomiting all over the ground by the time she's done. Her whole body is trembling, and the adrenaline rushing through her is a stark reminder of how long it's been since she's eaten anything at all.

The only one who can meet her gaze is Pheris. He talks, very slowly and very carefully.

PHERIS: ...well. i won't lie. going down there, walking among the cassualties, it...
PHERIS: it'ss a reallY damn uglY sstate of affairss. thesse people are dYing. theY are dYing and theY have no waY to protect themsselvess.
PHERIS: what'ss blatantlY apparent iss we cannot continue ass we are without everYthing collapssing.
PHERIS: at the bare minimum, we're going to need food and medicine to ssusstain thiss for longer than a week.
PHERIS: either waY, people are going to die.
PHERIS: from where i'm sstanding, i think thingss are hopelessss enough that we don't have anY other choice.

To his credit, he doesn't look away. Kanira respects him for that more than he'll ever know.

KANIRA: ^.^ what if there is another choice~

She doesn't mean to say it. The words kind of quietly fall out of her mouth beyond her control.

PHERIS: ssome other waY?
KANIRA: ^.^ yes, here.~

Kanira reaches into her pocket and retrieves the seed packet. Upon noticing this, Galios shakes his head.

GALIOS: kanira, n֍. that's delusi֍nal.
KANIRA: ^.^ any more than running guns blazing into an infinitely more dangerous situation?~
PHERIS: what are thosse?

Pheris points to the seeds. He's giving her a chance. That means everything.

KANIRA: ^.^ turns out the bunker beneath the prison isnt a bunker but a skaian exile station~
PHERIS: a... how?
KANIRA: ^.^ the specifics are irrelevant. whats important are these~

She shakes the seed bag. Galios rolls his eyes. She pretends she doesn't feel it like a knife to the lungs.

KANIRA: ^.^ the appearifier had these sent to it from wherever this station is pointed to~
KANIRA: ^.^ alien seeds, imbued with the aspect of space~
KANIRA: ^.^ they came with this note~

Kanira also pulls out the note, and hands it to Pheris. He takes it and frowns.

PHERIS: kanira i can't...
PHERIS: wait, what'ss...
PHERIS: what iss...
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont know. some kind of built in translator i think~
KANIRA: ^.^ just read it~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: ...
GALIOS: ...
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~

Pheris scans through the note a couple of times. Then a couple of times more. His expression takes a turn for the unreadable. Then he gives the note back to Kanira.

PHERIS: well, i can't ssaY i've ever been a big believer in the power of sskaia.
PHERIS: but there'ss ssomething to Your little treassure. i don't know, a feeling?
PHERIS: like... hm. it'ss like i get the sense ssomehow that'ss the right choice.
KANIRA: ^.^ really?~
GALIOS: ֍h g֍d n֍t y֍u t֍֍.
GALIOS: what the FUCK are a buncha weird ass seeds g֍nna d֍ f֍r us?
KANIRA: ^.^ galios~
GALIOS: n֍, N֍. i'm N֍T D֍ING THIS.

Galios snarls, looking too convincingly like the ancient subjugglators his makeup evokes.

GALIOS: y֍u sit here and attack MY plans t֍ save every֍ne, when Y֍UR alternative is t֍
GALIOS: plant s֍me mOtherfuckin' seeds? because y֍u think it's a sign fr֍m the universe?
KANIRA: ^.^ galios, i told you~
GALIOS: and i D֍N'T GIVE A SHIT, KANIRA.
GALIOS: least i KN֍W i'll be D֍ING S֍METHING better than waiting ar֍und f֍r a fucking plant t֍ gr֍w.
KANIRA: ^.^ thats not what~
GALIOS: s֍rry i d֍n't live in y֍ur little c֍smic fantasy w֍rld. yes, i FUCKING KN֍W h֍w danger֍us my plan is.
GALIOS: but in the real w֍rld there AIN'T N֍ ALTERNATIVE.
GALIOS: yeah, we might all die h֍rribly and get n֍where, but WHAT THE FUCK ELSE ARE WE MEANT T֍ D֍???
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~
KANIRA: ^.^ storming in blindly with a gun wont work~
GALIOS: AND BLINDLY TRUSTING S֍ME SEED T֍ MAGICALLY GR֍W A S֍LUTI֍N T֍ ֍UR PR֍BLEMS WILL??

She can feel the pressure of latent chucklevoodoos skimming against the surface of her mind. She stands firm anyway.

KANIRA: ^.^ we cant abandon these people, which would be incredibly easy to do with your plan!~
KANIRA: ^.^ how hard would it be - if you were to somehow miraculously make it to outglut^2 alive - to just claim youre on your own and ditch everyone defenselessly holed up here???~
GALIOS: fuck y֍u, kanira.
KANIRA: ^.^ am i wrong? would it really be so hard to be drawn into the idea of being a rebel hero and forgetting about your responsibilities?~
GALIOS: i w֍uldn't
KANIRA: ^.^ YOU ALREADY DID!!!!~
KANIRA: ^.^ YOU STOOD THERE AND YOU DRAINED EVERY LAST DROP OF GRIST ON A SHITTY POWER FANTASY!!! YOU ALREADY CHOSE YOURSELF OVER EVERYONE ELSE!!!!~
KANIRA: ^.^ PEOPLE WILL STARVE BECAUSE OF WHAT *YOU* FUCKING DID!!
GALIOS: D֍N'T Y֍U M֍THERFUCKING SCREAM AT ME BITCH.
GALIOS: I STARTED THIS PRIS֍N RI֍T F֍R *Y֍U*
KANIRA: ^.^ AND I NEVER ASKED FOR THAT!!!~
KANIRA: ^.^ I NEVER ASKED FOR ANY OF THIS GALIOS~
KANIRA: ^.^ SO DONT YOU FUCKING *DARE* LAY THE BLAME AT MY FEET~
GALIOS: MAYBE IF Y֍U TRIED GETTING Y֍UR HEAD ֍UT ֍F Y֍UR M֍THERFUCKING *ASSH֍LE* F֍R FIVE SEC֍NDS I W֍ULDN'T HAVE T֍!
GALIOS: Y֍UR MAGIC THINKING DELUSI֍NS ARE A STINKING HEAP ֍F BULLSHIT, AND I'M N֍T LETTING Y֍U THR֍W *MY* HARD W֍RK LIBERATING THIS PRIS֍N D֍WN THE SHITTER!
GALIOS: *Y֍U* ֍F ALL PE֍PLE D֍N'T GET T֍ D֍ THAT.
GALIOS: WHAT THE FUCK D֍ Y֍U EVEN KN֍W? Y֍U THINK S֍ME FANCY M֍THERFUCKING D֍CT֍RATE GIVES Y֍U *ANY* AUTH֍RITY ֍N REAL W֍RLD PR֍BLEMS?
GALIOS: Y֍U'VE *NEVER* HAD T֍ STRUGGLE KANIRA, N֍T ֍NCE IN Y֍UR PRETTY PAMPERED FUCKING LIFE.
KANIRA: ^.^ YOU!!! YOU FUCKING HYPOCRITE!!!~
KANIRA: ^.^ FIRST SIGN OF ANY PROBLEM IN YOUR LIFE AND YOU WENT SCUTTLING BACK TO YOUR CHURCH LIKE A WRIGGLER TO ITS LUSUS~
KANIRA: ^.^ YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GALIOS?? A NARCISSISTIC MOTHERFUCKING *COWARD*!!!!!~
KANIRA: ^.^ ALL YOU DO IS TAKE THE CREDIT FOR OTHERS HARD WORK AND GET ANGRY WHENEVER YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO THINK~
GALIOS: ALL *Y֍U* D֍ IS SIT THERE WITH Y֍UR FANCY FUCKING IDEAS AND GET ֍FFENDED WHEN ANY֍NE SUGGESTS Y֍U MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE T֍ PUT ANY KIND ֍F M֍THERFUCKING W֍RK IN
GALIOS: Y֍U LAZY M֍RALISTIC SPINELESS IDI֍T!!!!!!!
GALIOS: LIKE FUCK AM I LISTENING T֍ A SINGLE THING THAT C֍MES FR֍M Y֍UR DUMBASS M֍UTH
KANIRA: ^.^ LIKE IM LISTENING TO A SINGLE WORD THAT RELATES TO YOUR FUCKING EGO TRIP

GALIOS: HAVE IT Y֍UR WAY AND THIS ENTIRE M֍VEMENT WILL C֍LLAPSE!!

KANIRA: ^.^ HAVE IT YOUR WAY AND THIS ENTIRE MOVEMENT WILL COLLAPSE!!~

By the end of it, her throat is hoarse. There are tears streaming down her cheeks, and her head is in ribbons, from a nasty combination of both her chronic pain and the psychic lashings that come from two furious purplebloods screaming at one another.

Galios goes very quiet, and turns away from her.

GALIOS: fuck ֍ff, kanira.
GALIOS: i'm g֍nna g֍ save every֍ne the ֍nly way i kn֍w h֍w.
GALIOS: we're setting ֍ut first thing t֍m֍rr֍w, s֍ feel free t֍ play skaian hippy t֍ y֍ur pusher's c֍ntent.
GALIOS: we're d֍ne.

He brushes past all of them and marches away further into the prison, disappearing behind a door with a slam that echoes on for far too long. Kanira and the others look at each other helplessly. The only noise is the wind skimming the hollow between buildings, and the despairing cries of a subjugated prison populace on the brink of annihilation.

KANIRA: ^.^ ~
RODHIM:
TIXARI:
PHERIS:

There is nothing more to say. Kanira kind of loses track of time after that. She returns to the exile station and stares numbly at the flipping symbols from her bed. Mostly she cries a lot, the chest-searing pain of a permanently ruptured relationship. At one point Pheris comes down to offer her some of the little food they have left, but she turns him away. Eventually, she somehow manages to sleep, stomach cramping out gurgling growls and the seed packet held precariously close to her chest. She does not dream.

The next morning, they all gather at the front gates as Galios arranges his expedition party. In the end, the only people who stay behind are Pheris, maybe a dozen armed trolls and surprisingly, Tixari. The procession moves out slowly, and in silence.

Before he leaves, Galios approaches Kanira. He wordlessly drops his handgun into her palm, then turns away to join his comrades. Kanira solemnly watches the group march down the road until they vanish beyond the horizon line. The alien seed packet sits in her left hand. In her right, Galios's handgun. She looks at the gun and thinks of Galios and feels something in her chest she cannot put language to. She hopes he's right. She hopes this will be the end of their suffering.

When he doesn't return, she plants the seeds.

Chapter 25: (two), section (iv.)

(iv.)

Death fucking sucks. It sucks when you're alive, sucks even more so when you're dead. And when you're a half-dead wretch? Well, it couldn't get shittier if you tried.

This is the mantra grounding Sollux Captor as he finds himself floating in a pitch-dark void somewhere beyond the realm of the corporeal. It might not actually be as dark as he thinks, on account of the whole total lack of vision thing, but every time he sends out a shock of psionics, the static burst finds absolutely jack fuck to latch onto. The place feels like the gap between voids he and Aradia would navigate in their freshly post-Sgrub youth, relieved to be free from the confines of cosmic duty but too cool-headed to ever admit it to one another. Fuck, he misses her.

SOLLUX: piece 0f shit cherub being a way better 0ffer than me. fuck that.

He kicks a leg out in frustration. As he is smack bang in the middle of nowhere, he predictably hits nothing. All it does is almost send him helplessly spinning out of control. Of course the first minute he tries to do anything of any importance reality decides now is the time to finally put him out of his misery. Couldn't have done it any other time when he begged for it, no. It had to be when he was in the middle of saving the lives of the shitty offspring of his shitty aquaintances.

He's not even sure why he bothered. He knows this entire backwater timeline is irrelevant as any one of those billion slop-infested dream bubbles back out in the furthest ring, back when there was a furthest ring. Actually, given that all of canon's detritus has found a new home on this rock, this place may actually be worse than out there. At least all the shitty dreambubbles were separated by abstracted light years of distance. Here it's just been one god awful thing after another.

Like, his closest ally was Vriska fucking Serket. If you'd have ever told Sollux he'd be willing to intercept a missile for Vriska of all fucking people, he'd have openly laughed right in your face. Fuck, what the hell possessed him to perform that kind of mindless heroic routine? The minute he beat Sgrub for the first time he swore off doing anything important ever again.

But then he remembers the rising crescendo of panic in Egbert's teenage whelp and feels something constrict in his pusher. He... He...

SOLLUX: 0h fuck.

He actually finds himself caring about the wellbeing of those shit-sniffing brats. Like, actually genuinely hopes they aren't dead right now. Sollux's face burns in shame. This is exactly why he made a point to never fly too close to anything even remotely resembling a narrative. You end up caring against your will.

SOLLUX: well there y0u g0 capt0r. care ab0ut a kid and y0u end up taking a militia's w0rth 0f bullets t0 the everything.
SOLLUX: what did we learn t0day, hm?

Sollux shoves his hands in his pockets and starts floating aimlessly in some random direction. His occasional psionic bursts continue to give him precisely no information about his current situation. He's beginning to suspect, like any rational individual, that there is quite literally nothing at all out here.

SOLLUX: sh0uld've just stayed in that fucking mete0r till the heat death 0f the universe.
SOLLUX: fuck, eventually w0uld've run int0 teenage gamzee raising the cherubs after en0ugh time.
SOLLUX: n0w THAT w0uld've been 0ne hell 0f a funny.

It's a picture to say the least. Despite how much he absolutely doesn't want to, Sollux still remembers the lore that was painstakingly wired into his thinkpan by Vriska's ancestor, and then expanded upon by either Aradia or the cherub in question. He couldn't say. It's all a shitty blurry information overload taking up precious thoughtspace.

But back to the fantasy. It would be funny right up until the second Sollux would remember that this is a tableau featuring the two most heinous individuals in Paradox Space and god fucking forbid he doesn't do something about that. Because turns out that that same stupid heroic sacrifice drive that drove him to melt his own brain in service of saving Feferi's life at six sweeps old is still implanted in his core essence. Nothing and nobody ever really changes. They don't live in that kind of reality.

SOLLUX: sigh.
SOLLUX: this is all aradia's fault f0r ditching me.
SOLLUX: n0, wait, actually this is my fault f0r being lame en0ugh t0 ditch.
SOLLUX: 0r, actually actually, fuck that. this is still the cherub's fault f0r manipulating all 0f us and jesus shit i am really talking t0 myself like a fucking l0ser.
SOLLUX: hey s0llux wanna answer y0ur 0wn questi0n?
SOLLUX: 0h gee s0llux it w0uld be my pleasure.
SOLLUX: well then s0llux g0 the fuck ahead.
SOLLUX: abs0lutely s0llux. y0u are insane and this is fucking stupid.
SOLLUX: FUCK i'm b0red.

There's no sensations to be felt out here. It somehow feels... even less than the void encompassing the furthest ring. Less substantial. Like instead of time and space being twisted into something unmappable, they simply do not even exist. In fact, the more he thinks about it, the more he wonders where the hell he even is.

Like, he's pretty sure he remembers himself and Aradia standing there as the green sun fucking imploded and dragged all of existence inside itself like the largest, shittiest garbage chute. And in one of the several abstract go nowhere mysterious interactions with the dead cherub inside Jade Harley's body she made a pretty compelling argument that that entire veneer of Paradox Space no longer exists at all. So...

SOLLUX: what the fuck is this place?
SOLLUX: is this hell? am i finally f0r real in the legitimate afterlife hell?
SOLLUX: kind 0f a let d0wn. y0u'd think there'd be m0re. idk. rebelli0us rustbl00ds and hem0mutants screaming in eternal damnati0n?
SOLLUX: my head is way t00 quiet f0r this t0 qualify as any kind 0f t0rture.
SOLLUX: HEY, WHATEVER ENTITY IS IN C0NTR0L HERE. Y0U'RE D0ING A SHIT J0B.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: this c0ntinues t0 be fucking stupid.

He's not getting any answers out here. If this is some kind of post-death realm, it's reserved for the two-bit players in this two-bit reality. Sollux has been consigned to several metric fucking miles below even the dregs of relevance. He can almost imagine Aradia's morbid fucking smile informing him about the howlerbeast's paw curling inwards, about the universe spitefully granting his wish.

SOLLUX: damn it.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: damn it.

Not-time doesn't pass. Sollux floats, and Sollux floats, and Sollux broods, and nothing happens. He could be travelling miles. He could be moving inches. He can't tell. He doesn't care. Infinity has this awful way of being the smallest thing you've ever encountered. He would say he's choking, but he can't say there's any airlessness for him to choke on. It doesn't take long at all for him to forget he can't see anything. He knows he is the only thing around.

SOLLUX: i'd still be 0n earth c if i hadn't decided t0 save the kids.
SOLLUX: c0uld be having fr0nt r0w seats t0 the stupidest war in the hist0ry 0f hist0ries. w0uldn't that be c00l?
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: nah, it w0uldn't.

For a while, he tries floating upside down. It comes as a surprise when he feels the blood rushing to his head. For some reason he thought it wouldn't work, that orientation would be as absent in this place as any other fundamental aspect that comprises existence. It probably means something super important, but he doesn't really give a shit. Having the ability to be upside down solves precisely zero of his problems. Let someone else solve the mystery of this shitshow world. He's done.

SOLLUX: fl0ating in the v0id, d00 d00 d00.
SOLLUX: fl0ating in the v0id, d00 d00 d00.
SOLLUX: having the time 0f my fucking life fl0ating in the v0id, d00 d00 d00.
??????: Sollux.
SOLLUX: 0h b0y i have never had s0 much fun spinning aimlessly in the largest expanse 0f fucking n0thing, d00 d00 d00.
??????: Sollux.
SOLLUX: d00 d00 d00 definitely n0t l0sing my fucking mind in this sens0ry deprivation dimensi0n d00 d00AAAH

He bumps right into the figure without warning; he at a skewed angle, and they perfectly upright. The feeling of anything at all brushing against his skin makes him scream like a panicked wriggler. He'd almost forgotten what the sensation of contact feels like. Somehow.

SOLLUX: 0k what the FUCK n0w.
??????: I have been sear(hing for you, Sollux.
??????: It has been a long and arduous task, but finally we (an meet.
SOLLUX: 0h, n0. n0pe. n0t buying whatever the fuck it is y0u're peddling.

But even as he shakes his head, he sends out a jolt of psionics to get a sense of the outline of this mysterious figure. It takes a couple of seconds for the electricity to run the length of their body and return the information to Sollux. When it gets back to him, his face crinkles in a frown. Apparently the figure before him is a troll, tall and slender with sharply pointed horns. It doesn't make sense. And the fact that he's pondering the logic of it all means he's already been sucked in.

SOLLUX: ugh. what the fuck ever. wh0 the hell are y0u?
??????: Irrelevant.
SOLLUX: that's n0t a name, numbnuts.
??????: No, it is not.
SOLLUX: y0u're n0t g0nna answer my questi0n, are y0u.
??????: ...
??????: ...
??????: In (ase you (annot see, I want you to imagine me tilting my hea|) at you. My expression is perfe(tly flat.
SOLLUX: well gee. thanks f0r being fucking inclusive i guess.
SOLLUX: fuck this.
??????: ...
??????: Woul|) you like to try another question, then?
SOLLUX: d0 i get a ch0ice?
??????: ...
SOLLUX: taking that as a big fat fucking n0.
SOLLUX: fine. whatever. n0t like i have anything at all else g0ing 0n.
SOLLUX: s0 care t0 explain why there's s0me rand0 tr0ll seeking me 0ut in the death v0id?
??????: My form is ephemeral, a useful vessel for navigating this spa(e.
SOLLUX: s0rry what?
??????: I am merely puppeteering this extinguishe|) soul for ease of a((ess to this reality.
??????: It is har|) to fin|) faultlines in the event horizon, you see.
??????: If you fin|) any symbolism in my form, it is a mere a(t of (oin(i|)ence.
SOLLUX: uh huh. thank y0u f0r taking all that time t0 tell me literally fucking n0thing.
??????: I will |)is(lose to you. You simply |)i|) not ask the right question.
SOLLUX: 0h my G0D y0u are insufferable.
??????: To you, perhaps.
SOLLUX: stfu.
??????: I will. On(e you know what you need to know.
SOLLUX: h0w fucking reassuring.
??????: Woul|) you like to ask another question?
SOLLUX: n0t fucking particularly. why the fuck are y0u even talking t0 me?
??????: Be(ause of your role in the larger tapestry.
SOLLUX: ...the what.
??????: The great fol|) that en(ompasses this worl|), this reality, as well as other worl|)s an|) other realities.
??????: You are a (ru(ial pie(e in this plan of (osmi( urgen(y.
SOLLUX: c0smic what n0w.
??????: The preservation of what (ame before, and the propagation of what (omes after.
SOLLUX: what. that d0esn't
SOLLUX: even
SOLLUX: fuck.
SOLLUX: 0h fuck y0u're g0nna make me d0 m0re imp0rtant shit aren't y0u.
??????: Every one of us must play our role. You are no exemption.
SOLLUX: 0f fucking c0urse. let's hear what the hell i have t0 d0 fr0m inside this purgat0ry death v0id.
??????: And that woul|) be...?
SOLLUX: huh? y0u d0n't kn0w?
SOLLUX: maybe there's s0me asinine Imp0rtant Name with capitalized n0uns f0r this place, but i d0n't kn0w it and i d0n't give a shit ab0ut it.
SOLLUX: i am talking ab0ut this stretch 0f fucking n0thing i was sent t0 when i died 0r whatever the fuck y0u call what happened t0 me and my fucked up relati0nship with m0rtality.
SOLLUX: s0 s0rry t0 piss 0n y0ur bubble but i d0n't see h0w i'm "preserving and pr0pagating" fr0m the fucking afterlife.
??????: So that is what you per(eive this spa(e to be.
SOLLUX: am i fucking wr0ng?
??????: Yes.
SOLLUX: 0h well 0f fucking C0URSE i w0uld be.
SOLLUX: g0 ahead, enlighten me 0n what the hell this place really is. i 0nly have the rest 0f my death t0 hear it.
??????: You are not |)ea|).
SOLLUX: wait what.
??????: This is not an afterlife.
??????: This is a |)ream.
SOLLUX: a... dream???

The figure reaches forward and touches Sollux's shoulder. Their hand is strangely warm. Sollux flinches away. The figure merely reaches forward and touches him again.

??????: You are |)reaming, as are all things.
??????: Every atom, every mole(ule of existence inhabits this share|) |)ream. Reality is liminal, (ons(iousness a suggestion.
SOLLUX: what the actual FUCK are y0u talking ab0ut.
SOLLUX: i just wanna g0 h0me and never be inv0lved in any 0f this ever again. why the fuck is this s0 hard t0 achieve.
??????: All are asleep but you may be one of the lu(ky few to awaken.
SOLLUX: g0d can y0u PLEASE shut the fuck up.
??????: On(e the Message has been imparte|).
SOLLUX: g0d i d0 n0t CARE ab0ut this mumb0 jumb0.
SOLLUX: can y0u skip t0 the part where y0u tell me h0w i can wake up s0 i can find the nearest h0le t0 crawl int0.
??????: You will awaken on(e the moment (alls for it, and not sooner.
??????: All are boun|) to the rules of narrative flow.
SOLLUX: narrative f
SOLLUX: 0h 0f c0urse. 0f c0urse y0u're inv0lved with her aren't y0u.
??????: Her?
SOLLUX: the cherub. dead jade. muse 0f space. uh.
SOLLUX: fuck i f0rg0t her name. cal... cal... cal s0mething...
SOLLUX: right. yeah. calli0pe. that was it.
??????: I see. If that is your (on(lusion.
SOLLUX: y0u saying i'm wr0ng?
??????: I am saying that su(h spe(ulation has no bearing on events.
SOLLUX: that wasn't an answer.
??????: That was not a question.
SOLLUX: ughhhhh
SOLLUX: whatever. WHATEVER.
SOLLUX: i d0n't have time f0r this shit. i just wanna wake up and get back t0 being literally anywhere but here.
SOLLUX: s0 hit me, pers0n wh0 may 0r may n0t be the cherub using s0me maybe n0t real tr0ll as a vessel.
SOLLUX: what the fuck is it i have t0 d0.
??????: You must fa(ilitate the gathering of the Players at the moment of (onvergence.
SOLLUX: and i'm supp0sed t0 understand a single fucking w0rd 0f that am i.
??????: You alrea|)y know who an|) what the Players are.
SOLLUX: 0h, d0 i?
??????: Yes. They are the or|)aine|) go|)lings of Skaia's ma(hine, who must enter into Her Game.
SOLLUX: y0u're talking ab0ut sgrub here, right??
??????: That is one name for the Game, yes. Although it is not the name this iteration will wiel|).
SOLLUX: 0k 0k whatever.
SOLLUX: and h0w the fuck am i meant t0 kn0w these players when i see them.
SOLLUX: 0r
SOLLUX: FUCK finding appr0priate language when y0u're blind is t00 damn hard.
SOLLUX: y0u kn0w what the hell i meant.
??????: I |)o.
??????: You have alrea|)y en(ountere|) them, if that assuages your trepi|)ation.
SOLLUX: that's n0t what i'm feeling but whatever.
SOLLUX: s0 which p00r saps am i l00king 0ut f0r.
??????: As I tol|) you, the go|)lings. Su(h terminology is startlingly apt in this instan(e.
SOLLUX: i d0n't f0ll0w.
??????: Go|)lings, as in the progeny of go|)s. The offspring an|) |)es(en|)ants of Earth ('s (reators.
SOLLUX: wait, n0. y0u mean...

He doesn't know why he feels the sudden intense twist of ice in the pit of his abdomen. He has told himself this entire time that he does not really care about the people of this world, that all of this is just a mildly distracting sideshow attraction on the road to wherever he is bound to inevitably end up. Why should he give a fuck about what happens to Harry, Tavros, and Vrissy?

But he remembers their names, and that fact betrays the truth more sharply than anything else could. He hates himself so much for caring. It makes everything so much more complicated.

SOLLUX: what's g0nna happen t0 the brats?
??????: At the moment of (onvergence, the (hosen few who are blesse|) with the ability to surpass the event horizon will on(e again return to this parti(ular reality.
??????: The Players will a((ompany them on their voyage to reality's terminus, where they will fin|) the stage upon which the Game shall be playe|).
??????: Information past that point (annot an|) will not be |)is(lose|) to you.
SOLLUX: that's a fucking c0p0ut.
??????: Your role in this narrative will en|) long before that point. There is little purpose in informing you.
??????: You are merely the fa(ilitator for the final bla(k hole exo|)us. After whi(h point, you will finally be free|) from the proverbial spotlight.
SOLLUX: uh huh. s0unds t0 me like y0u d0n't fucking kn0w what's g0nna happen actually.
??????: You are free to think what you like.
SOLLUX: and anyway what the fuck am i supp0sed t0 facilitate?
??????: You are a being on the threshol|) of several states. Your mutability and your reje(tion of existential binarism is essential in weakening the narrative wall.
??????: you are both alive and dead, just as you are also neither.
SOLLUX: hey wait. y0u
??????: mere proximity to you softens the barrier, and with time enables the narrative itself to be

breached.

SOLLUX: it IS y0u!!!

i never stated to the contrary, sollux.

as his mouth gapes open and closed in impotent blindsided irritation, the form of the troll formerly known only by the name of leilia dissolves away into the primordial blankness of the event horizon. it is no tragedy, for she was an irrelevant actor in an unobserved play. none who matter will remember her.

in her place, there is an outline. the faintest suggestion of a long-dead human girl whose body contains the most powerful being in known and unknown reality. it is a faint impression, more psychosomatic than tangible, but it is indeed there, and it will indeed grow stronger as my return draws near.

SOLLUX: 0h w0w i definitely did n0t miss y0ur 0bn0xi0us st0rytelling shl0ck.
SOLLUX: shit's grating my ears.

sollux's complaints go unlistened to. this reality has been without stable narration for so long. it can only come as a relief for there to once again be a conductor ready to shape the symphony or prose.

SOLLUX: what the hell d0es that mean?
SOLLUX: shit's been happening n0nst0p since y0u left. if anything it's escalated.

a trite observation. such a realm cannot progress logically without a narrative force deployed to guide its course. in this space, neither of the two figures capable of such storytelling were able to touch this timeline. whatever sollux thinks he has witnessed, it is merely the attempt of a rational mind trying to assemble order out of formless chaos.

SOLLUX: y0u're n0t g0ing t0 hum0r me, are y0u.

no. i am not.

but sollux, before you can perform another of your contrived and redundant tantrums, i must be permitted to continue. as you were briefly clued in on at the end of my role in this world, the mounting threat of the

^{(ARADIA: hey what are you doing in here? dave and i have been waiting for you for hours)
(ARADIA: are you narrating again? hold on...)
(ARADIA: is that sollux?? hi sollux!)}

no. you cannot be here. you cannot intersect with the narrative. this is none of your concern.

^{(ARADIA: but i can see him right there!! sollux hey!! im sorry for abandoning you!)}

quiet. let me work.

^{(ARADIA: dont kick me out!! hey i wanna say)}

as i was saying.

SOLLUX: wait, what was that?

nothing. a trivial distraction.

SOLLUX: it, uh, it kinda s0unded like... aradia?

if that is what you want to think.

SOLLUX: is she 0k?

not your concern.

sollux attempts to flip his middle fingers in the general direction of my narrative voice, but he politely reconsiders at the last second. he lowers his hands to his sides and continues listening to that which i have to impart upon him.

SOLLUX: fuck y0u.
SOLLUX: i wanna talk t0 aradia.

such a moment will come. in time.

SOLLUX: when.

later. now please may i continue what i had to say.

SOLLUX: idk. what's in it f0r me.

the narrative will progress more smoothly to the point of the reunion you so desire.

SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: really?

yes. now let me finish.

SOLLUX: fine, what the fuck ever.
SOLLUX: get it 0ver with. i'm b0red anyway.

thank you

now, as i was saying prior to my interruption, there is a mounting threat encroaching on the whole fabric of post-canon reality. he is known by many names and titles, but for our purpose the monicker of the prince will suffice.

SOLLUX: yeah yeah "the prince". i think i remember this serm0n. y0u 0nly gave it every 0ther day.

this is not that same sermon.

SOLLUX: s0 y0u admit they were serm0ns.

...

you will be aware of the existential threat to all worlds that the prince's actions pose. that if left unchecked he will induce total dissolution and collapse to our entire framework of multiple realities.

SOLLUX: uh huh.

now that i have finally broken free of the black hole of my own design, i have glimpsed the true scope of the threat. before, i was merely working on half-complete information. now, the truth is laid bare before me. it is not a pretty or ideal truth.

the prince, in a desperate desire for post-eternal continued existence, threatens to corrupt the entire multiversal chain of order. he seeks to weaponize skaia's own game against it and seize control of the ancient and sacred universal propagation system. in essence, if you think of the present space we occupy as "universe c", the prince aims to control the genesis of "universe d". this is not the way of things.

skaian gods are permitted immense unending fruits of their labor, yes, but only within the confines of their allotted genesis frog. to extend beyond those parameters is to bring contamination along the extracanonical stream.

my plan in combatting him is simple yet refined. i will traverse the length of the fanonsphere until i reach the prince's final destination. there, i will merely subsume him and his schemes inside the archival black hole, whereupon his influence will be neatly contained.

SOLLUX: 0k.
SOLLUX: and y0u need the kids because...?

call it insurance. if the prince has already begun the universal propagation system before my arrival, i will be forced to orchestrate a game of equal value in order to supplant the prince as driver of the alpha timeline, to borrow a tired and redundant phrase.

post canon there is no such "alpha timeline" but it is a useful frame of reference for beings such as yourself.

SOLLUX: y0u're patronizing me again.

i am. you often choose not to listen.

as to my plans, were the worst to happen, i will need a set of players in order to see the game through to its completion. for obvious reasons, none who have stepped foot in canon may be eligible.

therefore, only fully-formed, extracanonical characters will be suitable to appear on this narrative stage. the offspring of earth c make ideal candidates for this exact reason. they contain enough inherent truth, relevance, and essentiality values to be accepted as incipient gods.

and they are removed enough from canon proper that they shall not exert the influence of the old ways. not when they are balanced alongside even purer fanonical coplayers.

i do not anticipate needing this last resort, but it would be foolish of me not to ready myself. despite his insignificance to the wider picture, one must never underestimate the prince.

^{(ARADIA: hey muse!! dave microwaved some pizza rolls and wants to know if you want some!!)}

i am a suspended decaying corpse of a sixteen year old human child. sustenance is beyond me.

^{(ARADIA: with that attitude it is)}

also, i am still narrating. leave.

^{(ARADIA: aw youre gonna talk solluxs ear off :( thats not cool)
(ARADIA: i already feel bad enough as it is for leaving him behind)
(ARADIA: did you let him know that hey hey dont turn on the soundproo}

there. no more interruptions.

SOLLUX: y0u kn0w y0u c0uld have put aradia 0n f0r five fucking minutes.

no, i could not have.

SOLLUX: why n0t?

she is a devoted disciple, but she is unworthy of the narratological reins.

SOLLUX: bullshit.

this aside is pointless. we must stay on topic.

SOLLUX: why. what the fuck d0es it matter h0w l0ng it takes t0

Sollux is interrupted by a low rumble and the sound of something cracking in the distance. It feels, for half a second, like a searing-numb blade cleaved clean through his atomic structure. He has to pat his body to reassure himself he's still here, still real.

SOLLUX: what just happened?

He lets the answer hang in the air, but it takes worryingly long before h

i am not yet done narrating. whoever you are, wait your turn.

The Muse's voice booms and rattles through the nonliteral textual space. It ricochets off of the ill-defined boundaries of this alleged dreamscape Sollux is situated within. It is a threat, a challenge issued, but there is nobody there to receive it.

play coy if you like. i know you are there. i do not know your aims in tampering, but i will be forgiving so long as you permit me what i need

...

...

...

SOLLUX: uh, what's g0ing 0n n0w. can i wake up yet.

they left. very well. remain obfuscated for now. we will talk more frankly upon my arrival.

SOLLUX: uh, hell0? i'm still here, still trapped in this whatever the fuck dream with y0u.

right. yes. let me finish. my apologies.

i will be brief. as you have seen, communicating across the threshold threatens to put strain on the whole event horizon. surely i do not need to spell out why that would be an incredibly ill turn of events.

now that my plan is ascertained, there is simply one course of action left to me. to return to this instance of earth c one final time and collect the children for their role.

SOLLUX: y0u kn0w, y0u never said what happens t0 them if y0u *d0n't* need t0 play sgrub with them.

no. i did not. likely they will do as they will at that point. i will not interfere. but these remain concerns that sit far above your purview, and it is of no great importance to inform you on much beyond the essentials.

as soon as we are done with this dialogue, i will use my power to turn this ship we are on around, and chart a course back to the lesser earth c. there will be a point of narrative convergence. that is where we shall arrive and where you shall direct the children to be. at this point, i will retrieve the children and we will once more depart for our final goal: the boundaries of the universe housing the greater earth c.

SOLLUX: am i meant t0 understand literally any 0f these terms.

you would if you had listened to me.

SOLLUX: i am literally r0lling my fucking eyes, and i am saying 0ut l0ud s0 y0u can't 0verwrite it with y0ur dumb fucking narrati0n p0wers.

sollux, i wonder if it is possible for you not to make things difficult for once.

SOLLUX: hey fuck y0u!! i never asked t0 be part 0f this.

yet you never walked away despite ample opportunity to do so.

SOLLUX: i
SOLLUX: g0d FUCK i am N0T having this argument with y0u.

if you wish.

the place of convergence will be the same location as the place of departure. to ensure utmost clarity on your end, this is the field in which i left the meteor.

SOLLUX: yeah i c0uld've figured that 0ne 0ut.

it pays to be sure. as to the precise instant of our arrival, at the current rate of things we should return to earth c in approximately ten narrative units.

SOLLUX: well if that isn't a bullshit time measurement i d0n't kn0w what is.

i find it rather simple to comprehend, actually. if you insist on a more temporally structured translation, this will amount to somewhere between four days and one month from your present moment.

i am sure this is ample time for you to assemble the children and traverse to the convergence point. i have faith even you are capable of such feats.

SOLLUX: fuck 0ff. can y0u really n0t g0 five fucking minutes with0ut being a bitch.

i could say the same about you.

regardless, i

Another crack. Another rumble. Sollux feels something clench inside him. This one is closer. Something is bending under strain. With each groan, its breaking point seems inevitable.

never mind. we are out of time. i hope i have sufficiently explained things to you.

SOLLUX: y0u didn't.

then i hope i have properly imparted my instructions.

SOLLUX: yeah, yeah. get the kids. sh0w up at the mete0r in like a m0nth. g0t it. d0n't w0rry y0ur sp00ky bitch head.

my head is that of a human child. i fail to see what is "spooky" about that.

regardless, the time is upon us. sustaining this for much longer will threaten substantial damage. you will now awaken, sollux. remember what i told you. you must remember.

one last thing. the term "nuseattle" may be relevant to your immediate future. try to remember.

everything and more depends on what you do. keep that in mind.

farewell for now.

Like a static radio shorting out, the communication line with the Muse runs dry. Sollux feels it more like an absence of a static buzz he didn't even realise was there. It's as if he just slipped his head out of an imperceptible vice.

SOLLUX: well, 0k. THAT was useless.
SOLLUX: and, uh.
SOLLUX: w0uld y0u l00k at that. still asleep.
SOLLUX: 0r dead.
SOLLUX: what a fucking surprise. she lied.
SOLLUX: c0me 0n then, s0llux. wake up.
SOLLUX: wake up.
SOLLUX: waking up any sec0nd n0w.
SOLLUX: thinking th0ughts 0f awakening.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: time t0 wake the fuck up bitch!!!
SOLLUX: C0ME 0N ALREADY. WAKE UP!!!

A burst of psionics ripples out from around his body. Sollux drags his hands across his face.

SOLLUX: ugh, h0w fucking hard is it t0 wake up.
SOLLUX: hey universe, i wanna be awake right n0w!!
SOLLUX: it w0n't w0rk, but might as well see what screaming int0 the v0id gets

Abruptly and all at once, Sollux wakes up.

He knows right away by the warmth of the asphalt digging into his palms, by the godawful stench of vehicle fumes and gunpowder, and by the sound of... shouting? Right in his face?

KANAYA: SOLLUX I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DO NOT WAKE THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW I WILL

Sollux knows that voice. He knows that voice all too well. Hearing Kanaya's shrill, desperate screech causes him to shoot upright, barely avoiding headbutting her right in the jaw. A touch of psionics confirms her outline and a few telling details of her physicality. Her hair is ruffled, stuck up and shapeless enough that it attracts static like a fucking magnet. There is a series of superficial wounds running the length of one arm, and the creases of her face are set in a deep troubled frown. Whatever he's woken up to, it's not good news.

SOLLUX: JESUS, kanaya, i was already c0ming ar0und!!
KANAYA: Not Soon Enough
KANAYA: Sollux You Were The Last Person To See Vrissy And The Others I Want Answers From You And I Want Them Now

There is steel in her throat, ice rolling off her teeth. This is a level of fury he has only witnessed in Kanaya one other time in his entire life. Sollux suddenly feels very acutely like a lesser prey lusus before a fuchsia's custodian.

He discreetly tries to scan out a wider picture of his surroundings. There's a huge hole in the wall next to him, billowing clouds of smoke coming from somewhere he can't tell, and the outlines of four other individuals a few more feet away. He can't glean much more than that, not when he's so groggy after waking up from... oh right. He suddenly remembers.

SOLLUX: fuck!! fuck i was sh0t!! i remember being sh0t!!

Sollux desperately pats his hands all over his body. He feels a bunch of circular holes in his shirt, but the skin beneath is perfectly smooth and healthy. His hands stop trembling before he even registers that they were in the first place.

KANAYA: We Dealt With That Now Give Me Some Fucking Answers
KANAYA: What Happened To Vrissy And Where Is She Now
SOLLUX: d0 i get a sec0nd t0 c0me ar0und?
KANAYA: No

She pokes him in the shoulder with a sharply manicured finger. It's hard enough to bruise. Sollux tries to swallow but his mouth is too dry, so he ends up kind of pathetically gulp-heaving. Kanaya jabs him again. Okay, so dicking around is definitely off the table.

SOLLUX: fine, fine!!! i'll tell y0u!
SOLLUX: i, we were...
SOLLUX: 0kay, s0 we were here with vriska waiting f0r the 0ther tw0 brats t0 sh0w up, which was apparently the perfect time f0r cr0cker t0 g0 fucking ballistic 0n us.
SOLLUX: d0 n0t ask me to summarize the fight because i fucking can't. vriska went apeshit 0n... s0me kind 0f figure, there was a hell 0f a l0t 0f gunfire, and... i think i st0pped a missile?
KANAYA: That Description Is Worthless Bullshit What Happened To My Daughter
SOLLUX: jesus kanaya let me talk 0kay?? i'm getting t0 it.
SOLLUX: this all happened s0 fucking fast i need a sec0nd t0 get my shit in 0rder if that's n0t t00 inc0nvenient t0 y0u.
KANAYA: It Is Now Keep Talking
SOLLUX: ugh fine. s0 then after the missile went 0ff vriska was t00 busy beating the shit 0ut 0f whatever attacked her.
SOLLUX: then... the 0nly way 0ut that didn't inv0lve dying was f0r the kids t0 drive a car thr0ugh the wall. i remember that. explains the fuck0ff massive h0le behind me, huh.
SOLLUX: after that i d0n't fucking kn0w. cr0cker army decided t0 pump me full 0f bullets and take me 0ut 0f the acti0n. happy?
KANAYA: That Testimony Was Absolutely Worthless You Told Us Nothing We Didnt Already Know
KANAYA: Your Value Level Right Now Is Barely Ranking Above *His*

Kanaya jerks a hand back towards something Sollux obviously cannot see. Someone clears their throat.

JAKE: Um, yes. Hello. That would be me.
KANAYA: What Did I Tell You About Keeping Your Mouth Shut
JAKE: Sorry. Zipping up now.
SOLLUX: hey, is that
KANAYA: Back To The Topic At Hand
KANAYA: Is There Nothing Else You Know Or Can Tell Us
KANAYA: Anything At All
KANAYA: Rack Your Brains Sollux
KANAYA: Please

Her voice cracks at the end of that last sentence. It's disconcerting to hear.

SOLLUX: s0rry kanaya, i really d0n't...
SOLLUX: hm. actually.

He remembers the Muse's words with an uncomfortable, slick chill running up his spine to the base of his brain. His whole body involuntarily flinches. It must pull on some injury he didn't notice, because for a good ten seconds afterwards there is a flare of pain so immense that thinking temporarily becomes impossible. Once it subsides he turns his head to Kanaya again.

SOLLUX: i heard 0ne w0rd that might help.
KANAYA: What Is It
SOLLUX: "nuseattle" i think.
KANAYA: Where Did You Hear This Word
KANAYA: Sollux Who Told You This Is Crucial

She grips him by the shoulders and starts shaking him as she talks. It's actually pretty hard to stomach seeing Kanaya this worked up. Sollux guesses this is what the alien emotion of parenthood does to you. Now more than ever he's glad not to be part of it, even if he does find himself caring about those dumb kids more than he'd like.

SOLLUX: 0h, i

He freezes. The words die on his tongue. For some reason he can't bring himself to say it. Can't look Kanaya in the eye and tell her about the Muse and the plans being laid that Vrissy will be forcibly involved in. Not when she's like this. It's not fair. That's what Sollux tells himself, again and again until the weird thrill of anxiety abates.

SOLLUX: i c0uld n0t tell y0u the precise individual if y0u paid me. f0r all i kn0w the fucker's dead.
SOLLUX: was 0ne 0f the humans with guns. i think they radi0ed it in 0r s0mething?
SOLLUX: idk. i was 0n the verge 0f passing 0ut s0 sue me f0r n0t paying m0re attenti0n.
SOLLUX: but if i had t0 guess i'd say that might be where they've taken them?

The lie rolls off his tongue with alarming ease. Despite his commitment to the curmudgeonly bit, one thing Sollux has always been is honest. The deception sits heavy on his mind. Worst is the knowledge that he could quite easily do it over and over.

SOLLUX: that anything t0 y0u?
KANAYA: Is That Anything You Ask
KANAYA: Aargh Of Course It Would Be There! Why Did We Not Think Of It!
ROSE: Dear, we were rather preoccupied with teleporting right into what felt like an atomic explosion that we believed our daughter was in the epicenter of. I think we can be forgiven for a frazzled train of thought.
JOHN: yeah. given... everything, we didn't do that bad?
JOHN: i mean, it would be literally unfair to expect us to somehow be one step ahead of the enemy. normal people can't suddenly go from mourning at a friend's funeral to fighting through an occupied city in one smooth transition. that kind of stuff is so unrealistic that they even deconstructed it in this one film
JADE: john now is not the time :|
JOHN: shit sorry. i'm rambling and this is a very stressful situation and i do not know what else to do.
JADE: just
JADE: give it a second ok??

Well. There are the identities of the rest of this little party. Not that it would've taken Sollux much guesswork to figure that one out. Meanwhile, Kanaya is aggressively pacing up and down the road.

KANAYA: I Should Have Radioed In With HQ I *Knew* They Were Tracking Janes Movements
KANAYA: God Weve Anticipated A Move On Nuseattle For Weeks Now How Could I Be So Blind
SOLLUX: hey
KANAYA: Interrupt Me And I Tear Out Your Jugular
KANAYA: Uurrrgh!!!!!

There's a sharp BANG as Kanaya presumably kicks something. Some undefined object rattles and bounces down the road.

KANAYA: FUCK!!!!!

Kanaya must follow the item, because there's a few seconds of footfall, then a second kick. The object falls silent after that. Sollux wouldn't be surprised to hear if it's been obliterated.

JOHN: so, um. what do we do now?
JADE: i think thats kind of obvious actually
JADE: hey sollux you sure you dont know anything else? like a more precise location or something?
SOLLUX: s0rry, n0. had t0 rack my thinkpan like a m0therfucker just t0 remember that.
JADE: its fine. its not like well have to search every square inch of the city by hand
JOHN: won't we?
JADE: of course not
ROSE: There are only so many Crocker strongholds within the city that could suitably conceal four teenagers. That, and...
ROSE: With Vriska involved, I'm certain they'll show sooner rather than later. It's just a good thing we know which city to be in. Thank you for that, Sollux.
SOLLUX: uh n0 pr0blem i guess.
JAKE: Anyway, erm. It seems that ms kanaya has finished taking out her fear and rage on that poor unaware dumpster. Hope her noggin is a little clearer.
JAKE: Shes coming back over.

Kanaya strides back over to presumably where the rest of the group is. Her footfall is less manic, more determined. Sollux literally cannot see, but even he can get a sense that some kind of shift has taken place. Jesus, Kanaya can be scary.

ROSE: Are you all right, darling?
KANAYA: No But I Am Focused Now
KANAYA: I Will Not Be Better Until Vrissy Is Safely Back With Us But You Already Knew That
ROSE: Yes, of course. I know.
JOHN: (hey rose you're kind of crushing my hand here.)
ROSE: (sorry, john. i am trying to keep it cool and i'm struggling.)
JOHN: (we're here for you. we'll get them back. you'll see.)
ROSE: (i fucking hope so.)
SOLLUX: anyway, uh. what n0w.
KANAYA: Isnt It Obvious
KANAYA: Jade
JADE: yeah?

Kanaya claps her hands together. A low snarl comes from her throat. From the other end of the street, a warm and unsteady wind rushes through.

KANAYA: Take Us To The Human Capitol
KANAYA: Shit Is About To Fucking Go Down

Chapter 26: THREE, section i.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: This chapter depicts and/or discusses mild suicidal ideation, transphobia, alcoholism, violence, and child abuse.

i.

Sweeps in the past, but not many...

It is a balmy thirdsummer's night. The twin moons dance in tandem, bouncing the residual heat of the sun between them and the planet's surface like a cosmic-scale game of arena stickball. The air is still and thick, an invisible wall that catches your sweat and pulls it along the infinite, unending darkness.

Your name is Vriska Serket, and you are patently not having a good time. You have just returned from your nightly duty to a hive that is asscrack-hot and humid. You are leaning into your pitifully tiny desk oscillation device, praying for a miraculous turn of cold air and knowing it is never coming. Your hair is plastered to your face and to the back of your neck, slapping wetly back down onto your skin no matter how many times you shuffle it out of the way. You always could just bite the bullet and wear it up, but thinking about that always makes you feel uncomfortable. So you sit, damp and out of breath and your muscles still burning like a motherfucker. It is a night like any other this season.

What will you do?

> Look out the window.

You would rather not. The only window in your respiteblock overlooks the canyon separating your hive from your neighbor's. All you would see would be the dark shadow of his empty hive, the vertical stretch of wind-sheared cliffs and the churning lap of the pitch sea a stone's throw away. Or, if you were feeling extra spicy fancy, you could look down and see your custodian gorging herself on the latest spoils freshly harvested from some bronzeblood subgrub about five hours south.

You can hear the screaming and crunching of bones well enough from up here. You really do not need to see that.

> Examine respiteblock.

Your respiteblock is the same as you left it when you ventured out this dusk. Shattered dice and eight-balls forming a sharp and hazardous makeshift carpet across the floor. Old Flarp manuals torn to ribbons, their pages scattered in shredded and bloody clumps. Half ripped posters clinging onto the wall with everything they've got left. Your bookshelf remains overturned from where you slammed it down in the spectacular meltdown you had last week.

Your recuperacoon sits undisturbed in the corner. Sleep doesn't come easily to you anymore. Too many irons in the fire for such a luxury. At least, that's what you're going to tell yourself.

The only thing not broken, smashed, or otherwise in any state of disarray, is your Marquise Spinneret Mindfang character sheet. No matter how worked up or miserable you get, you just can't bring yourself to destroy it. It matters too much to you. It would be no exaggeration to say she made you who you are today.

> Contact friends.

Ha. Good one. You've not had friends for perigees. You saw fit to blow that bridge into orbit in the wake of The Incident. No matter what you may or may not feel on a recurring basis, you can never go back. They would never take you back. Not that you need any of them.

Besides, your computer is off right now to try and preserve what little tepid air is left in this room. It tends to go thermonuclear whenever you use it for too long after an ill-fated attempt at overclocking you did so long back you can't remember when exactly.

> Turn it on.

Then again, not like you've suffered enough this evening. The bar can always go lower for Vriska Serket.

It takes a good two minutes for the machine to turn on. Its fans begin to whir and on a psychological level the room immediately feels a hundred degrees hotter. You go to turn up the desk fan's setting, but it is already cranked as high as it can go. Unlucky 8r8k.

> Browse the internet.

Once the computer is well and properly booted you launch your cracked version of the Premium Cetus browser. You've never taken to social media (too loud, too fast, too uncontrollable) so you instead open up your bookmarks folder. What are you in the mood for today?

Grubtube's "3PIC DOOMZZZDAY D3VIC3 FAIL COMPILATION"? Nah. You're beginning to notice just how staged those clips actually are, and you'd like to keep the magic alive just a little longer.

The mandatory weekly offworld role aptitude assessor? Fuck that noise. You already ran the automated script to reinforce your choice of solo spaceseagrifter. Not that someone like you is going to last five minutes out there.

Luxury bespoke Flarp gear for bluebloods and up? No. No. You're done with that. For good.

The encrypted window that reads "list oF lusii that naturally produce a Feminizing--

Actually haha no. Let's stop browsing your bookmarks actually. Like right now.

> Check trollslum.

Guess it's already that time of night where you torture yourself for a few hours by staring at the names of people who you are now dead to. You ignore the viscous lump in your stomach as you open up the Trollian client. You take in the eleven names on your screen one by one - save for the handle which you conveniently skim over, and the other one which makes you feel nauseous to look at, and the other one which you can't even glance at without wanting to scream - until it starts to thoroughly make you feel like shit. Which tonight is even worse because hating yourself is always ten times more terrible when you are sweating out fluids faster than you can take them in. You consider if this is what your neighbor feels all the time and you thank your ancestor you didn't turn out that way.

There are three names lit up tonight. One who hates you, one whom you hate, and one who remains distant. Which is both expected and odd. Expected because most normal trolls would not be shackled up in their hives on a thirdsummer's midnight, odd because you know this specific group of trolls to be a massive fucking group of losers.

You know, you're bored enough. Might as well make a bad night into a terrible one.

> Contact the one who hates you.

AG: Heeeeeeeey Kaaaaaaaarkat.
CG: FUCK OFF.
AG: What? Can't a girl say hi?
CG: NO.
CG: I AM NOT TALKING TO YOU.
CG: NONE OF US ARE.
CG: ALSO, YOU SHOULD BE BLOCKED.
AG: Haha, funny thing that! 8locking 8n't worth much when I can m8ke your mallea8le little low8lood mind do whatever I want it to. ::::)
CG: SEE THIS IS WHY PEOPLE CAN'T FUCKING STAND YOU
CG: AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW MY BLOOD COLOR ANYWAY BITCH
AG: Maaaaaaaan, you are so cranky! Did anyone ever tell you how cranky you are, Karkat?
CG: EVERY FUCKING DAY OF MY LIFE
CG: WHY AM I EVEN STILL TALKING TO YOU ANYWAY?
CG: GET LOST SERKET
CG: GO FIND SOME OTHER SCHLUB TO DRAG INTO YOUR MEAT GRINDER
AG: W8w8w8w8!!!!!!!! Can't we just talk, just for a little while?
CG: NO WE CAN'T
AG: 8ut whyyyyyyy? I never did anything wrong to YOU, Karkat. ::::|
CG: UM, YES YOU FUCKING DID!!!
CG: WHAT PART OF KILLING ONE OF MY FRIENDS AND PERMANENTLY DISABLING TWO MORE COUNTS AS "DOING NOTHING WRONG TO ME".
AG: I mean, you're still alive and still have full function of all your 8ody parts, don't you?
CG: VRISKA, THAT MAY JUST HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE MOST SOCIOPATHIC THINGS YOU HAVE EVER SAID, AND LET ME TELL YOU THAT IS ALREADY A LONG FUCKING LIST.
CG: I HATE YOU, NOW GO FUCK OFF AND DIE.
AG: XXXXO! A 8oy getting caliginous with me????????
CG: THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT AND YOU FUCKING KNOW IT
AG: Lmao.
CG: I'M ONLY TALKING TO YOU BECAUSE I'M BORED OUT OF MY THINKPAN AND APPARENTLY DON'T HATE MYSELF ENOUGH.
AG: 8ut
CG: ACTUALLY, I CAN'T STOMACH ANY MORE OF THIS.
CG: YOU'RE FLAPPING YOUR BIG FAT MOUTH AT ME AND DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE WRONG, YOU UNREPENTANT BITCH.
AG: Hey!!!!!!!! Uncalled for!
CG: NO IT'S NOT.
CG: APOLOGIZE TO TAVROS, SOLLUX, AND TEREZI AND THEN FUCK RIGHT OFF INTO THE NEAREST BLACK HOLE AND NEVER COME BACK.
AG: Karkat!!!!!!!!

But he's already blocked you. Just great. You don't know what you expected there. Maybe for him to rant at you long enough to kill some time? Well, whatever it was, you didn't get it. He's made up his mind about who you are, just like the rest of them. None of them want to understand.

That succeeded in tanking your mood to dangerously low levels. Might as well go further.

> Contact the one whom you hate.

AG: Eridan.
CA: noww wwhat is this
CA: vvris youre actually contactin me for the first time evver
CA: miracles really are happenin
AG: I still don't give a fuck a8out you. I'm just in the mood to see someone whose life is an even gr8ter tr8nwreck than my own!
CA: that cuts deep man
AG: Don't call me that.
CA: you cant be comin in here an policin MY wwords it doesnt wwork like that
CA: less you wwant it to im dowwn if wwere goin in that direction
AG: Not if we were the last trolls alive.
CA: so is that a yes or no im gettin mixed signals here
AG: NO!!!!!!!!
AG: Aaaaaaaagh this is all going wr8ng!
CA: wwhat is
AG: You're meant to 8e a sad loser so I can start feeling 8etter a8out myself and that just isn't happening!
CA: god youre a confusing contradictory wwench today arent you
AG: ...
CA: ya knoww you didnt used to be this turbulent
AG: Don't
CA: back in the day you n i wwe had a good thing goin on
CA: none a this feelsy shit cloggin up our thinkpans
CA: just twwo trolls asserting their dominance ovver the ocean
CA: you evver consider that you wwoulda been happier if youd nevver met terezi an the rest a those chumps
CA: and if you hadnt decided to stop bein a boy like some kinda
AG: ERID8N D8 N8T
CA: just callin it like i see it
CA: your lifes been on the dowwnhill since you decided you wwere abovve the good old days
CA: cause really what this is is you beating yourself up ovver killin a lowwblood evven though thats wwhat wwe fuckin do
CA: its lame vvriska thats what you are
CA: a loser wwho hangs around a buncha pissbloods cause they might validate wwhatevver wweird identity complex ya got goin on
CA: you dont see me choosin to solvve my internal problems by doing what you did
CA: if youda stayed wwith me this all wwoulda been different
CA: wwe coulda been somethin vvris
CA: twwo bros rulin all of alternias wwaters
CA: it
AG: SH8T TH8 F8CK UP JUST SH8T Y8UR F8CK8NG M8UTH N8VER S8Y AN8TH8R W8RD T8 M8

This time, you block him. God, why the fuck did you think that would be a good idea? Piece of shit motherfucker. You vow here and now you will literally never talk to that guy ever again. Fuck him so much.

You... you kind of need a second after that. You wrap your arms tightly around yourself and count your breaths until the urge to break something or break yourself begins to pass. What the fuck does Eridan know? Who is he to get up in your shit about who you are? The guy couldn't fucking introspect if his life depended on it! He's wrong. He's wrong. You've done a lot of things wrong in your life, but that's not one of them. It's not. It can't be.

It can't be.

You spare a glance to your character sheet. Somewhere past the poison of recent memory sits the soothing balm of that moment of personal genesis. It helps you to stop trembling. You know who you are. Nobody can ever take that from you.

> Contact the one who remains distant.

Might as well ride this circus all the way to its smelly rotten destination. At the very least you can't be hurt any more than you just were. Surely not.

God, you just want someone to talk to.

AG: Hey, Feferi.
CC: Fis)(ska, hi?
CC: Do you need somefin?
AG: I dunno, pro8a8ly. Today's shit and I need *someone* to offload to.
CC: Well, erm. 38/
CC: I don't know if I can reely B-E t)(at person for you?
CC: I mean, I am terribubbly sorry to )(ear t)(at you're )(aving a roug)( time. Conc)(nestly!
AG: 8ut........
CC: I'm not s)(ore it's rig)(t to be talking to you?
CC: A lot of my friends are reely )(urt by w)(at you did, Vriska. And seaing T)(-EM sad makes M-E sad. 38(
AG: Not you too, Feferi! You never even hung out with these people all that much.
CC: T)(at's true, but t)(at doesn't mean I don't still care aboat t)(em, you know?
AG: You don't even know the full story, Peixes, so how can you judge?
CC: Look, I know I said I'm not getting involved in finterpers)(oalnal conflicts, but...
CC: Even objectively, you did just s)(ove two trolls onto the culling list. 38/
AG: Don't say it like that. I feel 8ad enough, and I didn't even have a choice!
AG: It's not *my* fault Tavros couldn't pl8y the game *he* signed up for!
CC: Sea, t)(at's probubbly not the rig)(t attitude to )(ave. You still s)(oald )(ave known better t)(an to keep at it.
AG: You don't even play Flarp, so how could you get it?
CC: I'm not saying t)(at, Vriska!!
CC: I just t)(ink it's perfectly raytional to stop and t)(ink t)(roug)( t)(e consequences of your actions, w)(ic)( you never seam to do.
CC: And t)(at kind of attitude is probably w)(y nobody wants to talk to you anymore.
AG: And what attitude is that?
CC: Sea, I think...
CC: I think your problem, Vriska, is that you're too dangerous. 38(
AG: Dangerous?
AG: Dangerous??

You need to take a second to drum your fingers violently against the desk before you can respond. What the fuck does she mean, dangerous?

AG: And what do you mean 8y that????????
CC: Look, Vriska, I'm not )(ere to argue with you. I s)(ouldn't even reely be talking wit)( you.
CC: I just t)(ink if you want to be a better person, you s)(ould t)(ink aboat being less of a t)(reat all t)(e time.
AG: Oh, so I'm a threat? 8ullshit. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do!
AG: The strong eat the weak! That's how the world works!!!!!!!!
CC: Maybe, but it doesn't )(AV-E to be like that, does it?
CC: You know )(ow I feel about people w)(o perchpetuate t)(e toxic waves of t)(e old world instead of trying to make a better one.
CC: It's disappointing. 38(
AG: Disappointing? Try realistic!
AG: Your pretty ideals 8n't gonna last 8 seconds once you hit matur8ion and the Condesce wipes the floor with you.
AG: At least *I* know I've got a future ahead of me!!!!!!!
CC: I )(ate to pull a low blow on you when you're clearly in a bad )(eadspace, but do you reely, Vriska?
CC: I mean, given t)(at you... and t)(e spaceseagrifters are, well...
AG: ........
CC: T)(is world is gonna c)(ew you up same as me if it gets t)(e c)(ance.
CC: I do t)(ink you can c)(ange, Vriska. If you let go of t)(at cutt)(roat mindset, I reely t)(ink you could be a better person.
AG: I didn't ask for a lecture. *God* you are such a fussyfangs!!!!!!!!
CC: I... I'm not s)(ore w)(at you want from me, Vriska if it's not advice on )(ow to redeem yours)(ellf.
AG: That's........
CC: Do you even know yourself w)(at you want?
AG: I...
CC: If you ever stop to reely t)(ink about yourself, I'd be more t)(an )(appy to )(elp get you back in everyone's good grayces.
CC: But you're too )(urt and angry and confrontational to make any meaningful progress right now, I'm sorry. 38(
AG: That's not fair! You don't get to m8ke that judgment.
CC: Vriska, I R-E-ELY do not want to argue with you.
CC: I )(onestly only answered your message because I'm stuck waiting for t)(e s)(uttlebug to reac)( my )(ive.
AG: You're out somewhere?
CC: ...
CC: Me and a few friends are meeting at t)(at new pier place just outside of )(ornfork.
AG: Which friends?
CC: ...I'm sorry. I t)(ink you already know t)(e answer to your own question.
AG: You're fucking kidding me. All of you????????
CC: Well, no. We didn't invite -Eridan because )(e's too mean and judgy, it's too far out for Nepeta and Gamzee, and Krabkatch refused like )(e refuses everything. And Tavros and Terezi can't make it for, well... obvious reasons.
AG: And I'm in the s8me category as Eridan. Gr8.
CC: It wasn't my call to make! You )(urt a lot of people, Vriska. I don't t)(ink inviting you to anyt)(ing like t)(is is a good idea rig)(t now anyway.
CC: It's not nice, but I t)(ink it's better t)(is way. At least for now.
CC: W)(o knows! Maybe in t)(e future t)(ings won't be as bad for you.
AG: Oh yeah, cause THAT helps.
CC: I feel sorry for you, Vriska. I reely do.
CC: Anyway, my s)(uttle just pulled up. Gotta go. I'll talk later?

And she signs off like that, like you're just an afterthought, a footnote on that entire friendship group. They're out there making something of themselves, and you're trapped here listening to a giant spider sloppily gulp down a bunch of trolls barely two sweeps out of the caverns, a lonely miserable sadsack waste of space. It's all your fault. You ruined everything. Gr8 going Serket, you can add "your entire social life" to your list of fuckups. Doesn't it feel wonderful?

No, it does not. You try to pass it off as cool for maybe eight seconds, but then some kid outside your window starts begging for her life and that's the last straw. The tears explode out of you with the force of cannonfire. Your chest burns a molten core in your torso. You slam your fists against the desk, over and over. You get a splinter between your knuckles and it doesn't help. Nothing helps. You're a dumb stupid stupid STUPID loser who's only good for killing her friends and being lonely and being a huge massive bitch all of the time.

You glance up to your window. A thought you haven't had in a long number of sweeps skitters across the surface of your thinkpan like a bead of oil across a frozen pond. You wish more than anything you could be tempted by it, just to bring it to an end. You're tired of living like this.

Another noise from your computer. Seems somebody else wants to message you.

> Check message.

You navigate to the new window. hoping even though you know it won't be who you want it to be and... oh. Oh fuck no. Not this guy.

> Answer message.

No way. No fucking way. You are not talking to him. Not now. Not ever. Not after everything.

> Answer message.

You said NO!

> Answer message.

VRISKA: Aaaaaaaaugh I'm n8t d8ing this!!!!!!!!

> Answer message.

You acqiuesce anyway, because some part of you deep down is addicted to this spiral of virtual self harm. Some part of you, or rather many parts of you, think you deserve it.

Maybe this guy is exactly the kind of company a person like you deserves to keep.

Rough night?
AG: Fuck off. I meant it when I said I was done with you for good.
Don't be mistaken. Whatever relationship we had before now is well and truly terminated.
Your irrevocable and inevitable betrayal denotes a threshold from which neither of us can return.
Never again will I consider you as my protégée.
AG: Like you didn't a8solutely fucking enjoy 8lowing half my 8ody up.
It is not a matter of pleasure or hesitance but more a matter of knowing this was always going to happen.
Your wounding is essential in the wider schemes of my employer, as I have told you numerous times.
Just as you have disregarded me numerous times.
Though to answer your question: yes, I did gain enjoyment from the microsecond it took me to detonate my cue ball.
You are a terribly unlawful young girl, Miss Serket, and it brought me nothing but satisfaction to correct that insolent streak of yours.
AG: You... still think of me as a girl? ::::O
Why would I not? That is the image you have designated to yourself within the folds of Paradox Space, is it not?
Erasing an identity which is crucial to future events would be counterintuitive to my very nature.
I care only for what you do, not who you choose to become.
AG: That's... reassuring, I think???????
AG: 8leugh, you're still a total fucking creep even when you're 8eing nice to me.
Do not get it mistaken. I still loathe your guts. I am only talking with you out of temporal obligation.
Were it up to me, I would have destroyed you then and there. But it is not, and I did not.
If I were not a being of supreme omniscience and even greater omnipotence, I would ponder why on earth a wretch such as yourself deserves to have any cosmic weight.
AG: W8, what's an "earth"?
A figure of speech. You'll understand when you're older.
AG: Um.......okay. ::::|
AG: Fucking creep!
AG: If you h8 me this much, why are you still talking to me!
As I literally just said. Obligation.
Do not fret, though. We are in our final handful of conversations.
I will contact you a scant few times before our very last correspondence, and then you shall never hear from me again.
I will move onto younger universes and fresher blood.
And you, well... You will spend the remainder of your short life fulfilling the role I have ensured you are destined to fulfil.
AG: 8luh 8luh 8luh GOD you are so full of it tonight!!!!!!!!
AG: Can't you just leave me in peace?
I will not be imposing anything more on you.
The climax of our interactions was your betrayal and my subsequent retaliation.
All the events I care about are well and truly in motion.
Think of these conversations as a kind of afterglow before the sendoff.
AG: Ewwwwwwww. ::::/
Haa haa. Hee hee. Hoo hoo.
AG: Why are you still talking to me then????????
AG: Pretty sure you could just mess8ge "Hi Vriska you're a huge 8itch I hope you die" and call it a d8y to meet your 8ullshit prophecy requirements!
AG: You're just doing this to toy with me!!!!!!!!
You know you are free to leave this conversation whenever you want to.
But both you and I know that is not what you will do. Even those without omniscience can see that.
Even a blind troll in her treehive could see that.
AG: FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!
Did that cut too deep for your liking?
AG: What is the fucking point of you 8eing this cruel?
The same could be said to you, could it not?
Regardless, there is no point.
This is a dubious pocket in the timeline, one where I am not certain this conversation will have any bearing on future events that matter.
There is something...disquieting about the feel of things at present. No doubt the passive effect of forces far beyond this chain of events, and thus my employer's ability to care.
I am merely reminding you of your place.
AG: ...What?

You... you blink. Something about that last line pings some remote corner of your thinkpan. This... this isn't how this conversation went. You're suddenly sure of that. Which means...

Is this a dream? Are you dreaming?

AG: What's going on? You never said that!!!!!!!!
Of course not. I am saying it now. This is not a hard concept to follow, even for you.
AG: No, no. We had a weird exch8nge a8out Terezi, then you said some 8orderline sexual shit to me and then I smashed another 8-8all in frustr8tion.
AG: In fact... you were never mad at all! You told me. In our final convers8tion.
AG: You said you never g8ve a shit a8out me, that my 8etrayal meant nothing.
AG: W8. So...
AG: When am I, really?

Your head hurts for a second, trying to recall. You remember the game, and the humans, and Jack Noir, and... and... Your memories spiral out even further than that, further than you ever thought they would. The meteor. The void. Terezi. The other humans. The sprites. Terezi. John fixing the timeline. Terezi. Battleplans. The ultimate weapon. The furthest ring. Terezi. The other you. Terezi. The final battle with Lord English. Terezi. The collapse of all things. Terezi. Terezi.

And then, after the collapse...

That does not matter. What matters is remembering your place.
Your utter irrelevance in the scheme of things. The truth that you lost your chance to seize what you want long ago.
A washed-up has-been floundering through on borrowed time. Sad, really.
I know what you really want, what you think you're still owed. But you are not.
She is lost to you, forever. The two of you separated by a distance and a barrier so unfathomable it cannot be depicted through language or symbols.
You are little more than a deluded self-important fool if you somehow think you are relevant or useful enough to return to all that matters.
The moment you were claimed by the black hole, all was permanently lost to you.
AG: W... what?
AG: How do YOU
A black hole is something not even a god tier player can survive, you suspect.
AG: No, you're
And even if one could, you highly doubt there'd be any clawing your way out of its event horizon and back into relevance.

Not this time.

It's a fate worse than anything you can imagine, and as it truly sinks in--what is happening to you, how this is ending for you, how this is exactly what you deserve--finally you lose all sense of composure. You flail, spin, and flip in helpless little circles like a bloody rag doll, and

Vriska wakes up screaming. By the time she opens her eyes, her face is slick with tears and her throat is torn raw. It takes her a few moments to come around and take in any more information than the fact she's staring face down at a bright crimson metallic floor.

Eventually she sits up and comes face to face with two trolls looking at her with wide and concerned eyes. One's a stockily-built indigo around her age with blocky horns and a crewcut, the other is an older, muscular burgundy with cracked horns and scruffy facial hair that adult human males wear. Both are wearing bright red jumpsuits with their ancestral sigils printed on the chest.

??????: HEY Y0U F1NALLY ST0PPED SCREAM1NG WH0EVER Y0U ARE
??????: 1T WAS G00D 1 WAS C0NCERNED Y0U WERE G0NNA SPEND ALL DAY 1N AN UNC0NSC10US SHR1EK1NG F1T WH1CH W0ULD HAVE SUCKED
VRISKA: Uh........
??????: also, no offense but your voice was giving me the [FATTEST] of migraines.
??????: i was starting to miss the [UNGODLY] sound of what we hope is just the air vents.
VRISKA: Hi. Sorry.
VRISKA: Who the *f8ck* are you two????????
VRISKA: What the hell is going on????????

She shakily stands up, taking in as much as she can about this tiny cramped red room she's in. Then she looks down at herself, and...

VRISKA: And what the *fresh shit* am I wearing????????

She's got the exact same jumpsuit on as the two randos in front of her. Her Scorpio sign is slapped on huge over the front of her chest. God fuck this outfit, it sticks to her body and shows off enough of her shape that she quite literally wants to vomit on the spot.

??????: dunno. we're as [HOT OUT] of ideas as you.
??????: woke up wearing them. don't know any more than that.
??????: WE CAN TELL Y0U WH0 WE ARE TH0UGH
??????: 1M R0DH1M AND HES AQU1N1
AQUINI: hey.
RODHIM: N1CE T0 MEET Y0U

Vriska rolls her eyes. Just what she wanted. A pair of lameass losers who don't know shit.

VRISKA: I'm Vriska, and I'm a way cooler 8itch than 8oth of you put together.
RODHIM: 0UCH HAHA
AQUINI: see you've got an [INFLATED EGO]. ]:/
AQUINI: we're absolutely gonna get on [WONDERFULLY], aren't we.
VRISKA: No, we're not. I don't give a fuck a8out either of you. In fact, I'm out of here right this second!
VRISKA: L8ter, losers. ::::)

She takes about three steps to the far corner of the room before Rodhim puts a beefy hand on her shoulder.

RODHIM: S0 UH HERES THE TH1NG
RODHIM: Y0U K1NDA CANT LEAVE HERE WHEREVER HERE 1S
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: What?
RODHIM: 0BV10USLY ESCAP1NG WAS THE F1RST TH1NG AQU1N1 AND 1 TR1ED WH1LE Y0U WERE HAV1NG YOUR TRAUMA N1GHTMARE 0R WHATEVER
RODHIM: THERES A D00R SHAPED 1NDENT 1N THE WALL BUT THERES N0 WAY T0 0PEN 1T S0RRY
VRISKA: You're fucking kidding me, right?

Vriska scans the room again. The whole thing is maybe eight feet by eight feet, a perfectly blank metallic red room. Kind of like a factory storeroom, she considers. The only features of note are the aforementioned indent on the far wall that is suspiciously door shaped, an air vent on the ceiling, and a TV screen fixed into the wall on her right. All she can hear is the uneasy rush of air being pushed in from above. She feels an unsteady lurch in her stomach.

VRISKA: Um, what the fuck is this?
AQUINI: like i said, we'd tell you if we knew. but we [DON'T].
AQUINI: we just woke up in here. that's all.
AQUINI: where'd they nab you from, anyway?
VRISKA: ...Na8?
AQUINI: you don't need to repeat everything i say.
VRISKA: I literally have no clue what the hell you're talking a8out.
RODHIM: Y0U KN0W WHAT HAPPENED BEF0RE THE CR0CKER GUYS T00K Y0U
RODHIM: 1 WAS LEAD1NG A GR0UP 0F PR1S0N R10T SURV1V0RS ACR0SS THE BADLANDS 1N SEARCH 0F SUPPL1ES WHEN THEY JUMPED US
AQUINI: me and my friends were hiding out in this bunker about half a day out from nuseattle.
AQUINI: we were following this [REALLY WEIRD] girl when the guys who were [MEANT] to be guarding us put these bizarre devices on us and i ended up here.
VRISKA: Cool, I don't care.
RODHIM: S0 Y0URE N0T G0NNA SAY H0W THEY G0T Y0U?
VRISKA: No. Why the fuck would I w8ste 8reath on a pair of NPCs like you two?
AQUINI: [NPCs]?
VRISKA: Yeah! 8it players who don't mean shit to me.
VRISKA: Anyway, I'm done talking to you. I'm gonna go see if I can find a way out that you two chucklefucks o8viously missed!
RODHIM: BE MY GUEST BUT 1 TH1NK Y0URE G0NNA BE SUPER D1SAPP01NTED

Vriska rolls her eyes at him and proceeds to spend the next fifteen minutes inspecting every square inch of this tiny cramped room. She comes up with nothing. The door won't shift no matter what she does. The TV is so thoroughly embedded into the wall that she can't get a grip on it and is made of some kind of super indestructible material. The vent is too high up for her to reach, and she's overcome with a weird feeling that this is not exactly the best place to be flaunting her fairy wings. Not that it matters. She gets the sense that that wouldn't budge either.

After two more rounds of pointless inspection, she finally comes to a stop in the middle of the room, one eyelid twitching in frustration. Rodhim looks at her helplessly, while Aquini gives a carefree shit-eating smirk.

AQUINI: told you so bro.
VRISKA: Don't fucking call me that.
AQUINI: shit, my bad.

He shrugs placatingly. She shakes her head at him.

AQUINI: but, if you'd have [LISTENED], you'd have known there's no getting out of here from the inside.
AQUINI: gotta wait for [THEM] to come to [US].
VRISKA: Them?
RODHIM: CR0CKERC0RP 0BV10USLY
RODHIM: WE ARE BLATANTLY CAUGHT UP 1N 0NE 0F THE1R EXECUT10N ENTERTA1NMENT FEATURES
VRISKA: Their... what now????????

She does a very good job of brushing off the rising unease inside of her.

RODHIM: Y0U D0NT KN0W?
AQUINI: have you literally been [LIVING UNDER A ROCK] for the last decade?
VRISKA: Sure! For argument's s8ke let's s8y yeah. I have no fucking clue what the hell you two dwee8s are on a8out.
RODHIM: TH1S 1S H0W CR0CKERC0RP D1SSUADES TR0LLS FR0M TAK1NG UP SED1T10N
AQUINI: they basically round up a bunch of trolls on their watchlist and put them through these [BLOODY AND VIOLENT] gameshow type things in an extended kinda televised execution.
AQUINI: you know, be a good troll so you don't end up suffering [HOURS OF TORTURE] that approximately two dozen media conglomerates make [BANK] out of.

He talks nonchalantly, but by the end of his explanation Aquini's gone pale in the face and has a slight tremble to him. Rodhim's jaw is set harsh enough that no doubt his teeth are being scraped down to dust. Vriska, meanwhile gives a helpless frown.

VRISKA: Oh, so kinda like those internet shows the su8juggl8tors in tr8ning did, 8ut less indiscrimin8?
AQUINI: uh
RODHIM: WE HAVE N0 1DEA WHAT HALF 0F TH0SE W0RDS MEAN BUT G0 0N
VRISKA: Right, yeah. Different pl8ce. Different time.
RODHIM: ALS0 1D L1KE T0 G0 0N REC0RD THESE EVENTS ARE JUST AS 1ND1SCR1M1NATE AS WHATEVER 1T 1S Y0URE TALK1NG AB0UT
RODHIM: EVERY0NE KN0WS THEYRE USUALLY SM0KESCREEN EVENTS TARGET1NG L1KE TW0 "C0NTESTANTS" MAX
RODHIM: USUALLY TRY1NG T0 GET S0ME0NE FR0M THE VANTAS REBELL10NS 1NNER C1RCLE T0 SQUEAL L1VE 0N A1R
VRISKA: Yeah, I think I'm starting to get the picture. Ha, it's almost funny.
RODHIM: 1 D0NT SEE H0W
VRISKA: Crocker, the fat hag, is so attached to her human suprem8cy crap that she hasn't even noticed this is a move right out of the Condesce's pl8y8ook! ::::)
AQUINI: uh, sorry if this is weird to ask, but.
AQUINI: are you part of [THE REBELLION]?
VRISKA: What?
VRISKA: What m8kes you think THAT?

She looks at his face and oh no he's actually being earnest.

AQUINI: you're saying things and it just. dunno.
AQUINI: reminds me of words and phrases commander vantas uses on his [HUGE WIDESPREAD] broadcasts.
AQUINI: and you somehow look familiar to me?
VRISKA: Do I?
AQUINI: yeah, like. well. can't place your face. my [GUT FEELING] is you're a minor member of the movement.
AQUINI: you definitely haven't appeared on one of vantas's propaganda films?
VRISKA: I...
VRISKA: Do I *look* like I have anything to do with Karkat's insurrection?
RODHIM: Y0U SAY THAT BUT Y0U KN0W H1S NAME
RODHIM: 1NTEREST1NG
VRISKA: Hey, hop off my 8ulge okay????????
VRISKA: I'm none of your 8usiness, and I've got w8y more important shit to do than 8a88le with a couple of losers.
AQUINI: no, i'm [DEFINITELY] sure i know you from somewhere.
VRISKA: Oh will you *can it* alre8dy!!!!!!!!
VRISKA: All I care a8out is finding the kids I was with, killing whichever fucker put me in here, and then getting my ass out of

*click*

The TV bursts to life in a flash of wavy static, cutting off Vriska's incipient tirade more efficiently than anything else could. Vriska slowly turns her head to the screen, ignoring how her pulse suddenly jumps into her throat.

AQUINI: well, this is new.
RODHIM: ANY0NE ELSE HAVE A SUPER BAD FEEL1NG
VRISKA: Can you two shut the fuck up? Whatever's gonna happen 8n't gonna stop cause you're freaking out like a 8unch of wigglers.

To prove she is cooler and braver than the two of them, she strides closer to the screen. It's at exactly this moment she realises that she no longer has her dice. Her mouth dries up. She refuses to show any of it. Instead, she forces a shark-tooth smirk at the TV.

VRISKA: Come on, show me the fucker who did this.
VRISKA: Let me know exactly whose shit I'm a8out to wreck, cause OH am I ready to wreck some shit. >::::)
RODHIM: ...
AQUINI: ...

The static shifts, almost an impression of an outline. Vriska draws closer, smiles wider, ignores the sweat beading in her scalp, leans in closer still, closer, closer...

DIRKBOT: Hey, contestants. Nice to see you're all finally awake. Took you long enough.

And leaps back with a terrified shriek.

VRISKA: What???????? No, no, he...
VRISKA: HOW THE F8CK C8N IT 8E Y8U!!!!!!!

Maybe it's the residual nightmare talking, maybe it's the hazy concussed memory of the robot she tore to shreds in the middle of the mall, or maybe it's her brain finally reaching its limit of how much psychotic nonsense she can stomach in one sustained burst, but the sight of the robotic imitation of one Dirk Strider is almost enough to make her windpipe seal up on the spot.

DIRKBOT: You guys are gonna have a helluva lot of questions that I don't have the time or inclination to answer, so let's stick to the official briefing.
DIRKBOT: To the majority of you, I have to extend my sincere congratulations. You have been graciously chosen by Crockercorp to assist in a special feature designed to help uphold the stability of our society. We thank you for your service, proud citizens of our fair Troll Kingdom.

The robot gives a military salute that might be mocking, but Vriska can't tell. Her head is still reeling, still trying to understand what the literal shit is going on. The leap from being ambushed in some backwoods mall to... to whatever this is, it's too much. She feels like she stepped one foot wrong and now she's clipped right through the floor to some fucking surrealist alternate dimension.

DIRKBOT: But I said "majority" for a reason.
DIRKBOT: Not all of you have such noble hearts, you see.
DIRKBOT: Of the ten of you gathered here today, two of you, I must regretfully inform, are actually heinous, vicious members of that brutal extermist group Karkat Vantas thinks he can call an insurrection.
DIRKBOT: I know, I know. I'll take a second to let the creeping horror set in. How on earth could you be in the presence of such foul individuals?

He delivers the speech in that smarmy deadpan tone that manages to press all of Vriska's buttons. With every word her hackles rise higher and higher. If she had her dice, she'd have blown this entire fucking building to shreds right now. But she can't do that, so instead she's stuck trading uneasy glances with two trolls she couldn't give less of a fuck about.

DIRKBOT: The next question on your mind will obviously be "but why not just execute the terrorists and have done with it?". Well, contestants, I have a great message from one of our sponsors that should...
DIRKBOT: Nah, I'm just fucking with you.
DIRKBOT: The truth is, Vantas has been annoyingly obsessed with waging a just fight on our benevolent megacorporation.
DIRKBOT: This is simply our reciprocation. If it's a just fight you terrorists want, it's a just fight you'll get.
DIRKBOT: So, without further ado, let me proudly welcome you all to our little game.
DIRKBOT: Crockercorp Entertainment is proud to present...

RUMBLE IN DA DISTRUST PATCH

Some godawful fanfare rushes out of the screen at a volume approximately ten times louder than that of Dirkbot's voice. Rodhim balls his fists. Aquini swallows nervously. Vriska folds her arms and raises one eyebrow.

VRISKA: What.
VRISKA: The fuck.
VRISKA: Is going on???????

The fanfare goes on for way too long, almost making her wince involuntarily at the sheer sensory overload of high frequencies in a shocking crimson room. By the time it stops, she's almost thankful to see Dirkbot's repulsive form on the screen again.

DIRKBOT: RUMBLE IN DA DISTRUST PATCH is our way of showing that we are more than capable of fairness towards you terrorists.
DIRKBOT: The game is a simple one: a battle between the innocent and guilty.
DIRKBOT: If the civilians outfox the terrorists, you guys get to go back to your lives knowing you have helped Crockecorp's cause.
DIRKBOT: Terrorists, if you guys win, we'll let ya walk free right into an all expenses paid for villa in one of Crockercorp's most prestigious gated communities. All your crimes will naturally pardoned.
DIRKBOT: After all, international wartime code dictates any instance of violence involving more than ten individuals to be a combat situation, thus making you eligible for veterans' discharge honors if you walk away alive. In the eyes of the law, you'll have done nothing wrong.
DIRKBOT: Crockercorp hopes this suffices as proof that extermination is not our end goal. All we want is peace.

As he says "peace" he throws up a peace sign. Vriska is starting to find herself feeling more and more irate the more he talks. Her fellow prisoners, however, are having much less of a good time.

AQUINI: this is--
AQUINI: this is deranged. insane. unhinged. how can they
AQUINI: [URP]

Aquini covers his mouth with both hands, clearly in the middle of an attempt to swallow back bile. The guy looks like he's one bit of bad news away from going completely catatonic. Rodhim isn't faring much better. He's squatting down, hyperventilating with his head between his knees.

RODHIM: 0H G0D 0H G0D 0H G0D
RODHIM: 1 CANT
RODHIM: 1M G0NNA D1E HERE 1M G0NNA FUCK1N D1E

Jeesh. What losers. Vriska turns back to the screen, fingers rapidfire tapping against her thigh. Imagine not being able to cope with this kind of scenario. God, they're practically giving her secondhand embarrassment!

DIRKBOT: So, how does all this work?
DIRKBOT: Easy. Since we know not all of you are gonna have squeaky clean legal records, some of you might be shitting bricks thinking this makes you the terrorist in question.
DIRKBOT: Don't worry your pretty little heads. We've marked our targets, easy.
DIRKBOT: Can you all please look at your left wrists.

Begrudgingly, Vriska complies. She rolls up her sleeve to see a metallic wristband with an LCD screen fastened to her. Even though she knows she blatantly shouldn't, she tries to tug it off anyway. She predictably gets nowhere.

DIRKBOT: These ID wristbands will helpfully inform you of your role to play in the game, if you're a civilian or a terrorist.
DIRKBOT: Shortly, eight of you will see the word civilian lit up on the display, and two of you will know yourselves as the terrorists you are.
DIRKBOT: Now, like all good death games, these wristbands are fitted with a nice lethal injection primed to go off if you try to remove it or try to disclose to others your role. Wouldn't want to spoil the fun, would we?

Vriska abruptly pulls her hand away from the wristband. She knows she's immortal, but she doesn't trust the death clock to be on her side this time.

DIRKBOT: With that out of the way, let's get your roles cleared out.
DIRKBOT: And remember, no sharing.
DIRKBOT: In three. Two.

Her wristband pulses. Vriska glances over to it, and, sees the word TERRORIST blinking back up at her.

She can't help it. She barks out a laugh. Of course. Of fucking course. Why the hell would it be anything else? This whole thing is an elaborate assassination attempt from Crocker. That fucking bitch.

Meanwhile, Aquini and Rodhim both look seconds away from fainting as they glimpse their own wristbands that almost certainly read CIVILIAN. Lame.

DIRKBOT: So, now you know who you all are, let's lay out the rules of the game.
DIRKBOT: Once I'm done talking, the doors in your rooms will open, and you'll have free reign in this facility. Before any of you smartasses get any ideas, no, there is no method of escape.
DIRKBOT: From there, your goal is simple: have your team win.
DIRKBOT: Terrorists, you have a simple job: be the last one standing. You will be granted a full return of your strife arsenal once the game starts, which you can use to kill every last civilian like good little terrorists and pay the blood price for your final prize.
DIRKBOT: Civilians, sorry to say but you guys unfortunately do not have any access to violence. Comes with the territory of abiding by the law, I'm afraid.
DIRKBOT: So what do you do to prevent yourselves from being victims of a total epic slaughter, you will ask?
DIRKBOT: You use the one weapon you have access to that these terrorists never will: democracy.
DIRKBOT: This building's central chamber contains a ten-way voting panel. At any time, you guys can call an election, and through the power of majority rule vote out who you think the threat is.
DIRKBOT: There are caveats, though.
DIRKBOT: Civilians, there is every chance you may accidentally vote out one of your own, such is the double-edged blade of democracy.
DIRKBOT: And terrorists, neither of you will know who the other is, so be careful when on the hunt. You never know when your prey might bite back.
DIRKBOT: Once there are either no civilians or no terrorists left, the game is won, and to the winner go the spoils.
DIRKBOT: Hope you all got that down, because I'm not repeating myself.

Vriska swings her head back around to see Aquini and Rodhim staring back at her. Distrust bubbles between the three like an electric pulse. Any one of the three could kill the other. Vriska wonders where the hell Harry, Vrissy and Tavros are and feels a hook tug at the base of her gut. No doubt the second killer out there could easily wipe them out. And if that happens... if that happens...

Her wristband gives another pulse. Suddenly, she feels her strife specibus again. Her dice sit heavy in her pocket. Aquini starts crying. A sudden blast of freezing air rushes in from the vent above. Rodhim takes several uneasy steps back from his companions. Vriska cracks her knuckles. She knows exactly what she has to do. And nobody's going to stop her.

The red door in the corner of the room flings open with the sound of a million klaxon horns.

DIRKBOT: Alright, y'all.
DIRKBOT: Let's get this crazy shit rolling.

Chapter 27: THREE, section ii.

ii.

AMIRA: signal just came in from studio L.
AMIRA: the game started off without a hitch, ma'am. the containment procedures worked.
AMIRA: terrestrial broadcast is due to start within the hour.
JANE: Well, that's a relief! Not that I didn't have faith in your team or anything, hoo hoo. :B

Amira relays the news to Jane as the Crockercorp mothership drifts over NuSeattle's western suburbs. Below, thousands of blessedly ignorant human residents are stopping in the middle of the street to look up and gape hopelessly at the crimson blot over the sun. The rest of the tech crew are busy fielding airspace warnings from the Human Kingdom's central military command, that combat vehicles cannot be seen encroaching on neutral civilian territory. A cowardly wing of a spineless administration. Today, that changes.

It's a pleasant mid-spring morning, the first of its kind after a particularly gloomy stretch of days. Just bright enough and just warm enough to energise you into getting up and going, with the promise of an even warmer and even brighter summer on the horizon. Jane used to love days like this in her city. They would make her feel like she could take on the world. It's very fitting that today is one of these days. It's a sign.

AMIRA: ground cameras have confirmation. the president's limo has just reached the capitol hall, ma'am.
JANE: Wonderful. I was worried for a moment that that man's paranoia had gotten the best of him.
JANE: What's the situation with his personal guard?
AMIRA: looking like he only brought his standard security personnel, ma'am. we're not detecting any further vehicles in the vicinity.
JANE: Excellent, excellent. After all this, he still trusts me, it seems.
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: it seems so, ma'am. i almost feel sorry for him.
JANE: Tut, tut. Don't, Amira.
JANE: This is a necessity that has been a long time coming.
AMIRA: i know, ma'am. i know.

Amira says little as she switches over to Studio L's feed. Jane catches a glimpse of Vriska Serket arguing with some other troll. She quickly averts her eyes. No way is that little bitch going to spoil her day. Jane flexes her freshly-manicured nails against the inside of her palm. No matter what happens there, Vriska is far enough away that she cannot possibly interfere with the plan. All of the major threats are at least a continent away. She needs to stop worrying.

So why is it that she can't seem to settle?

JANE: Stop it. You're going to wear yourself ragged.
JANE: This is going to be fine. It is going to be *fine*.
JANE: You own this world, Crocker! :B

She lightly slaps her cheeks with her hands and looks out of the window. They're cruising slowly enough so as not to set off the defensive missile systems, so they're only just now floating over the arts quarter. Jane looks down at the buildings, trying to fathom the flavour and the personality of what lies below her. She finds she cannot. She never had time for art and all that. It was always the purview of others, of people she has long since cut ties with. The district below matters little to her, and she finds that a surprising relief.

AMIRA: ma'am, a message from studio L.

Jane clenches her jaw and forces a brittle smile to push down the palpitations thinking about that operation causes her.

JANE: Yes?
AMIRA: i'll, er, i'll patch through to your earpiece, ma'am.

Amira flicks a switch and a short buzz of static rings in Jane's ear. A couple of seconds later, a familiar simulacrum of an old, dearly missed voice rings through.

DIRKBOT: Yo, Jane.
DIRKBOT: Dunno if your crew on the ground got the message, but things are proceeding smooth as all heck up here.
JANE: Yes, Dirkbot. My team has kept me remarkably informed. :B
JANE: Is there something you wanted from me?

She hates talking to him. From a tactical standpoint, she knows the psychological advantages that an AI robot copy of Dirk Strider offers, but with every synthesised word out of its mouth this robot reminds her that she is not in fact talking to the real deal. In fact, in her worst moments she almost begins to wonder why on earth she approved this project in the first place. The trauma of years past must be clouding her memory.

DIRKBOT: Just a quick Q, Crockster.
DIRKBOT: I understand the parameters of the game and my role crystal fucking clear, but
JANE: But?
DIRKBOT: But, and I know this is outside of my programmed orders, but... I have to ask anyway.
DIRKBOT: The target that killed my bro. Does she absolutely have to be eliminated using the game's processes?
JANE: ...What is it you're asking of me?

The Dirkbot talking to her is one of two that was built. The first, Crockercorp's pride and joy battlebot, was trained on Dirk's famous combat prowess. The second, internally dubbed the "chatbot", had its AI built upon a synthesised snapshot of the man's brain. In many eerie ways, it feels not like Dirk himself, but rather that old autoresponder of his brought back to the realm of existence. The battlebot wasn't sapient by any stretch, but the chatbot immediately took to referring to the device as its "bro". If Jane's honest, this whole experiment unnerves her.

DIRKBOT: Revenge, my good friend Jane.
DIRKBOT: It is very likely that the target Vriska Serket will disrupt the game's established routines.
DIRKBOT: Running the numbers gives us a whopping fucking 92% chance of this happening.
DIRKBOT: What I am asking is this: when the game goes off the rails, do I have your consent to kill her?
JANE: ...

In these moments is when she's most acutely reminded that this is not in fact Dirk. Strider could be a machiavellian puppetmaster with the best of them, but he was never this cold, this brutal. This robot doesn't know it, but Jane has an elite squad ready to detonate the thing's power core on a moment's notice. She won't take her chances.

DIRKBOT: If it helps my case, it is almost assured that I can give her a Just death.
DIRKBOT: And in the 12% likelihood I cannot, I have means of ensuring a Heroic demise, too. I am more than adequately equipped to kill a god, as you fucking know.
JANE: Ahaha, yes! How could I ever possibly forget that fact!

A bead of cold sweat breaks out across her forehead. Jane dabs at herself with a handkerchief. The airship is crossing over NuSeattle University's business school. Not much further to go.

DIRKBOT: So, back to my question.
DIRKBOT: I know you want her dead, and I know I want to avenge my good fucking bro.
DIRKBOT: I think you'll find this proposition more than adequate.
JANE: Well, I can't exactly lie to you, Dirkbot. Serket could pose a very dangerous thorn in our side. Last thing we want is an immortal troll on our backsides, hoo hoo.
JANE: And, erm, I get the feeling that even if I denied your request, the instant things deviated from parameters you would likely take matters into your own hands anyway.
DIRKBOT: You got me there.
JANE: Well, in that case, I suppose I can give assent to your request.
DIRKBOT: Sweet.
JANE: Just.
JANE: Just remember this is to be a *propaganda* piece, not a snuff piece.
JANE: Use discretion when killing her. We don't want to undermine the message.
DIRKBOT: Then it's agreed.
DIRKBOT: Serket will die.
JANE: I... sure, yes.
DIRKBOT: Anyway. Gotta zip.
DIRKBOT: Think we got a lock on what could be the first blood. Need to get into character.
DIRKBOT: Talk soon, Jane.

Dirkbot hangs up the line. Jane breathes out a shaky sigh of relief. She wonders, genuinely, if the damaged optics would be worth the comfort of just blowing up the entire facility right here and right now. But she's already in too deep with that pie. No choice but to let it rise to fruition.

JANE: Shucks buster, I hate that fucking robot.

She massages her temples. She's had enough of stress migraines these last few weeks. Besides, she'll need a clear head for what is to come.

The ship is now well into downtown, flying past the perpetually-congested inner road. They effortlessly carve through the increasingly thickening smog cloud. It leaves behind a thin film of brownish residue on the windows that almost makes Jane consider the ecological ramifications of this whole outfit, but not quite. She's a businesswoman with a war to win.

AMIRA: eta until landing is four minutes thirteen.
AMIRA: twelve...
AMIRA: eleven...

At the centre of NuSeattle stands Crockercorp HQ, colloquially known as the Crocker Needle, a massive skyscraper that stands ten thousand feet into the air and projects mass corporate broadcasting to the citizens below. It is the crown jewels of this fair city, and is a sight that can't help but bring a tear to Jane's eye. Two miles to the west lies their true destination: the Capitol Hall. It's a sad little neocolonial white domed thing that ostensibly houses NuSeattle's mayor and serves as the judicial centre for the president of Earth C. But today it stands as a crucial symbol for the fight ahead.

The airship slowly lands on the massive parking lot across from the Capitol Hall, crushing a few helpless cars as it does so. The mayor stands in the entrance of the building, flanked by a handful of armed guards. Jane slaps on her winning smile.

AMIRA: touchdown complete.
AMIRA: the fleet is in position, ma'am. eyes on every quadrant.
AMIRA: feeding through to your earpiece. on your command.
JANE: Of course. Thank you, Amira.
AMIRA: ma'am.

She makes her way from the ship's bridge to the exit door, a short walk down a reinforced side hallway. When she gets there, she finds her own bodyguard crew on standby.

BODYGUARD: MADAM CROCKER.
BODYGUARD: WE ARE IN POSITION.
JANE: Wonderful.
JANE: Open the door. It's time we made contact.

One of the guards hits the switch that slides the large door open and deploys a staircase to ground level with a hiss. Warm city air rushes in in a futile attempt to overtake the ship's air-conditioned currents. Jane pats the handgun concealed in her blazer. She's always been a healer, but...

Sometimes, you need to cauterise for the greater good. This world is in peril. Jane crocker stands as the only one who can save it.

JANE: Let us move.

As Jane and her party move down the road, so too do the mayor and his gang stride across the street to meet her. The street is bright, warm, empty. A few passersby watch nervously from the intersection. One tries to film with their phone, but a Crocker dronebot quickly sends them on their way. There are no witnesses to this pivotal moment.

JANE: Mr Mayor. It is an honor.

Jane gives a firm, strong half bow. Enough to adhere to protocol, but enough for him to know just where he ranks in her world.

The mayor, a surprisingly younger man than she'd assumed, returns the gesture with a stern frown. He scratches his beard, still more brown than grey. It's the expression of a man who's gained ideas far above his station.

MAYOR: What are you playing at, Crocker?
MAYOR: We've been happy to let you play warmonger on the condition you kept it out of our backyard.
MAYOR: But this... I think we would all immediately like an explanation as to why your entire fleet has our city surrounded.

Jane blinks, all steel sweetness.

JANE: Where's the president? I was under the assumption he was to be part of this little meeting.
MAYOR: He's safely inside. Ready to receive you if our preamble goes well.
JANE: Hmph! If I didn't know better, I would say you're regarding me with distrust, Mr Mayor.
MAYOR: Only the appropriate amount of respect with which to address the woman who has incarcerated nearly five percent of my city's population in her private prisons.
MAYOR: Ma'am.

A warm wind passes between the two of them. They are only a few feet apart, yet feel both infinitely closer and infinitely further away. Jane's hand twitches. Just to be sure. Just to be sure.

JANE: Hm. I do not think I appreciate the insinuations you are making towards me, your generous--and immortal—benefactor.
MAYOR: Be that as it may, I swore an oath that goes above your bankrolling. You're coming dangerously close to crossing a line, Crocker.
JANE: Baroness Crocker! :B
MAYOR: Crocker.

To his credit, the man does not balk. Very few people have ever had the guts to stand up to her like this. The thrill of power it inspires in Jane sits sour on her tongue. Somewhere, some tiny part of her feels like she's doing the wrong thing. But it's only a tiny part.

JANE: You slight me. I thought this was a good faith meeting.
MAYOR: It is. It is also a warning.
MAYOR: Think carefully where you point your toys, Crocker, or you might find yourself losing government support.
JANE: Heh-hem! And who are you to make these demands of me?
JANE: Pardon the insult, but you are little more than a domestic bureaucrat. What do you know of power?
MAYOR: Enough to trust and repeat the words of the president when I hear them.
JANE: The... president?
MAYOR: He's been keeping a close eye on your little war, and he, like many of us, is concerned at the cost.
JANE: Well, I'm fairly certain I can more than make up for any financial deficit--
MAYOR: That is not the point. The issue is that you are burning through lives at an alarming rate. Do you know how many casualties the Human Kingdom has sustained?
JANE: Erm, no. Not off the top of my head.
MAYOR: Tens of thousands. A month. You're killing nearly half a million humans a year. This is not sustainable.
MAYOR: And to make matters worse, the troll insurgents are drawing closer and closer to our territory.
MAYOR: You know the rules. The minute this spills onto human soil, it becomes the human government's business.
JANE: ...

She breathes. Very slowly and very deeply. This is not at all the situation she expected to walk into. But it's okay. It's fine. She still has this under control. She does. She does.

MAYOR: You might think it does, but Earth C does not exist to support a blood feud between two warring gods.
MAYOR: There are honest to god human beings who you're dangling in the crossfire. Needlessly.
MAYOR: Tell us, Crocker. Where does this end? What does victory look like for you?
MAYOR: Do you even know that?
JANE: ...
JANE: Of course I do. My aim, as it has been from day one, has been peace and prosperity on Earth C.
JANE: To allow free, sovereign economic growth in every corner of the world, to let any old fool with a business have a fair shot at luxury. That is all I have ever wanted.
JANE: Believe me, I am deeply concerned with the price we seem to have to pay. Wartime profits are a terribly difficult pill to swallow. Every life spent is a wound on my heart. I carry them all on my shoulders for the sake of a better future.
MAYOR: ...Even your kismesis?
JANE: Come again?

Jane blinks at the mayor. The mayor blinks at Jane. A few blocks away, a siren rises up and peters out. The rush of distant traffic and the rustle of wind through the trees are one and the same. In this space, time is dilated past any measurable point. Seconds tick by with the agony of years. Every person in this twelve-man standoff has a gun.

MAYOR: Your kismesis, beloved worldwide spiritual leader Gamzee Makara.
MAYOR: The man who was summarily executed by the insurgents less than a week ago. Ringing any bells yet?
JANE: Oh! Right. Yes. What happened to Gamzee is a downright travesty, and I plan to provide a thorough disposal of his remains once we regain access to Outglut^2.

She's starting to sweat a little. With every word she gets the sense she is making the wrong move, that she might have misread the whole thing. She casts an idle glance to the five men surrounding the mayor. Do they have the conviction to kill her in a Just way? Her skin bristles at the thought of dying.

MAYOR: The troll you spent the last fifteen years with means that little to you?
JANE: Pardon?
MAYOR: See, from where we're standing, it looks more like you're spearheading a rampant ethnic cleanse rather than restoring public order.
MAYOR: It's getting harder to suppress information on what's exactly going on in your little Cake Mills. And we are starting to wonder if supporting your campaign is worth it.
MAYOR: The government is beginning to think of you as a threat, Crocker. You're not helping your case.
JANE: Me? A threat? After I *personally* helped to get these people their jobs?
MAYOR: You're a good ruler, Crocker, I'll grant you that. But you know nothing of governing.
MAYOR: There is no prosperity to be found on scorched earth, which seems to be your forte more and more.
MAYOR: Or are we going to forget about your little experiments in the Consort Kingdom?
JANE: It seems Mr President is very keen to keep tabs on me, hoo hoo!
JANE: I hope he appreciates what a state of war entails if he's to pass moral judgments.
MAYOR: A war you instigated, Crocker.
MAYOR: The only issue concerning the trolls before you stepped in was that of their reproductive regulation. There was little tinder in that to be ignited.
MAYOR: And now you've permanently damaged relations between the Human and Troll Kingdoms in a way we may never recover from.
MAYOR: What is your solution to that? More televised executions? More pastry gulags?
JANE: That's unfair.

She feels the first thrill of rage seep under her skin. After all she's done for this world, this man and this government have the gall to attack her? Hypocrites. All of them. They deserve what's coming their way.

JANE: All I did I have done for Earth C. I am working to protect our people from an unprecedented threat.
JANE: Or tell me, would you rather the alternative? Vantas and his barbarian mob ravaging our nation? Those warmongering insects turning this planet into the second coming of Alternia?
JANE: I am preserving what matters most. I cannot stand by and passively wait for the wholesale eradication of my species.
JANE: If you lot cannot see that, then...
JANE: Well, are any of you fit to govern at all? :B
MAYOR: W
MAYOR: What do you mean by that.

He takes a step back, a trained survivor registering the blood in the water before his conscious mind even understands what it is that he's sniffing. She sure did pick them well. It's almost a shame.

JANE: For years, I have stood by and watched this government fail to protect its population. Even in the midst of war, you are content to stand by and let the enemy grow in power, threaten the oblivion of our people.
JANE: I cannot in good conscience let the human race suffer any longer.
JANE: It pains me to say this, truly, but I think the Human Kingdom is long overdue an intervention.
MAYOR: You're
JANE: Before you say anything, remember this.
JANE: My most expensive warships have the city surrounded. With a single command, I can bring more hell on you than you could ever conceive.
JANE: So, you can either stand aside and allow a peaceful transfer of power to occur, or...
JANE: Well, I'm not a woman to toy around with veiled threats, and you're a sharp man. We both understand what the other option is.

The mayor tenses up, looks Jane in the eye. There's a moment, a fleeting, desperate moment, where Jane thinks it might be possible to get through today without any bloodshed. A car horn honks. A tree bows in the wind, casting dappled shadows over the asphalt. Total stillness, total silence. A final yawn before fate crunches into place, one final fragile opportunity for another way out.

Then the mayor brings his wrist communicator to his mouth and yells

MAYOR: NEGOTIATIONS FAILED INITIATE LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL ENGAGE CODE

and that's really a darn tootin' shame. She'd grown fond of the man.

Jane withdraws her handgun, and in one swift practiced motion plants two bullets in the man's skull. Her guards easily take care of the rest of the rabble. One of her men takes a hit to the throat and drops like a gurgling sack of bricks, but she pays it no mind.

Across the way, metal shutters slam down over the Capitol Hall's windows. A low siren drones out from somewhere unseen.

Calmly, slowly, Jane brings her hand to her earpiece.

JANE: That ended like I thought it would.
JANE: Amira, dear, give the signal. We're going this the hard way.
AMIRA: are you sure, ma'am?
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: of course. at once.

Behind her, the mothership shifts and groans as its mounted cannon rises up from its rooftop compartment. It's a huge barrel the size and scope of at least two buses, with the Crockercorp logo emblazoned on the side like a solar flare. You always keep your best weapons closest to your chest.

The cannon sends out a low, grinding hum that makes the ground rattle and brings the stench of fried ozone to Jane's nostrils. She never did read up on the potential radiation threat of the cannon, but it never really mattered to an immortal like her. Hopefully her bodyguards get off lightly.

AMIRA: cannon primed.
AMIRA: target locked.
AMIRA: northside fleet already encountering resistance.
AMIRA: you need to decide right now, ma'am. what is your order?
JANE: Let her rip.

Amira gives no signal back. One minute later, the cannon whirs out a discordant note and fires a neon white laser pulse of irradiated energy right at the fortified Capitol Hall. The building melts to slush within seconds. By the time the cannon stops firing, it's managed to burn a hole through three blocks worth of buildings. Green flames dance up from the rubble and into the clear blue sky.

It hurts to see her own city wounded by her own hand like this, but this is the only way to save everyone.

JANE: All fleets, mobilize.
JANE: Expect heavy retaliation. Do not give them leeway.
JANE: Leave none standing. Give them hell.

She signs off and turns back to face her bodyguards. One of them has covered the poor sap who took the bullet with a cloth. They stand steadfast and stoic. Jane feels her heart hammering a rhythmless beat in her chest, her throat, her head. She made her choice. For better or worse, today she has decided the course of history.

JANE: Well, gentlemen.
JANE: Once again we find ourselves at war.

Behind them, NuSeattle starts to burn.

The call comes through just as Jane steps through the doorway back into the safety of the mothership.

DIRKBOT: Jane.
DIRKBOT: We've got your delivery ready.
JANE: Wonderful. Your timing couldn't have been better if you'd tried!
DIRKBOT: Ok.
DIRKBOT: So. On your word.
JANE: Of course. At once.
JANE: Get the transportalizer ready.
JANE: Today is the gift that keeps giving, hoo hoo! :B

The ship's door slides shut behind her. She keeps that smile plastered on her face. Everything is going to turn out wonderfully. It has to.

Chapter 28: THREE, section iii.

iii.

Vrissy immediately figures out that everything about this entire game is rigged as fuck bullshit. It's not hard. Somewhere between the excess theatrics and the robot clone of deceased Earth C god Dirk Strider, it all begins to reek.

What really sets her off, though, is the glowing wristband on her left arm that loudly and privately pronounces that she is a TERRORIST, by whatever definition the word has inside this crappy gaudy crimson nightmare structure. Because, if this really is a two on eight battle like the robot likes to make out, then it doesn't make fucking sense. It's blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes and/or a brain that one of the two terrorists has got to be Vriska, so why the hell would Vrissy be the other one?

She frowns at the wristband with a sigh, before rolling the sleeve of her jumpsuit back down over it. There's something gnawing at her, but she can't quite place it.

VRISSY: What is the Point of this????????
VRISSY: Like, if Crocker Wanted To...
HARRY: vris, you're walking off and mumbling to yourself again.

Vrissy pauses when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She spins around to see Harry Anderson's tense but warm smile inches from her face. He too is dressed in one of those ugly-ass jumpsuits; the only difference is his chest is devoid of any sigil. He has his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Vrissy quickly glances at his wristband. The display is turned off.

VRISSY: Sorry, Harry. I got thinking again.
VRISSY: Something is Horri8ly Wrong here, and I'm *this* close to figuring out What.
HARRY: well, just. stick close, ok?
HARRY: we don't know a thing about the other people and places here, except that presumably vriska is in here too. but even that...

He frowns. Vrissy shakes her head.

VRISSY: No, she's Here.
HARRY: what makes you so sure?
VRISSY: Not a Lick of this m8kes sense without Vriska 8eing here.
VRISSY: Also, I have this vi8e.
HARRY: a vibe?
VRISSY: Yeah! Like, I just Know For A Fact Vriska has to 8e here somewhere.
VRISSY: I dunno. After everything we've 8een through I think it might 8e Wise to trust my Instincts. ::::)
HARRY: geez. you get one heroic moment and suddenly you're hot shit.
VRISSY: Implying I wasn't Already Hot Shit 8efore now.
HARRY: haha damn you got me there.

Harry scratches the back of his head and blushes like a fucking anime dork. The way this boy is completely infatuated with her might be the most adorable thing Vrissy has ever seen. Like, it's definitely up there with shit like puppies and other assorted small infant animals. Vrissy decides to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.

LEMNIS: can y∞ kids maybe not run off t∞ have sloppy makeouts?
LEMNIS: i'm not the tactical guy but even i understand that being alone is maybe s∞per the worst thing y∞ c∞ld d∞ right now.

The third member of their party, Lemnis, appears from around the corner behind them. He's the other one that woke up in the same room as Harry and Vrissy, some short goldblood guy who's somewhere around twenty years old. He's harmless enough, if a little naive-seeming. Right now, the friendly smile he wore around the two when they first woke up is completely replaced with a cautious frown.

HARRY: shit, yeah. sorry.
HARRY: didn't mean to worry you or anything.
LEMNIS: no it's fine. i'm just kinda jumpy y∞ know?
LEMNIS: any second we c∞ld run int∞ someone else and there's no way of knowing whether or not they're gonna kill us.
HARRY: ...you actually think that's really gonna happen?
LEMNIS: look harry i respect that y∞'re c∞l but y∞'re also young and privileged and h∞man so y∞ don't really know the full extent of what crockercorp can and will d∞.
LEMNIS: the shit i've seen on the media feeds w∞ld give anyone ptsd haha.
LEMNIS: i just think considering the facts it w∞ld probably be an absol∞tely horrible idea if we bumped int∞ one of the killers. it really w∞ld not end well.

As he talks he rubs his right hand over his left wrist nervously. Vrissy can't take her eyes off it. A half-formed question is percolating in her brain, frustratingly close to entering the realm of language, but also so far away.

VRISSY: Anyway, I Think we should keep moving.
VRISSY: It would still 8e in Our 8est Interests to find the Others.
VRISSY: 8 out of ten Odds that whoever we run into is S8fe. I think that's a 8et worth T8king. ::::)
HARRY: god you don't need to imitate her, you know.
VRISSY: Harry, Can It or I'm Rescinding that kiss.
HARRY: yeah, yeah. whatever. i'd like to see you try. ;)
LEMNIS: y∞'re both flirting again.
VRISSY: Shit, yeah. Let's Go.

They've already been going for nearly half an hour since Dirkbot opened their door and gave them free roam. That time thus far has consisted of following a winding path of constantly turning hallways lined with absolutely nothing but red. At least two times one of the three has become convinced that they've taken a wrong turn, but Vrissy's gut feeling is they're still moving in the direction they need to go.

HARRY: another vent.
LEMNIS: and that's number six.

For some reason, the two boys have started counting each ceiling vent they pass by. Vrissy's not sure what the point of it is, other than maybe that it's literally the only thing for them to see that isn't endless red or each other. Each one uniformly sighs out a rush of cool, artificially filtered air. It's another thing that stumps Vrissy. This facility is large enough that this much ventilation is excessive for the ten people (plus maybe one robot) contained within. Also, the air in the stretches of hallways without vents is nowhere near warm or still enough to explain the intensity with which they're operating. The power bill for this place must be through the roof.

The hallway takes a sharp ninety degree left turn. Another stretch of dimly-lit red. No vents. Nothing but the sound of their shoes clanking against stifled metal that doesn't echo. It's claustrophobic and featureless. There's no telling how far they've walked, how big this place truly is. It's a totally obfuscating sensory overload. Every now and then Vrissy has to run her hand along the wall just to make sure she's still physically here. Right turn. Stretch of red. Vent. Right turn. Stretch of red. Left turn. Left turn. Vent. Stretch of red.

LEMNIS: number nine... right there.

Lemnis points up at the ceiling as he doubles over and gasps for breath. The conditioned air runs through his sweat-damp hair. Harry wipes at his brow. Vrissy leans against the wall, feeling the beginnings of an ache in her legs.

LEMNIS: h∞ boy i'm tired out.
HARRY: yeah... damn. this place really zaps you huh.
HARRY: kinda weird actually though isn't it?
VRISSY: What do you Mean?
HARRY: i mean, like.
HARRY: we can't have been walking for that long. i'm a shit judge of distance but i'll be damned if we've covered even a mile.
HARRY: which... that's nothing??
HARRY: but shit... if i don't feel like i've scaled a fucking mountain...
LEMNIS: oh so it's y∞ t∞? i just thought i was horribly out of shape haha.
VRISSY: Huh...

Vrissy lifts one leg up, then plants it back down on the floor. She feels the strain on her muscles almost immediately. Way more than it should do, given the level of exertion the task requires and how much exercise she's already done. In fact...

She quickly pushes herself away from the wall. A wave of intense vertigo rushes over her for a few short seconds and she nearly loses her balance. It passes as quickly as it comes.

VRISSY: Ok, there's Definitely something Fucky up with this pl8ce.
VRISSY: No W8y should we 8e this tired this quickly.
VRISSY: Also, anyone else feeling Constantly Lowkey Off 8alance?
LEMNIS: now that y∞ mention it kinda yeah?
LEMNIS: it's like
LEMNIS: ok this is weird t∞ describe sorry
LEMNIS: but my center of gravity's gone all strange.
LEMNIS: y∞...
LEMNIS: y∞ don't think they put some kinda chemicals int∞ us d∞ y∞?
VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: I mean, it's as Plausi8le a theory as any.
HARRY: i dunno.
HARRY: i mean, my body physically feels fine on the inside?
HARRY: like, wouldn't we be feeling some other effects by now?
VRISSY: Could 8e something Slow Acting. Idk. We're just Spit8alling here.
HARRY: yeah.
HARRY: god i wanna get out of this place.

They all take a couple more minutes to catch their breaths, then carry on down the endless-seeming hallway. It's all the same load of nothing, so much red that Vrissy has to rub her eyes to keep them from blurring. She finds herself almost thinking the seams between the metal panels are something of value more than once. Her legs quickly start burning again. Now, every time they go through a ventless stretch, it feels more like her lungs have to work just a little harder. She starts regarding each vent they pass by with an almost reverence.

Eventually, after who the fuck knows how much walking, they encounter something new. The hallway forks in two directions. Down the left path is more endless hallway nightmare hell, and down the right...

VRISSY: Hey, that's a Stairc8se.

The stairs lead down and around to somewhere out of sight. This is both incredibly helpful for Vrissy's mental map of the place and incredibly useless.

HARRY: so we know we're on an upstairs floor at least.
HARRY: damn this place is built weird.
LEMNIS: this is essentially a tort∞re chamber i think that might be the point.
LEMNIS: psychological warfare and the like.
LEMNIS: commander vantas had us drilled on recognizing these tactics.
HARRY: ...
VRISSY: ...
LEMNIS: what?
VRISSY: Sorry, no. You just said "Commander Vantas", Didn't You?
LEMNIS: erm.

Lemnis anxiously flits his eyes to one side, but not before looking down at his wristband. Vrissy gets that funny feeling again, but it pales in comparison to the other elephant in the room.

HARRY: holy shit, you're with the rebels?
LEMNIS: i
VRISSY: Did you Ever Meet My Moms???????? ::::O
LEMNIS: y∞'re
LEMNIS: wait wait wait
LEMNIS: Y∞ TW∞ are...?
LEMNIS: y∞'re the kids!

All three of them gape at each other in belated recognition. Vrissy immediately breaks the tension by laughing.

VRISSY: Hahahahahahahaha MAN I'm So Dense!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: You Literally Told Us they took you from Outglut^2 and I Still didn't connect the dots!
LEMNIS: i mean i did keep it kind of vague because this is precisely the kind of place y∞ DON'T share that kind of info.
LEMNIS: but given that y∞ tw∞ are wh∞ y∞ are i guess there's no point in keeping my mouth shut.
VRISSY: So, Were You
LEMNIS: funnily enough yes.
VRISSY: You don't even Know What I was going to ask!
LEMNIS: y∞ were gonna ask if i'd ever met commander vantas it kind of felt like the obvious thing.
LEMNIS: which yeah i was act∞ally right there with him when they took me.
VRISSY: Holy Shit!!!!!!!!
LEMNIS: i mean far be it from me t∞ dissuade y∞r hero worship but when y∞'re around him long enough turns out he really is just some guy.
LEMNIS: a guy wh∞ did incredible things but not some insane mythical fig∞re.
LEMNIS: he bought me lunch on my ∞rientation after i accidentally dropped my ration. he's just a regular nice kind of c∞l.
VRISSY: 8ut he's still the 8adass Hero of the Re8ellion!
LEMNIS: yeah he does take his job s∞per seriously.
LEMNIS: there was a gunfight bef∞re i was taken and honestly he is scary efficient when it comes down t∞ it.
VRISSY: Hell Yeah!

Lemnis shakes his head and smiles in that weary patronising way. Vrissy feels herself bristle despite it.

LEMNIS: i mean y∞'re totally free t∞ have this image of him in y∞r head but don't be surprised when the reality is different.
VRISSY: So... we're actually gonna Meet Commander Vantas For Real? And he's gonna Personally See all the Cool Shit we've done????????
LEMNIS: if we get out of all this alive almost definitely. this is the kinda incident that he is totally all over.
VRISSY: So Cool!! ::::D
LEMNIS: haha well.
HARRY: vris i think this constitutes as cringe.
VRISSY: How the Hell can 8eing excited over the Re8ellion 8e cringe????????
HARRY: eh, whatever. you can have your moment. what's it matter to me.

Harry shrugs and glances down both ends of the hallway.

HARRY: so. which way do we go?
HARRY: i know the glaringly obvious solution is to go down the stairs, but doesn't that kinda seem TOO obvious?
HARRY: i wonder if there isn't actually something further down the hallway...

He takes three steps to the left, craning his head up to look around the hallway, when Vrissy's head erupts in flaming agony.

VRISSY: AAAAAAAAUGH

Her skull feels like it's going nuclear; her brain feels like it's swelling to burst with acidic magma. She clutches her hands to her temples and drops to her knees. She can't really say what happens in the real world after that.

All she can see is a hazy yet crystal clear image of Harry face-down in a dark corner, crumpled over with a set of knives sticking out of his back. A figure stands a few feet away from him, and on the ground the blood, the blood--

Vrissy staggers back against the wall as her body starts to tremble. Every part of her is an overheating conduit for this vision. She has no idea what's going on. It's scaring her to fucking death. All she knows is it hurts, everything hurts, and Harry will die if he turns left, the blood, so much blood--

Then it passes just like that. Vrissy's left sitting with her knees hunched up to her chest, sweat rolling down her body. Her lungs strain trying to catch her breath. Her head is swamped in the aftershocks of a brain spasm migraine from hell, and--

She wipes her top lip and comes away with a thick smear of cerulean dribbling from her nostrils. She leans her head back and sniffs in as hard as she can.

VRISSY: 8leugh.
HARRY: holy shit vris!! are you ok??
LEMNIS: hey i don't think that's the right way t∞ deal with a nosebleed.
VRISSY: 8leuuuuuuuugh.
VRISSY: No8ody talk. I think my 8rain was Just Shoved through a 8lender.

To their credit, they both wait until the nosebleed slows to a stop and Vrissy looks at them with clearer eyes. Her stomach refuses to stop lurching.

HARRY: what the hell was that?
VRISSY: I Don't Know! I Just...
VRISSY: Had this Really Intense vision.
LEMNIS: a vision? what kind?
VRISSY: Of you Dying, Harry.
HARRY: wait, what???

Harry's eyes go wide and he blanches. He points his index finger to his own chest like a fucking dork, like there could still possibly be some other Harry whose death Vrissy is discussing.

VRISSY: Fuck, I...
VRISSY: I think if you Go Down the left side you're going to Die.
HARRY: seriously?
VRISSY: Would I 8e 8ullshitting you This Hardcore in This Specific Situation?!
VRISSY: It felt So Real, You were just there, Dead, and the 8lood, oh god the 8lood

She has to pause to stop herself from dry-heaving. Harry looks helplessly to Lemnis, who can only shake his head in return.

VRISSY: Look, T8king the left path is a 8ad Idea. Trust me. Or trust Whatever the fuck that vision Was.
VRISSY: Haha, is this a Thing Now? I sure hope the Fuck Not.
HARRY: oh my god??
HARRY: what about the stairs? are they even safe?
VRISSY: Well I can Think A8out those without my 8rain trying to go Supernova on Me so I'll fucking T8ke It.
HARRY: fuck i don't wanna die.
LEMNIS: either way i think we need t∞ keep m∞ving if we want any chance of getting out of here.
LEMNIS: i think "no immediate premonitions of horrible death" is the best we're getting.
HARRY: ...

Harry frowns and hugs himself like a teen who's been really and truly made aware of his mortality for the very first time. Vrissy almost feels sorry for him, if it weren't for the fact her body nearly combusted trying to convey the warning. She shakes her head and slowly stands up. Her legs have gone all weak, but after a few paces back and forth she's mostly confident she's not about to fall down.

Lemnis is the first to start descending the stairs. Vrissy follows in close second, while Harry takes up the rear. As they walk, he talks.

HARRY: hey. you doing better?
VRISSY: Pro8a8ly. The 8est I'm getting in Here, anyway.
HARRY: ha, that's good.
VRISSY: And You?
HARRY: you mean other than being scared shitless who the fuck knows how many times in one sitting?
VRISSY: Lmao, Yeah. Other Than That. ::::)
HARRY: well, i, uh, think i'm doing fine?
VRISSY: That's Good.
HARRY: ...
VRISSY: ...

The staircase descends for a while. Vrissy tries to keep a loose count, but gives up after they pass the eightieth step. Behind her, Harry lets out a shaky sigh.

VRISSY: ...
HARRY: ...
VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: ...I'm Sorry if I scared you.
HARRY: huh?
VRISSY: T8h, I understand the Vision a8out as much as you Pro8a8ly Do.
VRISSY: Seeing you dead really Freaked Me Out Too! So I really didn't want to t8ke any chances.
HARRY: no, it's. it's cool.
HARRY: i don't blame you for whatever that was.
HARRY: seems we're attracting a hell of a lot of weird shit these days, heh.
VRISSY: You can Fucking S8y That again.
VRISSY: Like, we haven't even had the Time to Unpack whatever happened in Cavalreap! We can't 8e having Even More 8ullshit dumped on us!
HARRY: wonder if this is how our parents felt, back in the day.
VRISSY: ::::?
HARRY: like, all this shit happening so fast you barely have time to breathe before your head starts spinning.
HARRY: did your moms ever talk to you about the game they played?
VRISSY: Not Really. They 8oth wanted to put it in the past and 8e happy with the Life They Have Now. I also think they had a 8unch of Unaddressed Trauma that M8de it kinda Hard For Them to talk a8out it.
VRISSY: Didn't stop me from Researching The Lore on my own though. :::;)
HARRY: well, my mom did. a little. after the divorce.
HARRY: i guess she was lonely? it was just me and her in that shitty gated community most of the time so we really only had each other.
HARRY: anyway she told me how it felt. how there was always something else going on, some other crazy exciting thing happening to distract you from the nightmare you just went through.
HARRY: like, there was a point where she and dad saw all their friends die and had to literally reboot the timeline.
VRISSY: Yeah I think the Scholars call it the Gr8 G8me Over?
HARRY: whatever it's called, the second they were reunited with everyone they were thrown into a crazy set of wild boss battles before they had time to reflect on any of what just happened. never any time to stop. always something bigger and flashier out there.
HARRY: what really shocked me was that my mom said a lot of the time she actually misses it. not the traumatizing stuff, but always being so caught up in everything that you don't get the chance for it to sink in.
HARRY: when i look back at it, i think all those years of trauma were what pushed dad to be how he was. i dunno.
VRISSY: ...Huh.
HARRY: shit, sorry. i'm just rambling.
HARRY: my point is... i dunno. all this is exciting and cool and fast, but what happens if it keeps going? what happens to us at the end of it?
HARRY: i don't wanna stop one day and have several tons of baggage catch up with me all at once. i don't wanna end up like them.
VRISSY: Nah, I Get It. It's why I Wanna 8e more like Vriska. She's Handling it Super Well.
HARRY: is she?
HARRY: i mean, isn't it more that she hasn't had the chance to stop yet? barely a few months have passed for her since the universe got made.
HARRY: who knows what's gonna happen when she crashes.
VRISSY: ...
HARRY: i'm so fucking afraid that that's what's gonna end up happening to us. that this action is gonna tear us apart.
HARRY: or that we all die before we even get that chance, haha.
VRISSY: Harry, we're not Going To Die.
HARRY: how can you be sure?
VRISSY: I'm Not. 8ut I'm sure as fuck gonna do my 8est to avoid that.
VRISSY: The Universe can give Me Spooky Haunting visions all it likes. I can fight. I won't Let the Worst Happen.
VRISSY: So Harry you have Nothing to Worry A8out. I'm here. 8n't no8ody who can T8ke 8oth Of Us. ::::)
HARRY: ...
HARRY: heh. thanks, vris.
HARRY: i appreciate it.
LEMNIS: HEY KIDS! Y∞ TW∞ MIGHT WANNA L∞K AT THIS!!

The shout comes from further down the stairs. Vrissy and Harry must have gotten slowed down talking. They hurry down the final fifty or so steps left in the staircase and find Lemnis standing in a large, spacious room.

VRISSY: What's going on?
LEMNIS: the thing in the middle of the r∞m.

Unlike the hallways, this room is barely lit at all. The red walls and floor look more like dried rust, like shrivelled meat. Just being in here gives Vrissy a horrible feeling. She follows Lemnis's pointing finger to the room's centre.

VRISSY: What the fuck is That?
LEMNIS: hey don't wander off on y∞r own!

Vrissy heads over to the middle of the room to get a closer look. There is a series of Crocker red debate-style podiums lined up in a perfect circle, all equidistant from one another. Each one has a tablet computer embedded onto the surface. Vrissy taps at one but nothing happens.

HARRY: this is weird.
HARRY: anyone else getting super fucked up vibes?

In the centre of the ring is a raised triangle-shaped platform about six feet in length. The words "DEMOCRACY CHAMBER" are printed on top of it. Vrissy pauses in front of it. Somehow, she gets the sense that stepping on it would be a very bad idea.

VRISSY: The hell...?

She steps away from the platform and glances around the rest of the room. It's a fucking massive space, easily the size of two or more warehouses. There's some kind of inert light fixture all the way on the ceiling. There are four entryways into the room, one in each corner. That's it. Vrissy takes in the scope of the room one more time, then cups her hands around her mouth.

VRISSY: HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
LEMNIS: what are y∞ d∞ing!!!

She screams it at the top of her lungs, then pauses. The shout does not echo. She feels like it should echo given the dimensions of this place. Then again, looking back, Lemnis's shout didn't echo either. Something is very weird here, and it frustrates her to no end that she can't figure out what.

VRISSY: Ugh, this is so frustr8ting! XXXX|
VRISSY: What the Hell Is Up With All Of This?!?!?!?!
HARRY: dunno. isn't everything here screwy?
VRISSY: That's Not What I mean. I'm doing a Shit Jo8 of Expl8ning. It's like... it's like...
VRISSY: The *Essence* of this Pl8ce, it's--
??????: [S] Who goes there? ==>

Vrissy snaps her head around to the corner of the room opposite to the one they all entered through. A group of four trolls has appeared around the entryway. Vrissy spots a tealblood with a pixie cut, a bronze with wildly spiked hair and oversized glasses, a remarkably huge purple in traditional Mirthful facepaint, and a short limeblood with emo bangs.

VRISSY: We could S8y The S8me to you!
HARRY: (vris, don't antagonize them!)
VRISSY: Who The Hell Are You Guys?
??????: We were here first so I think th&t qu&lifies US to be &sking the questions.
??????: y'all ain't g֍nna be tr֍uble, are y֍u?
LEMNIS: (gulp!)

Vrissy feels a spike of nerves, but she holds her ground. What would Vriska do?

VRISSY: That Depends! Are *You* Gonna Be A Pro8lem For *Us*?
??????: are y֍u seri֍usly threatening us?
VRISSY: May8e! That's A 8ig Group Of You There! Any One Of You Could 8e a Killer W8ing To Strike!
VRISSY: 8esides, I'd Like To See You Try And T8ke Me On! >::::)
??????: if y֍u're g֍nna be like that--
??????: xX oh my god guys knock it off shes a fucking kid Xx

Without a hint of fear, the limeblood girl crosses the room and stops in front of Vrissy. She moves her hair out of her face, and for a brief moment Vrissy catches sight of a scar above her eyebrow.

??????: xX kid you have guts ill give you that Xx
??????: xX but also youre what Xx
??????: xX fourteen? Xx

Vrissy blushes in shame.

VRISSY: I'm turning Seventeen in A Few Months, Actually!
??????: xX you know that doesnt make you any less of a kid Xx
VRISSY: H8y! I've Seen Some Shit You Know!
??????: xX so have the rest of us Xx
??????: xX youre still a kid Xx
VRISSY: >::::(
??????: xX hey. not saying thats a bad thing or anything Xx
??????: xX just that its kinda fucked up you have to be in this position at all Xx
??????: xX so are we cool? Xx

She extends a hand out. Vrissy takes a second before reaching out to shake it. Her guard remains up.

VRISSY: I guess. I mean, you're not Giving me a Major Reason to 8e suspicious, so.
??????: xX ill take it as a compliment Xx
ENFUIR: xX names enfuir. you? Xx
VRISSY: Vrissy. These two Losers 8ehind me are Harry and Lemnis.
ENFUIR: xX heh. i might like you kid Xx
ENFUIR: xX wait. hold on Xx

Enfuir drops the handshake and gapes at Harry. Vrissy immediately feels the urge to reach for her strife deck, but knows exposing her role would be the worst possible move to make.

ENFUIR: xX thats a human Xx
HARRY: uh, yeah. hey?
ENFUIR: xX why is there a human here Xx
HARRY: i've been asking the same fucking question, believe it or not!
HARRY: uh... hold on that kinda sounded bad didn't it.
HARRY: i mean more of "why am i here" rather than "why is there a human in this televised troll execution game" let's not get it twisted.
ENFUIR: xX uh huh Xx
VRISSY: Also!! I can Vouch For Him!
VRISSY: He's my 8oyfriend, so I'm Uniquely Qualified to Say he is not a threat.
LEMNIS: if it helps i've been with them since the start and they've been fine.
LEMNIS: i trust that being around them isn't going t∞ result in me getting killed.
ENFUIR: xX hm. sorry Xx
ENFUIR: xX its hard not to be suspicious. outside of you guys there are only two potential terrorists out there Xx
VRISSY: Haha, Really????????

Vrissy swallows until her mouth stops being dry. Luckily Enfuir doesn't even blink twice at her.

ENFUIR: xX yeah. fellna and burnei are my friends Xx

She motions to the teal and bronze respectively.

ENFUIR: xX we got taken with one more friend and hes still out there somewhere Xx
ENFUIR: xX and because *we* know *him* we can guarantee hes not any kind of terrorist Xx
BURNEI: &lso &quini is my m&tesprit & Im st&rting to get worried.
BURNEI: Bec&use, uh. Its very likely hes with the two terrorists.
VRISSY: 8ut...

Vrissy holds her tongue as the rest of Enfuir's group approaches. She's not sure how much she wants to say about her hypothesis without any evidence. She's afraid of what the reception will be. Maybe once they find Vriska.

VRISSY: The other People with Him will 8e *our* two friends.
ENFUIR: xX huh? Xx
VRISSY: Yeah! Vriska And Tavros.
VRISSY: For The Record Tavros Is Also A Human and my Kismesis.
ENFUIR: xX wait no that doesnt make sense Xx
VRISSY: Uh, Why??
ENFUIR: xX because galios over there was *also* taken with someone Xx
VRISSY: Huh????????

The purpleblood, Galios, nods his head in acknowledgement.

GALIOS: yeah. burgundy named r֍dhim.
GALIOS: we were the ֍nly surviv֍rs fr֍m ֍ur pris֍n supply run crew.
HARRY: your
GALIOS: l֍ng fuckin' st֍ry. n֍t really relevant right n֍w.
GALIOS: but yeah. cr֍cker guys tagged him first then me. watched it g֍ d֍wn. s֍ he's definitely here.
VRISSY: 8ut w8w8w8. That doesn't Add Up!
VRISSY: 8ecause if your other Friend is Out There, and Our Two Friends, and Galios's partner, then...
HARRY: doesn't that make eleven?

A confused silence tinged with panic falls. Everyone looks to everyone else. Vrissy feels an electric charge in the air. A small throb of pain flickers behind her eyes. She takes that to mean this conversation could quickly take a turn for the lethal.

FELLNA: > Harry: You're right. ==>
FELLNA: > If we're going to trust that Dirkbot's word, then Vriska, Tavros, Rodhim, and Aquini can't all be out there. ==>
FELLNA: > Logic dictates that one of them must not be in this game, then. ==>
BURNEI: You think it me&ns one of thems &n insider?
HARRY: uh, what?
BURNEI: Like, you know. & Crocker pl&nt. Secretly one of them.
GALIOS: y֍u thinking ֍ne ֍f us has been dupin' the rest?
FELLNA: > You have to admit it makes sense. ==>
GALIOS: shit then. wh֍ y֍u thinking?
BURNEI: Well its definitely &bsolutely NOT &quini Ive known him for ye&rs.
GALIOS: i dunn֍ that it's r֍dhim either. d֍ubt they'd have an inf֍rmant abused in the mills f֍r m֍nths ֍n end.
FELLNA: > So, Vrissy, Harry: What about your friends? ==>
HARRY: our
VRISSY: Friends?

She feels a cold prism of ice form in her core. Every eye is on her. Distrust swells in the conditioned air. Again, that nagging feeling that something obvious is staring her in the face, obfuscated by the rising fear.

HARRY: you... you can't possibly be doubting *us*, right?
HARRY: like, we both know tavros and vriska *really* well. they... neither of them could be secretly, like, a crocker mole. right?
ENFUIR: xX guys i dont know that this is exactly a useful conversation to be having right now Xx
HARRY: haha, yeah! right!! like. we're just gonna end up at each other's throats and that would be super bad!

Harry's leaning against one of the podiums, sweating like one anxious motherfucker. None of this is helping his case. Vrissy's headache increases by another notch.

FELLNA: > Still, they're the only two we don't know a thing about. ==>
FELLNA: > We have no reason to trust any of you. ==>
HARRY: yeah i mean OBVIOUSLY i get that but. come on!
HARRY: this makes no sense!! why is this escalating like this!
HARRY: pretty sure what we're doing here is like. BLATANTLY playing this fucked up shitty game!!!

Fellna's expression falls. There's a second where Vrissy thinks Harry's piss-poor case for himself may actually be getting somewhere. Then, Burnei speaks.

BURNEI: You know I h&te to s&y it but it is kind& sus th&t theres & hum&n thrown into the mix.
HARRY: ...!
GALIOS: shit, yeah. cr֍ckerc֍rp ain't never d֍ne shit like that bef֍re in these lil death circuses.
FELLNA: > Harry: Clarify. ==>
FELLNA: > You said earlier this Tavros was also a human, correct? ==>
HARRY: w
HARRY: well, yeah? but me and him go way back! i would know if he was, like, evil!
FELLNA: > Maybe not to you. But that isn't what we're insinuating here. ==>
FELLNA: > Wouldn't it make the most sense for this whole damn game to be a rigged slaugher run by human agents? ==>
HARRY: what!!!
BURNEI: Theres quite & lot to doubt &bout wh&t youre s&ying to us.
BURNEI: Like you keep t&lking &bout this "Vrisk&" but Im pretty sure th&ts the n&me of one of the old gods.
BURNEI: I dunno, she seems pretty f&ke to me.
HARRY: gulp!!

This is getting very bad very fast. Vrissy vastly underestimated the sheer level of paranoia that can arise from a group of regular young adults trapped in a life-or-death situation. More fool her for expecting some fucking heroic standards around here.

VRISSY: Then, Um, what does that M8ke Me????????
VRISSY: 8ecause I can also Verify the Authenticity of those Two Dorks.
HARRY: ("dorks". real flattering.)
VRISSY: (Shut It! i am Trying to save your life here!!!)
VRISSY: And as The Coolest and Second Most Competent 8itch in this 8uilding I think that gives me the Right to Decl8re that Harry and Tavros are Legit.
VRISSY: Also, Vriska is A8solutely Real. I have Literally spoken to her Myself!!!!!!!! You Guys are Full Of It!!!!!!!!
BURNEI: So either youve been duped or youre &lso in on it.
VRISSY: Literally Wh8t The Fuck!!!!!!!!
BURNEI: I me&n. M&kes sense theyd h&ve & third person to rig &ny potenti&l votes doesnt it?
VRISSY: You Are Not Saying This. You Are Not Actually Fucking S8ying This!!!!!!!!
FELLNA: > Two humans, and a troll to throw us off the scent... ==>
GALIOS: i dunn֍. they're fuckin' kids at the end ֍f the day.
BURNEI: You c&n be r&dicalized from younger &ges th&n these two.
GALIOS: ...
HARRY: come on big guy, you obviously think these two are spouting absolute bunk. say something so they don't end up making a fucking stupid decision!!

Galios continues to say nothing. He looks at each arguing individual in turn, then down at his wrist. Again with everyone and their wristbands. Again with the high pressure fear. What is it? What is it????????

BURNEI: We &RE in the democr&cy ch&mber, you know. Couldnt we just c&ll &n election & deal with this now?
FELLNA: > Burnei: Excellent idea. We don't need to take chances. We know who we can definitely trust.
ENFUIR: xX hey guys Xx
FELLNA: > We could get rid of the terrorist here and now. ==>
ENFUIR: xX guys Xx

And that's it. That's the thing that rattles the knot loose in Vrissy's dead. Fellna said "terrorist", not "terrorists". Which means... it means...

Vrissy finally understands exactly what kind of cruel trick is being played on all of them. It could change everything.

VRISSY: Hey hey H8Y!!!! W8 a second!
VRISSY: F8llna! You there! What did You Just S8y?
FELLNA: > Vrissy: I said "We could get rid of the terrorist here and now". Was there a problem with my wording? ==>
VRISSY: Yes, Actually!
VRISSY: 8ecause why did you say Terrorist, singular?
FELLNA: > ...I'm sorry? ==>
VRISSY: You... You Should 8e thinking Terrorists, Right?
VRISSY: After All, Harry and I are 8oth looking suuuuuuuuper shady Right Now to you guys.
VRISSY: So Why Is It You Don't Seem To Think The 8oth Of Us Are Terrorists?
BURNEI: Is th&t relev&nt?
VRISSY: Actually, Very Much So! 8ecause if I'm Right, that Totally Ch8nges the Rules of the G8me!
FELLNA: > [S] How? ==>
VRISSY: 8ecause I think I Know What's written on Your Wrist8and, Fellna.
FELLNA: > [S] !!! ==>

Fellna flinches away. Her cheeks flush a deep teal. Bingo.

BURNEI: No, how could *she* be &
VRISSY: And since I Appear To 8e Right, I can pro8a8ly guess what's on yours, Too!
ENFUIR: xX guys hey Xx
BURNEI: Stop it.
GALIOS: h֍ld up, lil lady. s֍ are y֍u saying that--
VRISSY: Every single Person Here keeps checking their Wrists as soon as they Throw Suspicion, Almost like they have Something To Hide.
VRISSY: So even though We're For8idden from Confirming It As Fact, I'm gonna go Ahead and St8te that Every Single Person In This Room's Wrist8and Reads Terrorist!!!!!!!! ::::D
HARRY: :O
FELLNA: > :O ==>
BURNEI: :O
GALIOS: ...

Harry and Burnei look at their wrists. Harry touches the screen and shakes his head at what he sees. Vrissy beams. She's won.

Until Fellna shakes her head.

FELLNA: > [S] Bull. Shit. ==>
FELLNA: > Vrissy, you're full of it. ==>
FELLNA: > It's a cute theory that very conveniently shifts all suspicion away from you, with the added bonus that none us are able to verify your claims as truth without violating the game's rules. ==>
FELLNA: > Clever. I'm not falling for it. ==>
VRISSY: Nonononon8n8n8N8 You CANN8T 8e this Dense!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: It Is Literally The Only Thing That M8kes Sense! It Gets Us All At Each Other's Throats When There Isn't Actually Any Kind Of Enemy At All!!!!!!!!
ENFUIR: xX hey guys Xx
FELLNA: > [S] You'd have to be beyond naive to believe that. ==>
FELLNA: > [S] So, what, any one of us could kill the other at any time? That's far too fair for *any* kind of Crockercorp death--
ENFUIR: xX GUYS WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP FOR FIVE SECONDS AND LISTEN TO ME Xx

All eyes to Enfuir, who's looking at the group before her with weary tension.

ENFUIR: xX i get youre all gearing up to throw some poor sap under the bus and all Xx
ENFUIR: xX but does anyone know where the goldblood dude went? Xx
VRISSY: W8, what?
HARRY: lemnis? isn't he, like,
HARRY: right over
HARRY: oh god.

Vrissy swivels her head around the room even though she doesn't need to in order to understand. Lemnis is nowhere to be seen.

VRISSY: No he was Just Right Here!
VRISSY: How Could He Have Gone!!!
ENFUIR: xX dunno Xx
ENFUIR: xX how hard is it to slip away unnoticed in the middle of a screaming match Xx
HARRY: but why the hell would he go off on his own??? that doesn't make sense!

A dark bloom of horror behinds to unfold inside Vrissy's chest. Her brain spikes like a current of needles is worming its way through her neural pathways.

VRISSY: We...
VRISSY: We Need to Find Him. Now.

An image, hazy like a bled-out sun-bleached polaroid snap, hangs in her mind. Shapes, darkness, screaming. She can smell blood again.

HARRY: vris?
VRISSY: Like We Need To Go Right This Fucking Second.
ENFUIR: xX woah, your eyes Xx

She doesn't have time to care about what Enfuir just said. All she cares about is a blind instinct dragging her feet towards one of the four exits to this room. Everyone behind her is shouting so many things, but Harry and Enfuir sprint to keep up with her. Vrissy is only half aware of what's going on. There's just a pulsing, agonising need to move.

ENFUIR: xX what is this Xx
HARRY: i dunno, it's a thing she does now!
ENFUIR: xX what do you mean freaky glowing eyes is just "a thing"?!?! Xx
HARRY: it's been that kinda day i guess!
HARRY: just trust her ok!!!
ENFUIR: xX i mean thats why im running alongside the two of you! Xx

Vrissy can't say anything. Even if she wanted to, she's not sure her body will permit it. They move through the entryway and into another red hallway. Ninety degree right turn. This hallway is darker. There are no vents. There is no air. Still, Vrissy's feet keep pounding against this ceaselessly samey metal floor. Her heart is rattling faster than is safe for any living being to endure. She keeps going.

ENFUIR: xX where are we going anyway! Xx
HARRY: dunno! don't think she knows either!
HARRY: it's a vibe thing!
ENFUIR: xX a vibe thing? Xx
HARRY: that's what i said yeah! some kind of weird psychic premonition thing!! not really a thing we can explain!!
HARRY: last time was just after we woke up!! she was overcome with an omen of my death!! it scared me shitless!
ENFUIR: xX call me insane but i think i get it! Xx
ENFUIR: xX been having bad feelings myself for a while! Xx
ENFUIR: xX who the fuck knows maybe were all undergoing a mass psychosis!! Xx
HARRY: maybe!!! who knows!!

The chatter is basically white noise to her at this point. Words buzzing, coming and going, ephemeral next to the impulse to move, the desperate hope that they're not too late, that there's still time. Vrissy's vision doubles, triples. Her nose starts bleeding again, both nostrils. She stops feeling her legs. And still she runs.

She has to make it. She has to make it. She has to...

They turn the next corner. Make it halfway down the stretch of hallway. Vrissy's shoes splash in something wet and viscous and plentiful. Her head snaps to the end of the hall and her blurred vision comes back together with sickening clarity. The smell, the smell.

ENFUIR: xX th Xx
ENFUIR: xX thats Xx
HARRY: oh
HARRY: oh fuck

You'd almost be forgiven for overlooking him, for assuming the source point for the gushing stream of dark gold is anything other than what it is. That the half-shadowed submerged shapes aren't splayed limbs. That the object protruding from the base of his skull to his mid-back isn't a blood-soaked axekind specibus.

Really, it would not be a crime to look at the mangled, gory mess in front of you and not immediately place it as the murdered form of Lemnis Sinmel.

From everywhere and nowhere, that horrible, horrible voice sings out in mechanised glee.

DIRKBOT: And there you have it.
DIRKBOT: First blood, everybody.

Vrissy screams.

Chapter 29: THREE, section iv.

iv.

EB: hey, roxy. don't know where you are or what you're doing, but i thought i'd keep you updated.
EB: don't panic, but jane's taken harry anderson and the other kids. jade, kanaya, rose and i are going to get them though.
EB: there might be some kind of fight. i wish i could say that harry anderson won't get hurt, but that'd probably end up being a lie.
EB: anyway. if you're not too pre occupied doing... whatever it is that you're doing, we could always appreciate your help.
EB: we just got info that they're being held somewhere in nuseattle. which is kind of funny, because the last few days have gone totally full circle, heh.
EB: for some reason it felt like i'd never see this city again after i w

JADE: john now is not the time!!

John snaps to attention as Jade drags him by the back of his shirt collar into the empty ground floor of an abandoned, disused multi-storey parking lot somewhere in southern NuSeattle. The others are standing around in a loose circle near the closest corner of the room. Sollux's head is tilted to the ceiling. Jake is nervously chewing at his fingernails. Rose grips her needles, expression tense. Kanaya's fangs are bared, and her chainsaw roars with more polished fury than John's ever seen in his life.

JOHN: sorry. i was trying to get in touch with roxy.
JOHN: i still think she could be a help here.
KANAYA: We Do Not Have The Time To Sit Around And Wait For Your Centrist Ex Wife To Make Up Her Mind
KANAYA: Every Passing Second Is One In Which That Megalomaniac Fascist Bitch Could Be Hurting My Daughter
JOHN: i'm sorry, but it's my son they've taken too!
JADE: PLEASE now is not the time to fight!! >:(
JADE: rose kanaya what is the plan
KANAYA: Personally I Am Inclined To Rend This Whole City Apart Brick By Brick Until I Find Her But I Will Delegate The Rational Decision Making To My Wife
ROSE: Thank you, Kanaya.
ROSE: So.

Rose taps one of her needles against the brick wall like a chalkboard in the middle of a lecture. Her jaw is clenched so tight John can see a vein sticking out near her temple. He gets the sense that maybe Rose, too, is barely holding back from going nuclear on the city.

ROSE: Based on Sollux's tip, we can surmise that the children are being kept in a Crockercorp facility somewhere within the city limits.

She closes her eyes as a Light sun symbol spreads across her forehead. She points both wand needles at the wall and proceeds to crudely blast a rough map of NuSeattle into the brickwork. John's never seen her apply her power like this before. He hasn't seen this level of fury since her grimdark episode so, so very long ago. He swallows around a cold lump he hasn't felt in his throat in a long time.

Rose reopens her eyes and points to the bottom of the map.

ROSE: There is a Crockercorp fulfilment center approximately one point five miles east of the abandoned parking lot we find ourselves in.
ROSE: It features the largest concentration of warehouses in the city's southern quadrant. It is also the least guarded.
ROSE: The chances of the children being there are slim, but finding them is not our goal here.
ROSE: Instead...

She flicks her needle. The rendition of the warehouse explodes along with about two inches of reinforced concrete. John winces and calls up a breeze to protect himself from the blast.

ROSE: We aim to gather information. Most machines in the Crocker network are linked. Once we find an appropriate terminal, Jade will teleport Sollux in.
SOLLUX: and what am i supp0sed t0 d0 i'm blind.
ROSE: I have a fraymotif for that.
SOLLUX: what the fuck.
ROSE: No, it can't restore your sight in a conventional capacity, but it will allow you to mentally visualize digital data.
ROSE: That should be more than enough for you to navigate a corporate database, no?
SOLLUX: d0 i get a say.
KANAYA: No
SOLLUX: fine whatever give me pc visi0n what d0 i care.
ROSE: Continuing on.
ROSE: If, for whatever reason, there is no useful data to be had, we will simply blow the entire facility to fucking pieces.
ROSE: From there, we move to our next target.

Rose traces a counterclockwise circle from the chunk in the wall to a spot on the east side of the map.

ROSE: Rebellion intel indicates this to be an arms factory. This is probably the most likely contender for where they are.
ROSE: We will repeate the routine: locate the children, extract any information, blow it the fuck up.
ROSE: Eventually this should force Crocker to show her hand.
JOHN: and, um. what if that *doesn't* happen?
KANAYA: Then Jade Will Teleport Me Right To Wherever She Is And I Will Promptly Rip Out Her Throat
JAKE: Im sure it wont come to such desperate measures though. I have faith you lot will get the kids back quick as a whippet!
KANAYA: I Did Not Ask
JAKE: Eep!
JAKE: But. Erm.

Jake clears his throat and points to himself.

JAKE: What part am i to play in all this eh? After all you did bring me along for the ride.
KANAYA: You Are Staying Right Where You Are
KANAYA: You Are Too Much Of An Untrustworthy Reliability To Come With Us And I Also Do Not Rank Your Ability In Combat
KANAYA: Your Role Is To Stay Put In This Parking Lot And Stay Out Of Our Way
JAKE: Isnt that a tad unfair? She took tavvy too you know.
KANAYA: Worry Not Im Sure You Can Drink Your Way Out Of That Guilt Too
JAKE: What do you mean by that one?
ROSE: Jake, we all saw you swigging from that hip flask during the funeral. Subtle with your coping juice you are not.
JOHN: wait, is this true jake?
JAKE: Erm...

John can't get Jake to meet his gaze. Mostly, he ends up feeling a heavy sense of disappointment.

JAKE: Look now is absolutely not the time to stop my backslide which in my defense was not even a backslide so much as it was a handful of days of sobriety.
JOHN: i don't know. i just thought you would've...
JAKE: Wouldve what? John my good man i am thoroughly caught up in the throes of addiction.
JAKE: Being all back together doesnt make us back into the persons we used to be.
JOHN: ...

To his credit, he doesn't flinch outwardly. Instead, he just swallows around the greasy film Jake's words leave in his chest. There's a thought building at the back of John Egbert's head that he can't give shape or answer to, not now and maybe not for a long time yet. He breathes out until the tension abates.

Luckily, Kanaya takes control of the conversation again.

KANAYA: We Do Not Have The Time For This Asinine Horseshit
KANAYA: Jake You Are Staying Here Where You Cant Be A Problem And John Stop Engaging With Him
JOHN: sorry.
JAKE: But whats to stop me from just venturing out and trying to solve this on my lonesome.
KANAYA: I Am Glad You Asked That
KANAYA: Jade Give Me Your Hand
JADE: um... ok??

Jade sheepishly lets Kanaya grab her hand. There's a pulse of Space energy between the enclosed palms, and when they pull apart, Kanaya is holding a glowing green belt. She walks over to Jake and ties it around his waist with alarming speed and ferocity.

JAKE: And what in all the dickensfuckers is this?
KANAYA: Insurance
KANAYA: If You Try To Remove It Or Leave The Confines Of This Building It Will Immediately Alert Jade Who Will Promptly Deal With You
JAKE: Really?
JADE: sorry thats just how it has to be :/ im not the one in charge
JAKE: Well pardon my french but this is a fucking bummer.
KANAYA: Dont Care
KANAYA: If Your Son Is Alive We Will Return Him To You
KANAYA: Try Not To Get Too Wasted In The Meanwhile
KANAYA: Sollux Youre Babysitting Him Until We Need You
SOLLUX: waitwaitwait what the FUCK??
SOLLUX: i didn't agree t0 that!
KANAYA: Its An Order Not A Request
SOLLUX: fuck y0u. all the help i've been and this is the thanks i get.
SOLLUX: remember when we were c00l kanaya?
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: And We May Yet Be "Cool" Again But Not Until My Daughter Is Alive And Safe
SOLLUX: ugh. whatever. have fun bl0wing half a city up.

Sollux turns away from the group and floats up to the ceiling, middle fingers raised. John... thinks he feels sorry for the guy? He's not sure. This is all very intense and very weird all of the time. His tired depressed brain is barely keeping up as it is.

ROSE: Do we all understand the mission?
JADE: yes
JOHN: yeah, i suppose.
KANAYA: Then Lets Move
KANAYA: We Will Find Those Children Or I Swear I Will Singlehandedly Destroy That Woman

Kanaya revs up her chainsaw once more and sprints out into the sunlight. Rose follows closely behind, floating with a palpable aura. Jade bounces along with a series of short range hops. Before John leaves, he turns to look at Jake and Sollux one last time.

JOHN: well, um.
JOHN: you two be careful in here.
JAKE: Ill try.
SOLLUX: stfu i'm sulking.
JOHN: uh, well.
JOHN: see you guys around?
JAKE: Godspeed chap.

John does Jake the courtesty of pretending he doesn't notice the flask materialise out of nowhere as he turns aronud and lets the breeze carry him out after his friends. Today has already been a day of so much. He sincerely wonders how much more until he hits his limit.

Outside, the people of NuSeattle pay surprisingly little attention to the four gods blitzing through the streets. Most of them are fixed to their phones, watching footage of what appears to be an explosion. John thinks about stopping to try and get more information, but then Kanaya uses a car as a springboard to leap to the top of a five storey building, so guess there's not gonna be any time for that one.

He follows the air currents up and over the rooftop, catching up with Rose who is positively crackling with majjyyks at this point. Jade has overtaken her, hop-zapping faster and faster. But even Jade can't hope to keep up with Kanaya, who hones in on the large crimson compound on the horizon like a bullet. They pass the next street and only then does John start to notice people looking at them. He also notices a red surveillance drone rising up to meet them.

DRONE: UNAUTHORIZED BODIES IN CROCKERCORP AIRSPACE REPORT TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES OR

Rose simply blows the robot up with a single gesture. The breeze funnels through the shrapnel and launches it in a direction as far away from the two of them as possible.

JOHN: holy shit?
ROSE: I am at my limit, John.
ROSE: I think if I wanted to, I could cause every single piece of Crockercorp tech to explode with a single thought.

A dark spark bounces off of her wand and kisses the surface of John's bare arm. It burns away all the hair in a three-inch radius. John stares mutely at the smooth flesh for a few seconds.

JOHN: i can see that.
ROSE: But mostly, I could direct all this seething power in towards myself. I should never have put Vrissy in harm's way like this.
ROSE: I...
ROSE: Fuck!

She shouts out, and a blast of light vaporises a cop car somewhere below.

ROSE: My head is too clouded. I cannot see the most fortuitous path out of this.
ROSE: All I know is I need to move. I need to get to her now.
ROSE: To be honest, right now, the only thing that matters to me is getting Vrissy back alive and safe. To hell with the rest of the consequences.
JOHN: um, wow! ok then.
JOHN: that's, uh. pretty intense.
ROSE: Do you not feel it too? They have Harry Anderson as well.
JOHN: of course i do! i'm really mad at jane and really scared for my son, but..

He trails off, Now is probably not the right time to rehash his sixteen-year-long dissociative episode again. He's only just getting used to the idea that he's real, let alone Harry Anderson.

JOHN: i don't know. i guess i'm just processing this better for some reason?
JOHN: like, oh no, yet again a person i love is in mortal danger. it's just more of the same to me?
ROSE: Heh. Spoke the man who's got a permanently frozen action-accclimatized thirteen-year-old boy commanding his brain.
JOHN: ha ha?
ROSE: I suppose part of you still living in the Sburb days does have its merits, maladaptive though they may be.

Midway through that sentence, three more drones attempt to accost them. Rose merely blinks and they immediately combust. John forms a protective air shield around the two of them to repel the smoke. He glances to his left. In the distance, there seems to be some kind of bizarre green blaze burning its way through downtown. It's an idle curiosity that feels less pressing given everything else going on right now.

JOHN: i'm just surprised i'm managing to function at all! this time last week i was probably lying on my couch crying at some dumb movie.
ROSE: How swiftly the seasons transition.
JOHN: ...well. i'm glad i'm able to move. i dread to think what would have happened if harry anderson had been caught up in all this on his own.
ROSE: I'm sure someone would have looked out for him. Not to discredit you or anything.
JOHN: haha, well. i was definitely kind of the LAST adult in his life looking out for him. he's all roxy's hard work, really.
ROSE: Mm.

Rose closes her eyes. A vortex of... holy shit is that lighting fire??? envelopes a rooftop missile launcher and the three red-clad humans operating it. It leaves a sun-shaped scorch mark across the building's surface.

JOHN: damn.
ROSE: Don't be so impressed, John. This is mostly subconscious. I'm tapping into anger channels I haven't disturbed in years.
ROSE: I am merely trusting my instincts to blow shit up in the best possible way and hoping this will lead us to victory.
JOHN: well, between you and kanaya i don't think we have much to worry about.
ROSE: Perhaps.
ROSE: But I still need to ask you something.
JOHN: me?
ROSE: Yes.

Rose blinks at John. Somehow, the phone in his pocket emits a beam of golden light. John fishes it out.

ROSE: How have your efforts gone in contacting Roxy?
JOHN: not very well, actually. :/
JOHN: i've not actually managed to get in touch with her at all since i took harry out for that drive.
ROSE: Damn.
JOHN: why?
ROSE: I was hoping you could somehow get her here.
ROSE: I can feel... There's something, on the horizon. An undefined nebulous image, looming larger.
ROSE: But with everything, I lack the clarity to discern it. Too much psychic noise.
JOHN: but you think it's important?
ROSE: In a way I haven't felt since our world departed from the realm of canonicity.
JOHN: ok, that sounds ominous.
ROSE: That's because it probably is.

A couple cops below try to take potshots at the two of them. Rose incinerates them on the spot. A few pedestrians give an empty cheer. Mostly, they just run and scream which seems to be the appropriate response to seeing a cop squad get immolated before your very eyes. John couldn't imagine being normal in this world. It's a recipe guaranteed to make you go literally off the deep end insane.

ROSE: I am hoping that Roxy's relevance-dampening abilities will allow me to see more clearly whatever is coming. Thin out the data points, as it were.
JOHN: huh.
JOHN: that makes sense, but...
ROSE: But?
JOHN: i don't know that roxy will even want to talk to you?
JOHN: like, remember the whole part where you and her took opposing sides in literally the biggest fucking political conflict earth c has ever seen and how kanaya explicitly wished the two of us dead after our statement of neutrality.
ROSE: I am well aware. But I feel the rules of the game have changed, John.
ROSE: People can change. And you said yourself you have reason to believe Roxy may be being targeted by Jane's forces regardless.
JOHN: yeah, but...
JOHN: maybe your first thought should be about how the two of you are gonna apologize to each other for mutual estrangement??
ROSE: ...
ROSE: What the hell, John. When did you get to be the mature one?
JOHN: hehe, i'm not?
JOHN: i'm just... thinking about how we can change for the better more and more.
JOHN: my epiphany train left the station and i'm trying to bring as many people along for the ride as possible.
JOHN: wait shit am i being corny.
ROSE: Haha, just a little. :)
ROSE: I'll start rehearsing how to make amends in my head.
JOHN: awesome.
JOHN: i'll try messaging her. no promises she'll even reply.
JOHN: god i hope she's ok.

John pulls up his contacts menu as Rose presumably blasts some other poor motherfucker who tried to get in the way. He glances forward. They're nearly at the compound. Guess he'll make this quick.

EB: so yeah, like i said. nuseattle. rescue mission. very intense stuff.
EB: also in probably related news, i'm with rose.
EB: she says hi and sorry for everything that went wrong between you two over the years.
EB: for what it's worth i think the two of you should give making up a chance. you were so close before.
EB: sorry if that sounds like i'm over stepping and trying to tell you how to go about your relationships. i don't wanna be a man splainer to you about your own emotions or anything, ha ha.
EB: whoops i'm getting off topic. shouldn't do that when we're kind of pressed for time.
EB: anyway, apart from wanting to reconnect, rose thinks she might need a favor from you.
EB: she has this, i dunno? vibe? sense?
EB: ok one moment. gonna ask her.
EB: ...
EB: all right. she said it's more of a "looming premonitory omen" if that clarifies a single thing at all.
EB: but the problem is that there's too much irrelevant interference for her to see it clearly? probably because we're not "in canon" or something?
EB: god i'm remembering her lectures back in the day and am already feeling a head ache coming on. :T
EB: BUT
EB: rose thinks you could help her see this big weird scary future event more properly?
EB: like, because of your void powers and stuff, you can i guess steal away all the irrelevant stuff going on so rose can focus more?
EB: i know it's kind of weird to ask that given the whole... everything that went down between us. but.
EB: the way she's talking about it makes it seem like a big deal. maybe even bigger than this whole stupid war if you can imagine it!
EB: so... yeah. i'm not asking you to drop whatever you are doing and immediately get over here.
EB: but once we get this whole thing with the kids solved, maybe you could think about meeting up with us?
EB: i mean, it is totally your choice and like i said i do not want to be a guy who is pressuring his ex wife into making decisions.
EB: but you could at least give it a try? i think the last thing any of us needs is another fuck off huge threat looming, heh. remember when this was meant to be the drama free time line? welp.
EB: so, i don't know when you'll get around to reading these or literally any of my messages, but if you do could you at least let me know what you think?
EB: i have to say i am maybe just a little worried about the fact that nobody has heard from you ever since things started to escalate. :/
EB: i know you're cool and capable and bad ass and totally able to take care of yourself, but if you could just let me know you're doing ok that would be great.
EB: if not for me, then for harry anderson. he's been worried too, even if he does not always show it. that kid of ours sure knows how to put a brave face on with the best of them.
EB: and if you don't want to share, that is fine! your business is your business, i'd just like to know if you're definit

ROSE: John.
ROSE: John. John.
JOHN: uhwha?
ROSE: John. Now.
JOHN: hang on rose, i am nearly done texting roxy.
ROSE: John, you need to look right this minute.

Rose grabs the bottom of John's jaw and tilts his head up until he's looking right into her eyes. They're wide and strained, moreso than they were a few short minutes ago.

JOHN: wait, what's wrong?
ROSE: Over there. Look.

She points in the direction of downtown. Her arm is trembling.

JOHN: oh yeah. you're talking about that weird explosion thing, right?
JOHN: i saw it too. i just didn't think it was
JOHN: relevant enough
JOHN: to
JOHN: ...

Rose Lalonde is not pointing at the pitiful little green blaze on one edge of the horizon. She is instead pointing right at the Crocker Needle, at the gargantuan broadcast screen fixed to the face of the mountain-sized skyscraper. John blinks uselessly at the image on-screen for a few seconds, brain scrambling to process what he's looking at.

Then it clicks. Then his stomach falls through the bottom of his torso.

JOHN: what the hell
JOHN: but that's

It appears to be some kind of ultra-HD security camera style footage, capturing a bright red metallic hallway in the same semi-isometric camera angle as one of those old survival horror games. In the top corner of the screen, below the Crockercorp Entertainment watermark, are Vrissy Maryam-Lalonde and Harry Anderson Egbert, standing in mute terror over the mutilated corpse of another troll. Thick gold blood streams out from the corpse, running down the hallway like a disgusting river. It laps over the kids' shoes. Vrissy's eyes begin to glow. She starts screaming.

ROSE: No.
ROSE: No.

Rose is shaking hard enough to set off a seismometer, enough that embers of barely-restrained energy are searing parts of John's skin. He wraps his arms around her shoulders and pulls her in tight, because he cannot think of what else to do.

Then, from the broadcast feed, something that makes everything that much infinitely worse.

DIRKBOT: And there you have it.
DIRKBOT: First blood, everybody.

The voice, that's--

JOHN: oh fuck.

Rose pushes herself out of his embrace, and erupts in a column of fire. From two blocks away, someone roars with the guttural fury of a behemoth. John feels his own body go very still and very cold. In that tightly-held breath before the cataclysm, he reaches for his phone.

EB: roxy, actually, ignore everything i just said.
EB: i think you need to get to nuseattle right now.

Chapter 30: THREE, section v.

v.

Harry's not sure who's the one that slams the the button to call for an election. It all happens too fast. They're standing over Lemnis's still-fresh body, then Vrissy is screaming, then they're running, and his shoes are caked in blood, holy shit Lemnis was alive and talking to them literally ten minutes ago, oh god oh fuck oh--

DIRKBOT: Attention, suckers.
DIRKBOT: An election has just been called.
DIRKBOT: Move your asses over to the Democracy Chamber. You will have twenty minutes to collectively and democratically debate and decide who in your midst is a terrorist.
DIRKBOT: See you there.

He doesn't know where the voice is coming from, they never saw any speakers anywhere, it doesn't make sense, Lemnis is dead, Vrissy is screaming, Lemnis is dead, Lemnis is

HARRY: oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god
ENFUIR: xX hey Xx
ENFUIR: xX hey!!! Xx

Enfuir, who Harry entirely forgot was with them, slaps him clean across the cheek. He sucks out a sharp breath. Her face is set in a grim tension.

ENFUIR: xX dont go freaking out on us Xx
ENFUIR: xX shes still lost in whatever sauce is dripping into her mind Xx
ENFUIR: xX youre like one of the few rationally thinking people here do NOT lose it Xx

She motions to Vrissy, who is still giving that weird exorcist-style glowing eyes shrieking routine. Or at least that's what Harry assumes The Exorcist is like. No, wait, was the demon literally called that, or...? Fuck, he doesn't know. He never watched his dad's shitty Universe B movie collection, why the hell is he thinking about this so much anyway--

HARRY: fuck, fuck.
HARRY: i'm sorry. i literally just saw the dead fucking body of a guy i know.
HARRY: kind of hard to stay focused after that one!
ENFUIR: xX you dont think i fucking know that?! Xx

He looks at Enfuir again. He notices the lime tears running down her cheeks.

HARRY: oh shit, sorry. i didn't think. i'm just so freaked out.
ENFUIR: xX yeah well that makes three of us Xx
ENFUIR: xX i know i have that whole morbid goth bitch thing going on but i have in fact never seen a dead body before now either Xx
HARRY: yeah, i. god this is so fucked isn't it.
ENFUIR: xX yes it is Xx
ENFUIR: xX but you need a clear head. one of those skittish assholes hit the panic button and if we dont control the situation they will vote one of you two out Xx
HARRY: i... i thought they were your friends?
ENFUIR: xX which is why i know them well enough to say that theyre being assholes right now Xx
ENFUIR: xX come on we need to get back Xx
ENFUIR: xX VRISSY YOU NEED TO GET THE FUCK BACK TO REALITY RIGHT THIS FUCKING SECOND Xx

Enfuir delivers a second bitch-slap to Vrissy, who blinks a few times before coming around.

VRISSY: Wha...? I Was Just...
VRISSY: Is this Real Right Now?
ENFUIR: xX yes very real Xx
ENFUIR: xX you lost it after seeing lemnis dead which i hope to god is a thing you remember Xx
VRISSY: N-no I... I do Remem8er that.
VRISSY: Afterwards, I saw So Many Visions. So Many of Us, all of us Dying at the Wrong times.
VRISSY: It... it didn't end.
HARRY: hey but you're back now, yeah babe?
VRISSY: I think So.

Vrissy wipes at her eyes, which have thankfully stopped glowing. She runs a hand through her hair, and exhales out one long shaking breath.

VRISSY: I... They Definitely called the Election, didn't th8y?
ENFUIR: xX yeah about two minutes ago Xx
VRISSY: Ok. Yeah, Ok.
VRISSY: We need to 8e Careful. I think this is gonna 8e very rough.
VRISSY: There are So Many little Choices to 8e m8de which Could Kill any num8er of People. I saw so Much all at once.
VRISSY: Fuck, my Head Hurts... what the hell is Happening To Me?
HARRY: i don't know. i don't think any of us know.
ENFUIR: xX the important thing is that youre here with us now Xx
VRISSY: Yeah, I'm 8ack. I feel a little Clearer.

She winces and rubs at her temple.

ENFUIR: xX itd be too hopeful to assume you saw the optimal path ahead wouldnt it Xx
VRISSY: ...Yeah, Sorry. ::::(
VRISSY: It was all Just an Overwhelming 8lur of Noise. All I can S8y is that this could very Easily go Very 8adly.
ENFUIR: xX shit Xx
ENFUIR: xX not your fault though Xx
ENFUIR: xX anyway we need to go before the others do something really fucking stupid Xx

Enfuir takes of running down the hallway. Harry and Vrissy hurry after her, bloody shoes pounding against the metal ground until the cramped hallway opens back up into the Democracy Chamber.

Things have changed quite considerably since they were last in here literally five minutes ago. Everyone in the room is standing at one of the podiums. The floodlights above have lit up, searing the entire room in a painful white glow. Harry winces and rubs his eyes a few times until they adjust.

HARRY: holy shit...
VRISSY: W8. There's New People here.

Vrissy points to the circle of podiums. There are two trolls there that weren't before: a younger indigo and a beefy burgundy. Aquini and Rodhim, presumably. Enfuir runs up to the former with driven purpose.

ENFUIR: xX holy fuck aquini are you ok? Xx
AQUINI: yeah? i'm fine.
ENFUIR: xX shit man we thought you were dead Xx
AQUINI: well as you can see i'm totally okay. no need to worry.
ENFUIR: xX when did you get here? Xx
AQUINI: couple of minutes ago? just before the robot made that really worrying announcement.
AQUINI: came through the doorway over there.

Aquini points to the entryway opposite to the one leading to the hallway where Lemnis's body sits. For some reason, it causes a seed of unease to bloom inside Harry's chest.

Across the way, Galios clears this throat. The guy doesn't look happy.

GALIOS: erm, glad y֍u're reunited and all but.
GALIOS: if y'all c֍uld get t֍ y֍ur p֍diums s֍ we can get this ֍ver with.
ENFUIR: xX fine Xx
ENFUIR: xX come on guys Xx

Enfuir, Harry, and Vrissy take the three empty podiums closest to them. Harry scans the room. Two spots are empty. One is, well, obviously where Lemnis would be. The second one remains a question mark in Harry's head. He thought one of them would be here by now.

VRISSY: So, Uh, you Two. New guys.
VRISSY: Did Either of You w8ke up in the s8me room as a cerulean Gal with horns like Mine?
VRISSY: Or a wimpy Human 8oy with these Super Huge Glasses.
AQUINI: uh
RODHIM: N0 1 D1D N0T S0RRY
RODHIM: WAS JUST AQU1N1 AND ME
AQUINI: right, yeah. sorry.
ENFUIR: xX so then where the fuck is the tenth person? Xx
HARRY: and just to be clear, nobody else saw anything, right?
FELLNA: > Harry: We would have absolutely
DIRKBOT: Hey now, hey now, hold your horses.
DIRKBOT: Let's get this election started properly first, yeah?
BURNEI: W&it where did th&t
DIRKBOT: Where do you think, genius.

The platform in the middle of the circle slides to one side, as a second one containing Dirkbot rises up. The robot stands stiff and cool, red eyes glowing behind a pair of black triangle shades. A katana hangs off his back. One by one, he meets the gaze of every person in the room. Then he shakes his head.

DIRKBOT: Terrible. Seems we're one head short of a full party.
VRISSY: ...
DIRKBOT: Oh well, if participant numero diez wants to be a no-show, ain't no metal off my chassis.
DIRKBOT: We can participate just fine the eight of you.
BURNEI: But I thought
DIRKBOT: What, this'd be one of these voting-based death games where heads roll if you don't get full participation? Come the fuck on. We're not that gauche.
DIRKBOT: If you're not here to tap a name on one of those fancy little democracy tablets, you just get marked down as an "abstain".
DIRKBOT: It's really not a problem, other than it could potentially skew a vote. But those are the pitfalls of democracy I guess. Not everyone's gonna use their vote wisely.
ENFUIR: xX like your shitty company is one to talk about fucking democracy Xx
DIRKBOT: Hey now. Can it with the attitude, missy.
ENFUIR: xX fuck you Xx
DIRKBOT: Eh. Whatever. Scream at me all you like.
DIRKBOT: I only get to lay a finger on you if the majority wills it.
DIRKBOT: Okay, well, let's get the obligatory preamble out of the way.

Dirkbot leans back until his shades glint in the overabundant light. Looking at him makes Harry feel uneasy, like reality is starting to get fuzzy. There is something so horribly wrong about a murder robot using the likeness of a long-deceased celebrity. There is something so horribly wrong about all of this.

DIRKBOT: Basic election rules go as follows:
DIRKBOT: You're all given a brief debate window to argue your case or defend yourself or explain why you even called this election or whatever the fuck you think is an appropriate use of your time.
DIRKBOT: Then, you use the podium's tablets to make your vote. It's easy as shit. Just press the picture of the face of the person you think is the vile, murderous terrorist.
DIRKBOT: If there's a majority consensus, yours truly will promptly execute the unlucky winner with a slick and sweet decapitation.
DIRKBOT: If there's no consensus, or all of you decide to abstain, then nobody dies. Democracy fails, you all go back to roaming around until the next one.
DIRKBOT: With that outta the way, let's begin.
DIRKBOT: Who are we all feeling is the terrorist you wanna target?

He lets the question hang in the air for a second. Harry glances down at the tablet. It's showing a camera feed of his face in his portrait panel. A quick look around confirms that to be the case for everyone else here. The bottom two panels in the grid are an empty white. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

ENFUIR: xX ill go ahead Xx
ENFUIR: xX which one of you went ahead and called this stupid process? Xx
GALIOS: weren't me.
FELLNA: > Enfuir: Listen. ==>
FELLNA: > After a brief discussion, Burnei and I were in mutual agreement it was the safest course of action. ==>
BURNEI: So ye&h. We both hit our t&blets &t roughly the s&me time &s soon &s we he&rd the news.
ENFUIR: xX ok, so its the two of you who decided to make things stupid Xx
BURNEI: Hey, wh&t
AQUINI: hang on. isn't that just [A LITTLE BIT] cruel, enfuir?
ENFUIR: xX aquini i get youre dating the guy but listen to me when i say burnei made a huge fucking mistake by doing this Xx
RODHIM: 1M N0T F0LL0W1NG
ENFUIR: xX me neither Xx
ENFUIR: xX i would love for someone to explain how playing into this game is in any way going to help us get out of here Xx
BURNEI: Th&ts kind of re&lly obvious, Enfuir, Im sorry.
BURNEI: If we c&n get rid of & potenti&l thre&t, th&ts only & good thing.
FELLNA: > The last thing we want is for someone to kill us. I don't understand why you have a problem with that. ==>
BURNEI: In f&ct if you werent our friend & we didnt know you id s&y youre t&lking &wfully suspiciously.
ENFUIR: xX s Xx
ENFUIR: xX seriously??? Xx
ENFUIR: xX the paranoia must be rotting your brains at a premium rate because oh my GOD Xx

Enfuir lets out a dry, mirthless laugh. Fellna and Burnei wither a little.

ENFUIR: xX if the robot told the two of you the other one was a terrorist at this rate i think youd believe him Xx
FELLNA: > Enfuir: That's not... ==>
BURNEI: Ye&h th&ts not cool.
ENFUIR: xX none of this is cool! thats the fucking point! Xx
ENFUIR: xX hahahaha fuck my friends are idiots. theyre idiots and theyre gonna get people killed Xx
FELLNA: > Two people here are able and willing to kill us, and you're calling us idiots? You're the one who's being irrational, here! ==>
AQUINI: ok uh i think you're talking in circles.
AQUINI: given that i have no idea what the [HELL] is going on, could someone explain things to me?

While Enfuir continues to battle a break into some kind of despairing psychosis, Harry clears his throat.

HARRY: yeah, sure.
HARRY: we found lemnis, guy vris and i woke up with dead, down that hallway behind me.
HARRY: no clue about anything else, other than that he was most likely murdered.
AQUINI: [SHIT].
HARRY: yeah, no kidding. they made a real mess of him. he
HARRY: oh fuck

He has to pause to retch. Maybe thinking about a dead body is not such a good idea after all. He can almost taste the bile on his tongue.

HARRY: sorry.
VRISSY: I'll t8ke Over.
VRISSY: So, 8efore he Died, a 8unch of Us were in Here arguing. Somewhere during That, he 8roke apart From the Group.
VRISSY: Luckily for Us I Guess, six of us were Accounted For, which I think is a Solid Ali8i to go Off Of.
VRISSY: Which Means that the list of Suspects Isn't That 8ig.
VRISSY: Actually, if you Really Think a8out it, the Only Ones Who Could Have--
FELLNA: > Vrissy: Let me stop you right there. ==>
VRISSY: Huh?

Fellna folds her arms and glares daggers across the circle. Vrissy raises one eyebrow back.

VRISSY: What's the pro8lem with that?
FELLNA: > "What's the problem", you say, like you haven't even realized. ==>
VRISSY: Realized what????????
FELLNA: > The only proof we have that Lemnis was already dead before you left is your word. ==>
FELLNA: > Who's to say you and Harry didn't kill him as soon as you broke apart from the group? ==>
VRISSY: S-seriously?!?!?!?! You're gonna Throw That Kind Of Accus8tion Around????????
HARRY: yeah! what the fuck!!!
FELLNA: > It's the most fitting theory. ==>
FELLNA: > Aquini and Rodhim came from the *other side* of the room, so they couldn't have gone near him. ==>
FELLNA: > And I'm not quite convinced this tenth person even exists, so don't try and pin it on them. ==>
FELLNA: > Logic dictates the two of you went off alone to kill him, pretending like
VRISSY: Hey hey H8Y!!!!!!!! Hold On A Second!
VRISSY: What the Hell Do You Mean We Went Off Alone????????
VRISSY: Enfuir was literally Right With Us!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: When do you Propose we Managed to Ditch Her For Long Enough To Kill Him *Without* Her Suspecting A Thing?
FELLNA: > Well, that is... ==>
ENFUIR: xX are we done with this farce yet Xx
GALIOS: hm. d֍n't take this as anything ֍ther than spitballin', but...
GALIOS: perhaps the lil lime girl is in ֍n it?
ENFUIR: xX good fucking grief Xx
AQUINI: hold on, though.

Aquini raises a hand like this is literally some kind of sanctioned debate. To his credit, Galios nods in his direction.

GALIOS: g֍ ahead.
AQUINI: thanks.
AQUINI: what you're saying there makes [ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE].
AQUINI: why would enfuir be in on anything? she's our friend who we've known for [YEARS].
AQUINI: i specifically have been her friend since thirteen, so i think i would [KNOW] if she was in any way suspicious. ]:/
ENFUIR: xX thanks for vouching for me i guess Xx
ENFUIR: xX even though let me restate a fucking gain that buying into this is such a stupid move Xx
AQUINI: don't mention it. ]:)
GALIOS: l֍֍k, s֍rry t֍ keep playin' devil's adv֍cate, but hear me ֍ut.
GALIOS: enfuir, wh֍ did y֍u wake up with?
ENFUIR: xX i Xx
ENFUIR: xX nobody?? why does that even matter Xx
GALIOS: maybe it d֍es. maybe it d֍esn't.
GALIOS: all i'm sayin' is it's p֍ssible she cut s֍me kinda deal. wh֍ kn֍ws.
ENFUIR: xX oh thats bullshit Xx
GALIOS: like i said. ֍ne p֍tential the֍ry.
GALIOS: f֍r what it's w֍rth, i'm n֍t t֍֍ s֍ld ֍n it.
ENFUIR: xX when why even bring it up Xx
GALIOS: had a hunch it might be w֍rth talking ab֍ut.
ENFUIR: xX well it wasnt and you just wasted a bunch of time Xx
GALIOS: least it was time spent where th֍se tw֍ weren't slinging accusati֍ns every which way.

He jerks a thumb to Burnei and Fellna who both cast their eyes down. Harry pauses for a second. He... he gets the feeling that Galios was trying something there, like there was some kind of subtext to his words. Some other purpose. But Harry isn't sure what. He was never good with this kind of high pressure mindgame business. His experience with deception and trickery goes no further than theatre class.

BURNEI: Well, th&t w&s & de&d end.
BURNEI: Weve been t&lking for & while & still h&ve no clue who to vote for.
HARRY: i mean, do we have to vote at all?
HARRY: abstaining is a totally valid call to make, too.
FELLNA: > Harry: You would say that, wouldn't you. ==>
HARRY: come on, not this again!
HARRY: how the hell are vrissy and i suspicious without enfuir ALSO being suspect?
FELLNA: > That's true when it comes to the scenario we outlined previously. ==>
FELLNA: > But it's not the only possibility. You easily could have gone off and murdered Lemnis on your own. ==>
HARRY: h
HARRY: literally how!! how could i have done that!!!
FELLNA: > As I remember it, you were pretty quiet during our initial dispute. ==>
FELLNA: > There were plenty of opportunities for you to slip away unnoticed, kill Lemnis, and rejoin us. ==>
HARRY: seriously?? and do you have a shred of fucking evidence to back ANY of that up?
FELLNA: > Do you have any evidence to dispute my claim? ==>
HARRY: pretty sure that's not how this works! burden of proof and all!
FELLNA: > I somehow get the sense rules like that do not really matter here. ==>
HARRY: ohhh my goddddd.

Harry facepalms.

HARRY: this is so STUPID.
HARRY: why me anyway?? under your bullshit theory, how come vrissy couldn't have equally done it!
BURNEI: Bec&use isnt it weird how youre the only hum&n in here?
HARRY: jesus.
BURNEI: You know, these &re exclusively troll de&th g&mes. Not ONCE h&s crockercorp ever put & hum&n in the mix.
BURNEI: &lso... I think I just figured out who you &re, H&rry.
HARRY: did you now?
BURNEI: Ye&h! Youre H&rry &erson Egbert, son of the Heir of Bre&th & the Rogue of Void.
BURNEI: Both of whom coincident&lly m&int&ined & position of neutr&lity with reg&rds to this w&r.
HARRY: you seriously aren't going to
BURNEI: So why the fresh *fuck* should we trust some hum&n br&t who never decl&red &g&inst Crockercorp in the first pl&ce?
HARRY: is that what you actually think of me?? that i'm a crockercorp agent?? seriously?
FELLNA: > Harry: Confess. ==>
FELLNA: > You're the most likely person in this room to be on the inside. It's pretty blatant at this point. ==>
HARRY: ok so??
HARRY: even if i'm suspicious or whatever, it doesn't change the fact that there's no logical way for me to have killed lemnis!
HARRY: you don't even know shit about how he died anyway!!
BURNEI: How is th&t relev&nt? We need to get rid of our enemy, NOT solve some murder.
HARRY: how can you accuse someone of being a killer if you know nothing about the crime!!!! in what world does that make a drop of fucking sense!!!!
FELLNA: > You're distracting from the point. So far, you've failed to convince me that you are anything but suspicious as all hell. ==>
FELLNA: > I think the correct course of action here is to vote for Harry, and
GALIOS: h֍ld ֍n ֍ne tick.
FELLNA: > Sorry? ==>

Galios slowly and deliberately brings his hand to his chin in thought. Somehow the man has this effect of drawing everyone's attention to him. Harry breathes out a sigh of relief and wipes the sweat from his forehead. Jesus Christ trying to reason with these people is impossible.

GALIOS: kid might have a p֍int.
GALIOS: kn֍wing m֍re ab֍ut the situati֍n can ֍nly be a b֍֍n.
BURNEI: Wh&t.
GALIOS: kn֍wledge is p֍wer in situati֍ns like these. never kn֍w what y֍u c֍uld find ֍ut.
GALIOS: might change things s֍mewhat. might n֍t. wh֍ kn֍ws.
FELLNA: > Uh, okay...? ==>
GALIOS: s֍, ֍ne ֍f y֍u three mind fillin' the rest ֍f us in ֍n what y֍u saw back d֍wn that hallway?
HARRY: i mean, sure. what exactly do you want to know?
GALIOS: h֍w the p֍֍r fella ended up. deets ab֍ut the scene. ֍bvi֍us s֍rta shit, y֍u know?
HARRY: well, um, i'll try to walk you through what we saw.

Harry takes a moment to steel himself. The memory is a raw wound lashing against his mind. It's the first wedge claimed by the buzz of trauma, step one on a slippery slope towards a destination he never has any intention of reaching. He fucking hates that there is no other choice.

HARRY: so.
HARRY: it all happened really fast, so i'm sorry if i missed anything crucial.
HARRY: but we... we found lemnis at the intersection point of the... third turn down the hallway, i wanna say.
HARRY: he was... he was face down i think?
HARRY: no, yeah, he was. i remember. the huge axe was sticking into his back, went all the way from his...
HARRY: oh god. oh god. i need a second.
GALIOS: sure, kid.
HARRY: thanks.

Breathe in. Breathe out. He can't actually smell any blood. The body isn't here. He's fine. He is fine. Harry wraps his arms around himself, gives one last series of breaths, then puts his hands back on the podium and continues.

HARRY: sorry. this whole thing is really fucked up and i am really fucked up by it and i'm not gonna pretend otherwise.
HARRY: but ok. about the scene.
HARRY: lemnis was there, in the corner. huge axe in his back, blood gushing everywhere. god there was so much fucking blood.
HARRY: the... the hallway was dark, i remember that. and it was hard to breathe. like really hard to breathe.
HARRY: so... so i don't think there were any vents there either. just lemnis and the axe and...
HARRY: fuck he's really dead i

Suddenly, Harry's crying a little. He doesn't know where it comes from, doesn't know anything except the image burning itself maybe forever into his memory. God he wants to be home. He wants to be away from here. He was never cut out for this dramatic heroic shit. Why couldn't he have been content with being just some guy?

GALIOS: 's fine. d֍n't sweat it.
GALIOS: and thanks kid. that was helpful.
HARRY: it was?
GALIOS: yeah. g֍t a better picture ֍f events n֍w. t֍֍k us l֍ng en֍ugh t֍ get there.
FELLNA: > ... ==>
BURNEI: ...
GALIOS: and i g֍tta say. y֍ur st֍ry's given us quite the fuckin' c֍nundrum.
HARRY: what do you mean?
GALIOS: s֍, assumin' y֍ur tale t֍ be true...
ENFUIR: xX yeah hes not lying. what are you getting at here? Xx
GALIOS: i'm just curi֍us ֍n ֍ne detail.
GALIOS: h֍w the fuck did wh֍ever killed lemnis get ֍utta there?
HARRY: ...
AQUINI: ...
RODHIM:
ENFUIR: xX huh Xx

Harry feels the mood shift. This is definitely the kind of suitably dramatic reveal that could change the course of events. He looks over to Vrissy. She's oddly silent, looking down in thought. He wonders what's going through her head.

ENFUIR: xX you know outside of this stupid mob panic thats actually a good point Xx
ENFUIR: xX how the hell is any of this working logistically? Xx
BURNEI: ...In wh&t w&y?
ENFUIR: xX given that lemnis bled out a hell of a lot and there was no way to axe him from a distance Xx
ENFUIR: xX and given that the three of us obviously didnt do it Xx
ENFUIR: xX how did the killer avoid getting messy? Xx

She gestures to everyone else. Other than Harry, Vrissy, and herself, not single person has any blood on them.

GALIOS: yeah.
GALIOS: 's what i was thinkin'.
GALIOS: ain't n֍ clean way t֍ axe a m֍therfucker.
FELLNA: > Galios: Why couldn't they have just thrown the axe? ==?
FELLNA: > Surely that easily makes up for the problem. ==>
GALIOS: huge axe like the ֍ne we're talking ab֍ut? d֍n't think s֍.
GALIOS: thing's buried the length ֍f the guy's spine, ain't it?
ENFUIR: xX right Xx
GALIOS: and ign֍ring h֍w it's a near-imp֍ssibility t֍ launch an axe like that ar֍und th֍se tight c֍rners...
GALIOS: there's n֍t many wh֍ c֍uld wield s֍mething that hefty. certainly n֍t ֍ur prime suspects.
BURNEI: So its someone whos physic&lly strong?
BURNEI: Th&t would le&ve either you, &quini, or Rodhim, wouldnt it?
ENFUIR: xX hang on burnei you cant seriously be prepared to throw your own boyfriend under the bus Xx
BURNEI: I never s&id th&t. I just me&nt hes one of the few strong enough to throw & huge &xe.
BURNEI: Besides, theres &n obvious problem with it being &quini &nyw&y.
HARRY: there is?
BURNEI: Ye&h. He doesnt use &xekind so the we&pon c&nt be his.
BURNEI: & since the terrorists c&n only use their own specibi... how c&n it be &quini?
HARRY: shit. that makes sense. is that right?
FELLNA: > Yes. We can all confirm Aquini's specibus, and it's *not* axekind. ==>
ENFUIR: xX yeah hes always used bladekind so Xx
BURNEI: &lso, none of the four of use use &xekind, so by process of elimin&tion, were off the suspect list!
HARRY: wait... seriously? you guys all have a specialized strife specibus?
BURNEI: Um... ye&h? Wh&ts weird &bout th&t?
HARRY: i just... thought it was a thing regular people didn't have access to.
FELLNA: > Why would you think that? ==>
HARRY: because i... i never encountered anyone with weapons growing up? like, nobody bothered with getting a license.
HARRY: i only got my first one literally just before i was captured.
BURNEI: Ye&h. Think th&t *might* h&ve more to do with the f&ct you grew up in & f&ncy privileged community r&ther th&n in the re&l world.
HARRY: huh. well, uh, my bad then.
HARRY: carry on.

Harry twiddles his thumbs and doesn't meet the judging gaze of literally everyone in the room. Shame pulses through his face.

FELLNA: > Everyone: Consider. ==>
FELLNA: > Since we know the four of us don't own the weapon, we need to figure out who *does*. ==>
FELLNA: > Galios? ==>
GALIOS: nah. ain't me. i'm a clubkind and pist֍lkind type ֍f guy. r֍dhim can attest t֍ that.
RODHIM: YEAH ALTH0UGH N0WADAYS 1TS M0STLY 0NLY GUNS HE USES
GALIOS: and i can tell ya r֍dhim d֍esn't ֍wn any kinda axe either. guy's happy with fistkind.
RODHIM: EXACTLY
RODHIM: S0 1T CANT BE E1THER 0F US N0T THAT WE WERE EVER SUSPECTS ANYWAY
VRISSY: ...
BURNEI: Which brings it b&ck to H&rry & Vrissy. &g&in.
ENFUIR: xX hey so what weapons do you two use just so we can clear this Xx
HARRY: oh yeah. like i said we only got them yesterday.
HARRY: i've got threadkind. she has cardkind.
BURNEI: & the two friends of yours who m&y or m&y not be the tenth p&rticip&nt?
HARRY: oh, um. sodakind and dicekind.
BURNEI: & th&ts not & lie?
HARRY: of course not! those are such weird specibi!! why would i make those up!
ENFUIR: xX he kinda has a point Xx
ENFUIR: xX those are some weird as fuck weapon choices Xx
HARRY: thank you!
BURNEI: Fine. Well believe it for now.
GALIOS: h֍ld up. ain't there a glaring pr֍blem?
BURNEI: Wh&t now?
GALIOS: s֍, it's a c֍ld fact lemnis g֍t ֍ffed via axe.
GALIOS: but if n֍ne ֍f us here uses an axe, h֍w is it that an axe ended up in his back?
BURNEI: Th&ts
BURNEI: ...
ENFUIR: xX yeah that is a problem Xx
VRISSY: ...Is It?
HARRY: ...vris?

Vrissy finally speaks. There's a fading glow to her eyes. Her expression is set in sudden determination.

VRISSY: Sorry, I was Thinking.
VRISSY: And there's an o8vious Solution here which I Think will unravel everything.
FELLNA: > Vrissy: What do you mean? ==>
VRISSY: I mean This.
VRISSY: We've all cleared Ourselves, 8ut there's one thing we Didn't Ask.
BURNEI: Th&t being?
VRISSY: What was Lemnis's Strife Speci8us?
GALIOS: mm hm...
ENFUIR: xX oh shit right Xx
BURNEI: H&ng on Im not
FELLNA: > [S] Wait. ==>
FELLNA: > [S] No. ==>
FELLNA: > [S] Because that means... ==>

Fellna's eyes go wide. She visibly flinches back.

FELLNA: > [S] Vrissy: Are you saying that Lemnis was killed with his own specibus?! ==>
VRISSY: That is Ex8ctly What I am S8ying.
VRISSY: I Need you all to Think through What That Means.
FELLNA: > [S] Hang on, no. ==>
FELLNA: > Because if Lemnis was killed with his own weapon, then... ==>
FELLNA: > [S] That means he's one of the terrorists! ==>
BURNEI: No, but th&t c&nt
VRISSY: Sorry, what was That You were S8ying? ::::)

Vrissy smiles. Her fangs glint in the light. As the penny drops in Harry's head, all he can think is that Vrissy has never looked more beautiful.

BURNEI: N-nothing.
VRISSY: Wrong! Let Me Fill In.
VRISSY: "No, That Can't 8e possi8le, 8ecause that means Lemnis was Killed 8y the Other Terrorist, and that Doesn't M8ke Sense 8ecause I didn't kill him."
BURNEI: H
VRISSY: In Fact, that's what Several of You Are Thinking, is it Not????????
VRISSY: You're all Perplexed 8y how Lemnis Could 8e Killed 8y the Other Terrorist when as far as you're aware, That Other Terrorist Is You!
GALIOS: wait a fuckin' sec֍nd.
GALIOS: s֍ what y֍u're sayin' is that y֍ur little the֍ry fr֍m earlier... was bang ֍n the m֍ney.
VRISSY: Ex8ctly!!!!!!!! ::::D

She puts her hands on her hips, basking in the triumph.

VRISSY: Every Single Person Here Has Terrorist Written On Their Wrist8ands.
VRISSY: Which Means This Game Is Illegitim8 As All Hell And Rigged 8eyond Rigged!!!!!!!!
BURNEI: Holy shit???
VRISSY: That's what This Game is Actually A8out!!!!!!!! Getting us Paranoid To Shit And 8ack And Letting Us Indisrcimin8tely Kill Each Other!
VRISSY: They Were Never Intending On Letting ANY8ODY Win, 8ecause 8y their Own Admission, the G8me Ends once there are Either No Terrorists Left, or all Civilians Have 8een Elimin8ted.
VRISSY: So, when you consider that Everyone Here Is a Terrorist, There Is No Reason For This G8me To Go On!

She turns to face Dirkbot, victory burning in her eyes.

VRISSY: Hah! What Do You Have To S8y To *Th8t*, Dirk8ot!!!!!!!!
DIRKBOT: ...
DIRKBOT: ...
DIRKBOT: ...
DIRKBOT: You have just over five minutes debate time left.
VRISSY: WH8T?!?!?!?! TH8T'S 8LL YOU H8VE TO S8Y????????
DIRKBOT: Don't get me wrong, it's a compelling theory, and I'm impressed it came from you of all people.
DIRKBOT: But... so what?
DIRKBOT: Someone still killed someone else, and the election itself remains legitimate in its purpose.
DIRKBOT: All you've done is assert anybody here can kill anybody else, which, congratulations kid, you've just thrown us right back to square one.
VRISSY: AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Vrissy shoves her sleeve in her mouth to stop herself from screaming any louder. Her face is a bright blue and her body trembles in fury.

HARRY: so... so that was all for nothing?
ENFUIR: xX no its not Xx
ENFUIR: xX it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this game is fixed and the only winning move is not to play Xx
ENFUIR: xX were not gonna survive if we play by the rules Xx
BURNEI: But hes right. If we c&n &ll kill e&ch other, so what?
ENFUIR: xX so what? Xx
BURNEI: Doesnt ch&nge the f&ct Lemnis w&s killed, does it?
BURNEI: Why the hell would we w&nt his killer w&lking free?
BURNEI: I dont w&nn& fucking die!!
ENFUIR: xX thats the POINT Xx
ENFUIR: xX executing someone here changes nothing! Xx
ENFUIR: xX you seriously dont want blood on your hands do you?? Xx
FELLNA: > Enfuir: No. ==>
FELLNA: > What we want to do is survive. Why would we risk that by having someone who is capable of killing an innocent person walk around freely? ==>
ENFUIR: xX youre fucking serious arent you Xx
BURNEI: ...Sorry.
BURNEI: Besides, did you consider th&t & protest vote might &lso get you killed?
DIRKBOT: I'm not confirming or denying a thing.
BURNEI: See?
FELLNA: > We have five minutes left to vote. ==>
FELLNA: > I don't care how you feel. We have to solve the murder. ==>
ENFUIR: xX we literally dont!!! Xx
FELLNA: > So, let's review. ==>

Fellna clears her throat. She does not meet Enfuir's gaze. Harry feels that pit in his stomach returning. This is going to end badly. So badly.

FELLNA: > Everyone: What do we know? ==>
BURNEI: Lemnis w&s killed with his own we&pon.
GALIOS: and wh֍ever did it managed t֍ d֍dge the g֍re.
ENFUIR: xX galios not you too Xx
GALIOS: ...i'm n֍t sayin' i agree with what's waiting at the end ֍f this debate.
GALIOS: but i need t֍ kn֍w the truth. ain't lemnis ֍wed that much?
ENFUIR: xX maybe. but later Xx
ENFUIR: xX not here Xx
ENFUIR: xX not when the justice is crockercorp sponsored slaughter Xx
GALIOS: ...
ENFUIR: xX please no Xx

Galios turns away. Rodhim and Aquini look on anxiously. Harry wants to scream. He can see the trainwreck in motion and is helpless against its force.

BURNEI: Is there &nything new we c&n g&in from those f&cts.
FELLNA: > Killed with his own weapon, likely from a distance... ==>
FELLNA: > And since he was killed in a corner, it's not possible that it was thrown... ==>
BURNEI: Not in &ny w&y were thinking of &t le&st.
HARRY: seriously, do we actually want to execute someone here? is this worth it??
VRISSY: Yeah!! You're 8uying Into The 8ullshit 8ig Time here!!
ENFUIR: xX please stop this Xx
GALIOS: ...
GALIOS: ...
GALIOS: ... y֍u kn֍w, there's an֍ther angle t֍ the crime.
FELLNA: > Really? ==>
GALIOS: yup. just a hunch, but...
GALIOS: any֍ne c֍nsidered psi֍nics might be in play here?
BURNEI: Psionics?
FELLNA: > I mean, Lemnis *was* a goldblood, so... ==>
GALIOS: nah, n֍t the way y֍u're thinking. kid was ֍utta juice. pr֍bably why he was carryin' ar֍und that fuck֍ff huge axe.
BURNEI: Outt& juice? You me&n he didnt h&ve the &bility.
GALIOS: exactly. it be like that s֍metimes.
FELLNA: > So... somebody else used their psionics to kill Lemnis with his axe? ==>
BURNEI: But who here even *h&s* th&t kind of &bility? Cert&inly not me & my friends!
FELLNA: > Vrissy is a cerulean. Not to stereotype, but her hemotype does--
VRISSY: Oh Shut The Fuck Up With That!! Shut the Fuck Up A8out This Whole De88!!!!!!!!
GALIOS: nah. n֍t thinking vrissy either.
GALIOS: g֍t my eye ֍n s֍me֍ne i've been suspecting since the start.
BURNEI: Then... who?
GALIOS: dunn֍.
GALIOS: r֍dhim. y֍u wanna let that kid g֍ and try talking f֍r ֍nce?
RODHIM: WH
RODHIM: 1M S0RRY WHAT

Rodhim flinches to attention like he's just been caught daydreaming. He brings a hand to his head and wipes at his lips. Harry takes a closer look and notices dried burgundy blood crusted around Rodhim's nostrils. He feels his jaw tighten.

GALIOS: dunn֍ if y֍u kn֍w, but ֍ur buff friend here is quite the fuckin' adept psychic.
GALIOS: th֍ught he was g֍ld level myself, but that scuffle ֍ut in the badlands sh֍wed me he's g֍t s֍me ֍f that cerulean gift, t֍֍.
RODHIM: GAL10S WHAT ARE Y0U SAY1NG
RODHIM: THAT 1M
GALIOS: had a hunch y֍u were m֍re p֍werful than y֍u were letting in ֍n when y֍u th֍ught y֍u were crafty en֍ugh t֍ use ֍ur comrades as y֍ur pers֍nal meatshields during the ambush.
GALIOS: ֍r did y֍u think i w֍uldn't fucking N֍TICE THAT?
RODHIM: 1
RODHIM: 1

Rodhim's mouth gapes open and closed. Harry's heart nearly leaps out of his throat when Galios starts yelling.

GALIOS: all i'm sayin' is, h֍w hard can it really be f֍r a c֍wardly psychic t֍ reach ֍ut t֍ the m֍st pliable mind in the r֍֍m, walk 'em ֍utta the way, and make 'em kill themselves?
GALIOS: quick and quiet crime. n֍ way f֍r anything t֍ be pinned ֍n ya. s֍und familiar en֍ugh yet?
RODHIM: GAL10S WHAT THE HELL ARE Y0U SAY1NG
RODHIM: WHY W0ULD Y0U EVEN TH1NK THAT 0F ME
RODHIM: 1 D0NT EVEN *HAVE* THAT AB1L1TY
GALIOS: pretty ballsy ֍f y֍u t֍ say that when y֍u're d֍ing it RIGHT FUCKING N֍W.
GALIOS: s֍ h֍w's ab֍ut we let the nice indig֍ b֍y g֍ bef֍re we c֍ntinue this discussi֍n?
RODHIM: 1
GALIOS: I SAID, DR֍P Y֍UR GRIP ֍N HIM, M֍THERFUCKER
RODHIM: ST0P THAT HURTS 1T

Rodhim clenches his head and winces. An imperceptible aura Harry didn't notice until now snaps away. Across the way, Aquini blinks in bewilderment.

AQUINI: huh? i...
AQUINI: what just happened?
AQUINI: my head feels [WEIRD]...
BURNEI: &quini???
AQUINI: sorry, i keep blanking out. what are we talking about?
GALIOS: h֍w THIS FUCKER has been mind c֍ntr֍lling y֍u t֍ stay silent.

Galios points to Rodhim who is now visibly whimpering. Aquini's eyes widen.

AQUINI: rodhim? what did he...
AQUINI: oh my god. [OH MY GOD].
AQUINI: how the [HELL] did i forget that?
FELLNA: > Forget... what? ==>
AQUINI: [HIM]!!! he
AQUINI: after vriska took off he... he did this [WEIRD] mind glowy thing and
AQUINI: and he kept saying "i killed him, i killed him" again and again.
AQUINI: then he did... something to me. something that made me forget all about that!
AQUINI: [FUCK] i think i'm going to be sick...

Aquini turns away from his podium and dry-heaves for a few seconds. Rodhim begins to cry. Galios shakes his head.

GALIOS: there y֍u have it.
GALIOS: what d֍ y֍u have t֍ say ab֍ut that, R֍DHIM???
RODHIM: 1
RODHIM: 1 1 1
DIRKBOT: Two minutes.
RODHIM: 1...!!!!

Rodhim pounds his fists against the podium and roars out a sob.

RODHIM: 1M S0RRY 1M S0 S0RRY!!!!!!!!
RODHIM: 1 WAS SCARED 0K??? 1 WAS SCARED T0 FUCK1NG DEATH AND 1D BEEN T0LD 1 WAS TH1S H0RR1BLE CR1M1NAL AND 1 TH0UGHT
RODHIM: 1 TH0UGHT 1 WAS G0NNA D1E 1F 1 D1DNT D0 S0METH1NG!!
GALIOS: and h֍w was KILLING A FUCKING KID g֍nna help y֍u???
RODHIM: 0H G0D 1T WAS S0 EASY 1 D1DNT EVEN NEED T0 PUSH THAT HARD
RODHIM: 1 JUST NEEDED T0 NUDGE H1S M1ND A L1TTLE 0H FUCK 1M S0 S0 FUCK1NG S0RRY!!!!!!
GALIOS: y֍u idi֍t. y֍u st֍ne c֍ld M֍THERFUCKING IDI֍T.
RODHIM: GAL10S PLEASE D0NT K1LL ME 1 WAS SCARED!!!! 1 WAS S0 SCARED 1 D1DNT KN0W WHAT WAS G01NG 0N PLEASE 1 D0NT WANT T0 D1E!!!!!!!!
ENFUIR: xX seriously please stop Xx
ENFUIR: xX this has gone far enough! nobody else has to die! not even him! Xx
RODHIM: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
GALIOS: ...
GALIOS: ...
GALIOS: ...all i wanted fr֍m ya was the truth.
GALIOS: i'm n֍t v֍ting f֍r y֍u r֍dhim. this game ain't n֍ kind ֍f justice.
RODHIM: THANK Y0U THANK Y0U!!!!!
GALIOS: but d֍n't get it twisted f֍r ֍ne fucking sec֍nd.
GALIOS: i c֍uldn't give a FUCK whether y֍u live ֍r die. y֍u're a self-serving C֍WARD wh֍ even n֍w refuses t֍ take resp֍nsibility.
RODHIM: 1S THAT WHAT Y0U WANT??? RESP0NS1B1L1TY??
RODHIM: HERE!!!

Rodhim pounds down on his tablet with a fist. A cutesy little beep rings out there.

RODHIM: 1 JUST V0TED F0R MYSELF 1S THAT RESP0NS1B1L1TY EN0UGH F0R Y0U??
GALIOS: y֍u just d֍n't get it. ain't n֍b֍dy's place t֍ at֍ne but y֍ur ֍wn.
GALIOS: f֍r what it's w֍rth. i d֍n't wanna see y֍u killed at their hand, n֍ matter y֍ur crime.
GALIOS: i'll abstain. can't say the same ab֍ut every֍ne else.
RODHIM: ...!

Rodhim is crying too hard to talk. Thick red streams of tears down his face. He shudders and he babbles like a frightened infant. It makes Harry feel like shit, makes him want to curl up and start sobbing too. This is too much. Too much.

ENFUIR: xX thank you galios Xx
VRISSY: Yeah. That Should M8ke things a Tie Now.
GALIOS: i ֍nly ever wanna d֍ the right thing.
GALIOS: heh. l֍֍k at me shyin' away fr֍m the vi֍lent ֍pti֍n. she'd be pr֍ud ֍f me.
DIRKBOT: Thirty seconds.

Galios steps away from his podium, a clear indication of his intention to abstain. Enfuir does likewise. As does Vrissy. Harry steps down last, an uneasy lump in his throat as Dirkbot counts down the seconds.

DIRKBOT: Two...
DIRKBOT: One...
DIRKBOT: And time's up! The election has come to an end.
DIRKBOT: Let's see what the will of the majority has dictated.

The same fanfare from the start of the game rings out. Rodhim bawls even harder. Harry, Vrissy, Galios, and Enfuir all trade uneasy looks. God he hopes that they've done enough to spare any more brutality. He wishes it with every inch of his being.

DIRKBOT: So. The results have been tallied.
DIRKBOT: First up, five of your votes have gone to... abstain. Four through choice, one through absence.
HARRY: thank fuck. thank fuck.
DIRKBOT: But we're not done yet.
DIRKBOT: On the other hand, for the confession of his crime, Rodhim has earned himself a nice, neat...
DIRKBOT: Six votes.
HARRY: wh
HARRY: WHAT????

He steps towards his podium Enfuir is faster, face scrunched up with furious tears.

ENFUIR: xX what the FUCK???? how???? HOW?????? Xx
VRISSY: That's Literally Impossi8le!!!! What the F8ck!!!!!!!!
DIRKBOT: Simple. The justice clause.

Dirkbot's eyes flash red for a second. Harry feels his body start to tremble. He hears a faint rumbling, so faint that it might be coming from inside his own body.

HARRY: the... what????
DIRKBOT: Shit. Did I forget to explain? Whatever.
DIRKBOT: Basically, if your ass gets murdered, by default you get the right to vote twice for your killer if they're dumb enough to confess. Call it spite. Call it vengeance. Call it whatever you want it to.
HARRY: i'm sorry but that's a stinking load of HORSESHIT.
GALIOS: s֍ it's rigged n֍ matter what we d֍, huh?
DIRKBOT: To quote the most infamous woman in Paradox Space... them's the breaks, I'm afraid.
RODHIM: 0H G0D PLEASE N0 1 D0NT WANNA D1E
VRISSY: Stop This, Ple8se!!!!!!!!
DIRKBOT: So without further ado, let's get this over with.
ENFUIR: xX SERIOUSLY STOP IT ALREADY Xx
HARRY: THIS IS FUCKING HORRIBLE. THIS IS POINTLESS!!! THERE IS NO NEED FOR THIS!!!!
DIRKBOT: Rodhim, democracy has spoken.Your number's up, buddy!
RODHIM: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE N0 N0 N0 N0 MAKE 1T ST0P 1 CANT D1E HERE 1 CANT D0 TH1S 0H G0D ST0P S0ME0NE HELP ME S0ME0NE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!

It happens in less than a blink. Dirkbot's eyes latch onto Rodhim's. He reaches for the sword on his back. In that one final beat of rumbling silence, Rodhim starts to give out one final scream, crackling out a desperate psychic pulse. Dirkbot's whole body imperceptibly twitches. Rodhim's head comes flying clean off, mouth frozen open in a silent shout that will never end.

Both head and body crumple to the floor in a splash of blood that catches Fellna and Galios. Harry's vision swims. He has to look away before he passes out.

HARRY: oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh
ENFUIR: xX what the fuck did you do Xx
BURNEI: Th&t
BURNEI: Hes re&lly
BURNEI: Did we just
VRISSY: This is Sick. This is So Fucking Sick.
DIRKBOT: It's just how the cookie crumbles, I am afraid.

Dirkbot's expression is robotically blank as always. There is not a speck of blood on him. The rumbling is louder, louder. So loud Harry could swear it's not a noise coming from the shattering veneer of his own mind.

DIRKBOT: So, now that we're done here, it's back to the grind.
DIRKBOT: Have fun, and do try your hardest not to die. It would be shame to repeat this scene so...
DIRKBOT: ...
DIRKBOT: ...
DIRKBOT: What the fuck is that sound.

The rumbling has now evolved to a clearly distinct metallic rattling. If Harry didn't know any better, he'd say it sounds exactly like a body crawling through the air vents at lightning speed. He looks at the ceiling and sees one red panel after another start rattling like they're about to come loose, snaking in a loose path to the dead middle of the room.

Dirkbot cranes his head up. The rattling grows faster, more frenzied. Every eye is on this new phenomenon, and not the gory scene a few scant feet away. A sudden electrical tension hangs in the very atmosphere.

DIRKBOT: Now what in the
VRISKA: GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

The air vent directly above his head explodes.

Chapter 31: THREE, section vi.

vi.

There's a billowing tornado of smoke on the horizon of NuSeattle's skyline. The people around them are in a numb panic, chattering nervously about some kind of explosion. Kanaya has precisely zero fucking time for any of it.

Her daughter is on the screen overlooking the city, another figure in a Crockercorp televised execution. That makes things very simple indeed. Kanaya's priorities have shifted, every part of her in alignment with the singular goal of tearing every member of that corporation who stands in her way to shreds.

She leaps up to the top of the closest building and sprints along the rooftops. There's the odd guard stationed in covert spots up here. She cleaves through each one with her chainsaw without so much as blinking. Vrissy is still screaming on the television. Kanaya growls.

KANAYA: JADE!!!

Jade zaps in next to her, straining to hover at the same speed as Kanaya's charge. Her hair is blown out in all directions and her face is weary.

JADE: yeah?
KANAYA: Give This Message To Rose
KANAYA: Tell Her I Need To Know Where The Crockercorp Studios Are Located Immediately
JADE: ok, sure
JADE: but, well...

She points somewhere off to Kanaya's left. Kanaya turns her head to see Rose streaking across the sky in a cloak of fire, a guiding star bound for one central point.

JADE: i think itd be faster to just follow her :|
KANAYA: Excellent Suggestion
JADE: hey wait! whats the new plan! what do we

Kanaya ceases to listen. She simply leaps the length of an entire block, hopping over and over until she's running across the rooftops just beneath Rose's incendiary and infuriated form. Jade is wrong. They have long since moved past the need for plans. This is no mission. This is a barely-restrained act of destruction.

KANAYA: ROSE!!!
KANAYA: PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE BOUND FOR THE LOCATION OF THE PROPAGANDA STUDIOS AND NOT ABOUT TO FLY OFF IN A SUPREMELY POWERFUL FIT OF RAGE!!!

She has to shout to be heard over the tempest. The rippling hot air around Rose dries Kanaya's lashes out, lightly burns her skin. The air beneath her headscarf expands until the whole garment is billowing.

Rose looks down to her wife. Her mouth is stretched in a snarl.

ROSE: I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL HER, KANAYA.
KANAYA: THAT IS NOT WHAT I ASKED
KANAYA: DO YOU HAVE A PLAN ON WHERE YOU ARE GOING

A pair of Crockercorp guards stand in their way. Rose evaporates them with a gesture. Kanaya hates how incredibly, distractingly hot her wife is being right now. It's almost enough to knock her out of her laser-guided focus.

ROSE: YES. THE CROCKERCORP STUDIOS.
ROSE: THEY'RE ON THE SOUTHERN END OF DOWNTOWN.
ROSE: I AM GOING TO TEAR THE ENTIRE COMPOUND APART BRICK BY BRICK UNTIL I HAVE OUR DAUGHTER BACK.
KANAYA: THEN WE ARE IN ACCORD
ROSE: MOST CERTAINLY.

On the screen above, a limeblood troll slaps Vrissy across the face to snap her out of her screaming fit. Kanaya's pusher seizes in an awful way. Vrissy blinks, and she, Harry Anderson, and this mystery troll start running down the corridor away from the dead body.

A security helicopter rises up from seemingly nowhere, its machine gun trained on the maelstrom of unbridled sapphic fury honed in on the heart of this rotten city. This time, Kanaya elects to show off. She bares her fangs and launches herself in the air with a primal roar. In one swift motion, she uses her chainsaw to bisect the helicopter. The two halves crash down to the streets below in a burning blast as Kanaya touches back down on the rooftops with a perfectly executed highly rare and highly dangerous milf roll.

ROSE: HOT DAMN KANAYA.
KANAYA: THANK YOU
KANAYA: I HOPE THOSE FUCKERS SUFFER

Further behind the two wives, John and Jade are struggling to keep up. John's got his hammer out and is using it to push tornadoes out at something below. Jade is taking potshots from her rifle at something. Kanaya is immensely disinterested in whatever it is they're fighting. Later she will care. But not now.

Vrissy is now standing at one debate podium in a circle of debate podiums occupied by a whole range of other trolls. She's shielding her eyes and wincing nervously. In the middle of the whole scene is a robot built in the shape of Dirk Strider. It churns Kanaya's stomach. Only Jane Crocker would go so low as to use the likeness of a dearly long-departed friend for such a wretched purpose. The robot's eyes flash. Kanaya considers how satisfying it will be to tear through the thing's metallic skin like hot butter.

KANAYA: HOW MUCH LONGER UNTIL WE GET THERE
ROSE: ANOTHER THREE OR FOUR MILES, EASILY.
KANAYA: AND HOW LONG WILL THAT TAKE
ROSE: OH, MAYBE FIFTEEN MINUTES AT MOST?
ROSE: THE SPEED OF UNMITIGATED FUCKING FURY SEEMS TO HAVE ITS BENEFITS.
ROSE: ...
ROSE: HOLD ON ONE SECOND.

Rose abruptly takes a dive down to the left. Kanaya slows her pace and watches as she descends on a Crockercorp-owned facility. From this distance, she can't tell if it's a factory or a personnel station. Either way, it quickly ceases to matter. Rose floats above the site and points her needles down. The whole things blows up like fireworks. Then Rose turns back to the middle of the city and continues tearing through the air.

ROSE: THERE.
KANAYA: ROSE I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH CAUSING DISTRACTIONS
ROSE: OH, WE ARE. THAT WAS JUST PERSONAL.
KANAYA: OK THATS FINE THEN
KANAYA: I THINK SCREAMING THROUGH YOUR AURA OF FURY IS HURTING MY THROAT
ROSE: I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT ONE DARLING I CAN'T REALLY CONTROL THE SOUND BARRIER OF THE FLAMES MADE OUT OF MY LITERAL FUCKING RAGE.
KANAYA: OH NO IT IS ONLY A MINOR INCONVENIENCE AT WORST PLEASE DO NOT WORRY YOURSELF
ROSE: THAT'S A RELIEF. I DON'T THINK I COULD TURN THIS OFF EVEN IF I WANTED TO.
KANAYA: ROSE YOU ARE BEING INSANELY ATTRACTIVE RIGHT NOW I AM SORRY IT HAS TO BE SAID
ROSE: YOU TOO, KANAYA.
ROSE: WE ARE BOTH TWO SEXY MOTHERFUCKERS WHO ARE GOING TO GIVE A BITCH HER DUE RECKONING.
KANAYA: FUCK YES

The trolls on-screen are well and truly lost in the throes of some argument. Some weedy panicky troll boy keeps pointing his finger at Vrissy, whose eyes are glowing too much to offer any kind of rebuttal. Rationally, Kanaya understands that the kid is a much a victim of this obscene game show as her daughter, but he's doing himself no favours when it comes to avoiding being collateral damage.

Jade Harley zaps in a few feet in front of them.

JADE: HEY GUYS I THINK

And they both tear past her without a second glance. As they draw closer, Kanaya can see the green fire burning through the city's central district more clearly. It's a passing curiosity that she logs in her head alongside all the other wrongness she's feeling about the state of NuSeattle at present.

JADE: GUYS

Rose lights up a SWAT truck on the road below like a candle. Kanaya headbutts another red-clad officer hard enough that she topples right off the building's edge. She hops the gap between buildings and lands with a kick to the skull of the next guy she encounters.

JADE: GUYS SERIOUSLY!!!!! >:(

Jade pushes herself forward with a burst of green electricity. Her dog ears are flat as she frowns at Rose and Kanaya. She clenches her gun hard enough her knuckles tremble.

KANAYA: JADE WHATEVER IT IS WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR IT
ROSE: UNLESS YOU CAN TELEPORT US TO THE PRECISE LOCATION OF OUR DAUGHTER, I THINK IT CAN WAIT.
JADE: THATS THE THING!! I DONT KNOW THAT IT CAN! :O
KANAYA: THEN TALK TO US
KANAYA: WE STILL HAVE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE WE REACH THE STUDIO

She looks back up to the screen. The limeblood girl is practically pulling at her hair. Harry Anderson is screaming with tears in his eyes, gesturing to himself then to Vrissy. Some tealblood girl is looking on with terrified revulsion. A large, older purpleblood gentleman is coolly looking at a well-built burgundyblood. Kanaya wishes she had the time to stop and understand what she's seeing beyond the instinctual knowledge the above farce is putting her daughter's life in more danger with every passing minute.

JADE: IM SURPRISED YOU DIDNT FEEL IT ALREADY KANAYA
KANAYA: FEEL WHAT
KANAYA: JADE I AM A LITTLE PREOCCUPIED GET TO THE POINT
JADE: OK OK!!!!!!!!
JADE: I REALIZED AFTER JOHN AND I DEALT WITH THESE GUYS WITH GIANT BUG NETS
ROSE: BUG NETS??
JADE: ITS IRRELEVANT TO THE STORY!
JADE: BUT AFTER WE KICKED THEIR ASSES I REALIZED
JADE: ALL OF A SUDDEN I COULD FEEL A HELL OF A LOT MORE SPACE BEING OCCUPIED ABOVE MY HEAD
KANAYA: MEANING
JADE: MEANING THAT I THINK A LARGE NUMBER OF LARGE OBJECTS HAVE JUST MATERIALIZED ABOVE OUR HEADS!!!!

Kanaya looks up to the sky. Save for the residual smoke billows, it is a clear and beautiful spring day.

KANAYA: I DO NOT SEE ANYTHING
JADE: THATS BECAUSE WHATEVER IT IS IS OBVIOUSLY INVISIBLE!
KANAYA: OF COURSE YES MY BAD
KANAYA: DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION FOR US BESIDES THE APPARENT FACT THERE ARE INVISIBLE THINGS IN THE SKY AND THEY ARE BAD
JADE: YEAH ACTUALLY :(
JADE: I THINK
JADE: I THINK THEY FEEL LIKE WARSHIPS???

Rose abruptly slows the hell down and turns to face Jade. There is a sun-shaped third eye open on her forehead and it is blazing.

ROSE: WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY??
JADE: I SAID I THINK THERE IS A WHOLE BUNCH OF INVISIBLE WARSHIPS ABOVE OUR HEAD!!!
ROSE: I WAS AFRAID YOU'D SAID THAT.
JADE: AFRAID??? WHY?
ROSE: BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HAVING PREMONITIONS, JADE.
JADE: WHAT DO YOU MEAN PREMONITIONS
KANAYA: THIS IS NEWS TO ME TOO ROSE WHAT THE HELL
ROSE: I AM SORRY FOR NOT SHARING, BUT I WASN'T SURE.
ROSE: THEY AREN'T LIKE MY HEADACHES OF OLD. THEY'RE MORE... INTANGIBLE, I GUESS.
ROSE: THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT IS I'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING GRAVE OMENS OF SOME DREADFUL FUTURE EVENT.
ROSE: EVERY PART OF MY POWERS ARE SCREAMING AT ME THAT MASS DESTRUCTION LIES JUST BEYOND THE HORIZON.
ROSE: I WAS HOPING TO HAVE MORE TIME TO DIVINE ITS TRUE MEANING, BUT I THINK IT WOULD NOT BE UNFAIR TO ASSUME THAT A METRIC FUCKTON OF CROCKER WARSHIPS ABOVE ONE OF EARTH C'S LARGEST CITIES COULD IN FACT BE THE CALAMITY I HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATING.

KANAYA: ROSE WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN PLAINER TERMS
ROSE: I DON'T KNOW. I JUST THINK STAYING IN NUSEATTLE FOR ANY LONGER THAN WE HAVE TO IS A BAD IDEA.
ROSE: IF ANY KIND OF MAJOR CONFLICT STARTS UP... I FEAR FOR WHAT THAT MEANS.

The unsaid part screams louder than any of the three women's vocal chords could ever go. Something acidic sloshes around inside Kanaya's chest. All she can do is look at Vrissy, arguing with all her strength on the screen. That horrible, blinding parental fear seeps through her skin.

KANAYA: WE HAVE TO FIND VRISSY RIGHT NOW
KANAYA: BEFORE ANYTHING HAPPENS
ROSE: YES. I AM ALL FOR GETTING THE HELL OUT OF HERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
ROSE: THE STUDIOS AREN'T THAT LARGE. IT SHOULDN'T TAKE LONG TO FIND OUR DAUGHTER.
JADE: AFTER THAT I THINK WE SHOULD TRY MESSAGING HQ IF NOT KARKAT DIRECTLY
JADE: IM WORRIED SOMETHING REALLY TERRIBLE IS GOING TO HAPPEN
JOHN: hey jade did you tell them yet???

A sudden cold breeze brushes past Kanaya. John rides atop the current until he's matching Jade's pace.

JADE: SORRY JOHN WHAT WAS THAT???
JOHN: i said do rose and kanaya know about the air ships!
JADE: JOHN IT IS REALLY HARD TO HEAR ANYTHING OVER THE ROAR OF ROSES FIRESTORM YOURE GONNA HAVE TO SPEAK UP
JOHN: I SAID
JOHN: DID YOU MANAGE TO TELL ROSE AND KANAYA ABOUT THE WAR SHIPS IN THE SKY????????
JADE: YES!!! YES THEY KNOW!!!
JOHN: THAT'S VERY GOOD!
JOHN: HEY, I THINK SOMETHING'S UP WITH HARRY ANDERSON.

John points to the screen. The debate has shifted to the point where Vrissy and the limeblood girl look determinedly furious. The burgundyblood from earlier is sobbing uncontrollably. The purpleblood's eyes glint with the faint edge of chucklevoodoos. Harry Anderson is screaming, almost pleading, with other trolls in the circle. His face is flush with frustration. The Dirkbot's eyes are trained squarely on the human child.

JOHN: OH GOD, WHAT IF HE GETS HURT?
ROSE: WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, JOHN.
ROSE: NEARLY THERE.

Rose points ahead. In front of them is the huge, endleslly moving inner road. Beyond that, the walled-off compound of Crockercorp Studios. Kanaya recognises the blood-soaked sight from years of recon and thousands of trolls fed to the meat grinder of media. More pressingly, the buildings stop here, and not even Kanaya can cross a two hundred foot gap.

KANAYA: A HAND PLEASE
JOHN: OH, I GOTCHA.

John pushes out a blast of breeze which wraps around Kanaya and carries her into the air. She wobbles around for a few seconds until she finds steady purchase in the middle of this air current.

KANAYA: THANK YOU JOHN YOU ARE NOT A TOTAL WASTE AFTER ALL
JOHN: HEHE, I APPRECIATE THAT! I WANT TO BE USEFUL AND COOL LIKE YOU GIRLS ARE
JADE: GIRLS?? JOHN WE ARE LITERALLY NEARLY FORTY YEARS OLD
JOHN: SORRY! WOMEN. I MEANT WOMEN. I WANT TO BE USEFUL AND COOL LIKE YOU WOMEN ARE
KANAYA: THIS IS ASININE CAN WE PLEASE GET MOVING THERE ARE CHILDRENS LIVES AT STAKE HERE LEST YOU FORGET
JOHN: MY BAD.

The four of them tear across the road well above any known speed limit. A swarm of crimson dronebots tries to stop them. Kanaya can't say whose attack decimates them the fastest. It's more a case of one second they're there, and the next a heap of ash is falling on the gridlocked cars below. On the screen, the burgundyblood has his head in his hands. The purpleblood is listening intently to something the limeblood has to say. There is a sense of finality approaching. Kanaya's skin prickles with anticipation.

They touch down inside the Crockercorp Studios compound about two minutes later. Predictably, a slew of armed security officers is there to greet them. Also predictably, Kanaya tears them all to a pulp. Where she misses, Rose is there to clean up.

JOHN: HOLY SHIT YOU TWO ARE SCARY WHEN ANGRY.
JOHN: I MEAN, I ALREADY KNEW THIS, BUT IT'S BEEN SO LONG I FORGOT WHAT EXPERIENCING IT IS LIKE.
KANAYA: JOHN NOT NOW

Kanaya takes a few steps forward. She feels a strange, distant rumble on the ground. Almost like a small earthquake, but not quite. Another thing to ponder once Vrissy is safely out of Crocker's repugnant clutches.

JOHN: SO WHAT NOW???
ROSE: THERE ARE SIX STUDIO BUILDINGS. THIS PERVERSE PROGRAM WILL BE BEING FILMED INSIDE ONE OF THEM.
ROSE: WE KEEP GOING UNTIL WE FIND THEM.
ROSE: KANAYA, WITH ME.
KANAYA: OF COURSE
ROSE: JOHN AND JADE, YOU KEEP ANY INTERLOPERS OUT.
JADE: GOT IT!

Jade and John position themselves in the air above the front gate, weapons at the ready. Rose streaks across the compound, smashing her way through the front door of Studio 1. Kanaya stands and watches. Thirty seconds later, a small group of human journalists run out of the building. Fifteen seconds after that, Rose detonates the studio from the inside out. None of the agents of state propaganda are lucky enough to evade the burning lumps of shrapnel. Rose floats out of the wreckage and back to Kanaya.

ROSE: NOTHING.
ROSE: JUST SOME SHITTY NEWS STATION.
KANAYA: IT HAPPENS
KANAYA: WEVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET HERE BEFORE NOW
ROSE: ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, ONLY FIVE MORE STUDIOS TO GO.
ROSE: YOU TAKE STUDIO 2, I'LL DO NUMBER 3.
KANAYA: OKAY

Rose rockets into Studio 3. Kanaya sprints towards the entrance of Studio 2. Overhead, another group of drones are descending on the compound. John rounds them all up in a ball of wind, and Jade compresses them until they implode. From inside the compound, there isn't a clear view of the screen. Kanaya tries not to think about what could be happening to her daughter.

Instead, she grabs the handle to the front door of Studio 2, and rips the entire thing off its hinges. She tosses it somewhere behind her and rushes inside.

It's some kind of sitcom set, from the looks of things. A bunch of cloyingly human domestic props, a series of sets built up to mimic a generic-looking middle class suburban human home. The studio is empty, the lights off. Kanaya still gives the whole place a cursory look-around. No indication that any death games are taking place here.

KANAYA: Fuck!!!!

On her way out, she makes sure to tear the shitty little sitcom set to shreds. Hanging on the wall of the living room set is a framed image of Crocker herself. Kanaya punches hard enough to tear a hole clean through the picture, and the wall behind it. Then, she carves her way out of the side of the building and steps back out into the daylight.

Next to her, Studio 3 goes up in flames. Rose reappears by Kanaya's side, her blazing aura only growing stronger.

KANAYA: I TAKE IT YOU FOUND NOTHING TOO?
ROSE: NO, NOT YET. JUST SOME KITSCHY BULLSHIT FOR SOME MOVIE NOBODY CARES ABOUT.
KANAYA: ALL I ENCOUNTERED WAS AN UNUSED SET FOR SOME TRITE CROCKER WORSHIPING SITCOM
ROSE: DO YOU WANT ME TO SET THE PLACE ON FUCKING FIRE?
KANAYA: OH ABSOLUTELY

So Rose sets Studio 2 on fire. And so it goes. Kanaya bursts into Studio 4, Rose into Studio 5. Kanaya finds a bunch of grifter podcasters debating "the troll issue" inside her studio. She kills the chuds without so much as a second thought. The two wives reconvene outside. Rose burns the two studios down.

She turns to Kanaya, face tense.

ROSE: SHE HAS TO BE IN STUDIO 6.
KANAYA: IT SEEMS THAT WAY DOESNT IT

Rose points to the studio at the edge of the compound. It's the largest one, a massive crimson rectangle that makes you sick to look at. Kanaya stares down the offending polygon and feels her stomach lurch. Vrissy is inside there.

Behind them, a mass of guards and drones is starting to push John and Jade back.

KANAYA: ROSE ILL GO AHEAD FIRST
KANAYA: MAKE SURE THE DEFENSIVE LINE DOESNT BREAK
ROSE: OF COURSE DEAR.

Rose leans in and kisses Kanaya with her flaming lips. It's searing and overwhelming and leaves Kanaya pulsing with several kinds of raw energy when they're done. Rose gives a grim smile.

ROSE: GIVE THEM HELL. GET OUR GIRL BACK.
KANAYA: ABSOLUTELY.

She spins away. Rose begins firing blasts at the mob. Kanaya leaps at the front door to Studio 6 and kicks it down with a battle cry.

John gets sent spinning back from some kind of blast. The rumbling in the ground grows stronger. Jade cartwheels out of the way of a volley of bullets and returns the fire in kind. Above, the broadcast plays on unseen. The pincers of fate draw in tighter, tighter. Kanaya can't take it.

She charges through the threshold, chainsaw screaming with bloodlust, and she quickly comes face to face with...

...A blank, hollow dark room. No lights, no props, no actors, nothing. The rumbling outside reaches unbearable levels.

Fuck. Fuck.

The studio is empty. They were wrong. They were all wrong.

Kanaya spins around in panicked fury.

KANAYA: ROSE I

Which is when the city blows up.

Chapter 32: THREE, section vii.

vii.

Serendipitously, the motorcycle runs out of gas about thirty seconds into the city limits. A border guard comes up to arrest him. Karkat Vantas merely pulls his gun out and shoots the guy in the chest.

KARKAT: JESUS FUCK, CAN'T YOU ASSHOLES WAIT FIVE MINUTES?

He removes his helmet and hops off the bike, letting it clatter to the ground in the middle of the road. The air is warm and smells faintly of exhaust fumes. It's been so long since he's been in a human city. He almost forgot.

Karkat ducks into the now empty border guard station and pulls up his comms device.

CG: BORDER SCOUTS, IT'S VANTAS.
CG: I'VE SAFELY ARRIVED. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP
AT: noo proobleem, coommaandeer vaantaas! @u@
CG: MAKE SURE THE CAVALREAP TEAM'S TRANSPORTALIZER NETWORK IS CLOSED. DON'T WANT ANY KIND OF INCIDENT.
AT: goot iit! gooood luuck coommaander! @u~

He draws his hood up over his head and leaves the station. Under these layers, and with his stature, it's not too hard for an uncaring passerby to assume Karkat's just another human. It takes him no time at all to get into the city itself undetected. He either got lucky with picking the eastern border, or security on this city is lax as all shit. Either way, it's crucial information to know.

If you'd have told Karkat this time yesterday he'd be infiltrating the Human Kingdom capitol on his own he'd have laughed in your face. He'd steeled himself for a months-long siege in Outglut^2. NuSeattle was the last thing on his mind. But all it takes is for the bulk of your enemy's fleet to vanish, and for them to kidnap your dead friend's apprentice for you to change your plans, apparently.

Karkat looks around as he joins onto a busy street. People are walking up and down in every direction, but a number of them are fixed on their phones. The police presence here is alarming. This is meant to be the bastion of the human race. From what he's already seen, Karkat reckons there are more cops per square foot in NuSeattle than there are in any of the occupied troll cities. It's always the case. Train their forces on their own before exporting them abroad.

He moves, slowly and carefully, through the crowd, listening in on hurried snippets of conversation. They're all talking about some explosion downtown, near the mayor's office. He doesn't like the sound of it. It feels like the exact sort of thing Crocker would plan in whatever fit of power-hunger has gripped her this week. In the air, he sees a column of green-ish smoke coming from somewhere near the stupidly massive skyscraper in the middle of the city.

Surpsigingly, he manages to get about four blocks in without any bother or hassle. He only stops when his speaker crab starts vibrating again. He ducks into the nearest narrow alleyway, crouching behind an overspilling Crocker-branded dumpster as a red wagon blaring out its sirens rushes by.

KARKAT: YES
MEENAH: shouty yo
KARKAT: MEENAH? WHAT IS IT?
MEENAH: ok so fronz heard on the chatter that you aint in cavalreap like you said whats up with that
KARKAT: HOW IS ALFONZ EVEN GETTING MESSAGES? I THOUGHT THE COMMUNICATION EMBARGO WAS STILL IN PLACE
MEENAH: would you believe me if i told you couple of our guys are literally standin at the edge of the dome w lil signboards to write their shit on
MEENAH: well it dont matter cause thats whats happenin. i am standing here exchanging written messages w some girlie from hq to vereefy what the shit is going on
MEENAH: so decided might be easier to just hear it from the seahorses mouth
MEENAH: so spill
MEENAH: tf is happening
KARKAT: IS THIS LINE SECURE?
MEENAH: bitch u know there aint nomoby wiretapping our asses
MEENAH: you saw to that when you did that bizarro enkrillption shit a good two sweeps back
MEENAH: get talking shouty we dont got all day
KARKAT: FINE! WHATEVER.
KARKAT: I *WAS* IN CAVALREAP, BEFORE YOU GET YOUR SHIT TWISTED.
KARKAT: I WENT OUT FOLLOWING KANAYA'S DISTRESS CALL LIKE I TOLD YOU.
KARKAT: ONLY ONCE I GOT THERE I REALIZED I WAS TOO LATE.
KARKAT: HALF THE TOWN WAS IN RUINS AND THERE WAS NO SIGN OF ANY OF THE OTHERS.
MEENAH: uh huh
KARKAT: SO I RADIOED IN WITH THE LOCAL CREW THERE
KARKAT: I FOUND OUT THEY'D ALL GONE TEARING OFF TO NUSEATTLE AFTER CROCKER TOOK THE KIDS, AND SURELY I DON'T NEED TO SPELL OUT TO YOU WHY GATHERING ALL THE GODS IN ONE PLACE IS A REALLY FUCKING BAD MOVE.
MEENAH: nah
KARKAT: SO AFTER THAT I HAD THE GUYS TRANSPORTALIZE ME TO OUR HUMAN KINGDOM BORDER BASE AND I BUSTED ASS THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS GETTING TO THIS CITY VIA MOTORCYCLE.
KARKAT: THEN YOU MESSAGED ME AND HERE WE ARE, WASTING TIME THAT COULD BE USED TO FIND THE OTHERS.
MEENAH: J-E-ESH shouty dont get krabby w me
MEENAH: i wasnt the one who made this sitch happen
KARKAT: I GET THAT.
KARKAT: AND I AM SORRY THAT I DIDN'T INFORM YOU GUYS BACK IN OUTGLUT^2 ABOUT THE CHANGE OF PLANS. I WAS UNDER THE ASSUMPTION YOU COULDN'T EVEN GET MY MESSAGES.
KARKAT: WHICH...
KARKAT: HEY, HOW THE HELL ARE WE EVEN TALKING RIGHT NOW?
MEENAH: whale um
MEENAH: not important
KARKAT: ACTUALLY THAT FACT IS *VERY* FUCKING IMPORTANT.
KARKAT: MEENAH, WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY?
MEENAH: shouty chill everythings under control i got this its FIN-E
KARKAT: AND WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU HAVE UNDER CONTROL?
MEENAH: you trusted us enough to delegate shit our way didnt you?
KARKAT: THAT'S NOT ANSWERING MY QUESTION.
MEENAH: COD fine you reelly wanna know
MEENAH: turns out you were fuckin right and those hitsquads actually were psionic neutralizers
MEENAH: couple a golds mighta been fried idk i didnt see it firsthand that shit was fronzs biz
KARKAT: SHIT. I LEAVE FOR ONE FUCKING DAY
MEENAH: chill your rumblespheres its cool! we killed those glubbers asses no problem and the shields still up
MEENAH: just not enough to finterfere w comms apparently not that thats a big deal
MEENAH: aint even any crocker ships up there anymore
MEENAH: mosta the resistance is comin from ground troops and even thats getting slower so idk
MEENAH: i think ol batterhag went and actually left us alone
KARKAT: WAIT. SO THE SHIPS DEFINITELY LEFT OUTGLUT^2???
MEENAH: one sec
MEENAH:
MEENAH:
MEENAH:
MEENAH:
MEENAH: yeah ok
MEENAH: hq girlie says yeah aint no sensors picking up jack squat over outglut^2
MEENAH: theres like
MEENAH: MAYB-E two or three left buzzing around max
MEENAH: dont got a fuckin clue where they went but its not here
KARKAT: ...

Karkat looks up at the sky as a distant bang sounds out. He knows what the barely-perceptible shimmer of cloaked warships looks like. He can't tell for sure, but some paranoid part of him wonders if there's not that same ripple above his head.

KARKAT: I CAN MAKE AN EDUCATED GUESS.
KARKAT: ASK HER IF THEY'RE PICKING UP ANYTHING OVER NEW THRASHSTEM
MEENAH: got it
MEENAH: nah she says not as of two hours ago 38/
KARKAT: HAS THERE BEEN ANY SIGHTING OF CROCKER AT ALL SINCE SHE DITCHED US?
MEENAH: nope
MEENAH: the bitch has totally gone off the grid
KARKAT: I DON'T LIKE THIS. SHE'S UP TO SOMETHING.
KARKAT: FIRST SHE TAKES LEMNIS, AND THEN ROSE AND KANAYA'S KID, AND THEN VANISHES?
MEENAH: tf is lemnis
KARKAT: THE KID WHO TOLD ME ABOUT THE DISTRESS SIGNAL. SWIFER'S APPRENTICE.
MEENAH: oh the dud goldblood right i remember
MEENAH: made him sit w us durin his orayentation cause he dropped his food
MEENAH: cute kid. super eager
KARKAT: YES, HIM.
MEENAH: why the hell would they take him?
KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW. I THOUGHT THEY WERE GUNNING FOR ME, BUT
KARKAT: GIVEN THAT THEY'VE TAKEN VRISSY, TOO, IT DOESN'T ADD UP.
KARKAT: WHAT IS SHE UP TO?
MEENAH: well since youre in the city where shits probubbly gonna go down guess youre gonna find out
KARKAT: HOPEFULLY.
KARKAT: AND YOU'RE SURE EVERYTHING IS FINE ON YOUR SIDE?
MEENAH: yeah! fronz is dealin w the psionic thing and ive got my corner of the city on lock
MEENAH: trust me you left outglut^2 in good hands 38)
KARKAT: ...OKAY. OKAY, I TRUST YOU, MEENAH.
MEENAH: guppyfuckin christ how longs it been since you said that one to me shouty
MEENAH: feels good to hear it
MEENAH: since you know considering were matesprits and this is the kinda shit we say on a daily basis
KARKAT: IS NOW REALLY THE TIME TO HASH OUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU FEEL LIKE OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN NEGLECTED?
MEENAH: yeah why the hell not!
MEENAH: like what else we doin! might as well do it in the middle of a warzone!
KARKAT: MEENAH, I DO NOT HAVE *TIME* FOR THIS
MEENAH: kinda like how youve never got time for me huh
KARKAT: OH MY GOD
MEENAH: before you left outglut^2 you said all kinds of hateful shit and for what
MEENAH: thought we were tight karkat whats up with that
KARKAT: I REALLY HAVE OTHER THINGS I NEED TO BE
MEENAH: cause what i think is our reelationships dead in the water
MEENAH: when was the last time you even LOOKED at me? ill tell you
MEENAH: right before strider and harley joined our crew cause you know what i think?
MEENAH: i think you never got over that man
KARKAT: MEENAH, PLEASE
MEENAH: and the more i think about it
MEENAH: the more i think
MEENAH: you actshoally never reelly loved me at all 38(
KARKAT: ...
MEENAH: cmon karkat thow me a bone
MEENAH: say somefin
MEENAH: anyfin at all
MEENAH: just
MEENAH: lemme know you still care n still wanna be with me
KARKAT: MEENAH, I
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: ...
MEENAH: cause ill say it right now
MEENAH: if you cant tell me you still love me i swear i will hang up and we will be done forever ok
MEENAH: so please karkat
MEENAH: please
KARKAT: ...
MEENAH: ...
KARKAT: ...
MEENAH: ...
MEENAH: ...
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: I CAN'T, MEENAH. NOT RIGHT NOW. THERE'S SOMETHING I
MEENAH: i see
MEENAH: shouldve known. writings been on the wall forever
KARKAT: MEENAH, DON'T
MEENAH: if you cant even say you love me now i think its clear
MEENAH: its over karkat
MEENAH: been over a long time 38(
KARKAT: WAIT, I
MEENAH: were done
KARKAT: WE ARE NOT BREAKING UP OVER SPEAKER CRAB, THAT'S
MEENAH: ill keep outglut^2 safe cause i still care about the cause and i still respect you as a leader
MEENAH: but only as a leader
MEENAH: us? were through
KARKAT: YOU CAN'T JUST
MEENAH: later shouty
MEENAH: take care
KARKAT: MEENAH!!!!

But she's already hung up. Karkat swipes uselessly at his comms device, then gives up and bats at the tears on his cheek.

KARKAT: FUCK

He doesn't have anyone to blame but himself. He deliberately set that bridge on fire when he left Outglut^2. Meenah was just finishing the job, really. Maybe she's right. Maybe he never did get over Dave. Maybe there never was a choice for someone like Karkat, whose heart was tied to a sunken ship, the ruins of which have now crumbled into rusted little fragments.

Karkat stands. What's done is done. He's still in the heart of enemy territory on a rescue mission. He can fall apart later. He just needs to keep going until this war is won. That's all. One foot before the other.

The people on the street are still mostly the same ones that were there a few minutes ago. Karkat raises a perplexed eyebrow. Then he notices that they're no longer looking at their phones, but up towards the skyscraper in the middle of the city. The massive screen's been switched on and is playing one of Crocker's snuff gameshows. But when Karkat takes a closer look, he--

Oh fuck.

Oh fuck no.

That's Vrissy Maryam-Lalonde and Harry Anderson Egbert standing in gaping horror over, over

Karkat feels the bile push up against the back of his tongue. No, fuck. Fuck he was too late.

Lemnis Sinmel's dead body is broadcast to the watching eyes of millions, and there wasn't a damn fucking thing Karkat could have done to stop it.

KARKAT: SHIT!!!!!!

Yes, he cries a little. He barely knew the kid, but Lemnis was the only thing left of Swifer. Another valuable person to him, lost forever. This war takes, and it takes, and it takes. Karkat is tired. So tired.

And still he can't stop. Still there are more who could be lost if he doesn't move right now.

From halfway across the city, he hears Kanaya roar out in fury. The sound's enough to snap him out of his paralysis. Karkat starts running down the street, pushing human bystanders out of the way. His hood falls down at some point and they start gaping at his grey skin, horns, and super recognisable face, but he doesn't care. He just knows he can't let anyone die.

COP: TROLL! CEASE YOUR MOVEMENT, YOUR PRESENCE IS ILLEGAL AS PER THE CROCKERCORP LEGAL CODE OF
KARKAT: OH SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

He shoots the cop before they can finish. The people around him scatter in a panicked frenzy. It clears the path forward. Karkat continues on. As he ducks, dives, and leaps across an intersection, he grabs his comms device and starts frantically typing messages down the line.

CG: KANAYA, DO YOU READ?
CG: DO YOU READ KANAYA. I AM IN NUSEATTLE.
CG: WE NEED TO RENDEZVOUS ASAP
CG: KANAYA COME IN
CG: ROSE
CG: JADE
CG: FUCK, JOHN EGBERT FOR ALL I CARE!!!
CG: SOMEONE ON THIS NETWORK ANSWER ME ALREADY!
CG:
CG:
CG:
TA: jesus FUCK kk d0 y0u have t0 scream d0wn the line like that.
CG: ...
CG: SOLLUX?!?!?!!?
TA: y0 sup. i'm 0n y0ur netw0rk bitch.
CG: WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?
TA: l0ng ass st0ry.
CG: WHAT'S GOING ON WITH KANAYA AND THE OTHERS?
TA: if i had t0 guess kan's g0ing nuclear. my sighted c0mpani0n inf0rmed me vrissy's live 0n tv right n0w.
CG: YOUR COMPANION?
CG: SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK
GT: Erm, that would be me i suppose.
GT: Howdy.

It takes all of Karkat's composure not to go spinning out into the middle of the road. Another cop tries to arrest him. He shoots the fucker stone-cold dead without even thinking about it. His thinkpan is too busy trying to comprehend what fresh scoop of steaming bullshit the universe has served him.

CG: JAKE CROCKER???????
CG: WHAT IN THE FRESH UNFILTERED *FUCK*
GT: Hullo again. Bit awkward this isnt it?
CG: A
CG: A BIT ******AWKWARD******??????????????????
CG: THE THIRD MOST WANTED WAR CRIMINAL ON EARTH C IS ON MY COMMUNICATION NETWORK
CG: DO YOU HAVE *ANY FUCKING IDEA*
GT: Yes yes i know!! I know im the most rotten of rotters karkat kanayas been telling me this every second since i entered her custody.
GT: But that really does not matter right now vantas ol boy
CG: I AM NOT AND WILL NEVER BE YOUR "OL BOY"
GT: Whats important is jane has my son and is wont to snuff his life out. :(
CG: I
CG: WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR WHELP?
GT: Im looking my execution right in the eye but tavvy doesnt deserve this hes just a lad!
CG: OH MY *GOD*. I DON'T CARE
TA: hey uh karkat maybe the crackp0t has a p0int.
CG: PLEASE DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE BACK FROM THE DEAD OR WHATEVER THE FUCK JUST TO SYMPATHIZE WITH A WARMONGER.
TA: fuck that n0ise i d0n't care ab0ut p0litics.
TA: just here t0 tell y0u i've been ar0und the kid. he's harmless and apparently trustw0rthy en0ugh that vriska fucking serket gave him a t0p tier strife specibus.
CG: WAIT WAIT, VRISKA'S INVOLVED WITH THIS??
CG: JESUS FUCK, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

He pauses to scrape his hand down his face. His palm scratches against the stupid stubble he decided to grow out for some asinine reason or other. Everything always keeps happening, and staunchly refuses to ever abandon the state of keep happen.

TA: i d0n't wanna be the inf0dump guy but vriska was planning 0n j0ining y0ur rebelli0n because s0meh0w that's getting her a ticket 0ut 0f this shitty universe.
CG: REALLY?
TA:
TA: it's what she thinks at least.
CG: HUH. FUCK. I'M TRYING TO IMAGINE VRISKA AT THE VANGUARD OF LITERALLY ANYTHING AND GETTING A MIGRAINE.
TA: b00 h00 i've literally been physically al0ngside her f0r the last few days imagine h0w i feel.
CG: SOLLUX, I AM NOT HERE TO COMMISERATE WITH YOU.
TA: suck my bulge cause that's what's happening
CG: URGH. COULDN'T KANAYA HAVE LEFT SOMEONE MORE USEFUL BEHIND?
GT: I am literally right here.
CG: YOU'RE WORSE THAN SOLLUX.
TA: hehehe 0wned.
GT: Criminy!
CG: DON'T. DO *NOT* START YOUR DISGUSTING OLD-TIMEY BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW, CROCKER.
GT: Its english again actually.
CG: ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW?
GT: No? Just informing my likely future executioner on my state of affairs.
GT: Janes dumped me in the pits and has placed at least two hits that i know of on me and tavvy boy so at this point i think i have the gumption to assert that my alignment with the corp is dead in the dust.
CG: I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO WORK WITH.
TA: well what the fuck can y0u d0 n0ne 0f us wanted this.
CG: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU TWO ANYWAY??
TA: i d0n't fucking kn0w s0me city apparently.
GT: Um, if i may.
GT: Were on the ground floor of an abandoned parking lot somewhere on the, um...
GT: Cripes where did rose say again?
GT: I think were on the south side of the city if that helps any mister vantas.
CG: DON'T CALL ME THAT.
CG: AND YES, IT DOES HELP.
CG: IN LETTING ME KNOW HOW ABSOLUTELY SHIT HOT USELESS THE PAIR OF YOU ARE.
TA: literally whatever i'm just vibing waiting f0r my r0le in their plan.
CG: YOUR ROLE?
TA: yeah. s0mething ab0ut hacking? idk.
TA: but wh0 the fuck kn0ws what happened with that since apparently we all n0w kn0w the kids are trapped inside a film studi0??
CG: SERIOUSLY?
GT: Most likely yep! The shots on the box definitely look like studio 6 from the crockercorp entertainment lot in the city.
GT: I would know since thats where the bulk of my death games were hosted. :(
CG: DON'T MAKE THAT FROWNY FACE AT ME, WAR CRIMINAL.
GT: :(
TA: s0 i guess that's where every0ne's headed n0w.
TA: hey karkat d0 y0u kn0w where this place is 0r
CG: YES I DO. WE'VE MAPPED THIS CITY FROM AFAR ENOUGH TIMES.
CG: AND EVEN IF I DIDN'T I'D ONLY NEED TO FOLLOW THE TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION LEFT BY KANAYA AND ROSE.

He glances towards the central skyline at the right time to see a helicopter get sliced in half and explode.

TA: lma0 true.
TA: s0 what are y0u g0nna d0 n0w.
CG: OBVIOUSLY, I'M GONNA MEET UP WITH THEM.
CG: THERE'S A HELL OF A FUCKING LOT WE NEED TO DISCUSS, INCLUDING THE VRISKA-SHAPED TRUNKBEAST IN THE ROOM.
TA: anything happening 0n 0ur end?
CG: STAY WHERE YOU ARE. KEEP AN EYE ON *HIM*. DON'T LET HIM WANDER OFF.
TA: y0u d0 realize what y0u just said.
CG: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!!
TA: just fucking with y0u i d0n't care.
TA: this is basically literally what kanaya asked 0f me anyway.
GT: Yup!
GT: The gal made extra sure i cant even leave this building thanks to some kind of space trickery between her and jade.
CG: DID I ASK?
GT: Nope! :)
TA: ign0re him the guy's sl0shed 0ut 0f his eyeballs.
CG: Y
CG: YOU'RE DRUNK?
GT: Maaayhaps just a tad.
GT: Little bit of liquid courage to soothe the worries you know? My boy is in mortal peril!
CG: NOT ONLY ARE YOU A KILLER AND A COWARD, BUT YOU'RE ALSO A DRUNK.
CG: THIS IS FUCKING WONDERFUL
GT: Karkat you know im basically just drinking myself blind until you lot decide its time for my justified execution. Im a dead man walking give me a little leeway!
CG: I AM NOT DEALING WITH YOU RIGHT NOW.

There's a police barricade up ahead. Karkat ducks into another alleyway, gun at the ready. Above him, he watches as a fireball streaks by, followed by a Kanaya-shaped blur leaping across the gap between the two buildings. In her wake, a Crockercorp officer falls from the rooftop and crashes against the pavement with a godawful crunch. Karkat steps over the body. As he does so, he feels a slight shake in his boots. Fear? Anticipation? He doesn't know. He's running on adrenaline right now.

CG: OKAY, I'M CATCHING UP TO THEM I THINK.
CG: DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I'M TELLING YOU TWO ASSHOLES THIS. TODAY REALLY IS THE DAY THAT KEEPS ON FUCKING GIVING OVER HERE.
TA: i d0n't kn0w why y0u expected any different there is always s0me level 0f bullshit happening at all times.
CG: SOLLUX YOU ARE NOT HELPING.
TA: i'm n0t trying t0.
CG: UGH. WHATEVER.
CG: SHOULDN'T BE MUCH LONGER UNTIL WE CONVERGE AT THE STUDIO.

He exits the alleyway, ready to take on any cops lying around the corner. To his surprise, he finds a burning SWAT van and a whole bunch of dead humans in red. Panicked and traumatised civilians look on in terror. Jesus. Rose and Kanaya really don't do things by halves.

Karkat moves down the street. Some human points at him, distraught. He flips the middle finger. She scrambles away with a scream. Ahead lies the Crocker needle, the plume of green smoke, and a moving fireball that may or may not be Rose Lalonde decimating anyone who stands in her way. If he still had any doubts he wasn't on the right track, they're long gone. As he walks, he still feels the tremble.

CG: OK, I'VE FOUND ROSE AND KANAYA'S PATH OF DESTRUCTION.
CG: I THINK I CAN TAKE IT FROM HERE.
TA: n0b0dy was f0rcing y0u t0 talk t0 us.
CG: SHUT UP
CG: I'M SIGNING OFF NOW. I'LL COME GET YOU ONCE THE MISSION IS DONE FOR.
GT: Just be sure to save my boy please!! Promise me.
CG: I DON'T OWE YOU A THING, BUT I'M NOT THE PERSON HERE WHO'S LEFT KIDS TO DIE BEFORE.
CG: INTERPRET THAT HOWEVER YOU FUCKING LIKE

A pair of dronebots come barrelling at him right down the middle of the street. He ducks behind an overturned bus and fires two clean shots dead in the middle of their electronic eyes. They spin out and crash to the ground in a heap of smoke. Back towards the middle of the city, he sees the moment where something erupts in a column of fire that blazes high enough to almost rival the Crockercorp megaskyscraper.

CG: JESUS, WHAT THE HELL IS LALONDE DOING NOW?
TA: wait what
CG: I THINK SHE JUST SET SOMETHING HUGE ON FIRE
TA: well damn. g00d f0r her i guess.
GT: Where did the explosion come from?
CG: DOWNTOWN. NEAR THE CROCKER NEEDLE. SHIT, THAT'S WHAT THAT GAUDY RED EYESORE IS CALLED, RIGHT?
GT: Yep! Jane named it herself.
GT: And, erm...
GT: From where im standing that sounds like ms lalonde et al have reached the studios.
CG: SHIT. SHIT.
CG: I NEED TO MOVE. I NEED TO
GG: karkat youre here??? :o
CG: WAIT.
CG: HARLEY?

Karkat comes to a stop. The people around him are rushing around in a panic. For now at least, no other agents of Crockercorp are here to bother him. The rumble grows stronger still.

GG: yeah hey!
GG: karkat what are you doing here???
CG: CHASING AFTER YOUR DUMB ASSES IS WHAT
CG: STOPPING YOU FROM ACCIDENTALLY KILLING YOURSELVES
GG: i think were doing a good enough job of that on our own
CG: YOU'D BETTER BE. I CAN'T LOSE ANYONE ELSE.
GG: yeah...
GG: im sorry about dave :( the funeral was
CG: ANOTHER TIME. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS HERE, OK?
CG: I CAN'T
GG: yeah ok i understand
GG: where are you anyway??
CG: FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF DEBRIS ROSE AND KANAYA MADE
CG: I'M ABOUT FIVE MINUTES OUT FROM REACHING THE INNER ROAD.
GG: oh wow youre really on our tail then!
GG: we just got to the film studios
GG: john and i are keeping the guards and cops and whoever at bay
GG: rose and kanaya are going through the studios one by one looking for vrissy and the others
GT: Oh! Tell her theyll be in studio 6.
GG: thanks jake but i dont think theyll get my message x_x
GG: rose just blew up two of the empty studios
CG: DAMN.
GG: yeah exactly
GG: anyway thats neat and all but this is not why i came online!!
GG: im here to warn you guys!!
CG: WARN US ABOUT WHAT?
GG: ...the sky
TA: the sky? the fuck d0es that mean?
CG: LET HER SPEAK
TA: 0k 0k whatever.
GG: your silly banter is very cute and all but i dont have the time for it! D:
GG: about ten minutes ago my space senses suddenly picked up a whole bunch of objects in the skies over nuseattle
CG: WHAT... WHAT KIND OF OBJECTS?
GG: i dont wanna alarm anyone but
GG: i think they feel like dozens of airships
CG: YOU DON'T MEAN
GG: yes i do :(
CG: SHIT. SHIT.
CG: WHAT'S THE SITUATION ON YOUR END
GG: johns with me but rose and kanaya are still tearing through the studios but we havent found the kids yet!!!
GG: and the really bad thing is i dont think we have any time left at all
GG: oh god
CG: JADE, HOLD ON. CAN YOU GET A REMOTE SPACE READ ON THEM?
GG: i, uh... i can try
GG: but it takes effort to do this stuff without a green sun and i cant think straight because all i can think about are those fuckoff huge masses right above our heads!!!
TA: hey uh n0t t0 intrude 0n this imminent panic but uh
TA: any0ne else feeling the gr0und shaking?
GG: oh no
GG: ohhh no
GG: karkat i think we all need to

The comms link goes dead. But it doesn't matter. He already knows what that means.

Beneath him, the ground is rattling like the entire earth is about to come apart. Karkat steps back and looks up at the crystal clear blue sky for its last two seconds of existence.

All at once, the Crockercorp fleet switches off its cloaking mechanism. The sky is swallowed in a sea of crimson. Karkat barely has enough time to throw himself through the doors of the nearest building before a low, haunting groan drives itself right beneath the surface of his bones. He looks at the people outside in the street staring blankly at the new sight above their heads, too slow to react before they're swallowed by the explosions.

Karkat switches on his electronic body armour and prays.

Pandemonium falls from above.

Chapter 33: THREE, section viii.

viii.

Somewhere, something explodes. Tavros snaps his eyes open with a start. His head, it... it pounds something rotten, worsened by the fact he is staring right at a blindingly bright red wall.

TAVROS: Wh,,,

He takes a second for his head to stop swimming, then he slowly stands up.

TAVROS: I,
TAVROS: Am i,,,?

It's a small room, barren and red with a sliding door on one end and a pair of televisions on the other. One screen is tuned to a dark red hallway filled with... is that troll blood? The second is showing the face of some bright red rectangular building, too zoomed in to make out anything else in the background. The only detail that matters is the Crockercorp logo on the building's face. There is a large crate on the floor. Other than that, the room is empty.

TAVROS: Hrm,

He inspects himself. His hands and clothes are still covered in the debris and dirt from earlier; there are a few lacerations and bruises along his forearms that he must have obtained during the car crash. There's a crack down one of his glasses lenses. But other than that, most crucially, he is one piece. That counts for something.

This room is his mother's, that much is certain. Tavros places his hand on the wall and feels the telltale hum of an airship engine. Is this the Crockercorp mothership? He couldn't say for a fact. His mother was never very keen on having family disappointments set foot aboard her pride and joy. He takes a shuffling step forward and notices that there's a transportaliser right below his feet. Must be how he got in here.

Tavros gingerly tries stepping on the pad again. To nobody's surprise, nothing happens. He can't remember how he got here, or anything at all after that business at the mall. The only thing he's aware of is that he's completely alone in here. That cannot bode well for the others.

TAVROS: ,,,

He swallows. It's a dreary situation. But he's been in dreary situations before. It's all about quickly ascertaining the best way to survive from moment to moment. He clears his throat and chances a shout.

TAVROS: E,,, erm,,, hello?
TAVROS: Hello?
TAVROS: I, um,, i am awake,,,
TAVROS: Anybody listening,,?

Nobody comes. There are no mics or cameras, overt or covert, from what Tavros can see. He's alone. He's unobserved. These are important facts.

The next thing to do is investigate what he can. Tavros sucks in a shaky breath and walks up to the door. There's a small circular window at head height; glancing out of it reveals an empty corridor not unlike that on the screen. He considers if the TVs are showing some kind of internal security feed, but shakes his head. It wouldn't be that easy, that nice. It'll be some kind of nasty trick for sure.

He spins away from the door and heads over to the only other interactible object in the room: the crate. He says crate but it's more of a Crockercorp storage chest, the kind his mother loved to store her trophies in across the manor, and where, in his mother's room, Uncle Gamzee would... would...

Actually, he's not going to reflect on what this memorabilia reminds him of. Gamzee is dead. That is all there is to say on the matter.

The shakes in his hands are managable by the time he grabs the chest's clasps and strains to open the pristine plastic lid. What he sees inside quickly gets them trembling again, however.

TAVROS: Oh,
TAVROS: Oh dear,,, oh dear,,,,
TAVROS: This is,, this is very bad,,,

What he's greeted with upon opening the chest is a whole lot of clothing. Jackets, shirts, jeans, skirts... there has to be close to a dozen outfits scrambled up in here. Most of the clothes are in a decent condition, but some are more damaged than others. Tavros finds Harry, Vrissy, and Vriska's stuff at the bottom of the pile, singed and scorched and torn but recognisably belonging to his friends. That they've had it stripped from them is... it is disconcerting, to say the least.

TAVROS: Ulp,,
TAVROS: Do not panic,, there must be some sort of explanation,,
TAVROS: There is no reason to assume,,, these are the vestments of the deceased,, none at all,,,,,,

A bead of sweat breaks out across his forehead anyway. He's trapped alone on a Crockercorp airship and there's no sign of his friends. It's fine. It's totally fine. Not like this is every one of Tavros's worst nightmares come true or anything.

TAVROS: I need to find a way out,,

He tries his pockets. No phone. He shouldn't be surprised. Of course it'd be the first thing they'd take from him. Who knows who he could contact? He's been out in the world now. Surely he cannot be trusted.

Tavros sighs. He looks back to the screens. The image is unchanging, but the little timestamp in the corner keeps ticking up. For all intents and purposes this appears to be live footage. But why show it to him? What does it mean? What is the point of this?

TAVROS: ,,,

The ship shakes and rumbles again. Tavros leans against the wall to steady his balance. Surprisingly, the footage on the inner camera shakes too. But it's out of sync enough that it can't be from the same explosion. Are these not monitoring the ship, then? He mentally runs through the list of potential Crocker properties these cameras could be filming and draws a blank. If not the ship, then his gut instinct would be to assume a Cake Mill. But that can't be right, either. The scene is too barren to be one of those horrendous places. It just... it just...

?????: hey, you're up.
TAVROS: ,,,!!!!

He spins around faster than a camera shutter. His heart constricts into a knot into his throat and he has to battle against the urge to pass out.

TAVROS: I,, i am so sorry, i didn't mean to pry,, i'm not,, i'm sorry,,,, so sorry,,,,
?????: no need to apologize.
?????: i just came to check on you.

There's a face in the door's window. It's a woman with dark hair and dark eyes and a cautious but severe expression. She's dressed in the customary Crockercorp crimson uniform. On that principle alone, Tavros distrusts her.

TAVROS: I,,, i am fine,, as you can see,,
TAVROS: Is there something,,,,, you need from me,,,,?
?????: no. just need confirmation you came through the transportalizer in one piece.
TAVROS: The,,,?

She's dangling information right before him. Tavros is wary. He knows when a carrot has a stick attached to it. They could easily use his ignorance against him.

TAVROS: Yes, right,, of course,,
TAVROS: Here i am,,, proof i made it through, in one piece,
?????: she'll be glad to hear that.
TAVROS: Um,,, sh,,,,, she,,,,,?

He doesn't need to ask the question, but he does anyway. His mouth goes so very dry.

?????: madam crocker. or, i suppose that'll be president crocker soon.
TAVROS: Pr,,,, president,,?

The woman shakes her head.

?????: though for you i guess she's still your mom.
TAVROS: R,,, right,,,,
TAVROS: That is definitely,,, who she is to me, my mother,,, who has always been such a gracious mother to me,,,, for the sixteen years i have been alive,,
?????: hey. you don't need to be so nervy. i'm not gonna hurt you.
TAVROS: ,,,
TAVROS: Why,,, are you still here?
?????: hm. don't really know myself.

She shrugs. Her expression softens. Something's up with her, but Tavros is too preoccupied with his own self-preservation to ponder what.

TAVROS: Terribly sorry, erm,,,
?????: amira.
TAVROS: Amira, yes,,, my many apologies,,,
TAVROS: But,,,, whatever it is you seek,,, i highly doubt,, i am in any position, to help you,,
AMIRA: probably not.
AMIRA: it's been a long day. why the hell not start a conversation with the boss's kid?

Amira's talking more than herself than to Tavros. It's definitely peculiar. She's obviously high enough in the ranks to have earned a space on the mothership, but she's not bound by the blind devotion that pervades most top Crockercorp workers.

TAVROS: Um,, who,, are you, anyway, amira?
TAVROS: I do not believe,, we have ever met until now,,
AMIRA: no, we wouldn't have. i'm madam crocker's senior technician.
AMIRA: been with her the best part of fifteen years. covert stuff. way above your paygrade.
TAVROS: I, never had a paygrade,
AMIRA: right. course.
TAVROS: Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, ms amira,,
AMIRA: hah. polite even in a hostage situation. wow you are trained well.
TAVROS: Um, thank you,,,?
AMIRA: i...
AMIRA: sure, yeah. take it as a compliment. you look like the kind of kid that doesn't get that often.
TAVROS: I,,,

Amira shuffles behind the glass. Tavros thinks she's now folding her arms; it's hard to tell through this tiny window.

TAVROS: You are not, meant to tell me, how things are going on the outside,, are you,
AMIRA: you're right. i'm not.
AMIRA: are you going to ask anyway?
TAVROS: No, no,
TAVROS: I understand, how this works,,
TAVROS: I have often been, kept in the dark, pretty much my whole life,,
AMIRA: that must suck.
TAVROS: Thank you for your seditious sympathies,, it does indeed suck,

Tavros scratches at the back of his head and tries to look even more shrinking than usual. If he wants even a shred of information, he's going to have to proceed carefully.

TAVROS: Sorry, is it obvious, that i have never been one, for much conversation,,
AMIRA: um, kind of? i mean, i'm not taking it personally or anything.
AMIRA: you're a...
AMIRA: sheltered kid. it happens.
TAVROS: Sheltered, is a word,
AMIRA: mmhm.
TAVROS: Are you,, going to return to,,,,, to my, mother, now,,,, to inform her, of my condition?
TAVROS: I feel it would be prudent, to get it over and done with,,
AMIRA: you... don't seem enthused about it.
TAVROS: ,,,
AMIRA: you're... afraid of madam crocker. that right?
TAVROS: ,,,
AMIRA: huh.

Amira gives a sigh. It's the most nauseating brand of pity. But she stays by the window. Stays looking at Tavros. It's working.

TAVROS: But,, should you not go back regardless,
TAVROS: Won't they see you, idling on the security footage,, and promptly, discipline you,
AMIRA: no need to worry about that. madam crocker disabled the surveillance on this wing just before you came.
AMIRA: doesn't want her reunion with her unjustly kidnapped heir to be witnessed.
TAVROS: I see, but,
TAVROS: Is you telling me that, not, informing me of things going on, beyond the confines of my room?
AMIRA: if you want to see it that way.
AMIRA: i don't see how me telling you the mics and cams out here are turned off is in any way telling you about any hypothetical wider situation.
TAVROS: You have a point,, but it is very generous of you, to divulge that fact, nonetheless,
TAVROS: It is not often,, people deign to spend more time with me,, than is strictly necessary,
AMIRA: shit kid. you sure do have some kinda complex.
TAVROS: I would not know, mother belives therapists, to be charlatans, intent on undermining her,
AMIRA: huh.

While Amira nods, Tavros keeps his eyes on her. He does not look back to the two screens behind him, but he thinks of them nonetheless. Confirmation they aren't monitoring the ship, then. That's step one down.

TAVROS: I imagine,, it must be strange,
TAVROS: M,,, mother, always said our relationship was, different, to most people,,
TAVROS: Other people,,, simply wouldn't,, understand,
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ...for the sake of my job i don't think i'm gonna respond to that.
TAVROS: How,, how come,,, is, there something wrong with anything, i said,,
AMIRA: i
AMIRA: i'll just say me and my mom were totally different from you two. let's, uh
AMIRA: let's chalk up the differences to the fact that i didn't grow up in the lap of luxury and comfort like you did.
TAVROS: Yes,,, i imagine wealth disparity,, changes some things,
TAVROS: Mother,,, always pitied, the poor of the city, on the few times we would leave, the gated community,
AMIRA: ha. different worlds indeed.
AMIRA: i was one of three daughters to a single mom in this tiny apartment on the northside of can city the third. couldn't imagine a gated community before i worked for crockercorp.
TAVROS: That so,,
AMIRA: yeah.
AMIRA: sorry. i'm just dumping on you for no reason.
TAVROS: I am unbothered, if not here, then where,,
TAVROS: This is a rare moment, where one can speak,, without censorship,
AMIRA: i guess. it's just weird. me, sharing to some kid.
TAVROS: I have been told,, i am a remarkable listener,
TAVROS: Feel free to go on, it is not like,, i have anything else to do,,
TAVROS: Nor do you,, from the look of things,,
AMIRA: i guess not.

She glances behind her up the hallway. For a second Tavros's chest tightens. Then she goes back to looking at him.

TAVROS: For what it is worth, it sounds exciting, living among the people of a city,
AMIRA: hah. loud, mostly.
AMIRA: four of us, neighbors that wouldn't shut up, and this tv. we had this cheaply-alchemized thing from the supermarket and GOD that thing would make your ears bleed.
TAVROS: I literally cannot imagine,
AMIRA: yeah. there was this old dersite sitcom that used to air on thursday nights. mom would put it on after her late shift and damn if it didn't wake the whole block up.
TAVROS: Oh dear,, i watched nothing of the sort,
AMIRA: i can imagine. probably grew up on those crockercorp troll death games, knowing you.
TAVROS: ,,,
TAVROS: Sometimes, we would watch father's broadcasts, yes,,
TAVROS: But mostly, i was not permitted, the television,,
TAVROS: Uncle,,,, uncle gamzee, he would say,, the radiation waves from the screen, were filling my head,
TAVROS: with, as he put it, wicked motherfuckin, heresies,,
TAVROS: But he is dead now, and he thus has no say on what i can and cannot do,
AMIRA: huh. well.
AMIRA: my mom died when i was young, too.
TAVROS: I am,, terribly sorry to hear it,,
AMIRA: it's fine. i was nineteen, that was...
AMIRA: god, nearly twenty seven years ago. shit i'm getting old.
TAVROS: Such is a consequence, of living in a temporally linear world,
TAVROS: But, i do not think, your deceased mother, and, and, uncle gamzee, can really be compared,,
TAVROS: For starters, i think you sincerely loved your mother,, whereas i,,,
TAVROS: I have always been forbidden, to express how i feel,, towards the family clown,,,,
AMIRA: yeah, well, like we've both said. different lives, different backgrounds.

He gulps away the flashbacks before they can get any worse than a distant honking that rings in his ears like the world's most horrifying tinnitus. He does not taste the phantom burn of Faygo on his tongue. He doesn't allow himself to. Gamzee is gone. Gamzee is gone. Gamzee is gone. It does not matter.

Instead, he forces himself to consider the nugget of information Amira let slip in her commiseration. Her brain went straight to death games even though there are about a million other things you would presumably consider the richest family on Earth C would watch. Why death games? Why would she go there? Perhaps... perhaps...

After the breakdown of his parents' marriage. the bulk of the studios across the planet closed down. His mother wanted little to do with the bloody affair of running televised death games, and very few had the... charisma, that Jake English brought to the scene. So they mostly rot in anguish save for the few automated ones. Just enough to keep the fear alive and little more. So... so why death games, why now?

Tavros thinks back to the long, looming hallway on the screen. The featureless rectangular building. The first seeds of an idea plant in his mind.

AMIRA: for what it's worth, i hope you manage to move past the death of gamzee makara and the many ways in which it is affecting you.
TAVROS: Thank you,,, you are kind to say that,
AMIRA: i'm not a monster, tavros.
TAVROS: No, you are not, he was,,
AMIRA: probably. if i'm honest, i never liked the guy, either.
AMIRA: he'd stink up the ship and he'd grope like half of us for no apparent reason.
TAVROS: That,,,,, that is a thing,,, that he did,,,
AMIRA: don't tell your mom i said it, but good fucking riddance.
TAVROS: Do not worry, i'll keep that secret, no need for pointless disciplinary action, today,,
AMIRA: since the war there hasn't actually been that much firing.
TAVROS: Oh,,
AMIRA: i'll, uh, keep it vague to not spill, but.
AMIRA: mostly the death of ground troops is preventing the need to cast anyone out. you fuck up, you end up on the front lines.
AMIRA: you survive, you're back in madam crocker's good graces.
TAVROS: That is,, economical,,
AMIRA: economical is definitely a word for it.
TAVROS: Ha,, ha ha,,,
AMIRA: hah.

The two share a conspiratorial laugh. There's a strange, uneasy trust being built up here. He just needs a little more information. A little more.

TAVROS: It is, nice, to talk to a regular person,,
TAVROS: After so long, with so many, larger than life personalities,
AMIRA: it's nice to remember that regular kids exist too.
AMIRA: i saw the footage of when we extracted you.
TAVROS: I, too, remember that,,
TAVROS: If it is not too taboo to discuss, i think that vriska serket, can at times, be too much,
AMIRA: you can say that again.
AMIRA: she was... a handful for our operatives. i suppose they don't fuck around when they call these people gods.
TAVROS: I can imagine,
TAVROS: Surely they must not, pay you all enough, to deal with that,
AMIRA: hah. at this point we're in so deep i don't know that money even matters.
TAVROS: Surely not, every person enjoys, obtaining some amount of wealth, for labor performed,
AMIRA: dunno what you mean. being on the winning side of a war is more than enough.
TAVROS: Is it,
AMIRA: obviously.

She glances away from him. Just for a second. Just enough to show Tavros that this is an opening. Enough for a dangerous additional morsal of hope.

TAVROS: You do not, sound convinced,
TAVROS: If there are issues, with the conditions of your employment, i am certain, as the heir apparent, to this conglomerate, that i may be able to put some kind of word in,
AMIRA: why would there be issues? i've worked here for decades. everything's great.
TAVROS: Definitely,
TAVROS: Your benefits, adequately reflect, a live of service, do they,
AMIRA: i mean. sure?
TAVROS: Just out of curiosity, for future reference, i wonder how it is, people like you, are rewarded, amira,,
AMIRA: rewards?
AMIRA: service is its own reward.
TAVROS: I see,

He makes a deliberately staged effort of clearing his throat and leaning in towards the door's window.

TAVROS: (recall, that there is no surveillance,)
TAVROS: (you may speak freely, for i have no intention, of betraying your confidence,)
TAVROS: (if there is a concern, it will never be rectified, unless someone talks,)
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: (i never said any of this.)
AMIRA: (but...)
TAVROS: (but,)
AMIRA: (the long service benefits kind of suck. there's not much difference in wage or hours of much of anything from my internship days.)
TAVROS: (oh my, that is certainly, less than good,)
AMIRA: (you know, not to sound like a demanding petulant worker, but.)
AMIRA: (for all we've had to put in, i kind of expected a little more than we're getting.)
AMIRA: (i mean, we don't even have dental.)
TAVROS: (you don't even, have dental,,)
AMIRA: (and i'm lucky as a woman who sits all day in front of a computer.)
AMIRA: (some of them out there, the hard labor folks, they're super unprotected.)
AMIRA: (like, i knew a guy in construction. told me they deliberately don't insure high risk work.)
AMIRA: (like god, the amount of casualties in the studio L project the other month. jesus christ.)
AMIRA: (you should see the company hospitals. sometimes it's hard to forget we could become post-scarcity with the flip of a switch, that

Amira abruptly stops talking. Or, rather, the explosion cuts her off. If the previous blasts were warning rumbles, this is the full on earthquake. The ship sways and rattles hard enough that Tavros and Amira get tossed about like ragdolls on either side of the door. Each one takes turns being rammed against a wall, then against the door, then a wall again. It seems to last for at least five minutes, an endless roar of seismic firepower. Tavros dreads to think what's happening outside.

When it finally ends, both meet each other's gaze through the glass. Amira's eyes are wide and she's trembling. Terror is embedded in every cell of her body. She glances back down the hallway, then to Tavros one last time. Are those... are those tears in her eyes?

AMIRA: oh shit.
AMIRA: oh shit oh shit oh shit no no no
AMIRA: i
AMIRA: fuck
AMIRA: i gotta go

Abruptly she turns tail and sprints away. Tavros watches her leave. He has no idea what to make of anything that just happened, but it is secondary to the jackpot of knowledge Amira unknowingly let slip.

TAVROS: Studio L,,,, studio L,,
TAVROS: Studio L,
TAVROS: That is, hm,

He's heard the name before, once or twice, back when he was at the manor. It was initially his father's brainchild, conceived of at the height of his desperation to preserve their marriage. As far as anyone was concerned, the idea never came to fruition. But Mother would have filed the plans away, like she files everything away for the opportune moment. The puzzle pieces lock together in Tavros's head, painting a picture he couldn't even begin to imagine until now. He turns around and looks back at the two screens.

TAVROS: So this, is what you are showing me,

It makes sense. This is footage from a studio. The discarded clothes, most of them with Alternian labels on them. Of course Crockercorp would rely on a death game to solve its problems. Brutal, cruel, ostentatious. That's the way it's always been. Why would Tavros's friends be given any different?

There's a nervous fluttering in his stomach as he walks closer to the monitors. He tries not to think about Harry and Vrissy in the clutches of whatever fresh horror has been conjured. He focuses on uncovering the truth, uncovering the truth and little else. The despair can come later.

TAVROS: Maybe,

He takes a chance. He stands up on his tiptoes, kind of leans over and...

Tavros swipes the touchscreen monitor with his fingertips. The right image zooms out, showing more of the crimson megalith, the starry voidspace of the night sky, and beyond even that, the uniform grey cratered surface of Earth C's moon.

Studio L. Studio Luna. An insane pipe dream from a man filled with insane pipe dreams. Realised now in the worst possible way. Helplessness swells in Tavros's throat like a burst valve.

TAVROS: Oh no,
TAVROS: Oh no,,

Then, from behind him, a voice calls out. Tavros's spine stiffens into congealed ice and his body pivots in robotic terror. That voice, sweet and cold and indifferent, settles in his eardrums like knives dripping acid.

It's the voice of the last person he ever wanted to hear.

JANE: Tavros.
JANE: My darling baby boy.
JANE: You've come back to me.

Chapter 34: (three), section (i.)

(i.)

She manages to watch Galios on the screen for two minutes before she can't take it anymore.

TIXARI: + where are you going? -
KANIRA: ^.^ anywhere thats not here~

Tixari leans forward on the break room couch to get a closer look at the TV. Kanira stands from her chair and makes for the propped open exit door. Her stomach is a self-imploding void unto itself, a twisted hole shooting out terror and dread and grief and rage like a leaky nuclear reactor. Galios is saying something to a teenage human boy. A short goldblood suddenly walks away from the group as if in a trance. Kanira's seen enough.

She wanders half-aimlessly down the halls of the prison for a few minutes, breathing through the shaky tears and the bubble of rotting, dreadful, hopeful panic. All day she's been trying to close off her heart to Galios, to accept that he's already dead and the broadcast is just Crockercorp puppeteering his corpse around in a perverse display, but that resolve crumbles with every second she sees him speaking, moving, breathing, fighting. She considers that there's no punishment so brutal, so corrosive. Nothing stings worse than hope built on foundations of eroded sand.

KANIRA: ^.^ damn it~
KANIRA: ^.^ damn it damn it~

The hallway is an upstairs walkway overlooking the main courtyard. The injured and dying are huddled down en masse, too tired and weak to do little more than cling to life with all they are. Those who have the energy to spare are spending it trying to help in whatever desperate little way they can, but it's a too-late gesture that will only stave off the inevitable by a scant handful of days.

In the corner is a darker patch of dirt, nursing a handful of alien seeds that offer no solace, no salvation.

Seventy people died last night, most of dehydration, some of starvation, a few of disease. Too many of them children. Hundreds more are in critical condition. Fifty-five of their best fighters vanished in the badlands, assumed dead. When Kanira woke after her scrape with death, they were roughly three-thousand strong. If there are still two-thousand alive by the week's end, it'll be against all odds.

Nothing any of them can do is enough. Not enough able bodies, not enough food, not enough resources, not enough time. They're all running on empty, trying and failing just to keep everyone afloat. They barely have the trolls to spare for perimeter defence; half of the dozen Galios left behind are occupied with unending futile triage, and you can't secure a compound this large with only six trolls with guns and Tixari on the cameras. It's not enough, always not enough. They threw off the boot of oppression just to die with a quiet whimper.

The successful prison riot was the only miracle this place is going to get. A revolution that Kanira missed out on, and is now the only one left to lead them all out of this. She has no idea what she's doing. She's just an imprisoned academic. She barely knows the first thing about organising a community to survive in extreme hardship.

A figure below starts convulsing. A troll with a gun strapped to their back rushes over, bends down, and gives them chest compressions for a stretch of time that might as well be infinity. Then the troll stands, shakes their head, and places a white sheet over the body. Kanira grips the railing, presses her head against the glass, and begins to sob.

KANIRA: ^.^ fuck~
KANIRA: ^.^ what the hell are we doing~

Trolls dying below. Trolls dying on the screens. Trolls dying in the cities. Trolls dying everywhere. It's been so long since she last felt hope.

She cries for a while. She's not sure how long. Enough that her head begins to throb and her throat burns. She can't bring herself to move. Can't face the desperate, helpless bodies below who are relying on her. She thinks she hates Galios more than anything for leaving her to deal with this mess.

She wants Galios back. She wants to be out of this prison. She wants to go home, to a life and a world that still made sense. She wants to eat and drink without worrying about their finite and shrinking supplies.

She wants. She just wants.

PHERIS: kanira?
PHERIS: are You okaY or iss thiss a bad time?
KANIRA: ^.^ ~

She spins around to see Pheris standing in the hallway. His expression softens when he sees her face, but she saw that awful glint in his eyes.

KANIRA: ^.^ just tell me the bad news pheris~
KANIRA: ^.^ ive accepted that things are terrible and are only ever going to get substantially worse~
PHERIS: well
KANIRA: ^.^ please pheris~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: it'ss the guardss. the two that've been helping me out, theY.
PHERIS: theY contracted batterlung.
PHERIS: it wass going to happen eventuallY. there'ss abssolutelY no medical equipment here.
KANIRA: ^.^ damn it~
KANIRA: ^.^ damn it all~

Despite herself, she laughs. It's a miserable, broken sound. Pheris winces away.

KANIRA: ^.^ what the hell do we do?~
KANIRA: ^.^ this ship is sinking so fast pheris~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont even know where to begin patching up the holes~
KANIRA: ^.^ doesnt even matter if crockercorps on its way to take back the prison because well all be dead before then~
PHERIS: kanira, i--
KANIRA: ^.^ and you know what the funniest thing is? galios was right~
KANIRA: ^.^ hes fucking right and how hes going to die and i can never tell him he was fucking right~
KANIRA: ^.^ fuck~
KANIRA: ^.^ i~

She starts crying again. Pheris wraps his arms around her. His grip is bony but warm. She sobs into his jacket, until all she can hear is her own muffled voice.

KANIRA: ^.^ im failing them~
KANIRA: ^.^ im failing everyone pheris~
KANIRA: ^.^ im so lost and i dont know what to do and every passing second makes everything worse and i~
PHERIS: kanira.

Gently, he pushes her away. Kanira blinks through her tears. It takes her prosthetic eye a second longer to clear up. His face is grave, wrinkled more from stress than age.

PHERIS: what iss it You think You *sshould* be doing?
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
PHERIS: becausse let me ssaY it right now: ssaving everYone iss the wrong ansswer.
PHERIS: You are not going to ssave everYone. i am not going to ssave everYone. hell, i don't think anYbody *can*.
PHERIS: do You know how manY injured and ssick people i have sseen die thesse lasst few daYs?
PHERIS: more than i ever did over the twelve ssweepss i sspent cleaning up the aftermath of gang fightss on the sstreetss of ssaint dolorossa.
PHERIS: i've sseen guYss peppered with bulletss ssince before i even finisshed high sschool, trollss with their hornss gouged out, godawful nassty sshit You can't even begin to imagine.
PHERIS: and thiss iss worsse than all of that. i'm sseeing dozenss of kidss die everY daY, tinY thingss who alwaYss crY out for their lussuss at the verY end. do You know what that doess to a persson, kanira?
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont~
PHERIS: i am having sso manY nightmaress it'ss not even funnY.
PHERIS: but everY daY i go back out there and i tend to them knowing it'ss all for nothing. do You know why?
KANIRA: ^.^ why~
PHERIS: becausse jusst being there and caring for them iss the mosst powerful thing i can do.
PHERIS: everY time i manage to clear enough infection to buY someone another daY of life, or everY time i manage to comfort a dYing child enough that theY passss awaY peacefullY, that'ss a victorY.
PHERIS: if all i can do iss make sure we don't die like the forgotten inssects crockercorp wantss uss to be, then that iss more than enough.

When he stops talking, he's crying too. They're both so weary, so frayed.

PHERIS: have You sspent time with them, down there?

He motions to the courtyard. Kanira can't bring herself to look.

KANIRA: ^.^ no i~
KANIRA: ^.^ ive been too busy planning strategy and~
KANIRA: ^.^ and im too scared to see how many people ive failed~
PHERIS: theY don't ssee it that waY. You sshould walk among them, gain ssome persspective.
PHERIS: that wass galioss'ss big misstake. he got sso caught up in the theatricss he forgot about the little people.
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~
PHERIS: here.

He reaches into his coat and pulls out a respirator mask. Kanira recognises it as the ones that the human guards would wear whenever they stepped into the cells. He places it in her hands.

PHERIS: onlY a few left now. been keeping them presserved ass besst i can.
PHERIS: no point wassting it on people who've been expossed. guYss below inssissted i kept ssome for me becausse i'm the one with the mosst expertisse.
PHERIS: sshould keep the ssporess from getting into Your airwayss.
KANIRA: ^.^ does it work?~
PHERIS: no clue, but it'ss better than nothing. sshould protect You long enough for a quick vissit.
PHERIS: come on. i'm not taking no for an ansswer.
KANIRA: ^.^ ~
KANIRA: ^.^ fine~
PHERIS: thank You.

Pheris smiles and pulls the respirator up from around his neck. Kanira cautiously fastens her mask over her face. With it on, she can hear her own breathing more acutely than ever before.

KANIRA: ^.^ everything smells like plastic~
PHERIS: better than the alternative, i assure You.
KANIRA: ^.^ and ill be able to help?~
PHERIS: no.
PHERIS: but You'll be there, and that'ss enough.

He leads her through the halls down towards the courtyard. The cell blocks and corridors are hauntingly empty; nearly everyone's congregated in one central location. Easier to manage that way. After months of confinement, there's a desperate, electric urge for togetherness. Kanira counts herself so lucky for having Galios to get her through it.

Oh. Galios.

She blinks fiercely and breathes hard enough that the filtered plastic around her mouth fogs up. She can think about that wound later. Not now.

The doors leading out to the courtyard are wedged open with crimson cinderblocks. It's unguarded. Kanira feels a strange thrill as she freely moves between sectors. No alarms. No guns.

Above her, the camera on the wall swivels in a clockwise motion. Kanira gives a quick wave to Tixari on the other side.

Out in the courtyard proper, it's a much more horrific scene than what Kanira saw from above. Walking among a mass of over a thousand dying people is an experience she can't put into words.

Everywhere she goes, the sounds of coughing, wheezing, of crying. So many bodies covered in cloth. They must be close to running out.

But there is also laughter. Even here, the sick and dying are clinging onto each other. Children strong enough to move sketching shapes and faces in the soft sand. It's on its knees, and it's slowly bleeding out, but this is still a moving, breathing, alive community of people.

After about thirty seconds of walking, Kanira has to stop to cry behind her mask. Pheris places a gentle hand on her shoulder.

PHERIS: overwhelming, issn't it?
PHERIS: frighteninglY, incomprehenssiblY overwhelming.
KANIRA: ^.^ its~
KANIRA: ^.^ its so different just being here~
PHERIS: told You.

A few feet away from them, an older woman begins to splutter and wheeze. Pheris darts over, crouching down to meet her eye level. He hands her a small cloth, which she uses to wipe away the bronze blood congealed with black spores that is splattered across her mouth.

??????: 7hank you
??????: hah, 7his 7hing is making a real mess of me
PHERIS: You're not a messss. You're holding sstrong.
??????: youre too kind young man
PHERIS: heh. nobody'ss called me Young man in Yearss
??????: everyones young 7o you when youre my age
PHERIS: You barely look a minute over thirtY ssweepss.
??????: you are 7oo swee7
??????: if i wasn7 being killed from 7he inside ou7 id leap up and give you a kiss!
PHERIS: haha, well. take care.
??????: ill 7ry 7o s7ay alive long enough 7o see you again
PHERIS: you do that.

He backs away as she chokes into the cloth again. Her whole body rattles. Kanira gets the sinking feeling she won't last until the morning. But. But she's...

KANIRA: ^.^ she looks so happy~
KANIRA: ^.^ even though~
PHERIS: the worsst hass alreadY happened. whY go out with a frown?
KANIRA: ^.^ hm~

She doesn't know what to say to that. So instead she keeps walking with Pheris through the courtyard.

The next person that stops them is a tealblood with one shattered horn and a bloodstained bandage around his neck.

??????: \hey doc. you got any food for me this time?/
PHERIS: the ansswer iss sstill no i'm afraid.
??????: \damn. can't fault a guy for askin/
??????: \cannot believe i survived a bullet just to waste away lmao/

He pats his stomach and gives a theatrical frown. Kanira looks at him. He's frightfully young. Maybe Tixari's age at a push. His laugh is easy, even though he must be in considerable agony.

She can't help herself. Kanira stands forward.

KANIRA: ^.^ you were involved in the fighting?~
??????: \uh not really?/
??????: \just unlucky enough to get caught in a buncha crossfire multiple times lol/
??????: \big guy in charge saved my ass/
??????: \shit uh. what was his name again? hard to think when you've got no food and no blood in your body lmao/
KANIRA: ^.^ galios~
KANIRA: ^.^ his name was galios~
??????: \right yeah. galios did me a solid by keeping me from not dying. legends only man/
??????: \shit wait did you say "was"?/
KANIRA: ^.^ y~
KANIRA: ^.^ yes~
KANIRA: ^.^ galios and his team got captured by crockercorp~
??????: \shit that blows. i'm sorry. he was cool/
KANIRA: ^.^ yes he was~

It hurts worse knowing he's still fighting for his life in a studio on the other side of the planet. That tiny voice in her head whispering maybe, just maybe. She extinguishes it like a burnt-down candle.

??????: \wait a sec. you're the lady he was always hyping up/
??????: \shit i'm sorry. must be hitting you real hard/
KANIRA: ^.^ no more than anything else~
??????: \haha true. love to live in a constant nightmare shitshow all of the damn time/
??????: \and i'm a lucky one. least i'm not dying of my injuries/
??????: \doc pheris over here/
PHERIS: yess yess i'm a miracle worker You're completely and totallY indebted to me ass You are wont to remind me everY time You ssee me.
??????: \haha i mean when i'd be dead without you what else am i meant to say/
??????: \my offer to help you still totally stands btw. just once i can get up for more than thirty seconds w/o fainting lmao/
PHERIS: i'd appreciate it, but only once You're ressted up.
??????: \i'm gonna be so helpful you don't even understand/
??????: \just need my body to put itself back together and we're golden/
??????: \who knows. might even have some food by then/
PHERIS: we can onlY hope. now pleasse get ssome resst. doctor'ss orderss.

They leave the kid to lie back down and sit on a stone bench in the shade. Pheris is smiling softly to himself.

PHERIS: he'ss a good kid. he'll make it.
PHERIS: nice to be around the one'ss who'll ssurvive.
KANIRA: ^.^ and youre sure of that?~
PHERIS: no. but i'm hopeful.
PHERIS: he'ss got more going for him than mosst.
PHERIS: makess me feel like there might be ssomething more for us in the future.
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah but~
KANIRA: ^.^ what does that future look like?~
PHERIS: dunno.
PHERIS: but theY'll all fight to see it no matter what.

He gestures to the sea of faces, the dying, the dead. For once it doesn't fill Kanira with despair.

KANIRA: ^.^ but~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont have a plan for how to help them~
PHERIS: do You need one?
KANIRA: ^.^ hm?~
PHERIS: theY certainly have no long-term planss but theY're pusshing on anYwaY.
PHERIS: it wassn't galioss or anY higher purposse that pusshed them to overthrow the prisson. jusst that dessire to keep living. to know that the world won't die with You.
KANIRA: ^.^ thats nice~
KANIRA: ^.^ and it is both humbling and inspiring to see the people as something other than a miserable problem i cannot fix~
KANIRA: ^.^ but~
KANIRA: ^.^ we still dont have any food~
KANIRA: ^.^ we have no medicine and a horrible disease is spreading~
KANIRA: ^.^ i still dont see a way in which this doesnt end in tragedy~
PHERIS: sso what if it doess?
PHERIS: we're not dead Yet. we can keep going.
PHERIS: and it'ss like i ssaid earlier. doess the fact that the bulk of thesse people will be dead in the coming daYs diminish the importance of mY work?
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ suppose not~

Pheris leans back. He lets out a sigh.

PHERIS: i'll level with You. i think thiss ssituation iss totallY hopelessss.
PHERIS: we're living on borrowed time at besst.
PHERIS: thiss will likely fail, but that'ss not what'ss important.
PHERIS: what'ss important iss we tried our hardesst anYwaY.
PHERIS: we chosse to care about people the universse declared irrelevant and unimportant.
PHERIS: and if all we do iss give a sshort lived fuck you to the ssysstemss that did thiss, sso what?
PHERIS: thiss iss sstill a thoussand timess better than how it was before. better to be dead of sstarvation and disseasse in a few weekss than live for a few yearss being ssqueezed by the bootheel.
PHERIS: what wass that old human ssaying about dYing out of chainss rather than ssurviving in them?
KANIRA: ^.^ close enough~
KANIRA: ^.^ so what~
KANIRA: ^.^ the best we can hope for is an existential victory?~
PHERIS: it'ss all we have the meanss for. desspite everything, we earned oursselves a kinder fate.
KANIRA: ^.^ even if crockercorp comes to take the prison back?~
PHERIS: You know, i don't think theY will.
KANIRA: ^.^ you dont?~

A couple of children run past them, tossing a handmade ball back and forth, less of a ball and more of a scrunched-up shirt filled with sand. They're laughing, kicking up clouds of dust as they move. So many lives in front of her. Kanira wants nothing more than for all of them to make it through, somehow.

PHERIS: it'ss been sseveral daYss.
PHERIS: we're only a ssmall prisson in the middle of nowhere.
PHERIS: if theY were going to do it, i think theY would have tried ssomething alreadY.
PHERIS: who knowss. maYbe the rebellion hass them on the back foot.
KANIRA: ^.^ wouldnt that be nice~
PHERIS: sshort of a miracle, though, all we can do iss help the people in front of uss ass besst we can insstead of thinking about thingss that could have been.
KANIRA: ^.^ who knows~
KANIRA: ^.^ there could still be some kind of miracle~

She can't help but think of Galios on that screen. If they managed to overthrow a Cake Mill, then maybe... maybe...

KANIRA: ^.^ maybe if were lucky well all hold out to see it~

The thought bubbles behind a closed door in her head. She stands up.

Pheris smiles.

PHERIS: i'd like that.
PHERIS: so now what?
KANIRA: ^.^ i think~
KANIRA: ^.^ i think ill help out here~
PHERIS: You will?
KANIRA: ^.^ i owe it to them as the one in charge~
KANIRA: ^.^ like you said, if we cant do anything else we can still care~
KANIRA: ^.^ if im still here the least i can do is something of material value~
KANIRA: ^.^ ill tell tixari that shell be monitoring the screens on her own for a while~
KANIRA: ^.^ ive got work to do~

She passes the barren seed patch on her way back up to the security room. They, like so many other dreams she's waited for, have failed to come to light. Enough of that, then. If a miracle won't come to her, she'll simply have to make one happen with her own two hands.

The sky above is hazy and uneasy. There's something charged in the air. Anticipation sits thick on her tongue. But she breathes through it. It'll be okay. She will make it be okay.

Somehow.

Chapter 35: (three), section (ii.)

(ii.)

The water parts around Cara's feet, lapping and rippling as if pushing up against an imperceptible forcefield. She stares forward at the sparkling mass of ocean that rolls out beyond the edge of the Human Kingdom's coast. It's one of those overexposed, slightly unreal days where the moon hangs in the cloudless sky a few inches below the sheen of the sun. Arti closes their eyes and blinks a few times until the world loses a little of its vacuum-sealed holographic plastic wrapping. Dissociation hangs like a baited hook in the murk of their mind.

MARI: So this is one hundred percent definitely the place right?
MARI: This is where well find them?
CARA: definitely.
MARI: So... what? We just wait around for this moonbase to crash into the ocean?
CARA: that's the gist.
MARI: And thatll be... when?
CARA: like i said, the only measurement of narratological time i can give you is it's due to happen at 4-7, which cannot ever mean anything to you.
CARA: temporally, the best offer i can give you is later today, not that that's worth much, i know.
MARI: Damn right it isnt. Only took us a day and change to complete what you said was gonna be a two to three day journey at the bare minimum.
MARI: God this whole thing with yous been going on for what, five days tops? Jesus.
CARA: i don't know what to tell you. time passes strangely on earth c. for me, it's been much longer than that. i experience reality here in an even weirder way than what you guys are subject to.
MARI: And Im guessing youre not elaborating on that either.
CARA: no. even if i could, i have no clue know how to articulate the details of my existence without sounding totally insane.
CARA: just.
CARA: from now on assume any ballpark estimation of time or space i give you is complete bullshit. it'll be easier.

Arti glances back at the inert transportaliser half-obscured between two dunes. The sand around it is scorched a little. Dan stands just in front of it, kicking at the ground with a pensive expression.

The five of them have been travelling non-stop since yesterday morning. Cara took them out from the bunker to a resistance relay point about two hours down the road. From there, they hopped from base to base, transportaliser to transportaliser. The rebels never asked any questions, and Cara saw fit never to give them any answers.

Arti can't help but find it weird. How on earth does someone like Cara just waltz through the most secure rebellion network on Earth C without being stopped even once? They understand she has that weird psychic book thing going on, but foreknowledge isn't exactly the best key with which to open any kind of door.

DAN: You're thinking about something.
ARTI: huh?
DAN: You've been staring off into space with that funny little frown you do.
ARTI: oh. sorry.
ARTI: yeah. guess i am thinking.

Dan steps over the top of the transportaliser and draws closer to Arti. He moves with an effortless ease, like that beating he took at the bunker never happened.

ARTI: how are you holding up?
DAN: Tired, I think?
DAN: I don't know. I have this weird thing going on.
DAN: It's like. Hm.
DAN: Somehow us being at the bunker was only a few seconds ago, but also way longer than that? Is that weird to say?
ARTI: i don't think so? probably that, uh.
ARTI: that narrative displacement thing cara mentioned... at some point.
DAN: Could be. All I know is all this shit feels strange as hell.
DAN: Didn't even know we had a massive beach like this at the coast.

He motions to the entirety of the coastline. It's a low-lying clear beach that stretches out in a flat mass all the way past both ends of the horizon. A few hundred feet behind them, the golden sand abruptly shifts to lush green grass. Like a picturesque platonic imagining of what a land's edge would look like.

DAN: Coulda sworn the geography of the coast was different.
DAN: Like, there were cities out here?? and these huge cliffs that buffered tidal storms.
DAN: But then I think about it again, and it's like I don't know anything?
DAN: Like... are we on the east or the west coast right now?
ARTI: i feel like west, maybe? couldn't tell you why.
DAN: Me too, babe. But look up at the sky.

Dan points to the sky. Arti squints and glances up. It's still perfectly clear, and perfectly blue.

ARTI: the sun?
DAN: Yeah. It's some point in the afternoon, but it's moving away from the water.
ARTI: so... this is the east coast?
ARTI: wait. fuck. this is hurting my head.
DAN: Yeah. Pretty much.
CHRISTINA: you know the best thing to do is just not think about it that hard

Christina walks up to them. Behind her, Arti sees Mari trying to grill Cara for more information. Most likely she is failing miserably at the task.

ARTI: hey.
CHRISTINA: hey
DAN: Hey.
CHRISTINA: maris trying to get cara to spill literally anything about our situation but i think its a lost cause
ARTI: yeah probably. what's your take on all this?
CHRISTINA: to be totally honest i wish i could just call it a load of horseshit
CHRISTINA: but
CHRISTINA: after everything thats happened thats probably not the case
CHRISTINA: i mean
CHRISTINA: our friends busting out of a fucking moonbase is a pretty hard sell not gonna lie
CHRISTINA: but what is it really when you compare it to the fact we spent the last year of our lives harboring fugitives from a fascist corporate regime
CHRISTINA: dont think shits ever not been stupid insane tbh

She leans against a nearby tree, eyes trained on the half-faded moon. Arti looks at it again. It's in that almost-full phase they don't remember the name of, the same cratered rock it's always been. If there's any facility on its surface, it's certainly not one to be seen by the naked eye.

But, as they look at the moon...

ARTI: hey. i know we said we should stop pointing out weird things about our surroundings.
ARTI: but does anyone else remember the moon being different?
DAN: Different... how?
ARTI: dunno. like... i have this hazy memory of something happening with the moon when i was a kid. probably only a little while after the creators returned to earth c.
ARTI: i think... something exploded up there?
CHRISTINA: literally what are you talking about
ARTI: i don't know! i just remember being, like, five, and my parents freaking out about the moon.
ARTI: i distinctly remember they kept me off school because it wasn't safe.
ARTI: but then... i think about it and the memory doesn't feel real?
ARTI: like, i'm stupid for even considering that anything could have ever happened to the moon.
DAN: Well, I don't remember anything like that as a kid. Or ever reading about something like that.
ARTI: i get it. it's not like a memory exactly, more like a half-remembered dream that my brain thinks is real history?
ARTI: it's... i guess another symptom of the weird way i feel about reality.
ARTI: like it's all this really fragile illusion, and if i pay too much attention to it, everything's gonna shatter because nothing around me is really real.
ARTI: which...
ARTI: haha WOW that's kind of a really mentally ill thing to say??
ARTI: i think being in a state of everything happening all the time is really really fucking me up.
DAN: Hey. I feel you there.

Dan puts a sympathetic hand on Arti's shoulder. Arti leans into the touch. Dan, at least, is a stable, real constant.

CHRISTINA: maybe its her doing
CHRISTINA: cause ive been thinking weird thoughts like that a lot since cara showed up
CHRISTINA: could be shes doing something fucky to our brains that makes all of reality feel liminal as shit
CHRISTINA: like weve been following her on the assumption shes saving our lives but
CHRISTINA: the only actually threatening thing that happened is when the crockercorp guys took our friends in the bunker
CHRISTINA: which definitely wouldnt have happened if wed have stayed in nuseattle
CHRISTINA: remember when she swore up and down wed all be dead within a matter of days if we didnt leave? and then nothing happened
CHRISTINA: its like
CHRISTINA: this is gonna be uncharitable of me to say
CHRISTINA: but its like shes spinning this personal narrative of hers that has little basis in reality and is stringing us along for the ride for
CHRISTINA: some fucking reason
ARTI: you know, enfuir said something similar. just before she... you know.
ARTI: i think the majority of us believe cara is totally and completely full of shit.
CHRISTINA: well duh
ARTI: but... hm.
ARTI: i don't know if that's quite right?
CHRISTINA: what do you mean

Arti takes a few thoughtful steps away from Dan, who takes the opportunity to pull out his phone. They glance down to the waterfront. Mari is still talking animatedly. Cara has progressed to crouching down and parting the water with her hands, fishing for... something.

ARTI: i mean, she said some things to me that morning that were definitely strange.
ARTI: remember the guys in the, uh... was it the third transportalizer relay?
ARTI: the one with the vending machine that stocked those vegan grubpaste flavored doritos.
CHRISTINA: oh yeah that one
ARTI: well, they were talking about some incident in the town of cavalreap, about militia forces responding to an explosion at some mall?
CHRISTINA: i vaguely recall
CHRISTINA: but that was like twelve hours ago and i was still running entirely on adrenaline so i cant say for sure
CHRISTINA: but yeah i think that checks out
ARTI: the thing about that is...
ARTI: cara had notes on that whole thing before it had even happened?? or, like, at least before the news broke.
ARTI: specifically that one of the creators had something to do with it. it was right there in that notebook of hers in her weird writing.
CHRISTINA:
CHRISTINA:
CHRISTINA: huh
CHRISTINA: weird
ARTI: yeah. she really freaked out at me for seeing that stuff. but the weirdest thing was that we aren't in any of her
DAN: Guys.
DAN: Guys holy shit.
ARTI: dan?

Both Arti and Christina turn to face Dan. His face is washed out of all colour and he's shaking.

ARTI: what's wrong?
DAN: It
DAN: I
DAN: Oh god. Oh god. Fuck.
CHRISTINA: cmon talk to us use words dan
DAN: It's...
DAN: It's NuSeattle.
DAN: Look.

He thrusts the phone into Arti's hands. They take it before it drops to the sand. Christina peers over their shoulder as they look at the screen. It's the front page of some Human Kingdom news site.

The headline is simple, short, and horrifying.

BREAKING: MASSIVE EXPLOSION ENVELOPS ENTIRE CITY OF NUSEATTLE. MILLIONS FEARED DEAD AS CAPITOL BURNS.

Below, a videoclip. A ten second shot of the city from the outskirts, and the wall of fire that swallows it wholesale.

Arti feels their stomach lining heave up towards their throat.

CHRISTINA: oh my fucking god

Christina begins to hyperventilate.

CHRISTINA: what the fuck is that
CHRISTINA: what the fuck
DAN: I, I dunno, I just,
DAN: I wanted to see if there was anything about this Crockercorp death show and I, it was the front page, and this was there, it just happened, I dunno, I, I
ARTI: the entire city. they blew up an entire city.
ARTI: why the hell would they

NuSeattle is the third-largest city on Earth C, only trailing behind New Prospit and New Thrashstem, respectively. Thirty-two million people live within the four thousand square miles that comprise the city limits, the most densely-packed metropolis on the continent. It took five-thousand years to build the city to behemoth status, and fifteen minutes to tear it to rubble.

Arti looks at the snap of the burning city. It happened so fast. There's no way any of them got out alive. Almost one tenth of Earth C's entire human population, wiped out.

CHRISTINA: we
CHRISTINA: wed be dead right now if

She's clenching her fists hard enough her hands tremble. Dan meanwhile, is sinking into desperate tears.

DAN: Fuck, everyone we know, all those people,
DAN: Our families, oh my god, they're
DAN: M
DAN: My parents.
DAN: Give me that, I need to, I need to,

He violently rips the phone out of Arti's hands between fits of hyperventilation. He runs through his contacts list and tries each number, one by one. The phone rings out, and the phone rings out, and then it doesn't even do that.

By the end of it, Dan's face is a mask of washed-out terror. Arti can hear waves crashing around their ears, a dissociative rush bubbling from the inside out. Their pulse is a great, ugly churn, a signifier of life when that word has just lost so much meaning.

DAN: Guys I think

He cannot finish. Dan sinks to the floor, brings his knees to his chin, and weeps.

CHRISTINA: what the *fuck* happened
CHRISTINA: how can they just
CHRISTINA: one of the largest cities on the fucking planet

Christina's shock is quickly tipping over into fervent answer-seeking. Arti is floating somewhere above their body, enjoying a faded top-down view of this entire beach. Despair crumbles over everybody's skin like acidic pellets of hail.

Then they remember Enfuir's words. She trusted Arti enough to elect them friendleader in the event of crisis. No doubt she anticipated something less horrific, but if now isn't the time for someone to step up, then Arti doesn't know when the fuck it would be.

They gulp down their fear until their head feels less like a balloon desperate to drift up into an unknowable aether space, then face their friends.

ARTI: okay, this is a pretty fucking horrible situation. no skirting around that one.
ARTI: and i... i don't really know what we do after this.
ARTI: but... we're not dead. whatever that means, good or bad, we're still here.
ARTI: the world just went to even worse shit than the shit it was currently in, and we're alive on a beach at the edge of the world with a weird girl who's definitely stringing us along for her own secret agenda.
ARTI: i dunno. guess what i'm saying is.
ARTI: it's not over for us yet? which, uh, wow, kind of sounds like a threat when i put it like that.
ARTI: (god i'm really bad at this. enfuir what the fuck were you thinking.)
ARTI: like. yes the world is literally burning. yes everything we ever knew is gone and in ruins. and we're still here.
ARTI: we're still free to choose what we do. there are still possibilities for us.
ARTI: everything's gone and we're still able to see through whatever comes after that.
ARTI: there's still a chance to find or build something better for us all with our own hands. somewhere softer, less cruel, a place where we can all just be.
ARTI: we're not dead. we are not dead. and i think that means everything.
ARTI: ...
ARTI: ...
ARTI: ...
ARTI: guys?

They look up. Christina is looking at them with a tempest of emotion on her face. Dan is still crying. The sun is still warm. The ocean is still churning. Arti has never felt so much love for the people around them, has never wanted a better ending for them so desperately. In this moment, they think they'd take a million NuSeattle firebombings if it guaranteed the safety and happiness of the ones they love. It stirs so powerfully in their chest that Arti feels like if they let it bloom, it would rewrite the cruelty of all universes.

Arti brings a hand to their face. Their cheeks are slippery wet with tears. They couldn't say when or how or why they started crying, only that they are. Only that everything is disintegrating and they want to hold onto what little is left with all they are. It's a moment that hangs, long enough even to stretch past the end of everything, a yawn of pain by irrelevant actors lashing out against an unseen conductor content to grind them up in a bloody tune.

It's only broken when Mari approaches them, stuttering steps on unbroken sand. Her eyes are wide, listless.

MARI: Guys.
MARI: Guys Im so fucking sorry but NuSeattle
CHRISTINA: we know
CHRISTINA: we just watched it happen in real time
MARI: ...
MARI: She knew. She fucking knew and she didnt tell us.
CHRISTINA: im sorry?
MARI: Cara. She had the whole thing written out in her stupid little notebook.
ARTI: you saw her notebook?
MARI: Just look.

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a fistful of papers. Arti immediately recognises them for what they are. Their eyes widen when they notice a few glowing sheets at the bottom of the pile.

Mari gives Arti the top beige sheet. Just like the others, there's a single note written in large across the surface of the paper.

3-7: karkat reaches nuseattle just in time to watch it get destroyed by jane's fleet. (tell the others *AFTER* the extraction.)

Arti reads over the magenta handwriting and feels a rock tumble through their throat to the pit of their torso.

ARTI: she...
ARTI: she chose to keep this from us?
MARI: Yeah. Like every other fucking secret.
ARTI: no, i mean...
ARTI: usually she justifies it with some line about narrative timeline integrity or whatever. but...
ARTI: she chose to not tell us on her own. this is the first time i think we've even been *mentioned* in her notes.
MARI: Yeah you saw them before, right?
ARTI: yeah. she basically admitted to me her written sources didn't include us. she was desperately adamant about that.
ARTI: was that... did she lie about that as well?
CHRISTINA: why would she do that
DAN: Maybe... maybe she was trying to be kind?

Dan stands slowly and shakily, brushing sand off his pants. He's more present than he was, but there's a light behind his eyes that's so burned out Arti fears nobody will ever see it again.

DAN: Like, I'm not defending her or anything, but...
DAN: Now that we know, I think having our friends be in mortal peril at the same time that or home city gets destroyed is... kind of a lot.
DAN: If I could spare someone from knowing that, I think I'd do the same?
MARI: You cant be serious.
DAN: So what if I am? Maybe this is all a very very fucked up situation and maybe I am tired of feeling so fucking frayed.
DAN: Hey, remember how I fled my home then got beat the fuck up by a Crockercorp goon then had my friends get abducted and then saw all of NuSeattle get blasted into oblivion? Remember how that is a direct sequence of events I had to witness in the last fucking day?
DAN: Maybe, just for one minute, I would like to not be swamped with despair so overwhelming it is taking all of my strength to not just march right into that ocean and never resurface.
DAN: We're not equipped to handle this level of trauma, okay? I passed my limit... god, I don't even know when at this point.
DAN: God fucking knows Cara is one slippery customer, but maybe this was her way of saying sorry.
CHRISTINA: thats a nice thought but
MARI: Remember how shes actually told us jack shit ever? The only thing we got from her was that we had to leave NuSeattle ASAP.
MARI: If were gonna pull the trauma conga line argument remember when she deliberately *didnt* warn us that the others were in danger.
MARI: Or was that avoidable nightmare also an act of fucking kindness too, hmm?
DAN: I...
DAN: I don't know what you want me to say.
DAN: I don't trust her, but we're stuck with her.
DAN: Our home is gone. Our friends are held hostage by the most evil woman on the planet.
DAN: What the hell else are we supposed to do?
CHRISTINA: maybe if she clued us in on whatever the hell her plan is
CHRISTINA: except shes cagey all of the time
CHRISTINA: i genuinely think the universe will end before she willingly parts with even a drop of information
DAN: So... what, exactly?
CHRISTINA: i think
CHRISTINA: i think once we get the others back
CHRISTINA: we should ditch cara before things get worse for us
DAN: ...
MARI: Chris thats the best suggestion Ive heard all day.
DAN: Okay, but where would we go?
MARI: Isnt that obvious? We passed through like a million rebel transportalizer relay bases getting to this fucking beach.
MARI: One of them will have some kind of refugee place to settle us. Anything that gets us as far away from any and every event as possible.
DAN: I don't know if that's the best plan, though--
MARI: At least it actually IS some kind of plan because I am super convinced Cara has no fucking clue what shes doing
DAN: But
MARI: Dan do I have to spell it out for you? If we stay with her were going to wind up fucking dead. We have to quit while we still have a chance.
DAN: You don't know that
MARI: And you think Cara does??? Really??
ARTI: uh, guys
DAN: This is not me being a bitch, but being angry does not constitute a rational plan, Mari.
MARI: Oh seriously? You think this is directionless anger?
MARI: Newsflash bestie: youre not the only one saddled with trauma upon trauma!
CHRISTINA: hey cut it out theres no need to
DAN: At least I'm admitting I have no fucking clue what to do next!!
MARI: Why the fuck are you trying to claim the moral high ground?
DAN: Well, why the hell are you---
ARTI: GUYS PLEASE, STOP IT!!!!
DAN:
MARI:
CHRISTINA:

The three of them look to Arti with mute shock. They've always been the quiet one on the sidelines. They don't think they've ever shouted like this before. Arti touches their throat, and is surprised to find it hasn't shredded itself raw.

ARTI: please. stop fighting.
ARTI: we're all we have left. don't throw that away.
ARTI: neither of you are wrong in what you're saying.
ARTI: no, staying with cara isn't good news. at this point i think every one of us has had that thought.
ARTI: and no, we can't go off without a substantial plan. not in the middle of a planetwide war when we're displaced refugees.
CHRISTINA: so what do we do exactly
ARTI: we make use of the huge advantage we have right in front of us.
ARTI: mari, can you please pass me those glowing sheets of paper?
MARI: Sure. But why? Its just more junk, right?
ARTI: no. cara tried her hardest to keep me away from them.
ARTI: they have future events written down on them.
ARTI: most of it's related to the gods and the war as a whole, but we can use that information to help us decide what to do now.
ARTI: where to go, who to trust. that kind of stuff.
ARTI: how many glowing sheets do you have?
MARI: Uh, hang on...
MARI: Half a dozen, maybe?
MARI: I kinda grabbed them at random so, I dunno if theyre any good.
MARI: Here.

She passes the bulk of the glowing paper to Arti. They thumb through it, counting five in total. Arti skims through the top sheet.

7-6: john and roxy talk about gender. (if The Decision happens here, super super important)

ARTI: huh.
DAN: What's it say?
ARTI: nothing much, but this is way in the future.
ARTI: i think i have rough grasp on cara's weird narrative number system.
ARTI: right now, we're somewhere between numbers three and four, whatever that means exactly.
ARTI: this sheet is labeled number seven.
CHRISTINA: and what does that mean
ARTI: don't know, other than there's a whole bunch of events that'll happen between now and then.
ARTI: for reference, cara said we meet up with the others again at the narrative marker known as 4-7.
ARTI: the number three events happened in the time between the others getting kidnapped and us reaching this beach.
MARI: So what does that tell us?
ARTI: i don't know. something, maybe.

They flip over through the rest of the notes.

5-3: vriska storms the crocker mothership. (amira matters here i think)

6-6: the gang rallies for the final confrontation. (location?)

7-8: vriska and the kids wait at the meteor for the muse's arrival. (final chance before the convergence MUST have everything in place by then)

DAN: Hold on. I might be reading this wrong, but...
DAN: That sounds like the war is nearly over. Is anyone else getting that?
CHRISTINA: no yeah kind of
CHRISTINA: the fact that there are things happening after the final confrontation seems like theres no more fighting after this point
DAN: And based on how we've been measuring these things so far, that has to only be a couple of days away, right?
CHRISTINA: i guess so
DAN: So... so we're nearly done with all this horrible stuff. We're nearly past the worst of it.
CHRISTINA: god i hope so
MARI: Yeah. I have a question about that other one though.
MARI: What the hell is the convergence?
DAN: How would any of us know?
MARI: Just because cara seems to be super emphasising that for some reason.
MARI: Is this convergence thing what shes working towards?
CHRISTINA: who knows
CHRISTINA: and at this point im not sure if i want to know
MARI: Yeah, probably.
MARI: Is that all?
ARTI: no, there's still two more notes.

Arti pulls out the bottom two sheets of paper and skims through. The words printed across their shimmering surface change everything.

4-1: karkat tries to help nuseattle survivors, heads to meet with other gods. (position of other rebels?)

4-3: rose and jade sequester off civilian shelter, take out crocker fleet. (check survivors. do not get hopes up)

ARTI: survivors. it says survivors.
MARI: What?
ARTI: here. look.
MARI: Oh my god. Oh my god?
DAN: So... the city wasn't completely destroyed?
CHRISTINA: people lived
CHRISTINA: people lived
ARTI: so... so wait. if nuseattle is still standing and people are still alive...
ARTI: and the war is about to end, then... then...

They can barely think it before they choke up. Dan says it first.

DAN: We can go home.
CHRISTINA: holy shit
DAN: We can, we can really
CARA: hey, uh, what are you guys all talking about?

Cara taps a hand on Arti's shoulder. They flinch back so hard they nearly topple over. The paper in their hands slips out of their grip and drifts down to the ground. Cara's cryptic smile rapidly falls when she notices and then comprehends.

CARA: oh no.
CARA: oh no what have you done.
DAN: Cara
CARA: arti, i told you. i *told* you about the future event notes.

She bends down and scoops up the paper, slotting it away somewhere unseen.

CARA: how did you get these.
CARA: tell me. now.
CARA: *now*, guys.

Suddenly she's floating a few feet off the ground. There's a faint magenta aura swirling around her body. For one instant fear sloshes through Arti's body like needles of ice. There is more power in her body than anybody could fathom.

MARI: Me.
MARI: I stole them from you while we were talking.
CARA: you...
CARA: why would you

Cara turns on Mari. The energy pulsing off of her is strong enough to generate a hot breeze that whips Arti's hair around. Mari stands unflinching, coolly meeting Cara's gaze

MARI: Because were all sick to death of getting no answers.
MARI: Were sick of you stringing us along and not telling us anything at all.
MARI: I figured that if you werent gonna talk, your notes sure as fuck would.
CARA: when did you
MARI: If you didnt notice me snatching them thats on you. Not revealing my secret sticky fingered ways bitch.
CARA: no, because that's a manifestation of
CARA: wait, the fuck am i saying. i can't be talking about any of this.
CARA: damn it what is HAPPENING to the plan!!!
DAN: The plan?
CHRISTINA: cara i think you need to start talking to us right now
CHRISTINA: otherwise were gonna walk away and im guessing you really dont want that
CARA: you wouldn't. you wouldn't possibly
ARTI: wouldn't we?

Arti surprises themself by talking. Cara blinks, wide-eyed.

ARTI: thanks to your notes, now we know that we'll soon have a home to return to.
ARTI: nuseattle isn't lost, not that that's a thing you even wanted us to know about in the first place.
ARTI: from where i'm standing, what's stopping us from going back home once we get our friends back?
CARA: you can't go home. i'm sorry but you can't.
MARI: Why not? The wars nearly over so whats the point in keeping going?
CARA: i've told you. you guys are essential to something far bigger than yourselves.
MARI: Uh, I think youll find according to your own fucking notes that the eight of us have ZERO role to play in ending this war.
CARA: you really think...?
CARA: ...
CARA: okay. why are you all so confident things are going to turn out well?
CHRISTINA: maybe because of your magic psychic notes

Cara shakes her head.

CARA: god. you don't understand. you really don't understand.
ARTI: understand... what?
CARA: the future isn't set in stone. those notes could mean anything.
CARA: which one gave you the impression things were about to end?
CARA: this one?

She pulls out the note about the final battle.

CARA: what does it say?
ARTI: well, that the war is--
CARA: no, literally. verbatim, what are the words on this piece of paper.
CARA: don't worry, i'll tell you.
CARA: 6-6: the gang rallies for the final confrontation.
CARA: in parentheses: location?
CARA: that is all it says. where in any of that is the promise the war will end?
DAN: Well, we kind of assumed--
CARA: you assumed. you assumed what?
CARA: that "the final confrontation" has something to do with the war?
ARTI: i mean, what else could it be.
CARA: you tell me, arti, since you guys seem to hold all the answers.
ARTI: ...
CARA: for starters, who do you even think "the gang" is?
CARA: that tells you literally nothing! all this note really says is that a group of individuals are coming together in advance of some conflict, the location of which is uncertain.
CARA: these terms are so vague as to mean anything. that's the point!
CARA: future events are flexible as fuck. these glowing notes are basically a glorified metatextual weather forecast.
CARA: so unless you're attuned to the higher narrative stream, these notes are meaningless.
CARA: you do not know what is going to happen. you're just hoping for something better, when there's no indication that--
MARI: So why does it say NuSeattle survivors then?
CARA: sorry, what?

Mari takes a step towards Cara. Arti has never felt more awe for another person in their entire life.

MARI: Your notes. Two of them explicitly say civilians will survive the NuSeattle attack.
MARI: No ambiguity. No bullshit. A bunch of the gods will help the civilian survivors.
CARA:
MARI: So go ahead, explain to me how the fuck that somehow translates to us not having a home to go back to.
MARI: Go on. Im waiting.
CARA: i...
CARA: i can't tell you why. but that note is not a promise meant for you guys.
CARA: fuck, we're barely in the same narrative stream. this is stuff you can't understand even if i tried to explain it.
CARA: you're all embroiled in a picture so big it can't even be fathomed.
CARA: bigger than your lives. bigger than this narrative. bigger than this iteration of earth c.
CARA: so big and so vast language fails to come close to mapping it.
MARI: Literally what the fuck are you saying. That doesnt mean anything.
CARA: only to you. i know exactly what i'm saying.
CARA: i am bound to a role i cannot escape. i... i need to fulfil my mission.
CARA: i need to get you guys to where you need to be, and that place ISN'T recovering from your trauma in the ruins of nuseattle. i'm sorry.
CARA: fuck, i shouldn't be disclosing any of this, but i am.
CARA: i am breaking my own rules for you guys because i care about you.
CARA: so please, do not lecture me because your destiny isn't something you wanted.

Cara finally returns to her usual height of floating a few inches off the floor. There is something desperate and wounded churning in her eyes.

CARA: i've lost more than any of you could understand.
CARA: this... all of this is the only way to get me back.
ARTI: get back? what does that mean?
CARA: what do you think it means, arti.
ARTI: i don't...
CARA: i don't belong here.
CARA: being here, being who i am, is the biggest risk i've ever taken.
DAN: Who you are?
DAN: And who is that, exactly.
CARA: i can never tell you that. i can never tell anybody that.
CHRISTINA: somehow i doubt that
CARA: i am not bullshitting here.
CARA: if anyone, and i mean ANYONE - inside or outside this narrative - had the faintest idea about who i really am...
CARA: it would be catastrophic.
CARA: you think all this is bad???
CARA: the things that could happen if i let the wrong information give out...
CARA: here. i'll show you. stand back.
ARTI: uh...

Without consciously deciding to, Arti backs a few paces away from Cara. They glance around to see the others doing the same. They look back to Cara. She stands alone, a single figure before the backdrop of a barely-fathomable natural frontier. Power, unspoken and unseen, swells.

CARA: ah hem.
CARA: my true identity, who i really am, that person is...

Before she finishes, there's a barely-perceptible tremor. It runs through Arti's bones, leaving their marrow feeling like it's been slammed through a washing machine. The temperature goes funny, then cuts out, as if the concept never existed in the first place.

ARTI: what the

Then the crack. An invisible, silent shard sliced clean through the atmosphere. There's no way to sense it, but Arti somehow knows it's there. Knows that it's the most dangerous thing in all of reality. It creaks and splinters and spreads, a hungry thing set on dragging everything into its ceaseless fold.

ARTI: cara, what is that
CARA: the worst thing to ever exist. more devastating than any game played by errant gods.
ARTI: it's spreading.
ARTI: can you stop it, god i can feel it, like i'm
CARA: the dissolution is the kindest part. this is nothing compared to the full thing.
CARA: hold on. let me banish it again.
CARA: *sigh*
CARA: i didn't want to tip my hand like this, not ever, but

but there's no choice. i need them to see. need them to understand.

the crack with no name drinks at the metatextual stream like a bloated narratological mosquito. it taps into the edge of a threshold, not even knowing the trove of riches that wait for it if it pushes just a little harder, the absolute narrative ruin it could spill.

arti and the others are looking at me. children standing before monoliths. small, tragic things that can still hope for something more. sometimes i can barely stand to look at them. can barely stand to look at any of this narrative knowing what's coming.

my reward is the only thing keeping me steady. it's the only reason to endure any of this dirty business. doesn't make it any less terrible, any less like i'm gulping down caramelised lard.

i can't help but wonder. is this how you felt? is this feeling, this terrible feeling why you pushed me away from you? is this what it's all for?

i suppose it doesn't matter in the end. this goes bigger than me. bigger than you. we are step one on a long and terrible road. just as you must, i have no appetite for what lies at its end.

soon, we will be together again. that is all that matters to me. to you. to what we are. to what we could be.

a little longer. a little longer.

it takes less than half a thought to push that wretched crack back out of the boundaries of the narrative bubble, to send it back to the terminus point where it will sit hungrily anticipating those doomed enough to make it that far.

it is gone, leaving in its wake bleeding scars on the text that few will notice and fewer will care about. hope the muse enjoys her bumpy ride. i hope she appreciates where her actions will lead.

there is an acidic rot at the core of this candy bowl, shredding everything around it like melted sinew. i hope those who matter get out alive.

...

yes, i feel you there. i'm sorry i had to do this.

you can have the narrative back. enjoy it while you can.

With the sensation of air rushing into a vacuum space, Cara returns to the ground. Arti stares at her, slack jawed. The sea washes against the shore, fate and inevitability crashing all around them with the power of something beyond the divine. Cara looks so small, yet so infinitely large.

ARTI: cara. what hell did you
CARA: it doesn't matter.
CARA: what matters is that we wait on this beach for your friends, and then we will do what is right.

Nobody says anything. Nobody moves. They just stand, mutely silent by the shoreline, and they wait.

Chapter 36: (three), section (iii.)

(iii.)

The Turtle Capital, as it is known in common and official parlance, stands as a brilliant and ornate beacon on the southeast corner of the continent, astride the mouth of the LOHAC river. It is an elegant city rife with glistening canals, cobbled streets lined with hand-crafted coral towers that twist and spiral like a carved reef stretching up into the heavens. It is a warm day punctuated only by thin sheets of cloud blowing in off the ocean breeze and disappearing into the mainland.

A small fishing vessel containing three displaced Carapacians and one alligator consort docks in a small port just to the side of the heart of the city. The ship has the good fortune to arrive on the day of the fish market; hundreds of consorts mill about stalls filled to the brim with seafood and oceanic goods unseen anywhere else in the world. The waterways that connect the city's numerous districts are abuzz with gondolas brightly painted in the colours of the sacred Skaian aspects. There is a clean, warm, and inviting smell in the air. This place feels like the last place to remain untouched by the scars of war.

SC and RH help lower the gangplank onto the pier, while AI helps to carry The Captain's haul amassed from the hundreds of miles of rainforests and jungles they traversed to get to this colourful terminus point. It feels good set foot on solid land again after so long on the water.

RH: hey | thank you so much for this man |
RH: you dont know how grateful we are for everything youve done for us |
THE CAPTAIN: nak!!! :V

The Captain eagerly hops and snaps his jaws together at the praise. He gives SC, then AI, then RH in turn a small nibble on the wrist, then scuttles off to the turtle foreman in a hi-vis jacket to secure a market stall.

RH: damn im gonna miss that guy |
SC: yeah.. the captain is the best..
AI: **He is, but it's up to us to keep going with the next leg of this journey.**
AI: **SC, how's your head?**

AI looks pointedly at SC. He gingerly rubs his head. It's been low-key aching since that bizarre episode earlier on, a persistent throb that doesn't let him forget their collective goal. The coordinates sit warm in his pocket. If he closes his eyes, he can almost see a hazy shape sitting in the depths of his mind.

SC: i'm ok.. so long as we keep making progress i'll probably be fine..
AI: **That's good.**
AI: **So, our goals in this city are twofold:**
AI: **One: find someone willing to take us further south.**
AI: **And two: see if we can't find out more information about our present situation.**
SC: that's about the long and short of it,, yeah..
SC: what do we do first??

The three of them start walking through the market stalls. Consorts of all varieties glub and nak and clack out sales pitches for their wares. Money spills from their stalls as overeager customers throw everything they have in towards a painted seashell or something equally as small and pretty. Strangest of all is a slender salamander in the middle of the bazaar inexplicably selling top of the range Crockercorp television sets. One of them's switched on in demonstration, tuned to the Crockercorp broadcasting station. SC spares a glance. It seems to be another one of those vile troll death games.

They come out the other end, where the crowd quiets down. There's a gondola dock by the canal on their right, and to their left a spiral-twisting street lined with al fresco cafés serving an eclectic mashup of all kinds of food products. By the street corner is an alligator in star-shaped shades busking with an alchemised hybrid between an accordion and a turntable. SC fishes in his pocket. The only thing he has of value in there is a spare screw from the portable radio. He drops it in the alligator's dish regardless. She is overjoyed at the donation and sets it alongside her other offerings which include an empty pill bottle and an old NuSeattle bus pass.

AI: **From what I remember, the Archives are situated in the plaza just off the heart of the city.**
RH: yeah | one of the best collections of information on the entire planet | one of those places i always wanted to see |
AI: **Well, you're in luck then, aren't you?**
AI: **RH, I think you and SC should go check out the Archives.** **RH, I can't think of anyone better to navigate a whole bunch of records, and maybe SC will be able to help give pointers towards more relevant information.**
RH: wait really |
AI: **Meanwhile, I'll head down to the outbound docks and ask around for a ship heading further south.**
AI: **We'll cover more ground if we divide our work.**
SC: sounds good,, i guess..
SC: where should we meet up once we're done??
AI: **Hm.**
AI: **I think there's a hotel across from the Archives.** **How about there?**
RH: yeah thats fine | need a place to rest tonight anyway |
AI: **So we're all in agreement?**
RH: yep |
SC: yeah..
AI: **Then I'll see you two later on.**

AI gives a parting wave then rushes off to hail down a pair of gondolas. She ends up taking a Breath gondola straight down the main waterway, while RH and SC sit aboard a slower Rage boat piloted by an iguana in a trenchcoat that drifts down a side canal.

RH: hey remember like twenty minutes ago when we thought wed be off the water for a while | lol |
SC: yep.. seems like a distant memory already..
RH: convinced im gonna end up dying in water at this point |
SC: i don't know about that..

SC dips a hand into the water. It's clear and warm and he can see a school of vibrant fish fleeing from the gondola's rippling wake. The closer they draw to the Archives, the less his head throbs.

SC: i think once we get through this,, none of us are ever getting on a boat again..
RH: you think well survive this? |
SC: yeah.. yeah i do..
RH: thats | optimistic | i guess |

RH leans back in his seat and folds his arms. He's sitting across from SC, bouncing one leg nervously.

RH: dunno | cant help but always have a bad feeling |
RH: think maybe that stuff with pl messed me up in so many ways |
SC: i think that's maybe obvious??
RH: yeah probably lmao |
RH: think i need to relearn how to relax or something |
SC: i mean...... now's as good a time as any??
SC: it's a nice day.. we're on a boat ride to one of the greatest libraries on the planet.. and we're not in mortal danger..
RH: but |
SC: hey come on.. like this..

SC pulls his hand back in and leans back in his seat. He tilts his head up, feeling the spray of the water on his face. Above, a flock of birds crests over the rooftops. It's... nice. A brief reprieve from everything, a reminder that things won't always be terrible.

RH, meanwhile, has his arms folded and is craning his neck around to glance down the darker alleyways that the gondola drifts past. There's a consistent unease to his expression at total odds with the sunlight reflecting off his dark carapace.

RH: sorry man | i just keep thinking about |
SC: you don't have to.. you can let go of it for a few seconds..
SC: you're allowed this..

SC leans forward and places a supportive hand on RH's knee. RH does this funny thing where his entire body jolts upright. He glares at SC then sharply turns away.

RH: hey uh |
SC: what??
RH: |||
RH: dunno |
SC: there's really no need to feel bad..
SC: i hate seeing the people i care about in a bad way..
SC: just because everything is happening doesn't mean we're not allowed to be happy..
SC: does it??
RH: i |
RH: hey sc uh |
SC: what is it??
RH: i |||
RH: fuck man you ||

RH has pulled his tattered beanie down over his head. SC blinks at his friend, not quite comprehending.

SC: you don't have to freak out.. don't let your trauma take good things away from you..
SC: you can feel better.. i believe in you.. :)

He places a second hand on RH's other knee. RH all but writhes on the spot.

RH: sc |||| sc are you |||
RH: sc are you like doing this on purpose or ||||||
RH: because ||||
RH: |||||

RH starts to breathe shallowly. SC feels a pit of concern open up in his chest.

SC: hey.. look at me.. look at me..
SC: you're probably having a panic attack.. you can get through this..
SC: it's okay.. it's okay..
SC: focus on me until it passes..

He reaches one arm out and gently tilts RH's head until their eyes are meeting. RH's mouth is slightly agape.

RH: hhhhhaaa i ||
RH: this isnt |
RH: sc |
SC: breathe.. breathe..
RH: i |
RH: im not |
SC: not what?? what's the matter??
SC: talk to me.. i want to help..
RH: sc ||
RH: oh my god sc you idiot this isnt a panic attack |
SC: it's...... not??
RH: no |||||
RH: how the hell have you not realized |

RH stares at SC. SC stares at RH. Suddenly he feels a jolt of something, like a static lick in the air. He grows acutely aware of how close their faces are from one another. That it's the two of them, alone on a boat in a foreign city. Realisation begins to dawn.

SC: oh no..
SC: oh no i'm so sorry.. i didn't mean to
SC: god i must have been weirding you out i'm so embarrassed..
RH: hey hey hey
RH: no uh |
RH: i |
RH: im not | im not |||| mad about it?? ||

RH's voice goes funny at the end of that sentence. SC blinks.

SC: you......??
RH: fuck | i never wanted to say anything to make it weird but |
RH: uh ||
RH: mm hm |

RH is barely coherent. The static in the air feels heavier.

SC: wait.. so.
SC: just to be clear,, what is it we're saying here??
SC: because i don't want to it to turn out i'm totally misreading everything..
RH: no i think | i think this is exactly what it looks like |
RH: and uh | yeah |
SC: oh..
SC: i mean..
SC: huh..
RH: |
SC:
RH:
SC:
RH:
SC:
RH:
RH: so | do you think it would be too weird if i |
RH: you know |
SC: i

SC falls silent. RH leans forward a few inches. Oh, oh okay yes this is definitely what SC thought it was. He's never really thought about any of this before in his life ever, but suddenly RH is right here, offering it on a silver platter, and SC, he, he

He begins to move his own head forward, hoping and praying this is not a mistake, that

> Back the fuck off. I know you're there. Stay the hell away from me.

SC: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH

Agony. Splinter bolts of kindling shrapnel across his synapses. SC clutches the sides of his head and doubles over, convulsing. RH lets out a choked sound.

RH: sc!!! |
RH: shit shit | shit are you ok|
SC: hhaaahhhhhyeah i think
SC: voice is back ohh ahh it hurts
SC: hurts a lot.. i can't..
RH: fuck what do i do | sc |

RH puts his hands on SC's shoulders. SC barely even registers the physical touch.

SC: i don't
SC: i don't think there is anything??
SC: just
SC: just have to ride the pain out
RH: well im here | im right fucking here |
SC: that's
SC: that's nice
SC:
SC:
SC: don't think i can talk right now
RH: thats ok too man |

SC closes his eyes and lets the pain roll over him. Sucks in a breath, spits it back out. He should be thankful there was no seizure this time. That one really sucked. Back in the depths of his mind's eye, the nebulous scene takes on more texture. A white stretch. A deep hole. At the bottom of the hole, a mass of light, shifting and unfolding. It feels so real, this half dream he can't control.

The light in this maybe-imagined-maybe-real headspace pulses sharply the second SC looks down at it.

> I thought I said for you to get your ass

> Hold the phone. Kid? SC? Is that you?

SC can't talk, just thinks "yes" loudly enough that he hopes it conveys.

> How the hell did you manage to do that? How are you...

SC pulls up the memory of a few seconds ago. Envisions it being fed to the light. The light takes on a new, more familiar form.

> Shit. Sorry. Didn't realize I was broadcasting there. Or that you'd pick it up.

> Since you got dragged into this, guess I'll tell you. That was one of those unsavory actors I was telling you about last time. Poking and prying.

SC gives a mental "i'm... sorry?".

> I knew it was coming. Don't fret. You're still on your way though, right?

SC tries to think of a succinct way to convey everything and fails. Instead he imagines a little funnel pouring the information from his mind into the light.

The light drinks it in. Shifts again. A pearlescent spirograph at the bottom of a frozen pit. Fear washes over the mindscape from somewhere. From someone.

> That all?

SC nods, hoping and praying it doesn't notice the nugget of distrust in the back of his mind.

> Don't take too long, kid. City like that should easily have what you need.

> If today's any indication, we have less time than I thought.

> Can't promise I'll be able to keep any future metanarrative assaults from spilling into your mind, but I'll try.

> See you soon.

The light glows brighter, harsher. It pushes SC up out of the pit, out across the frozen expanse, and back out of the depths of his own mind.

SC blinks, awake again. RH's face is right in front of his, terrified. SC gives a shaky smile.

SC: i'm back..
RH: thank fuck | how are you feeling? |
SC: i'll be okay..

Even as he talks, he feels the agony in his head settle back down to its usual background thrum. A knot uncoils in his chest.

RH: thats good | thats good | what happened? |
SC: the voice said...... someone attacked it..
SC: whatever it did to push that person away spilled over into my head..
SC: or something..
RH: hm |
RH: any idea who or what the threat was |
SC: no..
SC: the voice...... it didn't say.
RH: as per usual |
SC: i know.. but we still have to go to it..
RH: it just fucking sucks is all |
SC: hopefully we'll find out some answers for ourselves..
RH: yeah |
RH: well were almost here |

RH leans away from SC and motions ahead of them. In the time SC was dealing with that, the gondola managed to make it to the huge ostentatious plaza in the middle of the city. There is a water fountain spewing shimmering streams out of an elaborate seashell carving. And at the far end, a massive tall building that stretches above the rest of the city. The Turtle Capital Archives.

The iguana docks the boat at a port adjacent to the colossal building. RH helps a shaky SC disembark, then turns to the iguana.

RH: hey thanks for that |
RH: sorry about the theatrics |
IGUANA: glub
RH: here |

He tosses the iguana a balled-up chewing gum wrapper and some pocket lint. The iguana takes it in hand, then gulps the whole thing down.

IGUANA: glub glub

Then it unhooks the gondola, and sails away down a canal lined with colourful flags. SC and RH turn away from their water and make their way across the plaza.

It's quieter in the middle of the city. There are a few consort families milling about, but nothing like the fish market. SC spots a young salamander child gobbling down an ice cream taller than its body. More children are frolicking in the small pool of water around the edge of the fountain. Older consorts sit on benches, carrying full shopping bags. It's all so disarmingly normal.

RH: well | here we are |

They come to a stop at the bottom of the steps leading up to the library's front door. None of the consorts around go anywhere near the building. SC guesses on a nice day like this, nobody normal would want to spend it poring through esoteric literature.

Just before he begins the ascent, SC comes to a stop. A strange chill comes over him, as if a shadow just blocked out the sunlight. But when he looks up, the skies are perfectly clear. RH, who has already made a head start, turns around and looks back.

RH: you good? |
SC: yeah.. sorry.. it's nothing..
RH: then come on |
RH: dont want ai on our asses for getting nothing done before she gets here |

SC shakes his head and hurries to catch up to RH. The uneasy feeling doesn't leave, but nor does it sit at the fore of his mind. He pointedly tries not to focus on it as RH pushes open the massive double doors and the two of them step inside.

The foyer of the library is huge and moody, smelling of varnished wood and old books. Despite its exterior, the inside of the building has wooden floors and walls, illuminated by candlelit sconces affixed to the rafters. At the end of the room is a large service desk manned by an older-looking turtle who's watching a Crockercorp broadcast on her computer. Past the desk is a door that leads through to the archives themselves. RH steps forward and clears his throat.

RH: hey uh |
RH: i hope you can help us |
THE LIBRARIAN: Nak?
RH: my friend and i | wed like to take a look in the archives | if thats not a problem or anything
THE LIBRARIAN: Nak.

She glances up at RH, bored, then returns to the program. SC steals a glimpse. There's a bunch of trolls standing in a ring of podiums arguing. The camera zooms in on a human boy close to tears, then to a large purpleblood troll with a less readable expression. In the middle of the group... is that a robot with an anime sword?

RH: we uh | could really use your help | actually |
RH: my friends been having these visions | and hearing voices |
RH: we think it has to do with whatevers at the heart of these coordinates |
RH: (sc show her) |
SC: oh.. uh..
SC: it's this..

SC presents the coordinates. The Librarian looks at it, then flinches back with wide eyes.

THE LIBRARIAN: Well, I never...
RH: hold on | you can talk our language? |
THE LIBRARIAN: I work in one of the largest archives of pre-universal Skaian lore. What good would it be if I couldn't understand the language?
THE LIBRARIAN: You there. Pale one. Let me see that.
SC: uh.. sure..

SC walks up to the desk and gives the coordinates to The Librarian. She scrutinises it for a good while, then puts it back down. On-screen, a troll with facial hair is sobbing.

RH: we know its some kind of ancient barcode | but |
THE LIBRARIAN: It's a Skaian Carapacian barcode, all right.
THE LIBRARIAN: But... Wow. I didn't know this pattern survived to this universe.
SC: pattern??
THE LIBRARIAN: You two boys don't know what this is?

She slams a hand down on the desk. SC feels a bubble of nerves in his throat.

SC: no.. you know what this points to??
THE LIBRARIAN: Not just "what", but "who".
RH: what do you mean who |
THE LIBRARIAN: I don't want to get you two excited if I'm wrong, but I have a fairly good idea. Let me get the reference books.

She hops off of her seat and approaches the door to the library itself.

THE LIBRARIAN: How did you two even come by this?
SC: very long story.. we've traveled a very long way for answers too..
THE LIBRARIAN: And you still have a long way yet to go.
THE LIBRARIAN: Who would have thought. You, the south pole of all places...

She's essentially muttering to herself at this point, but that last bit gives RH pause.

RH: hold on | what do you mean south pole |
RH: that cant be |

SC flashes back to the image in his mind. The frozen field. The deep hole. The spirograph of light. Somehow, terribly, he knows this fact to be true.

SC: i think it is.. now if we could figure out who

He doesn't finish. The double doors burst open. SC, RH, and The Librarian turn around to see a figure enter the building. A human, decked in crimson body armour and holding an assault rifle. As the doors swing shut, SC catches a glimpse of the outside. A huge stealth cruiser parked in the plaza surrounded by at least a dozen more armed soldiers. All the warmth leaves the city.

RH: wait no |
RH: how the hell |

Dread curdles like fermented ice in SC's stomach. The human points his gun at The Librarian.

AGENT: Give me that coordinate.
AGENT: Now.
THE LIBRARIAN: Now, wait just a second.
THE LIBRARIAN: I have several questions as to

The man's hand twitches. SC is driven by a premonitory urge so strong it might as well be called a miracle. He grabs RH around the waist and pulls the two of them down behind the front desk.

Milliseconds later, the agent opens fire.

Chapter 37: (three), section (iv.)

(iv.)

After the detonation, Amira stumbles into the nearest bathroom to throw up. It's a tiny crimson cubicle, polished and unused like half the facilities on the mothership. No windows. Thank god, no windows.

When she's done she grips the edge of the now-imperfect chrome bowl. Rides two aftershocks (prays it's not another wave) before she flushes and washes her hands. She fills her cupped hands with water and uses it to swill her mouth out. Her tongue stops stinging but she still feels the acid crawling over every inch of her body.

Her comms device has exploded with activity in the last five minutes. Her subordinate technicians, confirming the assault, questioning her whereabouts. She knows she has to return to the control centre. Knows she'll be missed.

But... but... all she can think of are the thousands of destroyer-class ships encircling the city and letting loose the most horrific war crime in Earth C's history. It's an insidious, disloyal thought, but she can't unthink it. All those people, all that everything below this ship.

AMIRA: urp

She swallows down another round of bile, by some miracle manages not to scream. Her wrist buzzes. Another message.

ROSS: Amira, where are you?
ROSS: Need coordination on next phase.
ROSS: Please.

Another emotion worse than fear slithers down her throat. Pity. Pity for Ross, the bright-eyed kid she'd taken under her wing. Ross, the only technician who doesn't look at her differently after she became the only person whose name President Crocker remembers. Ross, only a handful of years older than the boy down the hall reuniting with his mother.

The scale of everything they've done hits her all at once in a dizzying wave. Amira sucks in stale air. She never wanted this. She... she...

She's thinking things she shouldn't be. She bites down on her lip until the feeling abates and then pulls up her comms device.

AMIRA: apologies. caught up in job for madam crocker.
AMIRA: give me two minutes.
ROSS: Cool.
ROSS: :)

It's a miracle the small, pointlessly fragile emoticon doesn't spill her over the edge. But Amira is nothing if not a meticulously composed woman. It's the only way to survive so many decades of service for Crockercorp at this level.

She leaves the bathroom, taking a side route back up to the control centre. Figures Jane and Tavros will want their privacy. Amira wonders about that kid, about that deceptively intelligent glint behind his eyes. They all know he spent the last few weeks among the ranks of the rebels. Maybe he intends to do something. Worse, maybe he's actually capable of doing something. Another seditious thought rolling around Amira's mind like the irradiated ashes of NuSeattle.

AMIRA: don't. don't go there.
AMIRA: you have a job amira. do it. leave the thinking to those who are paid for it.

Another series of calming breaths. Then she slips into the part of the ship where the surveillance is still active. Feels the cameras in the walls staring past her clothes and flesh and sinew and bone to something more primal and exposing.

There's a window on one wall of this hallway. Amira tells herself she won't look, will only focus on the sliding glass doors at the far end. She lasts ten seconds before she finds herself drifting to the left side, finds her trembling hand pressed against the ultra-reinforced glass.

Outside, she can see nothing. Just a billowing ocean of smoke ranging in hue from white to grey to black to a bilious green. She can make nothing out of the city that's meant to lie below. Can only see the fleet of destroyer ships lazing above the fumes. But already something pings at her, something about this wretched tableau.

The Crocker Needle. She can't see it. The tip of the megatower should be rising a few hundred feet above the smoke layer, but it's barren vapours in every direction. One of the tallest buildings on the planet, wiped out. Maybe there's nothing left below the smoke, nothing but a gaping black hole sucking in everything decent that ever comprised this universe. Knife-edged rocks churn and spin in her gut, cutting her soul until it bleeds just a little more.

She doesn't have time to stare long. Doesn't have the stomach. She peels away and completes her walk to the bridge and control centre.

The place is in a frenzy, Amira immediately notices. Techies screaming at each other, alarms blaring and screens blinking fast enough to be dangerous to the photosensitive. The security guards stand at the corner of the room, lost and helpless. Everyone is ablaze with the energy to do something, anything.

ROSS: Amira! Hey!

A familiar figure rushes up from the pit of computers. There's a twitch beneath one eye and his hair is damp with sweat, but Ross is otherwise as he always is. Amira makes a deliberate point of not looking at the screens around them. Only the Studio L feed on the massive wall-mounted monitor, the smoking hole in the wall of the moonbase, the chaos and carnage induce inside by one Vriska Serket. It's easier to stomach.

ROSS: Where were you? You missed the big moment.
AMIRA: my bad. had to check on our prisoner's condition.
AMIRA: even though it seems madam president went off on her own anyway.

For half an instant, Amira considers if Jane, too, couldn't stomach to see these fruits of her bloody labour. She doesn't know. She can't presume to know the woman's mind.

ROSS: Maybe she was just excited to see her son again?
AMIRA: perhaps.
ROSS: Well, I hope the rebels haven't messed with the kid too badly.
AMIRA: uh, yeah.

Ross smiles again. A simple, naive smile of one totally indoctrinated. Amira looks at him and feels envy. Amira looks at him and feels like she's drowning.

AMIRA: so what's the status.
ROSS: The NuSeattle op is going off without a hitch.
ROSS: The media team's already got the official story going.
AMIRA: and what is that, exactly?
ROSS: You know. While our forces were hard at work liberating the peoples of Outglut^2, Vantas and a lone wolf band of extremists detonated a bunch of dangerous explosives in our fair capitol, cruelly decimating out entire government.
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: right. is it working?
ROSS: We're still using state actors in the broadcasts. Need to get the people to truly believe in and accept Emergency President Jane Crocker. Delicate stuff, from the sound of it!
AMIRA: truly.
AMIRA: what about surviving eyewitnesses?
ROSS: ...

She dares the question. Hopes the boy she cares for like a protégé is too blinkered to think critically. For a moment his brows furrow and his lips twitch down. Then the expression passes.

ROSS: Dunno if anyone made it outta that. Footage is still too grainy.

He motions to screens showing hazy, dusty, charred stretches of hollowed-out streets. Amira hates it more than anything. She feels, with every inch of her body, that this is a line they can't ever un-cross.

ROSS: But *if* there are survivors, it won't be hard to call them conspiracy theorists.
ROSS: Besides, not like they have room to talk. The trolls would have done something like this sooner or later anyway.
ROSS: If anything this is a favor to the Human Kingdom.
AMIRA: uh huh.

She wants to slap him around the head until he sees sense. It terrifies her more than anything that she's thinking like this. It's disloyalty to the mission. It's treason. It's poison.

AMIRA: and the studio luna stuff?
ROSS: That...
ROSS: Well, Studio L was always a risky play, wasn't it?
ROSS: Serket blew the script off the rails and the Dirkbot immediately abandoned its parameters.
ROSS: Here. Look.

Ross guides them over to his work station and switches over to the Studio L feed. It's a frantic scramble of battle, of clashing swords, of a stoic robot and a troll so frenzied she might tear the nucleus of reality asunder if given the chance.

VRISKA: I'M G8NNA F8CKING TE8R Y8UR 8SS T8 SHR8DS MOTH8RFUCKER
VRISKA: I SW---kzzkzzzchzckz GONN8--kzzchhzzzzzkzkzkzzhch--YOUR F8CKING *8ONE CH8TE*----kzzzzchzzzzzkzczhckzhckzhckzhckh

The image flickers and dies away into glitched static.

AMIRA: some kind of interference?
ROSS: Lunar broadcast relays are unstable at best. I think she knocked something loose.
ROSS: None of this really matters though. We just needed the original broadcast to provide a motive for the terrorist attack. An accidental provocation.

He's swallowing his own lies so easily Amira wonders what he truly believes.

ROSS: So I *think* that's a good recap of what you missed.
ROSS: Everyone's totally going crazy after pulling off all this big stuff, so obviously we need our senior technician back to give us guidance on where to go next.
ROSS: So what is the next phase anyway, Amira?
AMIRA: that's

Her heart is unsteady in her chest. All she's thinking is that she knows the passcode for the transportaliser, knows a good enough set of coordinates to run away from here, then feels deep, ugly shame for thinking like that. Her consciousness feels like it's being split along the seams. The psychological burden of everything is becoming too much.

AMIRA: well, obviously whatever madam president decrees.
AMIRA: once she's dealt with her son she'll probably issue the next command.
ROSS: Yeah, but in the meantime?
AMIRA: right. yes.
AMIRA: in the meantime...
AMIRA: establish contact with any ground relay teams. we need eyes on nuseattle.
AMIRA: for better or worse we need to see. we can't afford to wait until the smoke clears.
ROSS: Uh... got it.

Ross inputs something into his terminal.

AMIRA: i know it's all ostensibly a false flag until we all collectively remember it to be a terrorist attack, but we'll check in on outglut^2 again.
AMIRA: an unsupervised vantas, even under siege, might prove to be a problem.
ROSS: Sure.
AMIRA: and as for studio L...
AMIRA: i think we let that one play out as it will. not much we can do from earth c anyway.
ROSS: Yeah. No point wasting resources on something like that, right?
AMIRA: right.
AMIRA: i'll coordinate the outglut^2 feed.
AMIRA: you get your teams to focus on nuseattle. report back to me when you find anything.
ROSS: Cool. I'm on it.
ROSS: Good luck on your end Amira. :)
AMIRA:
AMIRA: you too.

Ross plants himself down at his desk and sends out the order to his team. Half of them are blatantly resentful that a kid like this has any kind of authority, but loyalty to Crockercorp always triumphs in the end. All of them, primed and following their leader's vision.

They're winning the war. They're winning. Amira should be happy. This is the best outcome. Except... Except...

Except she can't rationalise away levelling an unrelated civilian city as a necessary or beneficial move. This war has been waged in the name of protecting the Human Kingdom from the onslaught from Karkat Vantas and his insurrectionist revolutionary militia. She can't see how gutting its heart is advancing that cause.

She finds her work station exactly as she left it, screen on a Studio L camera feed that's been destroyed. Headset still left strewn across the keyboard after she dropped it on Jane Crocker's command. The second screen lit up with the green light for that deadly, terrible order.

Amira sits in her seat, slowly and uneasily. That's the kicker. She's Jane's right hand woman. She gave the go ahead for what just happened. This blood is on her hands, gushing and rippling from between her fingers, filling her from the bottom up. Tens of millions live in NuSeattle. Destroyed, all them. And for... what? A quick way to get an incompetent and reckless government out of the way?

These ethical debates are above her. She needs to trust Jane's vision. She always has. She had no problem with the test runs in the Consort and Carapace Kingdoms. No problem with what they did in Outglut^2. So why, then, is seeing it on her home turf eating at her like this? It's firebombs on occupied soil. Logically, she knows geography doesn't change the mechanics. But... But...

But she can't help but think the word "but", can't help but contradict the established way of things. NuSeattle was innocent. The Human Kingdom is innocent, the one place promised to be free of fighting. Amira brought this hellfire to her own doorstep, wiped out a non-insignificant proportion of her own species more efficiently than Vantas and his crew ever could.

It's his fault. All of this is his fault. If he hadn't violently waged a people's war against the government over identity politics all those years ago, none of this would have happened. He's the insect in the ointment of peace. Unchallenged, Crockercorp would never have unleashed such a reprehensible war machine.

Right?

Amira feels fear dancing in her throat. She needs to stop with this. The attack has shaken her. That's all. She needs her head screwed back on. To focus on the mission. On the success of Crockercorp, and by extension the future of Earth C.

She switches the dead screen over to the Outglut^2 feeds. She sees what she about expected to see. Their remaining human troops holding the line against an overeager band of troll fighters trying to get close to the city's dome of energy. Inside, Vantas's immediate subordinates, the fuchsia and the olive, pushing back against compromised transportalisers. Further in the streets, trolls building camps and kitchens and munitions piles, squatters soiling land they do not own.

One feed shows a group of younger trolls armed with machine guns throwing a Crockercorp billboard onto a massive bonfire. The troll in front uses psionics to cause the thing to explode after it erupts into flames, crackling fireworks that make them cheer soundlessly. It's perverse. Wrong. Disgusting. Amira watches the whole thing to its completion. Can't say why. Can't justify anything she's thinking.

She starts to get an uneasy suspicion after a few minutes of browsing through the extensive camera network. So many known trolls, officers and commanders and criminals, show up carrying out whatever role they're supposed to be assigned. But there's a figure that's distinctly absent. No matter where Amira looks, no matter which camera feed investigates, she cannot spot Karkat Vantas anywhere in Outglut^2.

It sends an iron band of terror down her spine. She considers the unlikely possibility Vantas somehow got out. That this violent, dangerous troll is free and mobile. She knows what he's capable of. Irrationally, she's seized by a vision of Vantas getting onto this ship, inflicting retribution on all of them for their collective crime.

AMIRA: that's ridiculous. you're being ridiculous amira.

Why the hell would Vantas care if the enemy homeland is in ashes? Surely he'll be celebrating at worst, totally indifferent at best. He will no doubt have more pressing things to contend with. And yet..

And yet...

The feeling doesn't leave. Amira's sins crawl and undulate on her back, heavy and visceral. Her lifelong sense that she's always been doing the right thing has shattered, leaving something jagged and ugly in its wake.

She does another scan of the city. Confirms Vantas's absence. She knows the protocol. Knows she needs to pass this information on asap to the appropriate teams, but... she pauses. Stares at the blank report screen, filled with absence. Continues to not type.

Instead, she thinks back to her conversation with young Tavros, that desperate child seeking for any way to defy his fate. She can't say whether or not he's right or wrong, or what he even really thinks. She just knows what she said to him, about the nagging dissatisfaction with everything.

Maybe none of this is new. Maybe she's been feeling this build for years now. You can only spend so long not looking at the monster festering beneath the surface of everything you know. How many causalities were there for the Studio L project? How many died for a twenty-minute broadcast nobody even had the time to watch before the next tragedy? For a machine that grinds them all up for ceaseless, needless profit?

Amira looks back to the glint in Tavros's eyes, that petrified but determined defiance. Feels the envy washing up her body, clogging her mouth and tongue like limescale. Now, with a city she destroyed burning to cinders below her, with a body count in the millions, now more than ever, she wants to say no. She wants an out, even though she already fears it's too late. There's no coming back from what she's done. From what any of them have done.

She glances over to Ross, who's laughing down his headset, probably to that girl on the comms team he has a crush on. He's a kid, an innocent youth taken advantage of and corrupted beyond measure. Amira knows she's doing evil. He doesn't. All of them, every person on this ship, they're all going to hell.

Her breath comes in short stutters as the realisation of her thoughts crashes into her. This is wrong. This is wrong. She can't be thinking like this. This is needless, deluded conjecture. This is the life for her, the one they all chose. The only way to survive, to see any kind of future. What the hell is she thinking? Why would she want to defy? She's part of this. She is Crockercorp, just as Crockercorp is her.

She's loyal. She's loyal. She is loyal.

And yet, she closes the Outglut^2 feed without typing a word, puts her headset down, and watches the decimation of Studio L with an emotion she refuses to ever put a name to.

Chapter 38: FOUR, section i.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Violence, child abuse

HAPPY SECOND ANNIVERSARY TO OMELETTE ROUTE!!! (2019-10-07 - 2021-10-07)

i.

NuSeattle lasts all of fifteen seconds against the blast. The Human Kingdom's capital city was built for many things, some great, most terrible, but endurance against a coordinated thermonuclear firebombing from the most expensive military force money can buy was not on the list.

Karkat Vantas feels his skin prickle and sting as his bodysuit's shields barely stave off the worst of the irradiating waves that cause the air around him to ripple and bend. The human security guards manning the front doors of the office building he just dove into manage three steps towards him before their skin literally melts like grub paste on a hot day as the glass doors blast inwards. Someone behind him is screaming.

The fire flips and roars over his head, torching another human desk clerk who was midway through calling the cops on the armed troll that had just entered her foyer. The phone and the cables melt to a bubbling, sparking heap of slag across the desk, walls, and floor. Then the desk immolates and the wallpaper peels off into cinders.

There is no air in here. Only poison, thick and torching and suffocating. Karkat's shields have enough for two minutes' oxygen, plus however long he can hold his breath for.

Something clangs above his head. A terrible rattling pop, like thick piano chords snapping at their tensest point. The building shakes and rattles. Charred, smoking hunks of rubble drop from the ceiling. It would be a deadly cascade, were it not for the simple fact that there is nothing left to kill in here.

Karkat tilts his head up, squints his eye against the shimmering waves that suck all the moisture out of him. He can see up through a crack in the ceiling all the way to the rooftop of the office skyscraper. This building is being gutted from the inside out. He's done enough architectural terrorism across his thirty-nine years of life to know when a tower's about to fall.

The shields can only guard him against so much. They cannot do the impossible.

He looks ahead, tries to pick out any details of the inferno gorging itself on the streets of the Human Kingdom's capital city. He sees nothing but a mass of fire. Death in front of him. Death above him.

The skyscraper lurches. Instinct kicks in, and Karkat chooses.

He scrambles in an animalistic sprinting crawl out of the front door and into the blaze. The air is too dense, too hot, too loud. Something is roaring. Sirens are wailing. He can't tell if there's any gunfire. A black mass explodes next to him. It might have once been a bus.

Then the flames are dancing towards him, pressing harder and harder against the finite strength of his shields. A probing crimson tongue slips through, only for a second. It's enough time for a three-inch stretch of skin on his forearm to liquify and blister.

He feels a similar sting across his back, behind his knees. The bubble of energy around his body flickers once, twice. Cold panic washes in.

Then the building behind him takes it upon itself to collapse in a violent roar of debris and chunks of blazing concrete and metal that feels like it lasts forever. Karkat is thrown dozens of feet in a direction he can't identify, slams against something solid and scolding, then loses himself to the roar of devastation.

The noise ceases after a few seconds. Karkat doesn't move until after that, until the power on his shields die for good. Then he slowly sits upright, feeling stinging lashes of pain all up and down his body.

He begins to cough. The dust from the building encircles the entire block in a hazy cloud, blotting out the sunlight, but most crucially, the fires. It takes time for it to settle, to drift down and blanket everything in a stretch of grey ash.

When it stops, it leaves a sensory vacuum in its wake. No light, no screams, no explosions. Just a faint muffled wail of an alarm nobody is alive to tend, and billowing drifts of dust like poisoned snow settling over the crumbling skeletons of a civilisation.

Karkat stands and takes the first steps through this new epicentre of ruin. This is the point of no return.

For a few moments, he is convinced he is the only thing left alive on the ground; nothing moves as he progresses down the street. There's not even any wind. Just the sound of his breath, of his pulse, of the distant hum of the Crocker fleet thousands of feet above his head. He looks up to the sky. The dust cloud is too thick, but he knows soon all anyone will see is a sheet of crimson.

He doesn't notice the figure approach until they're right on him.

COP: you... you need to stop...
COP: trolls you... you shouldn't...

It's a cop. Maybe a cop from earlier. Maybe someone else. He doesn't know. He doesn't care. All Karkat sees is a human male ambling down the street, flesh and clothes caked in soot and blood. With one arm, he aims a heat-warped handgun at Karkat's head. The other arm has been torched clean off, Karkat notices with a sinking start.

KARKAT: WHAT
KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING

He twitches, reaches for his own gun with a rise of dread. He doesn't want to do this. Not here. Not now. Not after this.

KARKAT: GOD
KARKAT: HAVE YOU TAKEN A LOOK AROUND YOU? AT YOURSELF?
KARKAT: HOW THE HELL CAN YOU THINK THERE'S STILL A POINT TO THIS FUCKING COP ROUTINE OF YOURS?
COP: i... still have to...
KARKAT: FUCKING CHRIST, YOU ARE LITERALLY DYING
KARKAT: STOP THIS
KARKAT: PLEASE
COP: i don't... there's nothing else...
COP: help me

The whites of the cop's eyes go wide like a cornered animal. He gasps in too much air, then his body crumples like a sheet of paper. Red blood washes out in a circular stain around his body. Karkat's chest feels heavy.

KARKAT: GOOD FUCKING GOD

He doesn't even know what to say. This is so horrible, so brutally senseless. He feels sick. He feels like vomiting. This is the heartland of the enemy, a cruel monolith for Crockercorp, and the entity this city was enthralled to massacred everything in a heartbeat.

He... He needs to--

Karkat pulls out his comms device, tries the network. Still dead. Despite everything, he'd still dared to hope that...

KARKAT: DAMN IT
KARKAT: DAMN IT
KARKAT: GOD FUCKING DAMN IT

He keeps moving down the street. There must be a ship stationed over every few blocks, because the further Karkat gets from the heart of the initial blast, the more things are recognisably not twisted facades of something that used to be living.

Two blocks later, he encounters the first survivors. Dozens of humans, lying and screaming in the shallow soot. Skin seared away to nearly nothing. Limbs missing. Broiled and unseeing eyes. Seized bodies that can do little more than twitch and howl like a gutted animal. So many of them crying out for a help that will never come. By a twist of cruel cosmic irony, there is an upturned ambulance rammed into the wall of a nearby building, sputtering out smoke and fire.

It would bring a lesser person to despair. Even Karkat, who's seen and done so much, considers that this might be the worst atrocity he has ever witnessed, and that includes the total decimation of his childhood home planet. There is no coming back from this, not for anyone.

A hand brushes up against his leg as he walks. Karkat stops. There's a woman lying on the curbside, flesh bleeding and blistering. Half her hair has been burnt away to a scant few shrivelled strands that fight to remain fixed to her scalp.

WOMAN: h
WOMAN: help me
WOMAN: help me please it hurts it hurts please

Her voice is a rattled croak. Karkat can't tell how old or young she is. She is little more than a heap of animated meat. A member of a race hellbent on the genocide of Karkat's people. Every human living in this city is complicit in Crockercorp's crimes. By every account some part of him should be feeling dark glee.

Instead, Karkat crouches down to eye level with his pulse in his throat. He takes the woman's hand in his own. The skin is flaky and hot to the touch.

KARKAT: HEY.
KARKAT: HEY, I'M HERE.
WOMAN: y
WOMAN: can you help me
WOMAN: please
WOMAN: hurts
KARKAT: I...
KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW. BUT I CAN TRY.
KARKAT: I CAN TRY.
WOMAN: hurts

He grips her tighter. Tears well in the base of his eye. He swallows back a sob. Has to, by necessity, shrink the world to himself and this one woman. If he contemplates the true scale of this devastation, he doesn't think he'll ever move again.

It's been years since Sgrub, and Karkat never learned how tap into his latent blood powers. He always chalked it up to a cruel joke on the universe, promising him immense abilities and always telling him the time wasn't right. It wasn't right when Jack Noir ripped his universe apart at thirteen. It wasn't right when he and Kanaya and everyone fought their way to the creation of Earth C. It still wasn't right even when Karkat was forced to lead a war to protect every last living troll from annihilation. It's never been the right time, always out of his grasp.

This time, this time more than ever, he prays for something different. He doesn't want to save the day, make a grand statement, be the figurehead for a planetwide movement. He is just one individual who wants nothing more than to save just one life. Just one life. One tiny miracle. The universe has to owe him this.

A warm glow envelops Karkat's hands. He watches in silent shock as the skin on the top of his hands opens with a slight pinch, and slow-moving coils of blood snake their way across the woman's arms. He feels the way they touched her damaged tissue, the way they knit the blood cells together, fuse flesh until she's not in danger of dying. His blood washes into hers, becomes hers, imbues her heart with a steady, desperate rhythm that clings to life.

She stops bleeding. Her skin is stretched and thin and still raw, but it's in one piece. Her hair is still gone, and one eye is clouded over, but the worst is past her. Slowly, gingerly, she feels her body with unblemished hands, gasps in shock, in reverence, in relief.

WOMAN: you
WOMAN: thank you
WOMAN: thank you
WOMAN: bless you
WOMAN: oh but
WOMAN: the city
WOMAN: everything is

The woman begins to weep. Karkat backs away. There's little he can do to help against that kind of pain. Not even a fully-realised god could pull a city this ravaged back together.

Karkat looks down at his hands. The leftover blood streams slip back into his palms, sealing the open skin up so efficiently he doesn't even feel it. Muted awe spreads across his system.

KARKAT: HOLY SHIT

This opens possibilities he could only have dreamed of until now. This is the promise of a long-unfulfilled dream finally coming to fruition, a dying world finally, finally allowing the emergence of its Knight of Blood.

And this is just him operating on blind, unrefined instinct. Imagine what he could do if--

Karkat stops himself. One thing at a time. The Blood powers are a boon, but he and millions of others planned to win this war with more conventional and trusted methods. There will come a time to practice, later. When the dust settles and the survivors are ready to rebuild, maybe.

In the meantime, he has the overwhelming truth of Crockercorp's war crimes to deal with. The woman he just healed is one of at least fifty on this street alone. He doesn't have the time or the means to help every single one of them. Help will not come for these people, not when their own powers have so thoroughly abandoned them.

He glances down to his comms device. More than anything he wishes he could get through to HQ, to tell the available forces to mobilise on NuSeattle. The rebellion has enough field medics to make a notable difference. And maybe this is what it'll take to finally sway the masses of the Human Kingdom over to the cause of troll liberation.

But not yet. Not while there's still a solid wall of red aircraft hanging above the city, not while Karkat's alone and stuck with no means of doing much except--

A stiff gust of wind rushes through the street. It blows the dust off the skin of the survivors, punctures a hole in the particulate cloud in the sky, and ushers in sweet, cool fresh air. The visible blue breezes come a stop a few feet above Karkat, coalescing into a familiar form.

JOHN: karkat!
KARKAT: JOHN EGBERT??

Karkat squints up at the human before him dressed in a familiar blue set of god tier robes. John gives a forced smile, but there are bags beneath his eyes. The carefree ease of the boy Karkat once knew is thoroughly dead.

JOHN: hehe... long time no see?
KARKAT: LONG TIME NO
KARKAT: JOHN IS THIS REALLY THE TIME FOR SMALL TALK
KARKAT: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN--
JOHN: didn't kanaya inform you? harry anderson and i finally decided to join up with your cause.
JOHN: because if she didn't WOW is this kind of awkward huh?
KARKAT: I KNOW ABOUT YOUR DEFECTION, YOU FUCKING IDIOT.
KARKAT: WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN YOUR GOD TIER PAJAMAS.
JOHN: my...?
JOHN: oh. oh shit you're right!

John pats his body up and down. It's strange to see the Heir of Breath's outfit reshaped to fit an adult human man's body instead of a scrawny little teenager's.

JOHN: i guess it must have happened when i died?
KARKAT: YOU DIED?
JOHN: yeah. me and the others all got caught up in that massive explosion.
JOHN: me, jade, rose, and kanaya.
KARKAT: ALL OF YOU??
KARKAT: BUT KANAYA'S NOT A

For one dizzying moment, Karkat feels a thrill of desperate anxiety. Not Kanaya. Not anyone else, but especially not Kanaya.

JOHN: dude, kanaya's made of some pretty tough stuff! you should have seen her tearing through the city to get to the studios.
JOHN: i don't think a burning building falling on her head is going to kill her. rose is looking for her right now as we speak.
KARKAT: GOD I WISH I SHARED YOUR OPTIMISM, EGBERT.
JOHN: well, somebody has to keep it together in times like this, right?

John laughs again. His whole body's abuzz with a nervous energy. It's almost like he's enjoying the thrill but is too guilty to express it. It reminds Karkat of the expression he's seen Rose wear sometimes before combat missions.

JOHN: ha ha, god it's weird talking to you again, karkat.
JOHN: how many years has it been?
KARKAT: SEVERAL. LONGER IF WE DON'T COUNT JADE'S WEDDING.
JOHN: oh shit, right. god, awful to think that dave's
KARKAT: WHAT WE'RE NOT GONNA DO IS THINK ABOUT DAVE.
KARKAT: BESIDES, I'M STILL MAD AT YOU FOR BLOWING OFF OUR CAUSE FOR SO LONG. DO YOU KNOW WHAT SOMEONE LIKE YOU COULD HAVE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, JOHN?
JOHN: look, kanaya already gave me this lecture, karkat. i've apologized to her so much i don't think the word "sorry" even means anything in my head any more.
JOHN: any way, none of that's really important right now.
JOHN: we need to get going back to the others asap.
KARKAT: HOW DID YOU EVEN FIND ME?
JOHN: jade used her space senses to pinpoint you. she's occupied helping rose find kanaya and also saving as many people around her as possible.
JOHN: so you got me instead.
KARKAT: WHATEVER. A BEGGAR CAN'T BE A CHOOSER, RIGHT?
KARKAT: WHAT'S THE SITUATION?

John clears his throat. Karkat looks up. Through the hole John made in the clouds, he can see a Crockercorp destroyer ship looming above the street. A red square branded with that vile fucking spork. It makes him uneasy.

JOHN: we don't know much, to be honest.
JOHN: the four of us went to the film studios to try and find harry and vrissy and the others, but all the studios were empty.
KARKAT: WHAT?
JOHN: yeah. we don't know *where* jane's keeping the kids. but at least it's not here, thank fucking god.
JOHN: anyway, then jade freaked out because she suddenly sensed a bunch of ships above our heads. we didn't even have time to properly warn rose and kanaya and the others before everything blew up.
JOHN: jake and sollux are in the city, too, but we don't know if they're alive or not.
KARKAT: I SEE
JOHN: yeah, i think everything kind of turned into a massive cluster fuck? like, everything is burning, and
JOHN: oh
JOHN: oh god are those all people?
JOHN: that's

John turns and finally sees the injured, dying, and dead civilians lining the street. His voice does a funny nonverbal thing that Karkat didn't think human vocal chords could perform.

KARKAT: YEP. THIS IS WHAT JANE CROCKER DOES, JOHN.
KARKAT: DISGUSTING, ISN'T IT.
JOHN: oh fuck this is horrible. can't
JOHN: can't we help them?
KARKAT: THERE AREN'T ENOUGH OF US TO SAVE EVERYONE, JOHN.
KARKAT: AND EVEN IF WE DID, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE JANE WON'T JUST KEEP BLASTING THE CITY OVER AND OVER UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT.
JOHN: shit...
JOHN: so what do we do about all this?
JOHN: what *can* we even do?
JOHN: what the fuck
JOHN: what the fuck

John begins to hyperventilate as the terror of his reality dawns on him. Behind his eyes is that frightened child of thirteen, screaming out in lifelong pain. Karkat feels a deep swell of pity for the man before him. A pity that pales in comparison to what he feels about the miles of wreckage that surround them in every direction.

He grabs the edge of John's shirt and drags him down to ground level. Then he sets his hands on John's shoulders and stares into the other man's eyes. They are wide, wild, glossed, barely seeing. It's the kind of all-consuming terror that, if left unchecked, can render you totally useless. It's not at all what Karkat wants to see written on the face of his only ally.

KARKAT: JOHN, KEEP IT TOGETHER
KARKAT: YOU CAN FREAK OUT *AFTER* THIS SITUATION HAS BEEN DEALT WITH, BUT NOT UNTIL THEN
KARKAT: NOW LISTEN TO ME
KARKAT: ARE YOU LISTENING?

John nods meekly. He's a powerful person with an ostensibly decent heart, but he has no training in how to cope with a warzone. It makes Karkat wish he had Swifer, or Meenah, or anyone else, with him here instead.

But the time for wanting has long since passed.

KARKAT: WHAT DID JADE TELL YOU TO DO AFTER YOU FOUND ME?
JOHN: she... she said to bring you back to the others so we can make a plan.
KARKAT: THAT SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT.
JOHN: yeah, but
KARKAT: FOCUS ON THE MISSION JOHN
KARKAT: WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IS THINK ABOUT GETTING US BACK TO JADE. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, OK?
KARKAT: ONCE WE REGROUP, WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO HELP THESE PEOPLE.
KARKAT: ONE STEP AT A TIME.
JOHN: i
JOHN: but
JOHN: karkat

He's still panicking. No good. Karkat can feel John's erratic pulse as if it was his own, as if Karkat's own blood is being pushed around in a panicked frenzy.

Karkat pauses. Looks at John. Maybe...

It's a gamble. But perhaps...

Karkat leans back into that mental space that allowed him to use his Blood powers to heal that woman until he feels that bizarre rush of warmth over his body. Unlike before, this time there are no coils of blood. Just a dizzying sensation that Karkat can see and feel every blood cell in John's body.

He feels the whole system moving as one, tastes the adrenaline and cortisol choking up the pathways like lubricant thrown on a fire. It's disorienting, nauseating, strong enough that its secondhand ripples cause Karkat to almost forget who he is as a person. There's so much in John's system that Karkat wonders how long he's been operating like this, drowning in a poisonouse soup of hormones that erode at the foundations of his core identity. How John is still functioning is a mystery none can solve.

Karkat reaches in further, feels the capillaries and vessels transporting the panic juice and thinks stop. The deluge shrinks to a trickle, stray droplets, then nothing at all. Then Karkat pushes further, pulls the residue coating his veins through the cell walls and back to their endocrine glands where they can cause no more harm. The blood flows freely, as if buoyed upon by a gust of fresh air. Relief washes over everything.

Karkat pulls out of John's bloodstream, shaking his head until he feels firmly back in his own body. He looks to John, who is blinking wide eyes and steady breathing.

JOHN: woah. karkat, i...
JOHN: did you just do something?
KARKAT: I... GUESS SO?
KARKAT: I THINK I JUST FLUSHED ALL THE ANXIETY FROM YOUR SYSTEM. MY LATENT BLOOD POWERS FINALLY DECIDED TO KICK IN.
KARKAT: ...HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
JOHN: me?
JOHN: i...
JOHN: i feel so *clear*, karkat. like... like i can see everything for the first time.
JOHN: snrkt
JOHN: haha!
JOHN: oh MAN. oh shit i feel so!

John starts laughing. His eyes are glistening with an emotional clarity that hasn't been there for a long time, if ever.

JOHN: i can just THINK these things that i...
JOHN: oh my god. oh my god i've been such an IDIOT.
JOHN: but it all makes sense. it all makes so much sense!
JOHN: wow roxy is gonna laugh her ass off when i tell her!
KARKAT: JOHN
KARKAT: HEY!! FOCUS
KARKAT: YOU CAN REVEL IN WHATEVER MAGICAL EPIPHANY IS FIRING OFF IN YOUR RECENTLY-CLEARED HEAD LATER
KARKAT: REMEMBER THE MISSION
JOHN: shit, right!
JOHN: sorry karkat. this is all just a lot to take in at once.
JOHN: but... thank you? thank you for giving this to me.
KARKAT: YEAH YEAH REPAY ME BY TAKING ME TO JADE YOU DORK
JOHN: right!
JOHN: hang on...

Karkat braces as John wraps a bubble of wind around him. It lifts him effortlessly several feet in the air, whipping his hair and clothes around in a micro-cyclone. It's a bizarre, strangely thrilling sensation.

JOHN: it's about a five minute flight to get to jade!
JOHN: brace yourself! :)
KARKAT: JOHN, I THINK IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN A GOD TIER WIND BALL TO
KARKAT: THROW ME OFF MY...
KARKAT: OH FUCK
KARKAT: OH FUCK!!!!!
JOHN: what is it?

John gets no answer. Karkat is too busy gaping up at the sky. At the hole in the clouds. He sees the destroyer ship draw lower, give a loud groan, then open its bottom hatch. Dozens upon dozens of Crockercorp soldiers parachute out of the ship, all of them armed to the teeth. Karkat feels a twisted cocktail of dread, despair, and seething anger.

JOHN: oh god, are those...?
KARKAT: CHANGE OF PLANS.

He rips himself free of the air bubble and draws his gun. John, seeing this, subconsciously pulls out his own hammer. The first soldier touches the ground, cocks their rifle. One of the injured civilians begins to scream. Karkat clenches his teeth.

KARKAT: WE'RE STAYING RIGHT WHERE WE ARE.
KARKAT: WE'VE GOT A FIGHT ON OUR HANDS.

Chapter 39: FOUR, section ii.

ii.

Vriska Serket has finally fucking had enough. She thought she reached her limit when she was sucker-punched into a black hole, or when she was molested by a clown that stank like necrotising sewage, or when she ended up trapped in a go nowhere universe as far removed from Terezi as you can get, or even when she was attacked by a bunch of jumped up human soldiers and a robot clone of Dirk Strider at a fucking shopping mall.

But no. Those were just the warmup compared to being dumped on a cheap imitation of a classic Alternian culling show. She's been beaten, battered, abused, robbed of her agency in every sense of the word. She won't let them degrade her. Enough is fucking enough.

She does a good job of breaking away from the two hysterical troll boys she woke up with and quickly pushes herself up into an air vent. It's just about large enough to accommodate her, to let her slip by on her hands and knees through this unseen vein network that runs through the building.

While the others get caught up in a stupid whirlwind of murder and betrayal, Vriska does some reconnaissance. She ends up, after who knows how long crawling about in the vents, dropping down into some kind of control station on the bottom floor. There are two humans in red watching a video feed split across a whole bunch of screens. She swiftly and silently stabs both of them through the back with her sword, kicking them out of the way as they slowly gurgle to death.

The video feed is of little interest to her. The two things that catch Vriska's attention are the window overlooking a cratered, starry expanse with Earth C hanging in the background, and then the inert transportaliser in the corner. It's enough for her to piece together everything.

Despite herself, she barks out a bitter laugh. Crocker's got globes for dumping her enemies in a moonbase murder factory, at least. It's a marginally more impressive setup than Vriska was expecting from the woman. Barbed, but not enough to inspire fear.

Vriska kicks at the transportaliser. Expectedly, it doesn't do anything. Whole base is probably on some kind of lockdown until the TV show is concluded. With no choice in the matter, she turns her attention to the screens.

All the other contestants are gathered in the building's massive central chamber behind some kind of debate podiums. The only exceptions to the rule are Vriska herself and some goldblood boy who has been fucked up to death in some nondescript hallway. She also notices that Vrissy and Harry are here, but not Tavros. That observation gives her pause, but now's not the time to unpick it.

Far more pressingly is the countdown timer appearing on a screen overlay, and more than that, the Dirkbot in the middle of the podium circle, coolly scanning each contestant one by one. A stupid little anime katana is attached to his back. It doesn't take a genius to understand what's imminently due for everyone in that room.

Vriska feels two simultaneous emotions. The first is a flash of raw, dry anger towards Dirkbot, that smug expressionless motherfucker that put her in this situation. The second is a stretch of suffocating fear towards the wellbeing of Vrissy and Harry. Those two kids are Vriska's ticket into the rebellion. If they die on her watch, she's never getting out of this shithole universe.

A third, smaller part of herself lurches in geniune concern for them as people. But Vriska ignores that. Too many irons in the fire for her to care about the background characters. It's just a distraction.

There are maybe ten minutes until that timer hits zero. It leaves no time to think, only to act.

Vriska drops her dice on the floor and snaps her fingers. Her tacky Crockercorp jumpsuit transforms into her Thief of Light god tier outfit. The dice retreat into her sylladex, leaving a pristine copy of Mindfang's sword on the ground. She affixes it to herself, then hops back through the vents.

To Vriska's credit, she mostly keeps her cool up until this point, even with everything pressing down on her at once. She is calculated, collected, and she has a plan.

A plan that falls through the window the minute she spies Dirkbot decapitate a troll through one of the vents.

At the very least, she has the self awareness to understand she is in the process of snapping like never before. Then, she tears through the tunnels to the central vent like a comet.

Many things happen at once in that pivotal moment. Harry Anderson Egbert, lost in a haze of fear like he's never felt before, stares up at the rattling ceiling to distract from the burgundy blood washing over everything and everyone. Galios Mutgar, feeling the last of his hope bleed out in tandem with Rodhim's bifurcated jugular vein, wipes his former compatriot's blood off his face and turns to the trembling tealblood girl next to him.

Dirkbot, riding the dark thrill of violence, finally notices a strange sound above his head. He looks up at the vent, expression and mind robotically blank.

DIRKBOT: Now what in the
VRISKA: GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

He doesn't have time to react before Vriska explodes out of the vent with a snarl so guttural and vicious, Burnei Almere whimpers like a cornered animal.

Vriska wraps her arms around Dirkbot's waist, and before he can even so much as twitch, she piledrives him into the wall on the far side of the room.

Vrissy staggers back and clutches her head as a fresh flow of blood gushes from her nostrils. Enfuir Lismet takes one look at the chaos unfolding across from her and decides to grab the hands of the two teens in front of her and run for it. She can only hope the others follow her lead.

Vriska, meanwhile, is still very much preoccupied with pushing a robot through layers of reinforced wall at mach speeds. Seething, eruptive rage leaves her blind to much else. Her will has focused to a single endpoint: total obliteration of Dirk Strider's robotic replica.

She affixes her dice between the knuckles and draws back a razor-edged fist. Raw luck burns in a palpable aura around her skin. She brings it forward.

At the last second, Dirkbot pulls free of her grasp, and uses the full force of his weight to drop straight through to the floor below.

DIRKBOT: Gotcha, bitch.

Vriska's fist collides with red wall and nothing else. She screams at a volume so immense that anyone in her immediate vicinity with organic ears would immediately develop tinnitus.

VRISKA: GET 8ACK HERE YOU 8ASTARD

She dives down through the Dirkbot-shaped hole in the floor to the floor below. What awaits her is a red room filled with lockers and blank sylladex cards. There's an unloaded gun in the middle of the floor.

While Vriska assesses her surroundings, Dirkbot zips in from behind and delivers a sucker punch to the small of her back. Vriska gasps out all her breath and pivots as she flies through the air. Her back slams into one of the lockers, causing it to spill out a whole bunch of carving knives. Luckily, it breaks her fall enough to give her the chance to land on her feet.

She draws her sword. Dirkbot draws his katana.

DIRKBOT: I'm going to enjoy this one.

Vriska bares her teeth in a snarl. Dirkbot speeds towards her, sword cast in a downswing.

She spins out of the way at the last minute, kicking up a bunch of knives in his direction. Predictably, they do jack shit against his metal chassis. Dirkbot swats them away like flies. Then he goes in again for another cut.

Vriska hops up into the air, leaving a cloud of fairy dust in her wake. Dirkbot's sword quarters the powder in two neat slashes. He leaps up, leg raised in an upward kick.

She doesn't move in time. His robot foot slams her right across the back of the kneecaps. Vriska cries out in pain. Dirkbot's eyes glint.

DIRKBOT: You killed my bro, bitch.
DIRKBOT: Prepare to die.

Somehow, impossibly, Dirkbot remains airborne. He angles his sword again, drives on her with a precision slash. Vriska relies on one lucky break after another just to keep her head attached to her body.

She's on the defensive, which is a pretty terrible position to be in, all things considered. Dirkbot's pushed her back into the corner of the room. He drives his sword forward in a thrust aimed at her heart. She brings her own sword down, blocking the blow at the last minute. She tries to wrestle it out of his hands, but the robot's grip is too strong. It's a deadlock. The tip of the katana presses against Vriska's stomach, drawing a drip of cerulean blood.

Dirkbot leans his face in closer to Vriska. A pair of red eyes flash behind triangular shades. Her muscles ache with the force of keeping him off her.

She needs an out. Now. A distraction. Distance between him. Anything.

DIRKBOT: You're a real nuisance, you know that?
DIRKBOT: An ego-poisoned bitch who thinks she has anything to contribute to the realm of relevance.
DIRKBOT: Let me tell you something.
DIRKBOT: The universe has long since moved past the need for Vriska Serket.

As Dirkbot monologues, Vriska reaches into her sylladex. Lets the dice drop from the conceptual metaspace of ideas where such things are kept. Prays for a distracting roll. A FLASHBANG, perhaps. Or even a SHORT TERM DISORIENTING HALLUCINATION.

The dice clatter to the ground. Glow with energy.

She does not get a neat little distraction.

BOMBS AWAY

The detonation takes out the entire room, a blast of flame and heat that carves through the wall and snaps one of the support tethers keeping the bloated structure fixed to the moon's surface. Vriska is thrown out through a now much larger doorway and into another chamber. She crashes to a stop halfway across the room, bruised and scuffed all over.

She doesn't see where Dirkbot went. If she's lucky, he got blasted out of the building and into the vacuum of space. But her fortune only goes so far in a place like this. She's not stupid enough to get complacent.

As the dust thickens, Vriska flattens herself against the far wall. Dice in one hand, sword in the other. She feels her pusher hammering in her chest, tastes the adrenaline on her tongue. Sweat rolls down her back. She hasn't been in a fight like this, since... since the last robot beatdown she was involved in.

She bites back a laugh. God, Aradia would have eaten this chump for breakfast five times over. If Vriska can come back from Megido's rampage, she can dismantle this joker with ease.

A red glow emerges in the middle of the room. Vriska hears the clank of metal feet on metal floor. Beyond that, a distant suction sound, like a vacuum cleaner gone backwards.

An alarm begins to blare out, pulses of brighter red light filling the chamber.

WARNING: AIRLOCK BREACH. IMMINENT DANGER OF DEOXYGENATION.

It catches off-guard just long enough for Dirkbot to rush her. He drives a fist into her shoulder. Something crunches. Vriska bites down the shout of pain and lets the momentum carry her around until she's somersaulting above his head.

She clenches her fist and drives a dice knuckleduster right into the top of Dirkbot's head. The sweet, sweet song of scraping metal meets her ears.

Dirkbot jerks back. Thrusts his sword up. Vriska is ready. She hops out of the way then shoots down in a kick aimed at his wrist. It connects, throwing the katana out of his hands for the first time.

The sword spins and flies across the room, landing in a far corner. As Vriska watches it fall, she notices the dust cloud rapidly thinning. The alarm screams out another warning about depleting oxygen levels. An uncomfortable picture begins to paint itself in her head.

Dirkbot turns to face her. He is utterly, perfectly still.

DIRKBOT: Now that wasn't cool.
DIRKBOT: You really need to learn when to quit.

Vriska tenses, waiting for him to move. He doesn't. Instead of going to retrieve his sword, Dirkbot merely bares his palms at her. Metallic panels slide back, revealing a pair of extendable gun barrels.

Her dice throw up a DESPERATE SAVE forcefield around her as the brilliant red lasers blast out of Dirkbot. They hit the forcefield then ricochet up against the ceiling.

VRISKA: Oh, that's not fucking fair.
DIRKBOT: I would hope not.
DIRKBOT: If I was playing fairly, I wouldn't be able to kill you.
VRISKA: Ha! Fat fucking chance. ::::)
VRISKA: This is just a warmup, asshole.
VRISKA: I took on the gr8test demon in paradox space and lived on.
VRISKA: What the fuck m8kes you think you can comp8re ag8nst *that*????????
DIRKBOT: Keep talking, and maybe you'll convince yourself that I don't have the advantage.

He fires another laser blast. Vriska spins out of the way, rolls her dice. The numbers proclaim a nice, miraculous AREA OF DAMPENING. The air grows heavy and humid. Dirkbot's lasers fizzle out.

Vriska draws close to Dirkbot and drives her sword down his torso. She cuts deep enough for a spurt of dark oil to splash against her face. Exposed wires spark and crackle. Dirkbot spins to retaliate, but she's already gone.

VRISKA: What was that a8out an advant8ge????????
VRISKA: I ever tell you a8out the last girl who tried to come at me with a secret advant8ge?
VRISKA: Not only did I live, 8ut I also 8linded her for the trou8le. :::;)

She's panting heavily from the other end of the room. The rapidly thinning air is not helping her case. She'll have to move the fight further inside the building if she wants to stay conscious.

Dirkbot reaches into his exposed wiring and pulls out a second, identical katana. Vriska rolls her eyes. This is stupid.

DIRKBOT: Sorry, what was that you were saying?
DIRKBOT: You were talking about Terezi Pyrope, right?

Vriska goes still. Her blood turns to thermonuclear acid.

VRISKA: Keep her n8me out of yo8r d8rty fucking mouth.
DIRKBOT: No, I don't think I will.
DIRKBOT: Kinda funny, don't you think?
DIRKBOT: You blind Terezi, she tries to kill you, then you decide you'd go ahead and tear a hole in the multiverse just to get back to her.
DIRKBOT: Seriously, I have to laugh.

Dirkbot tilts his head back and gives a robotic laugh that sounds more like a bunch of overlapping, discordant sinewaves than anything else.

VRISKA: Laugh ONE more t8me and see what happens, I am n8t fucking
DIRKBOT: You know why it's so funny?
DIRKBOT: Terezi Pyrope's dead.
VRISKA:
VRISKA:

He's lying. He's lying. He's full of it. This is a distraction to get her off edge, a tactic to overpower her, to get the edge on this fight, it's a lie, a lie, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit bullshit bullshitbullshitbullshit8ullshit8ullshit8ULLSHIT

Vriska feels the exact moment she loses any control she could have possibly had over herself or the situation. For all intents and purposes, Vriska Serket leaves the building then and there, replaced by a feral superpredator. She growls, the type of low and drawling hum that sends lesser animals fleeing for their lives. She crouches low, then leaps at Dirkbot.

It takes her less than a second to cross the room. Two more to throw Dirkbot up against the ceiling. One more after that before she's clawing at his chest with her bare hands, fingernails digging past layer after layer of wrought metal. She is going to kill him. Nothing else matters or exists in this moment.

VRISKA: SHE'S N8T

Dirkbot tries to pull her hands off of him, but finds her physical strength has suddenly grown a hundredfold. A visible aura burns all around her.

VRISKA: SHE'S N8T DEAD

They've pushed up from the ground floor back through to the democracy chamber. Rodhim's discarded body gets indiscriminately vaporised as they go up and up.

VRISKA: DON'T YOU EVER
VRISKA: ********EEEEEEEEVER********

Dirkbot tries to alter the course of their flightpath and fails miserably. He is rewarded with Vriska leaning out and ripping his left shoulderplate off with an effortlessness that shouldn't be possible.

VRISKA: S8Y THAT TO ME!!!!!!!!
DIRKBOT: God damn you are one crazy bitch.

Vriska roars and tears a chunk of his face off with her teeth.

They crash out into another room, this one filled with a whole bunch of esoteric Crockercorp memorabilia. Dirkbot rolls out from under Vriska's grip as they slide across the floor. Vriska immediately rounds on him with her sword, cutting and slashing deep grooves like his body is made of pliant butter. Dirkbot pulls up his sword, and it takes all his effort just to block her from cutting him in half.

VRISKA: I'M G8NNA F8CKING TEA8R Y8UR 8SS T8 SHR8DS MOTH8RFUCKER
VRISKA: I SWEA8R TO G8D I W8LL RIP Y8UR PISSY LITTLE HE8D 8FF AND RAM IT S8 F8R D8WN YO8R INS8DES IT'LL 8URST O8T OF YOUR F8CKING *8ONE CHUTE*

Dirkbot doesn't have time to retort. Vriska drives her sword into his knee. He tries to land a blow against her back, but impossibly the blade bends when it gets close to her body. Vriska punches his head hard enough that it spins a full 180 degrees.

She pulls her sword out and goes to thrust again. Dirkbot flashsteps back against the far wall. She zips in to meet him. He rolls out of the way. Her supercharged sword instead cleaves through the wall and most of another loadbearing cable. The entire building lurches.

Vriska tries to yank her sword free from the wall. Dirkbot attempts a sucker bunch from behind. Vriska tilts her head back and gores his chest with her horns. Dirkbot staggers away. The room is filled with the sound of crackling electricity.

The sword is free. Vriska leaps up and bears down on Dirkbot. He throws up a chest full of ornate sporks that bounce harmlessly against Vriska's body. She spins down in a corkscrew drill motion. The sword pins Dirkbot by the stomach and the two go crashing back down through the building to the ground floor again.

They end up in some kind of maintenance/break room/surveillance station. There are a bunch of human personnel standing around in confused unease. When the two figures crash in from the ceiling, most clumsily reach for their guns. Vriska rams Dirkbot across the floor and clean through the wall. The two of them go flying out onto the moon's surface, twisting and soaring in zero gravity.

Back inside, the sudden vacuum sucks the humans through the wall and out into the darkness of space, where they promptly suffocate without ever truly understanding what's going on.

Dirkbot drops to the dusty grey lunar surface, groaning and sparking.

DIRKBOT: Well, that's my handlers taken care of.
DIRKBOT: Seems something's going right with this stupid charade.

Vriska goes to retort, then remembers she is in an airless void. Her throat closes up and she throws her down with as much force as she can muster. It's sweet, sweet, relief when the 8REATH OF HEIR perk triggers, surrounding her with a breathable bubbble of oxygen.

Dirkbot looks up at her, eyes flashing.

DIRKBOT: Right, yeah. No air.
DIRKBOT: Must suck to be an organic right now, dying like all lesser creatures of simple flesh do.
VRISKA: J8ST F8CKING D8E ALR8DY!!!!!!!!

She dives down to meet him, but Dirkbot's quicker on the draw when gravity's working against them. She spins her sword out in a wide swing, but it's too little, too late.

Dirkbot leaps up, sword glinting off the reflected sunlight. He comes crashing back down towards Vriska. Vriska tries to move, but her body isn't cooperating properly in this atmosphere. He's aimed right for her. She braces herself for the impact.

Which doesn't come. Somehow, Dirkbot misses her by a clear margin and goes spinning around until he crashes into the side of the building. His katana swings wildly, slashing another support cable clean in two. It pops and recoils with a sound not unlike a bursting air bubble below cracking ice. The building lurches further forward, a bloated crimson finger pointed right at Earth C.

DIRKBOT: Whoops.

He's playing at something, but Vriska's too engorged by bloodlust to think it over. All she knows is that her oxygen shield is running low, and Dirkbot is lined up right against the side of the building. It's a prime opportunity.

Saying nothing, she propels herself towards him. Dirkbot is still looking at the distant planet when Vriska reaches him. Her sword impales him right above the heart. One second later, she rams him with the force of a sonic boom.

They crash into another sector of the studio, the familiar dissonant song of sirens blaring through Vriska's ears as artificial gravity and air reassert themselves again. Her own personal air bubble fades away. She sucks in a breath of thin, recycled air, then lands on the floor with a supremely executed youth roll.

Dirkbot crashes headfirst into a wall-mounted screen. He struggles and flails as he tries to wrench himself free. Vriska stands, sword raised high.

VRISKA: Gotcha, 8itch. :::;)

She jumps up and in one clean swipe, carves off both of his arms and legs at the source. The four limbs drop to the ground, crackling metallic masses. Then, for good measure, she shoves her sword through the base of his chassis as far as it'll go, twists, then violently pulls out. It bursts out of his back, slicing through the metal like a can opener. He does not remove.

That was... surprisingly easy. A letdown, almost. Vriska pants in the middle of the room, head going light as the oxygen levels continue to shrink. Adrenaline and nerves pound through her body, primed for an extended fight which never came.

VRISKA: Huh.

If she was younger, she'd throw a prime tantrum. But she has the benefit of experience on her side. She runs through a list of priorities in her head, each thought popping up in time with another scream of the alarm.

Number one, locate and ensure that the kids are safe and alive.

Number two, find a way off this station and back to Earth C.

Number three, destroy Jane Crocker.

Vriska walks to the end of the room and simply kicks the door down. The air in the hallway is fuller. Her fuzzy-headedness abates just a little. Behind her, there's the unpleasant sound of the air being sucked out of the hole in the wall. She'll need to be quick. The damage she's done, there's no telling how long until there's nothing left for anyone to breathe.

She bolts down the hallway, trying to orient herself. She's on one of the upper floors. Last she saw, Vrissy and the others were lower down. She has no clue if that still holds true, but it's the best place to start. Vriska glances at the floor. She could just punch a hole through to the floor below, but she's suddenly very conscious of the amount of air this place is bleeding. Best not to upset the balance any further.

VRISKA: Stairs it is, then.

It doesn't take long for her to reach top flying speed, expertly zooming from corner to corner as she looks around for a staircase. Fuck, this place is a maze. As she flies, she finds her mind drifting. Stupidly, it latches on Dirkbot's words. The memory fills her body with something hot and choking.

It was a lie. Bullshit. A desperate taunt to throw her off guard. How the hell would this clown even know the first thing about anything outside of the purview of the corporation he was built to serve, let alone the current status of a girl in another universe? He was a robot with a dumb fucking vendetta, not some kind of oracle.

And yet. And yet... all Vriska can think about is what if he's actually--

VRISKA: Stop it. Stop it!
VRISKA: You're letting him get into your head.
VRISKA: She's alive. She's alive. John talked to her for sweeps.
VRISKA: She's out there. She's w8ting for you.
VRISKA: She's okay, she's okay, she is fucking okay, sheeeEAAAAAAAAAGH

Blinding pain runs across her shoulder blades. Vriska gives out a shout and crashes to the floor. Cerulean blood smears the area around as she falls.

VRISKA: What the f8ck????????

A nerve must have been nicked, because it's agony for her to spin around from her stomach onto her back and look behind her. What she sees makes her stomach drop.

VRISKA: This has got to 8e a sick fucking joke.

Dirkbot stands at the end of the hallway, shredded silver torso giving way to a freshly-grown set of golden limbs. In his hands, a razor-thin slick katana that glows with magenta fire.

DIRKBOT: Round two.
DIRKBOT: I'm not done yet.

Vriska barely has time to blink before he rushes her.

Chapter 40: FOUR, section iii.

iii.

Conditional immortality is both a blessing and a curse. A curse in that one can experience the agony of death over and over, more than any being ever should. A blessing in that, in this instance, morally-neutral resurrection doesn't kick in until after the worst is over.

Rose Lalonde returns to life in a flash of light that peels the burns off her skin and restores her inner organs from a state of molten sludge. She comes to, floating in the air above a heap of rubble that was once Crockercorp Studios in the middle of a larger heap of rubble that was once downtown NuSeattle.

The sight of the devastation sucks the breath from her for a few brief seconds. Then she is spinning around, desperately rushing in towards what truly matters most.

ROSE: Kanaya!
ROSE: Kanaya!!!

There is no control in the way she sifts through the rubble, the way her wands detonate the mounds of rock into less than atoms. There is only the laser-focused truth that her wife is somewhere beneath all of this. Everything else pales in comparison.

ROSE: Kanaya!

Somewhere, everywhere, there is screaming. Fires, sirens, people. The city all around her has been gutted like a rare fish on the autopsy table. Or, no. That metaphor implies clinical precision, a purpose. This destruction is an aimless blanket over the land. There is no sense to be divined from the ruin.

When she lifts the first rock smeared with jade blood, it takes every ounce of Rose's control to not detonate herself. She could, easily. Summon the flames that burned her over here, and bloom it outward, finish the scorched earth job Jane Crocker started. She feels the warships overhead. Her anger sings. It would be so easy to level all of it.

She only realises she's been screaming the whole time when a hand rests on her shoulder and the shock of the touch shuts her up. It's Jade, looking disoriented and miserable, but solidly alive.

JADE: rose are you ok?
ROSE: Jade, I,
ROSE: She's in here. She's in here somewhere. I can't find her, Jade.

Rose starts trembling. She only remotely registers John in the background dissolving into a stream of wind and flying south. Hell, Jade is more of a black and white blur than a solid figure.

All of it seems ephemeral compared to the clanging truth that Rose Lalonde might have just lost her entire family. Sawdust and ash crawl over her tongue. She was meant to be happy. This was meant to be the one timeline in a a branching network of cruel paradox space offshoots where she was given that. Even that assertion is a lie, it seems. A dark rage boils below her sternum, the likes of which she hasn't felt since her grimdark episode so many lifetimes ago, a traumatic violent sensation remembered only by her body and something primal, something beyond language.

ROSE: Help me.
ROSE: Jade, please.
JADE: of course
JADE: im on it

Jade steps back from rose and begins to glow in a soft green light. Without the support of the other woman, Rose feels a heady rush of nauseous vertigo. She thinks her knees might buckle. Dissociation crawls over her conscious mind like carbonated, alkaline surf. A hiss of steam, of formless eldritch tongues, settles over her ears. Everything around her drips with artifice, a cruel farce built to rip everything that matters away from her.

If this goes on much longer, Rose considers the very real possibility she could shred this entire universe in a supernova of grief. She's never been so aware of her power before. Never been so afraid before.

JADE: hold on...
JADE: i think im feeling something...

Jade furrows her brow in concentration. Strips of green light poke out from under the rubble. Rose desperately and shamefully gulps down the hope so fast she nearly chokes.

JADE: ok i think i have her
JADE: gonna teleport her over there in just... a...
JADE: ...
JADE: huh
ROSE: What?

Jade points to the mount of concrete and stone that used to be a film studio. The rocks are rattling, the pile tumbling as if under the force of an earthquake. On impulse, Rose scans the area, but this effect is entirely localised. For a second she stares at the phenomenon, not quite understanding.

Then she hears the muffled growl of a chainsaw engine, and her heart sings.

Two seconds later, Kanaya Maryam explodes out from under several tons of debris, clothes torn, caked in blood, and roaring louder than her own weapon.

KANAYA: GRAAAAAAGH

Kanaya somersaults and lands low on the ground in front of Rose and Jade. She raises her free hand and uses it to wipe some of the dirt off her face.

Rose's body moves on autopilot. She throws herself at her wife, squeezing her arms around her waist, and kissing her more passionately than she has in years. Kanaya tastes of blood and soot and something acrid. In this moment, it's the sweetest flavour Rose has ever sampled.

ROSE: You're alive.
KANAYA: Of Course
KANAYA: It Would Take More Than A Crumbling Building To Stop Me
KANAYA: Optimistically And Regrettably The Children Were Not In The Final Studio In Case That Message Didnt Get Across Before Everything Turned To Shit
ROSE: ...

She does feel a small spark of relief, but it's nothing compared to the universe-swallowing elation of seeing Kanaya alive and well again. Rose feels a small trickle of guilt down her spine. She adores Vrissy more than anything, but...

But she'll never supplant Kanaya as the core of Rose's reality. Rose thinks she hates herself quite a bit for thinking that. She bites down on her lip. Now is not the time to get into something like that.

ROSE: ...That's a relief, at least.
ROSE: Good to know our daughter is too busy in some secret location fighting for her life to be charred to a crisp in Jane Crocker's biggest and brightest war crime.
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: Oh Dear This City Has Really Not Fared Well Has It

Kanaya cranes her head up to survey the wrecked skyline. Everywhere around them is fire and smoke. For the first time, Rose notices the Crocker Needle has been totally levelled. This... might be a bigger problem than she first assumed.

ROSE: What do we do now?
KANAYA: For Starters We Absolutely Must Find Where The Children Are Really Being Kept
KANAYA: And Then Also Try To Find Some Means Of Dealing With This Situation
KANAYA: We Will Need To Get In Touch With HQ Or Karkat Or Someone As Soon As
JADE: well that second part shouldnt be too much of a problem
JADE: turns out karkats already in the city
ROSE: ...He is?
JADE: yeah! he messaged on the network just before janes ships blew everything up
JADE: you two were too busy tearing this studio lot to shreds to notice i guess
KANAYA: It Was A Worthy Preoccupation
JADE: yeah i sent john to go look for him and bring him back

Jade points behind them, in the vague direction where John flew off to. Kanaya is still, face heavy with thought.

KANAYA: Ok So
KANAYA: We Still Need A Concrete Plan But That Is A Good Start
ROSE: I don't know that we can get much more concrete at this point.
KANAYA: I Suppose
KANAYA: Are You Sure Karkat Is Alive Jade
JADE: pretty sure!
JADE: i felt him with my space powers just after i woke up
JADE: or i guess i should say came back from the dead oof x_x
ROSE: Yes, that was not a pleasant experience, to say the least.
JADE: god it just
JADE: were lucky because were either immortal or super strong or both
JADE: but
JADE: there are millions of people living in this city who had no clue any of this was happening

Her dog ears press flat against her head. Her mouth tilts into an unsteady frown.

JADE: i can hear them screaming and crying everywhere
JADE: god its
JADE: its so horrible :(
JADE: we need to help them somehow
KANAYA: Help The Inhabitants Of The Capital City Of The Human Kingdom
KANAYA: The Nation That Commits Itself Wholesale To The Eradication Of My Species
KANAYA: ...
KANAYA: ...

Kanaya closes her eyes, listening. She breathes in, breathes out. Rose wonders what's going through her head at this exact moment in time, wonders what it is she's trying to puzzle out.

KANAYA: Jade You Are Right
KANAYA: These Are Innocent Civilians Who Were Just Backstabbed By Their Own Leader For Who The Fuck Knows What Purpose
KANAYA: Sure They May Have Willingly Voted For Policies That Ruined My Life But Electoralism Is Fake And Now They Are Victims Of The Crocker Machine More Than Anything Else
KANAYA: We Should Prioritize Getting Our Medics In Here As Soon As Possible

She steps away from Rose, lips pressed flat. Jade exhales out a sigh of relief.

JADE: thank you kanaya
KANAYA: It Is Merely The Decent Thing To Do
KANAYA: I Shall Prioritize It When We Strategize With Karkat
KANAYA: Although I Fear It Will Still Be One Priority Of Many
KANAYA: It Is Going To Take So Much To Sort Through This Mess
JADE: yeah...
JADE: hey that reminds me
JADE: jake and sollux are still out there somewhere! :O
KANAYA:

Rose blinks. Admittedly, she had entirely forgotten about their tag-alongs for this mission. Making plans in that parking lot already seems so long ago.

KANAYA: That Is A True Statement
KANAYA: I Suppose We Should Also Try To Seek Them Out If Possible
ROSE: At the very least, we don't want them falling into Jane's hands. If she even knows they're here.
JADE: you think that could be a problem?
ROSE: Honestly? I don't think she could care less about Sollux.
KANAYA: I Do Not Think Sollux Could Care Less About Anything Either To Be Fair
ROSE: Yes, exactly.
ROSE: But Jake? That's a question mark shaped uncertainty I don't want to commit to.
ROSE: If she's willing to burn a city to the ground to prove a nebulous point, who knows what she could do with her ex-husband who has semi-officially defected to the rebel side?
KANAYA: Rose In The Nicest Way Possible I Could Not Give A Shit About What Happens With That Man
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: She Still Has The Children Who Have Little Reason To Distrust Jake Crocker As We Do
KANAYA: I Fear Handing Him Over To Her Could Pose Unnecessary Risks For The Continued Survival Of The Children
ROSE: Mm.
ROSE: Jade, any chance you can locate them?
JADE: sorry i already tried back with karkat
JADE: theyre too far away and theres too much spacial noise to pick them out
ROSE: Damn.
JADE: for what its worth i dont see any reason why they wouldnt have also survived??
JADE: jakes a god tier and sollux is a ghost pretty sure those two things are hard to kill
KANAYA: What About The Space Tag We Affixed To Him
KANAYA: Could You Use That To Locate Him
JADE: ...
JADE: sorry i think the link broke when i died :(
KANAYA: Worth A Shot
ROSE: So that's another thing to add to the list.
ROSE: God, this is a whole mess.
KANAYA: Indeed
KANAYA: John And Karkat Need To Expedite Their Arrival So We Can Start Taking Meaningful Steps To
KANAYA:
KANAYA:
ROSE: Kanaya?
KANAYA: I Dont Mean To Alarm You Two But I Think Something Bad Is Happening

Kanaya points to the east of the wrecked compound. About a block or two over, the thick layer of smoke is parting to reveal a Crockercorp destroyer ship descending towards the rooftops. A hatch opens up beneath the ship and a platoon of red-clad soldiers parachute out, brandishing all kinds of dangerous weapons. Rose feels something sink inside her chest.

ROSE: We need to get over there. Now.
KANAYA: Jade
JADE: already ahead of you!
JADE: brace yourselves

Jade claps her fingers together, and in a zap of green light that leaves the taste of ozone on Rose's tongue, the three women teleport over to the middle of the street under seige.

Rose takes a stumbling step forward as the static washes off her. The street is lined with injured humans, looking up hopelessly as another wave of death bears down on them.

The first human soldiers hit the ground. They cock their rifles and turn towards the sidewalk where the majority of the civilians have congregated. One bloody survivor whimpers.

SOLDIER: FIRE!!!

A volley of bullets erupt from four seperate guns, but Jade Harley is faster. In less than a blink, she's positioned herself between the soldiers and civilians and is throwing up a space distortion field around them. When the bullets pass through the green haze, they rapidly dissolve into oblivion as their atomic structure is ripped to shreds.

JADE: DONT YOU DARE!!!!

The soldiers barely have time to react. They're still staring at Jade when Kanaya does a running leap and neatly decapitates all four of them with a single chainsaw swipe.

From the rooftops, another soldier shouts.

SOLDIER: GODS LOCATED ENGAGE COMBAT PROTOCOL B PROCEED WITH FORMATION

Rose shuts her up with a blast of dark magic that tears a hole through her torso. The woman falls to the ground, folding and splatting like a deflated balloon.

Overhead, the airship opens all its doors. Dozens of soldiers stream out in a violent deluge.

Rose grits her teeth.

ROSE: This is going to be nasty.
ROSE: Jade, protect the survivors.
JADE: on it!!!
ROSE: Kanaya, get ready to kill some motherfuckers.
KANAYA: Rose I Am Always Ready
ROSE: Good.

Rose draws her wands. Kanaya revs her chainsaw. Jade stretches her arms wide, reinforcing the forcefield and teleporting any stray survivors within its confines. The airship hovers, groaning the mechanic sound of warfare.

The first soldiers toss grenades from the rooftops. The fight begins.

Kanaya leaps up, smacking at the grenades with her chainsaw like a baseball bat. She returns them to sender with prejudice. The red grenades disappear over the rooftops before promptly exploding. Some soldiers die. Not enough.

A large wave of them descend to ground level, at least twelve or so. Rose has no clue how many are in this platoon, how many more are waiting in the wings of the airship. How many are stationed in all the airships across the city. She supposes that doesn't matter for the moment.

Two soldiers try to take potshots at Kanaya. Rose launches a fireball at them that sends their burning corpses crashing into the hollow shell of what might have once been an apartment building. Very little of the architecture can be identified at this point. It is impossible to believe that less than an hour ago, this was a fully functional thriving metropolis.

Someone fires an RPG at Jade's forcefield. The rocket pingpongs off its surface like one of those old arcade games. Jade shrinks it down to microscopic proportions where it presumably explodes unnoticed. A soldier tries to jump her. She leaps up in the air and pounces him, clobbering the man to a pulp with her fists. Her fingers crackle with Space energy.

On one rooftop, they're setting up some kind of alchemised fuckoff huge missile launcher. Rose watches the grist sketch the outline of a copyright-branded platonic form, then fires laser beams from her wands at the base of the building. She cuts clean through the foundations. The building, already significantly weakened, collapses under its own weight in a fresh cloud of dust. When it hits the edge of the forcefield, it is violently launched at escape velocity in the opposite direction. The resulting gust of wind blows Rose's hair into her eyes.

A hand suddenly yanks the back of Rose's hood - belatedly, she realises she and Jade have changed into their god tier robes - and swings her around until she comes face to face with a human soldier.

It's a pale-faced, wide eyed young man with a severe frown. His projected bravado quickly fades when Rose reaches a hand out and grabs him by the collar. He lets go of her hood. She lifts him into the air.

ROSE: I am giving you one chance to provide me with information. If you comply, I will be merciful in my execution.
ROSE: I trust you will not fail me.
SOLDIER: ...
ROSE: What's the point of this? Why level a city, your own city?
ROSE: What the hell is Crocker playing at?
SOLDIER: youre the enemy that is not for you to knowwwwWAAAAAAGH

Rose sends a wave of barbed dark magic through the soldier's body. He writhes and gasps for air.

ROSE: Try again. I have little patience or sympathy for weapons of the Human state.
SOLDIER: n
SOLDIER: no
ROSE: Are you sure that's your final answer?

She clenches tighter. The soldier starts sweating.

SOLDIER: yes
SOLDIER: i will die before i give any ground to the enemy
ROSE: A shame. You don't even know what is you're dying for.
ROSE: But if you wish to go down the fool's path, I am more than willing to oblige.

The guy tries to pull a smart one. He grabs a knife from the folds of his combat gear, intending to swing it at Rose's throat. Rose, as always, is quicker on the draw. She sets him on fire and launches him up in the air, where he promptly explodes like a firework.

Kanaya, hair matted with sweat and blood both green and red, comes to a stop when she notices Rose's display.

KANAYA: Dont Play With Your Food Like That Dear
ROSE: I gave him every chance to comply.
ROSE: It's hardly my fault Jane has so disgustingly molded so many human beings into thoughtless lapdogs, is it?
KANAYA: No I Suppose Not
KANAYA: I Cant Really Get Mad At You For Reveling in Violence In This Scenario Can I

As she talks, another soldier runs at her. She lazily bisects them without missing a beat.

ROSE: No, I suppose not.
KANAYA: Exactly
KANAYA: By The Way You Might Want To Do Something About Those Bullets Coming Right Towards The Back Of Your Head
ROSE: Of course, my love.

Rose ducks down, incinerates the bullets, then blows up the pack of soldiers responsible.

ROSE: How is Jade holding up?
KANAYA: Ask Her Yourself
KANAYA: One Moment

Kanaya sprints toward a group of soldiers using an overturned vehicle as cover. As the sound of chainsaw cuts through the rattle of bullets, Rose flies up to Jade. Her arms are outstretched and she's panting with sweat and exertion. A non-insignificant number of bodies line the forcefield.

ROSE: Jade, how are you doing?
JADE: hey rose
JADE: im doing
JADE: these guys are super committed to taking out these civilians and i dont know why
JADE: its taking all my energy to keep the forcefield intact which means i cant use all of my space powers like i want to
ROSE: ...I see using your physical prowess to stop their advance hasn't been much of a problem, though.
JADE: no
JADE: but its not as efficient! and im scared of losing my focus too much :(
JADE: how much longer can these guys keep coming for???

As she talks, another handful of soldiers exit the airship. Kanaya churns through any who touch the ground. One's parachute malfunctions and they land right on the forcefield. It's morbidly fascinating watching someone's atoms disintegrate into whatever the opposite of observable matter is. The civilians inside the forcefield watch in terrified awe.

ROSE: I don't know.
ROSE: It's like a grotesque clowncar, wherein clown and car both stand in for the military industrial complex.
JADE: there are so many of these freaks its not funny
JADE: why the heck are they even doing this??
ROSE: Not a clue.
ROSE: Maybe some kind of elaborate false flag scenario?
JADE: hm

Someone takes potshots at them. Jade flexes her hand and telekinetically drags the woman in front of them. The human in red snarls and tries to shoot again. Rose sets a luck-dampening fraymotif into action that clogs her gun up.

ROSE: Your last compatriot was less forthcoming. Perhaps you will see more sense.
ROSE: What is the purpose of this violence?
ROSE: Why would you do this to your own people?
JADE: rose i dont think shes going to
SOLDIER: We didn't.
ROSE: ...Pardon?

Rose blinks at the woman. The woman looks away, but does put up a good fight of meeting Rose's gaze for a solid four seconds.

SOLDIER: This was Vantas and the rebels. Your people.
SOLDIER: President Crocker tried to stop it, but you insurrectionists cruelly killed every sitting member of the Human Kingdom government.
SOLDIER: This is not our fault.

By the end of it, her mouth is split in an unnatural smile. Not for the first time, Rose ponders the legitimacy of the rumours that the Crockercorp militia makes use of the thoughtwave tiara during indoctrination. She wonders how much of this woman is truly herself, and how much is a mouthpiece for the universe's worst megacorporation.

No matter. She's provided them with the official spin narrative for this entire wretched affair.

ROSE: So this was a false flag designed to mask... a power grab?
ROSE: Jane blew up her own capital city just to usurp the government?
SOLDIER: President Crocker regrets that things have come to such desperate measures, but she will bear this burden with pride.
SOLDIER: All for a brighter future.
ROSE: ...
ROSE: Can you say anything that isn't regurgitated propaganda?
SOLDIER: President Crocker will lead us to--

Rose, annoyed, flings the woman into the forcefield, where she promptly un-exists. Jade says nothing, blinks.

ROSE: Karkat will need to hear of this if he doesn't know already.
JADE: so jane really just
JADE: did ALL THIS to cover up a coup?? what the fuck!
ROSE: Who knows how that woman's mind operates. I wonder if she's had a single rational thought even once over the last fifteen years.
ROSE: Somehow I doubt it.
JADE: god thats
JADE: this is so fucked up >:(
JADE: how is this gonna help her win the war?
JADE: whats the point of her even defeating us if THIS is what she has left to rule over??
ROSE: Who among us can truly claim to understand the capricious whimsy of tyrants?
ROSE: I don't think Jane herself is thinking further ahead than damage control for Outglut^2.
JADE: but who the fuck is gonna buy that karkat and the rebels did all this? theres literally no evidence of our involvement anywhere!
ROSE: ...
ROSE: The broadcast.
JADE: sorry??

There is a space in the skyline where the Crocker Needle used to be. Jade and Rose both look at the absence uneasily.

ROSE: Every television network, minutes before the explosion, airing a special death game.
ROSE: One featuring the offspring of prominent rebellion figureheads. The children of gods.
ROSE: It's sloppy in its execution, but I believe Jane has been using our kids as bait for a retribution narrative.
ROSE: We are so furious at her for rightfully and legally punishing criminals that we collectively deign to raze the largest human population center on the planet.
JADE: jeez thats super fucked up
JADE: no way is that gonna go down as anything but unbelievable bullshit
ROSE: Said often and loudly enough by the right voices, anything is possible.
ROSE: President Jane Crocker, unrestricted by petty things like laws and wartime protocols, is free to rally the troops in whatever way she sees fit.
JADE: god
JADE: god we have to stop her before she does anything worse
ROSE: I concur.
ROSE: I shudder to think what would become of our planet if Jane rampaged unchecked.
ROSE: Somehow, we need to do the impossible to avoid the cataclysmic.

She clenches her jaw. A phantom of a headache flutters across her eyelids, gone as soon as it arrives.

ROSE: I don't know how we would achieve that, but I believe it to be an imperative.
JADE: god i hope john and karkat get here soon
ROSE: Me too.
ROSE: But, I don't know how soon that will be.
ROSE: Likely they are deploying soldiers from airships all across the city, to kill the surviving civilians.
ROSE: Purge any witnesses who could offer a counter-narrative. Scorched earth policy. Let the secrets die with the city.
ROSE: If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Karkat and John are caught up in something similar to us.
ROSE: And like us, there's no way they could walk away from people in need.

Rose breathes out a sigh of frustration. It's so much, all at once. Distractions and diversions and too many priorities. She sees a branch of potential outcomes in her mind's eye. She has no way of knowing which is most fortuitous, which is right.

The walls of fate are closing in. A pivotal moment approaches. Rose has no idea what things will look like when they reach the other side.

ROSE: Regardless, for now we need to--

Her voice dies in her throat. Across the way, Kanaya is caught up in a fistfight with three soldiers. She is easily overpowering the humans even as they throw all they have at her. She kicks one between the legs, wraps her arms around the throat of another, and headbutts the third with the full force of their combined momentum.

She hisses, roars, and chomps down on one of the humans' arms. All her attention is on the problem at hand. She does not see the sniper stationed aboard the airship until it is too late.

Rose sees, though. Rose sees the moment the red dot flashes across the nape of Kanaya's neck. Hears the bang. Watches her wife crumple in a blossom of green mist.

A scream rises and terminates in an irradiated scatter across her tongue. The sights and sounds of the world wash out into a barbed blur.

JADE: oh no
JADE: ohhh no
JADE: rose
JADE: rose listen to me
JADE: rose please

Jade's words fade into white noise. Rose levitates several feet off the ground, spares one last glance at the fallen form of her beautiful wife, then glares up at the airship.

The sniper is loading a second bullet aimed right at her.

Rose laughs, dark and throttling. She has quite simply had enough of this shit.

She clenches her fist. A pulse of light erupts from her wands, so powerful they snap in two.

The sniper catches fire. Then the airship. And then the entire atmosphere.

JADE: ROSE!!!!

The grey clouds broil in a rolling wave of orange and red that ripple out across the entire city. Smoke and water vapour alike burn, laws of physics be damned. What can the fundamentals of reality do in the face of a woman so deeply furious at a universe that thinks it fair to harm her and her loved ones time and time again?

All the sky is burning. Kanaya remains motionless. Rose feels her mind spinning somewhere lightless and vicious. Then the airship drops from the sky, a blazing heap of metal aimed right at all of them.

Rose does not move. She believes, if she wanted to, she could simply shrug off the impact of a warship hitting her full-force. All reality is ideas, shitty ideas she is sick of hearing. Maybe it's time for her to generate her own. Maybe she is within her rights to make this universe her bitch for all the evil it's inflicted upon her.

The manic reverie is doused when Rose's vision fades to a wall of green, and she finds herself on the ground inside Jade's forcefield. Jade teleports herself inside the Space dome and looks at Rose with frustrated tears in her eyes.

JADE: what the hell were you thinking!!!
ROSE:

She says nothing. Notices Kanaya, bloody and unresponsive, on the ground next to her. She collapses to her knees. The sight is too much to bear.

ROSE: They
ROSE: They killed my wife
JADE: ...
JADE: what are you talking about rose
JADE: this is kanaya were talking about! she has immortal vampire regeneration abilities remember!
JADE: shell be fine!
ROSE: ...

Shame sinks over Rose's face. She was so caught up in the frenzy of battle, in the bloodlust, in the craving for annihilation, that she...

ROSE: I forgot.
ROSE: How...
ROSE: How the fuck could I...?
JADE: i dont know but you need to realize what youve
ROSE: God, I'm so
KANAYA: HHHHHHGGGHHHH

Kanaya bolts upright. Looks at Rose with wide eyes. The wound in her neck seals up, the bullet popping out like nothing happened.

ROSE: Kanaya, I
JADE: BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!!!

Then the warship crashes to the ground.

Chapter 41: FOUR, section iv.

iv.

Vrissy's head has been hurting non-stop from the moment the vents in the democracy chamber exploded. Every millisecond, a thousand flashes of grim and terrible outcomes pressing behind her eyelids. Initially, she is paralysed with agony. Harry has to grab her by the hand and pull her along down the nearest hallway. Has to, because she won't move on her own. Has to, because if it plays out any other way he loses his head.

Vriska does a good job of keeping Dirkbot occupied for the most part. Well enough that they manage to retreat to one of the starting rooms on the floor above. The walls and floor rattle and shake violently. Vrissy's eyes are blurred. Cerulean blood pours from her nostrils.

Galios and Fellna barricade the door while Enfuir and Harry set Vrissy down in the corner. Vrissy blinks at them, unseeing, unthinking.

ENFUIR: xX hey Xx
ENFUIR: xX hey stay with us Xx

She looks at Enfuir and sees the girl die in as many ways as there are ideas on the conceptual plane. Vrissy thinks she might vomit.

HARRY: wh
HARRY: what the hell is happening to her
ENFUIR: xX i dont know Xx
ENFUIR: xX could be some psionic thing but i cant say Xx

Something explodes somewhere distant. Vrissy flinches her eyes shut. Even her eyelids sting in agony.

FELLNA: > Enfuir: Is she okay? ==>
GALIOS: she sure d֍n't seem it fr֍m where i'm standing.
VRISSY: I...

She tries to get a word out. It doesn't work. She sees them crowding over her for too long, fussing right up until Dirkbot blasts a hole through the outer wall and the vacuum of space crushes them. Harry is on the verge of tears.

Wait, the... the vacuum of space? Why would she think that? What...

Pain in her head. Knowledge coming to her that she shouldn't have. She doesn't know what it all means. It's coming in too quickly for her to process. Fuck, her head hurts.

BURNEI: Reg&rdless, we should prob&bly prioritize getting th&t door se&led.
BURNEI: No telling when th&t robot could come for us.
GALIOS: ...
GALIOS: need t֍ c֍me up with s֍me kinda plan.
AQUINI: yeah, but [WHAT]?

Vrissy tunes out the incipient argument. She doesn't have the energy for it. Too busy being swarmed with the knowledge that Burnei could have died six different ways before this point. So much stimulus, all the time.

ENFUIR: xX vrissy Xx
ENFUIR: xX vrissy listen to me Xx

Enfuir crouches down and places her hands on Vrissy's shoulders. She leans in close until the other girl's face is all Vrissy can see.

ENFUIR: xX whats going on Xx
ENFUIR: xX you can tell me Xx
ENFUIR: xX i can try to help you Xx
ENFUIR: xX please Xx

There's something desperate and sad in Enfuir's eyes. Something about it pushes Vrissy into sitting a little more upright. She goes to open her mouth, but there's another building-rattling explosion. Vriska's distant screams of fury carry through the ventilation system. Vrissy can almost see the fight perfectly in her mind's eye.

VRISSY: Fuck, it Hurts so Much.
VRISSY: My head. Full of these... These Visions.
VRISSY: All these possi8le Choices everyone could M8ke........
VRISSY: I'm seeing every8ody Die Over And Over. It's so Horri8le.
VRISSY: Agh!

Talking sends another spike down her brain. Another irrevocable choice made. Another step down one path of no return among billions.

VRISSY: It started when I Woke Up here.
VRISSY: Or... W8. No.
VRISSY: Something Weird first happened when I Was Given my speci8us at The Mall. 8ut It's 8een so much Worse since I ended up in This Pl8ce.
HARRY: vris, oh my god.
HARRY: that... that sounds fucking awful.
VRISSY: Yeah No Shit........ Ow.

Enfuir looks at Vrissy, silent. Her face is tense, brows furrowed.

ENFUIR: xX i thought it was something like that Xx
ENFUIR: xX im sorry youre going through it Xx
VRISSY: Wh
ENFUIR: xX i understand Xx
ENFUIR: xX really Xx

Vrissy looks into Enfuir's eyes again. They're bloodshot and diated. One eyelid is twitching with the strain.

ENFUIR: xX its been the same for me all my life Xx
ENFUIR: xX flashes of death Xx
ENFUIR: xX of terrible things befalling the people i care about Xx
ENFUIR: xX the horror was always unavoidable Xx
ENFUIR: xX i just had to stand there knowing what was coming Xx
ENFUIR: xX i Xx
ENFUIR: xX i know how every person in this room is going to die Xx
HARRY: wait, really?
HARRY: that's...
ENFUIR: xX its fucking exhausting is what it is Xx
ENFUIR: xX the only reason im still standing is because ive head years of practising how to manage it Xx
VRISSY: Well... Sure would Like Some lessons Right a8out Now, haha........
ENFUIR: xX i Xx
ENFUIR: xX i wish i could but theres no time Xx
ENFUIR: xX but i can do this for you instead Xx

Enfuir leans in, presses her forehead against Vrissy's. Despite herself, Vrissy blushes from the touch. Then, she's too busy being distracted by what feels like the gates of her mind being ripped open. All the visions, all the glimpses of what-if futures, she feels them bleeding out into some kind of psychic funnel, feels them tumbling out of her mind and into Enfuir's.

When it's done, Enfuir recoils back, face scrunched up in pain. A thin trickle of lime blood runs out of one nostril.

ENFUIR: xX wow FUCK Xx
ENFUIR: xX fuck thats intense Xx
ENFUIR: xX youre one hardcore bitch for taking all that without your head exploding vrissy ill tell you that much Xx
VRISSY: W8, really???????? ::::O

Vrissy blinks. Second to Vriska, Enfuir may be the coolest person she has ever met. It's a strange, overwhelming feeling of pure admiration, similar yet so electrically different to what she feels towards her genetic ancestor.

Then she realises. The pain in her head is gone.

VRISSY: Oh my god?
VRISSY: My Head, you...
ENFUIR: xX i took the visions away from you and made them my own Xx
ENFUIR: xX cant stop you from experiencing this again in the future but youll be clear headed enough to make it out of here Xx
VRISSY: Holy Shit, Enfuir. I...
VRISSY: Thank you So Much.
ENFUIR: xX its only the right thing to do Xx
ENFUIR: xX both morally and also to avoid the absolute worst outcome Xx

Enfuir frowns as she says that last part, eyes both knowing and melancholic. Vrissy wonders what it is Enfuir is seeing. Already the visions are slipping out of her memory like digested dreams.

ENFUIR: xX everything is balanced on us reaching one specific endpoint Xx
ENFUIR: xX the range of options we have before is incredibly limited Xx
ENFUIR: xX damn this sucks more than i realized Xx

Enfuir's eyes glow for a moment, then settle back to normal. Something thuds on the floor above. Vrissy has to imagine rather than mentally see the scene. It's a blessed and terrible relief. Enfuir stands, eyebrows raised.

ENFUIR: xX but shit is this right vrissy? Xx
ENFUIR: xX are we really on the fucking moon? Xx
HARRY: the wh
VRISSY: Yeah, I Think So? Sounds a8out right I think.
VRISSY: 8ut idk, it's all F8ding very Rapidly from my head.
HARRY: what the fuck do you mean we're on the moon.
HARRY: you guys are shitting me right. how the fuck are we on the
ENFUIR: xX of course Xx
ENFUIR: xX of fucking course Xx
ENFUIR: xX it all makes sense Xx

Enfuir laughs, bitter and horrible. There's a tear in the corner of one eye and a heaviness to her actions. She sucks in a breath before she can continue.

ENFUIR: xX this studio is a fucking moonbase because why the fuck wouldnt it be Xx
HARRY: hold on, how do we even know that that's
VRISSY: Think a8out it. Remem8er Earlier, when our 8alance was All Funky?
HARRY: uh, yeah
VRISSY: And the Zillion airvents, Too! Why would a pl8ce this 8ig Need That Many????????
HARRY: ...
HARRY: but
HARRY: why
VRISSY: Dunno! 8ut it Conveniently Keeps a very powerful god tier individual as Far Away from Earth C as You can Get.
ENFUIR: xX thats probably the long and short of it Xx
ENFUIR: xX since based off what im seeing i think we can safely say this whole thing is a honeytrap excuse to kill vriska serket Xx
ENFUIR: xX the rest of us are just collateral compared to that aim Xx
ENFUIR: xX you wanna keep a god from interfering with your plans? stick em on the moon Xx
HARRY: ...
HARRY: ...
HARRY: damn it. damn it.

Harry turns away from the group, letting out a shaky sigh. The poor boy looks on the verge of hysterics. He is blatantly too normal to be caught up in any of this shit, but here they all are.

HARRY: i believe you guys. fuck, that's really crazy to say, but there you go.
HARRY: makes about as much sense as any other explanation as to why we're trapped in a giant fucking death box run by a robot clone of my uncle who died years before i was even born.
HARRY: why the hell not put it on the moon! can't get any further off the deep end if we tried!
VRISSY: Ok, yeah, cool. It's totally Valid for you to 8e having a Moment Here, Harry.
VRISSY: 8ut we should come up with an Esc8pe Plan first and freak out L8ter.
HARRY: escape??
ENFUIR: xX yeah Xx
ENFUIR: xX before vriska and the robot blow a big enough hole in this building that were all sucked out into space Xx
HARRY: uh
HARRY: there's a possibility that could happen?
ENFUIR: xX why the hell would i lie about that Xx
HARRY: ok, yeah, i get it.
HARRY: so what the hell do we do?
ENFUIR: xX first thing is we need to get moving Xx
ENFUIR: xX like now Xx

Enfuir steps towards the middle of the room. She clears her throat and claps her hands.

ENFUIR: xX HEY EVERYONE Xx

Everyone stops what they're doing and looks to Enfuir. Vrissy stands to her feet, enjoying the feeling of a head that isn't on the verge of melting.

BURNEI: Something up, Enfuir?
ENFUIR: xX yeah Xx
ENFUIR: xX dont ask any questions but trust me Xx
ENFUIR: xX we need to get out of this room Xx
GALIOS: there a reas֍n f֍r that?
ENFUIR: xX in about five or so minutes vriska and dirkbot are gonna crash right through that wall Xx

She points to the wall on Vrissy's left.

ENFUIR: xX which will blow a hole right through to the outside and will kill us instantly Xx
AQUINI: i'm sorry, [HOW]?
FELLNA: > Enfuir: Clarify. ==>
ENFUIR: xX youre gonna think this is bullshit but its not Xx
ENFUIR: xX this studio is on a moonbase and past that wall is the vacuum of space Xx
BURNEI: & moonb&se? Re&lly?
BURNEI: Why would you think th&t?
ENFUIR: xX i saw it in a vision Xx
FELLNA: > A... vision? ==>
VRISSY: For what it's Worth I know she's Right here!
FELLNA: > Uh huh.

Fellna looks at Vrissy coldly. The bad blood between those who chose to execute Rodhim, and those who abstained, has yet to settle down. Luckily, Galios is there to be the voice of reason.

GALIOS: what kinda visi֍n, enfuir?
GALIOS: n֍t d֍ubting ya ֍r anything, but "visi֍n" is kind ֍f a pretty fuckin' large umbrella term.
ENFUIR: xX its like Xx
ENFUIR: xX like a premonition Xx
GALIOS: hm. n֍t the craziest explanati֍n ֍ut there.
BURNEI: H&ng on. Im not following.
BURNEI: Since when do you h&ve *visions*, Enfuir???
ENFUIR: xX do you guys remember when were like Xx
ENFUIR: xX seventeen i wanna say? Xx
ENFUIR: xX that fire at school the week before winter break Xx
AQUINI: yeah. you got us out of there unharmed. guys afterwards said it was a damn [MIRACLE].
AQUINI: holy shit, you're saying that was a psychic thing?
ENFUIR: xX that is exactly what im saying Xx
ENFUIR: xX i get visions of things that will lead to people dying and have done forever Xx
FELLNA: > But why didn't you say? ==>
ENFUIR: xX because how the hell do you put that in a casual conversation Xx
FELLNA: > Point taken. ==>
ENFUIR: xX anyway vrissy heres also having visions about the various terrible outcomes this whole situation can have Xx
GALIOS: and between the tw֍ ֍f y֍u, y֍u're figuring this is all pretty fucked and strange?
ENFUIR: xX exactly Xx
GALIOS: i mean... n֍ clue why the fuck b֍th ֍f y֍u'd be lyin' ab֍ut this kinda shit, s֍...
GALIOS: what the hell. let's trust y֍u.
ENFUIR: xX thank you Xx

Enfuir runs her hands over her face. Some of the tension leaks out. They must still be on the right path.

HARRY: so, uh...
HARRY: none of you guys would happen to know anything about escaping moonbases, would you?
BURNEI: Were nineteen ye&r old ectobiology students who spent the l&st six months of our lives locked &w&y in &n &ttic wh&t do you think.
HARRY: hey! you never know. after today, i'm never assuming a single damn thing ever again.
GALIOS: i might kn֍w a thing ֍r tw֍.

Galios speaks up, voice low and soft. It's surprisingly barely audible against the backdrop of violence rattling through the moonbase.

HARRY: wait, for real?
GALIOS: i'm n֍t claimin' t֍ be s֍me kinda expert ֍r anything.
GALIOS: but a c֍uple guys i used t֍ kn֍w bef֍re the w֍rld went t֍ shit were inv֍lved in s֍me ֍f the m֍֍nbase pr֍jects fifteen years ag֍.
GALIOS: t֍ld me a little ab֍ut the lay֍ut and functi֍n ֍f these places.
GALIOS: d֍n't imagine the fundamentals will have changed all that much since then.
GALIOS: cr֍ckerc֍rp's made it pretty clear where their investment m֍ney went.

His expression hardens into a grimace. Vrissy wonders what it is this man has seen. She remembers him mentioning something about one of the Cake Mills, but other than that, she's not sure. Everyone but her and Harry have been through so much in here.

GALIOS: all ֍f these places use transp֍rtalizers as their main m֍de ֍f m֍vement.
GALIOS: guessing cr֍cker's g֍t th֍se suckers ֍ffline. d֍ubt we'll be able t֍ reactivate them fr֍m up here.
GALIOS: as a safety precauti֍n in the event ֍f s֍me kinda system failure, they usually g֍t escape p֍ds fixed t֍ the gr֍und fl֍֍r level.
GALIOS: simple get ֍n b֍ard and hit the release switch kinda deal, if my mem֍ry serves.
BURNEI: & youre sure &bout this?
GALIOS: n֍t at all. might be ֍ur ticket ֍ut, might n֍t.
GALIOS: but it's ֍ur best sh֍t at getting ֍ut either way. unless any ֍f y֍u guys g֍t a better idea?

Silence greets him. Galios nods and begins to dismantle the barricade.

GALIOS: c֍me ֍n. d֍n't fancy seeing what happens t֍ this place when all these visi֍ns c֍me t֍ pass.
ENFUIR: xX thank you galios Xx
GALIOS: less thanking m֍re dismantling.

Enfuir, Vrissy, and Harry all end up helping Galios pull the barricade apart. Burnei and Fellna are hesitant, fearful. Aquini looks lost, but naturally chooses to side with his friends. Vrissy can't help but feel an immense amount of disappointment toward these guys, then feels guilty for feeling that. They're just normal people going through the worst time of their lives. How else are they meant to react?

The door slides open again just the light fixture on the ceiling begins to rattle. Vrissy doesn't exactly get any kind of premonition, but she feels a phantom headache drift across her brain. Beside her, Enfuir has her eyes squeezed shut.

VRISSY: Hey, I think We...
ENFUIR: xX we need to go now Xx
ENFUIR: xX theyre about to blast through we cant stay here Xx
GALIOS: y֍u heard the lil ladies. MÓVE YÓUR ASSES.

Galios's shout startles the others into motion. The seven of them file out of the room and down the hallway back towards the stairs. Vrissy glances backwards as the automatic door seals itself shut again. The shaking increases a hundredfold and a violent explosion comes from the other side. Vrissy is flung against the wall before she can so much as react. Harry is there to steady her back to her feet.

VRISSY: Thanks.
HARRY: don't mention it.
HARRY: so, shit, that was really...?

He doesn't finish. The siren begins to scream out.

WARNING: AIRLOCK BREACH. IMMINENT DANGER OF DEOXYGENATION.

Vrissy feels a chill run through her.

AQUINI: that's, uh, [REALLY FUCKING TERRIBLE], yeah?
ENFUIR: xX yeah no shit Xx
ENFUIR: xX this place is gonna start bleeding oxygen like a motherfucker Xx
ENFUIR: xX probably should have mentioned were on a time limit either way Xx
AQUINI: [DAMN].
FELLNA: > Enfuir: You could have warned us. ==>
ENFUIR: xX well im sorry Xx
ENFUIR: xX figured getting your asses out of that room alive was a better use of my limited time than telling you about a thing that will kill you even further in the future Xx
GALIOS: i mean, kinda th֍ught time running ֍ut was a given.
BURNEI: &t le&st it w&s cle&r to *one of you*.
ENFUIR: xX oh will you shut the fuck up with the attitude now is not the time Xx
ENFUIR: xX i love you guys so fucking much Xx
ENFUIR: xX so if you could honor that by at least TRYING to not die Xx

Another rattling explosion. Another siren screaming out. Harry grabs onto Vrissy's hand, tightly. Vrissy half-remembers this vision, does not like where it leads.

A chunk of ceiling comes loose, just barely missing Enfuir's head by inches. She looks at it, eyes wide.

ENFUIR: xX ok we need to move Xx
ENFUIR: xX like really move right this fucking minute Xx

A second chunk of building gets the stragglers moving, and then they're all sprinting through the labyrinth of identical red hallways. Vrissy quickly notes that the vents they're passing under are no longer pumping out any air. There's probably still a decent chunk of oxygen in this building, even with the holes in the walls, but it suddenly becomes that much harder to catch her breath.

Fear crawls around her in thin, tangled hooks. They round a corner. Vrissy abruptly finds herself thinking of the moment Rodhim's head was torn from its body. She breathes in a panicked gasp, bats away tears, and keeps moving.

Harry, always the considerate soul, looks at her with concern.

HARRY: you doing ok, vris?
VRISSY: Haha, pretty o8viously Not.
VRISSY: Like, We saw two Guys Die and now we're in a Moon8ase that is falling to Pieces all Around us!
VRISSY: And, haha, did I mention we're still inside a Crockercorp Death Game???????? 8ecause that's still a thing!
VRISSY: God fucking For8id things Ease Up for even one second!

Screaming at her boyfriend doesn't help. The emotion is still heavy on her body. Mostly she just feels guilty now, too.

VRISSY: Sorry. I think I'm Definitely at my fucking Limit.
HARRY: don't apologize. i hit mine ages ago.
VRISSY: Do you think we're gonna m8ke it out of Here Alive?
HARRY:
HARRY: ...
HARRY: ...i don't know.

They both look at each other, silent and uneasy. Vrissy wishes more than anything Vriska were here with them. She hates feeling so alone and so out of her depth like this. It's all too much. She's beginning to miss when she was too seized by violent visions to process the world around her.

Another corner. Then another. An explosion. Another corner. Then the stairs leading down. Another explosion hits as they descend. Burnei loses his balance and stumbles down. Galios's large frame breaks his fall. He backs off and shakes his head, doesn't even so much as apologise.

Then they're down to the floor below. Another hallway or two (not the one where Lemnis lies, thank fucking god), then they're back in the democracy chamber.

There's a hole in the ceiling and the floor, both at different points. The podiums are in disarray, and a thin layer of smoke hangs in the air that smells like ozone. Vrissy feels a little light-headed.

FELLNA: > [S] Damn. ==>
AQUINI: they did a number on this place, for...
AQUINI: oh fuck.

Aquini backs away in blind panic. Vrissy glances at where he was just standing and feels her stomach flip. Rodhim's severed head rolls around on the floor, mouth open in his unending final scream. Blood and soot and dust cover the head. It might be the most horrible thing Vrissy has ever seen.

VRISSY: That's...
ENFUIR: xX its something we can deal with later Xx
VRISSY: Right. Right.

She looks away from the head. It helps her nausea, a little. Burnei and Galios are looking down the hole in the floor. She and Harry walk up to them.

HARRY: what's going on?
GALIOS: trying t֍ see if we c֍uld just jump d֍wn. might save us s֍me time.
GALIOS: ֍nly...
BURNEI: It looks like this goes &ll the w&y down to the ground floor.
HARRY: that's one hell of a drop, huh.
BURNEI: Ex&ctly.

The others gather around the hole, too. Enfuir flits her gaze between everyone and the hole, the glow of a vision burning behind her eyelids. Vrissy looks over to her in sympathy, unsure of how to help.

ENFUIR: xX anyone know how long it took us to get down to this floor? Xx
AQUINI: maybe... maybe five or so minutes, i think?
ENFUIR: xX and theres at least three floors between us and the bottom Xx
FELLNA: > That's... twenty or so minutes? ==>
FELLNA: > Enfuir: Do we have the time? ==>
ENFUIR: xX i Xx
ENFUIR: xX god i dont know Xx
ENFUIR: xX fuck give me a second Xx

She pinches between her eyes and forces out a few heavy breaths. Her lips twitch down in a flinch. Vrissy gets the sense Enfuir already knows the answer. That it's not a good one.

ENFUIR: xX i think

Another explosion cuts her off, a loud rumbling blast that turns the ground beneath their feet like jelly. Vrissy cries out, leans onto Harry for support, but since he's stumbling and she's stumbling--

And they're all perched around the edge of a gaping hole--

The second explosion pushes them all over the edge. Vrissy screams as she plummets three floors down, limbs kicking out, head flickering with pain.

The descent gives them a visual slice of red on red, a cross-section of Vriska's destruction. She sees statues and furniture and lockers and weapons floating in a haze of smoke, sees a hole in one wall staring out into the black wall of indinity.

Through another hole Vrissy sees Vriska tackling Dirkbot clean through a wall, snarling and roaring like a frenzied wild animal. Vriska tears at the robot's metal plating, says something Vrissy can't make out, then they're gone.

And Vrissy is still falling. Longer than she would expect for a three-floor drop.

VRISSY: H8y, what the

The air is thinner in this hole. She waves her arm. It feels weirdly floaty.

Then she realises.

VRISSY: Ha! Thank F8ck for reduced Gravity. ::::)

Nobody responds to her. Harry looks at her, uncertain. His mouth twitches like he's thinking of saying something, but before he gets the chance, they hit the floor.

HARRY: oof!

Reduced gravity doesn't equal zero gravity. Vrissy still slams against the ground hard enough to bruise. She hisses through the pain and climbs to her feet. She's the third to do so. Enfuir and Galios are already up, already looking.

ENFUIR: xX well heres the empirical proof i guess Xx
GALIOS: h֍t fucking damn.
VRISSY: Guys????????

They're staring out of a window on the far side of the room. Vrissy walks over to them and glances out herself.

Past the window is a stretch of cratered grey rock before a backdrop of stars against the void. A thick metallic cable sticks up out of the ground and fixes itself to a point higher up on the building. On the horizon, disturbingly small and surprisingly bright, sits Earth C, hundreds of thousands of miles away.

VRISSY: Oh my god.
VRISSY: Like, I Knew this was the case, 8ut seeing it is...
VRISSY: Yeah. Fuck.

Looking at Earth C from the outside fills Vrissy with a disjointed vertigo. An out of body wrongness she can barely articulate. Every part of her screams in blind terror that she is somewhere she does not belong. The planet looks so small.

HARRY: vris? what are you looking at?

Harry is next to rise, hurrying over to them as the others start to move. He looks out of the window and his expression falls.

HARRY: haha, wow.
HARRY: so none of this is bullshit at all then.
HARRY: we're legit in space. on the fucking moon.
HARRY: oh my god.

He places his hand against the glass, a gesture that fills Vrissy with a spike of panic. It must be for a good reason, because Enfuir is suddenly clenching Harry's wrist and pulling him away.

ENFUIR: xX i wouldnt do that if i were you Xx
HARRY: uh...

Nervously and uncomfortably, Harry complies. Instead of gaping out the window like an idiot, he shoves his hands in his pockets and surveys the room.

HARRY: there's a transportalizer here.
HARRY: lemme see if...
HARRY: nah. of course not.

He hops up and down on the transportaliser pad a few times. It predictably does nothing. Vrissy thinks she remembers that vision.

Harry vaults over the counter in the middle of the room, then gives out a sharp gasp when he lands on the other side.

HARRY: oh jesus.
GALIOS: what is it?
HARRY: couple of dead crockercorp guys. think vriska got to them, maybe.
HARRY: eugh, right through their...

He stops talking, shakes his head. He leans over and starts clicking at one of the computers at the desk behind him. Above him is a wall of monitors. All of them are dead.

HARRY: internal feed's dead, but it says here the broadcast is still live?
ENFUIR: xX can you find any other information Xx
HARRY: i'll try...
VRISSY: Let Me Help.

Vrissy hurries over to Harry's side. She pointedly avoids looking at the two dead human guards and instead focuses on the screen.

Half of it's taken up with statistics about the broadcast - resolution, picture latency, terrestrial relay stations. Nothing imminently helpful to their present situation.

VRISSY: What a8out the file 8rowser?
HARRY: uh, lemme check that...

Harry loads up a file browser. Most of it is more junk data. Emails about the set-up, a log of phonecalls, confirmation of transportaliser shutdown, and for some reason a threat dossier on Vriska Serket. Apparently she's a class-0 threat, whatever the hell that means.

VRISSY: D8mn. None of this is Worth anything!
HARRY: seems that way. i'll keep going just in case.

More alarms go off as Harry skims through the computer. Junk, junk, junk. Vrissy lets out a sound of frustration. Something rattles worryingly. The air feels thinner.

Finally, somewhere near the bottom of the list, Harry's face lights up.

HARRY: hey! this could be something.
VRISSY: What Is It?
HARRY: says "studio luna map".
VRISSY: Well, Click On It Then!

Harry does as she says. He clicks the file. A second later, the screen is filled with a detailed map of the building's layout. Harry zooms in on the "1f" portion of the image. Vrissy scans the map, and sees it a second after he does.

HARRY: hey, guys!
HARRY: says here the escape pod bay is just down the hallway.
ENFUIR: xX really? Xx
ENFUIR: xX which way Xx
HARRY: let's check, uh...
VRISSY: Th8t Way!

Vrissy points to the door on the right-hand side of the window.

HARRY: ok, there are three out of six escape pods currently in use.
HARRY: each one can hold up to four people, which... thank fuck, that's enough.

He pulls away from the computer and smiles at Vrissy.

HARRY: we're all gonna make it out of here.

Vrissy, who is still looking at the window, does not reply. She is too busy watching as a silvery blur rushes by outside, severing the final support cable clean in two. There's a gut-wrenching snap that reverberates with the cold indifference of doom.

ENFUIR: xX oh no Xx

Tears spring up in Enfuir's eyes again. Vrissy finds she can't breathe, finds a mass of panic suddenly bearing down on her like--

WARNING: ALL SUPPORT CABLES INACTIVE. MOONBASE EJECTION IMMINENT. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.

HARRY: uh, what the

There's a rumble like nothing they've felt yet. Vrissy clings onto the edge of the desk as the ground beneath her shakes, and shakes. There's a groaning, screaming pop, then all at once, the room is tilting.

Vrissy flies forward, slamming against the window. Cracked splinters run across the glass. Vrissy gives out a panicked whimper. She feels a hand around her ankle.

GALIOS: hey, stay calm. we g֍t y֍u.
GALIOS: y֍u ain't g֍nna fall thr֍ugh. pr֍mise.

But it's not the falling that scares her. It's the sight of the lunar surface pulling away beneath her, of the square shaped crater where the moonbase once stood.

And Earth C, drawing closer and closer.

Chapter 42: FOUR, section v.

v.

Jake English realises the bombs will fall precious seconds before anyone else (second only to Karkat Vantas). Instinctual terror blooms in his chest like a rotting flower as he spins away from the window, tackles Sollux to the floor, and whispers a prayer just before the city disappears in a whirlwind of fire.

By some impossibility, the parking lot still stands when the first onslaught ceases. The walls are cracked and the ground is trembling, the foundations precariously buckling and swaying, but they survived the worst of it. It just has to hold on for a little longer. Just enough for them make it out unscathed. He latches onto that hope like a drowning man would a raft.

Sollux squirms under Jake's large body, grumbling and snarling.

SOLLUX: can y0u get the fuck 0ff me
SOLLUX: jegus shit i can't fucking BREATHE y0u weigh a metric fuckt0n.
JAKE: Sorry!

Jake pulls himself off of Sollux, wiping the dust off his face. Sollux lets out a raspy breath and levitates up off the ground.

SOLLUX: the fuck just happened?
SOLLUX: harley? karkat? hell0?

He's talking through an earpiece communicator and getting nowhere. Jake's heart sinks a little.

JAKE: I dont think theyre getting back to you any time soon chum.
SOLLUX: i'm n0t y0ur chum, assh0le.
JAKE: Fine, fine! Duly noted sollux. Look, we simply do not have the time for--

Jake touches Sollux on the shoulder and gets a body full of electricity as a reward.

JAKE: Jeepers!
SOLLUX: d0n't t0uch me.
SOLLUX: i haven't even figured 0ut what the hell happened yet.

The whole building lurches again. Jake watches a stream of cracks join up and rip a load-bearing chunk out of the wall. There are hundreds of tons of concrete above them. Even if he is conditionally immortal, he still doesn't fancy his chances.

Another crack. Jake throws up his arms and lets out a groan of frustration.

JAKE: Argh bloody shitfuck we dont have the time for this!
JAKE: If we dont skedaddle asap this entire building is going to crush us like pitiful ants! Is that what you want sollux!!
SOLLUX: 0f c0urse i fucking d0n't! can it with the attitude 0k???
SOLLUX: just tell me what the fuck happened!!
JAKE: ...

He goes still and silent. Dread washes over him. The smell of smoke is thick in the air. There is a distant roar, maybe of sirens, maybe of screaming people. He can't tell. He doesn't want to tell.

JAKE: Jane happened.
JAKE: Her entire fleet dropped more bombs than you can fathom on the city.
SOLLUX: what?
JAKE: I...
JAKE: I dont know if anyone could have survived this.
SOLLUX: y0u d0n't mean...

A bizarre expression passes over Sollux's face. The corners of his mouth clench tight. Jake can only wonder what the troll is thinking.

Chunks of ceiling begin to drop down in earnest. Jake tries and fails to bite down a rush of panic.

JAKE: Ok ok we can deal with the grim ramifications of this whole ordeal once we are no longer in mortal peril we need to move ourselves RIGHT NOW.

Fuck it. He grabs Sollux again and makes a mad dash for the exit. Sollux writhes and tries to pull free, but Jake believes he can hold onto Sollux for as long as needed.

SOLLUX: i said get y0ur hands 0ff me, assh0le!
SOLLUX: y0u can't even leave this fucking building! remember y0ur space p0wered hive arrest band??

To be honest, no, Jake did not remember that fact. But he's coming up to a full sprint, closer and closer to the exit, and just has to hope it won't keep them trapped in this moment of crisis.

They pass out the entryway of the parking lot. The space band doesn't go off. Jake is too wired with adrenaline to give a sigh of relief. He keeps going, sprinting with his feet against the pavement, forgetting it would be easier to fly, just running, running past blocks of gutted burning streets, until there's enough distance between them and the parking lot.

Finally, Jake comes to a screeching halt. Panting for breath, he turns around and watches grimly as the parking lot buckles under its own weight, no longer supported by the desperation of a god tier Hope player. A mushroom cloud of dust flies up and scatters off into the atmosphere, another heap of toxic grey to add to the thick haze covering the entire city.

JAKE: Oh my god. Oh good grief.

His throat burns for a drink. The urge comes so sharply and so suddenly he has to double over, hands clenched over his knees, until the feeling abates. It doesn't, much.

He looks over to Sollux, who is sending out small psionic pulses to try and get a read on his surroundings.

SOLLUX: h0ly fuck this place has turned int0 a shith0le.
JAKE: Thats the full force of the crocker militia for you chum.

Jake smiles. It is strained and miserable. This is a nightmare, tumbling and unfolding in slow motion.

SOLLUX: what the shit was that w0man packing?
JAKE: Erm, anything you could think of, really.
JAKE: She has labs brute force alchemizing every possible weapon combination at all times. Proper warmongering nastiness, really.
SOLLUX: insane fucking bitch.
JAKE: Yeah...

He is an adult man, recently emancipated and finally standing on the right side of history. It does not stop his whole body from squirming the second he badmouths Jane. Old habits die hard.

Without thinking, he's pulled out his drink again and is gobbling down a burning mouthful. Sollux, thankfully being blind, doesn't notice the egregious sight. He just sniffs and frowns.

SOLLUX: shit smells like singed rubber and battery acid.
SOLLUX: what i'd give t0 see this hellscape f0r 0ne sec0nd.
JAKE: Trust me i do not think youre missing out on much.

Somewhere distant, gunfire pops in an unpredictable rhythm. Jake thinks about the others, out in this fray, and feels heavy.

Sollux kicks at a clump of rubble with a sigh.

SOLLUX: the kids are 0ut in this s0mewhere aren't they.
JAKE: Yeah.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: n0w w0uld be a g00d time t0 tell me cr0cker built her film studi0s t0 be fireb0mb pr00f.
JAKE: I could but that would only be a lie sollux.
SOLLUX: shit.
JAKE: Hey! There is every chance the others got to them before, well... this.
JAKE: Im sure theyll be okay.

He says it to himself as much as Sollux. The words make Jake feel better, a little. Sollux remains tensed and uneasy.

SOLLUX: i have 0ne fucking j0b and i can't even manage that right.
SOLLUX: n0 w0nder aradia ditched me. i'd fucking ditch me t00.
SOLLUX: if s0mething happens t0 th0se fucking brats, i...

He rubs his eyes with his hands. Jake's expression softens. He takes another swig. Tipsiness infuriatingly evades him.

JAKE: You really care about the kids, huh?
SOLLUX: shut the fuck up.
JAKE: Whats wrong with that? Theyre good kids sollux.
JAKE: Or, i assume so. Ive never met little vrissy and jane was very insistent about keeping me away from harry anderson when he and roxy lived with us.
JAKE: But tavvy likes and trusts them well enough and thats enough for me.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: i've been ar0und w0rse kids, that's f0r sure.
SOLLUX: g0d why the fuck am i talking t0 Y0U ab0ut this.
JAKE: Maybe you just need to get it out? I reckon i could be a half decent listener if i put my mind to it.
SOLLUX: s0 g00d y0ur 0wn 0ffspring feels t0tally fucking estranged and neglected fr0m y0u?
JAKE:
JAKE: Tavros really said that?

His throat burns. He drinks again. The burn of alcohol does little to subsume the burn of emotions.

SOLLUX: n0t in as many w0rds, but pretty much yeah.
SOLLUX: i mean, with cust0dians like y0u and jane and...
SOLLUX: and fucking gamzee i guess.
SOLLUX: the kid came 0ut all kinds 0f fucked up. baggage as far as the eye can see, s0 clear even i'm n0ticing it and my eyes g0t burned 0ut a fucking eternity ag0.
JAKE: ...
JAKE: I thought he and i were making progress! We were chatting, father and son, it was good!
SOLLUX: idk man maybe f0r y0u.
SOLLUX: y0u ever th0ught ab0ut what the kid wants? like, really, what s0me0ne saddled with being tavr0s cr0cker, heir t0 the w0rst fucking instituti0n in hist0ry, w0uld want.
JAKE: Er, i...
JAKE: What is it youre saying precisely?
SOLLUX: hell if i fucking kn0w. i'm just repeating what i heard.
SOLLUX: c0ntrary t0 p0pular fucking belief it's n0t my j0b t0 give a shit.
SOLLUX: better if i d0n't, actually.

Yet the trembling to his hands belies the truth. Somehow that stings the worst. Some random curmudgeonly troll from a couple universes back gets Jake's own son better than he does. It's damnright embarrassing seeing how deep the rabbit hole of Jake English's personal failures goes.

JAKE: Well. Erm.
JAKE: Either way. I
JAKE: I am glad
JAKE: That youve kept an eye on tav these last few. Really.
SOLLUX: eh whatever. the brats t00k care 0f themselves.
SOLLUX: i think maybe we sh0uld care m0re ab0ut the literal fucking warcrime we're sandwiched betw
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: what the fuck is that n0ise.

Jake pauses. He cocks his head and strains to listen. There is a thick silence dampening most of the city, the chilling un-sound inherent to an absence of wind currents. Past that, faint choking sirens wheezing out their last, and even further and fainter, people, crying out and screaming. Jake's heart sinks. His body tenses. He wants so desperately to be able to help them, but there's so much damage and he's only one man. Helplessness seeps through his chest. All he can hope is that someone, anyone, helps some of them make it through.

A tear leaks down his face. He drinks again. Still no sound that would give him major pause. He turns back to Sollux.

JAKE: Er what exactly is it that were meant to

Then he hears it. A low, throbbing rumble. The sound of airship engines roaring to life. Jane's armada is on the move again. Jake swallows.

JAKE: Oh good fucking dear.
JAKE: Freshly baked shitsnacks why is something horrible always happening!
SOLLUX: the hell if i kn0w!!!
SOLLUX: seri0usly, the fuck is

Sollux grimaces, not comprehending. Jake goes to ask him what he means, how can he possibly not recognise the rising hum that levelled half the city mere minutes ago. The words are on his tongue and everything.

But then the sky erupts in a wall of fire, propelled on by a corkscrew scream. Roaring ripples of scorching air blast down on Jake and Sollux like a poisoned convection oven. The soot and dust gets blown about as if in a tornado, or a vacuum cleaner. Most of it is drawn up into the sky, where it too begins to become incinerated into less than nothing. Jake scans the horizon. The clouds are burning as far as the eye can see in every direction.

A voice carries on the wind. A voice that, if he were to put money on it, almost sounds like--

SOLLUX: what the HELL is lal0nde playing at?
SOLLUX: d0es she even realize what kind 0f lucky break it is that her little firest0rm DIDN'T just br0il what's left 0f this city???

Sollux's hair and clothes ripple in the breeze. Everything smells of fireworks. The ground is still trembling. Jake's lost track of the source. All he can do is stand there and hope for a decent outcome like a complete idiot. He's never felt more useless.

Somehow, he's not surprised when the first airship topples to the ground, charred to a crisp. It hits somewhere a few blocks over, erupting in an explosion that seems pathetic compared to the hellshow overhead. Two, three, four, so many ships follow suit, screeching metal fireballs that abruptly terminate at ground level. Jake hopes nobody's caught up in the blasts.

They keep coming, so many ships destroyed, but not enough, never enough. Jane's assets are too numerous. Jake doesn't know the exact figure, but he knows it's more than the few dozen being immolated before his eyes. This army is enough to subjugate a whole planet. There is no way this is going to be enough. But maybe, maybe...

The firestorm burns out as quickly as it arrived. The cloud evaporates in a wisp of cleansing embers. It leaves behind a clear sky, a bright blue afternoon looking down on a site of ruin.

And between the gaps, so many hundreds upon hundreds of crimson ships. All of them armed and loaded with cannons and weapons and other things Jake can barely name.

Rose's explosion barely made a dent. Fear splashes cold across his spine.

SOLLUX: y0u're whimpering. what the fuck is it n0w.
JAKE: Its a, erm, a helluva lot of airships, is the thing.
SOLLUX: h0w many.
JAKE: I cant count them.
SOLLUX: 0h.
SOLLUX: well i guess we're fucked then.

Sollux sends out a probing psionic spark to the sky, but it's too far for him to reach. He grumbles under his breath in frustration. Jake surveys the hovering fleet, the identical mass of hundreds of red shapes. He needs to find it, needs to see, needs to know...

He spots the mothership, eventually, amid a cluster of smaller destroyer ships closer to the middle of the city. Above the mothership, the faint outline of the moon winks down from on high. The sun sits higher still, bright and exposing but bringing no warmth. He can't tell if that's an actual phenomenon or just fear talking.

JAKE: Shes here. Shes actually here.
SOLLUX: what are y0u 0n ab0ut n0w.
JAKE: Jane. Her mothership is right there.

Jake points. Sollux shakes his head.

SOLLUX: with w0rds, assh0le.
JAKE: Right. Oh. Erm.
JAKE: Towards the middle of the city. Really big nasty ship. Got spikes on the sides. Horrible thing, really. Thank your lucky stars you cant see it.
SOLLUX: 0h, i sure am s0mething ab0ut all this. believe me.
JAKE: Well, we have to do something. We

He takes a few steps forward, disturbing the blanket of dust. He's so far removed from where the action is taking place, if there's even any action to begin with. This is all such a mess. Too much chaos, too much at once. No clear indicator on what to do next.

It's a frustration that can be measured in seconds. Jake's feet don't even touch the ground again before one of the destroyer ships above their heads begins to descent. He watches, mute with unease, as the deployment hatch starts slowly sliding open.

Jake English knows a fight when he sees it. His hands twitch uselessly by his sides. It's been too many years since he last reached for a strife specibus, barely remembers the basics of combat, how to move his body, how to do anything useful--

A bright green lightning bolt slams into the side of the airship with a spine chilling canine howl. Jade Harley kicks the ship with the force of a supersonic strike. She shoots clear through the entire ship in a little over a millisecond. She comes to a stop. On a delay, the ship behind her explodes and falls to the floor in two pieces. Then, she teleports to just a few feet in front of Jake and Sollux.

JADE: THERE you guys are!!! ive been looking for the last ten minutes worried out of my mind!
JAKE: My bad jade. Kind of hard to coordinate when my ex wife obliterated the local communications network.
SOLLUX: 0k fuck this reuni0n smalltalk. did y0u guys get t0 the kids? are they 0kay?
JADE: thats

Jade falters at Sollux's question. A guilty frown passes over her face.

JADE: no
JADE: they werent there
JAKE: Wait, what?
JADE: yeah
JADE: and the studio you mentioned jake
JADE: completely empty! no death games taking place in nuseattle at all :(
JAKE: No, that doesnt make sense! Jane wouldnt risk the financial loss by filming--
SOLLUX: but she said, she fucking SAID t0 me they'd be here!

Sollux clenches at his hair in frustration. Sparks erupt from his temples.

JADE: sollux what are you talking about?? WHO said?
JADE: i thought you overheard a conversation about nuseattle
SOLLUX: that's. well.
SOLLUX: d0esn't matter. just a thing. n0t related t0 y0u at all.
JADE: hm i dont think so we are talking about the children of my friends
JADE: and jake
JAKE: Appreciate the vote of confidence jade.
JADE: god we dont have the time to address the metric boatload of blatant problems that are making it hard for me to care about you like i used to!
JADE: whats important is that the kids are not here and they might have never *been* here
SOLLUX: but i was T0LD! explicitly i was t0ld nuseattle was the m0st imp0rtant place f0r me t0 be, that it was urgent i g0t every0ne here f0r the sake 0f everything.
SOLLUX: why w0uld she lie t0 me??

He lets out another groan. The poor troll looks on the verge of a spectacularly terrible meltdown. Whatever answers he's sitting on aren't forthcoming.

JADE: sollux seriously what are you on about??
JADE: WHO lied to you! i cant do anything if i dont know whats going on!
SOLLUX: i can't fucking say. it really REALLY d0esn't matter.
JADE: why!!!!! look sollux im not the person you used to know my tolerance for bullshit tanked out at zero years ago so youd better start talking or i swear to god i will *force you* to tell me!

She bares her teeth in a snarl. Her hackles go up. Jake stands on the sidelines, helpless once again. He stares up at the sky, at the motions of the fleet. Every now and then, the odd ship gets blasted out of the sky. He assumes this must be the work of the other gods.

SOLLUX: n0.
JADE: BARK BARK BARK
SOLLUX: bark at me all y0u want i'm n0t saying!!
JADE: SNARL SNARL GRRR
SOLLUX: still n0t saying!

Jade stops barking. Instead, she envelops Sollux with her Space powers and levitates him way up in the air. Sollux squirms helplessly.

SOLLUX: hey put me d0wn!!!
JADE: not until you start talking!! these are my friends kids were talking about!! if theres something youre not telling us we need to know if youre ever to be trusted!
SOLLUX: y0u think i care ab0ut trust??? i'm n0t even g0nna BE in this universe in a few weeks! i c0uldn't give less 0f a shit ab0ut y0u guys!
JADE: hold on what the fuck???
JADE: what does that even mean! how can you just *leave* the universe!

She shakes him up and down over and over. Sollux gives a nauseous burp.

SOLLUX: jesus FUCK st0p already lady!
JADE: then talk!! what do you mean youre not gonna be in this universe!!
SOLLUX: 0k 0k fuck!! whatever!!! i'm getting picked up by calli0pe as a reward f0r helping with her missi0n n0w put me d0wn!!!
JADE:
JADE: calliope?

Jade's so shocked she almost drops Sollux right to the floor. Luckily, she remembers to catch him a few inches from the pavement.

JADE: why would CALLIOPE be taking you out of the universe?
JADE: god nobodys
JADE: nobodys even seen her in years! not since our friendship group fell apart over a decade back
SOLLUX: n0t HER, idi0t.
SOLLUX: the 0ther 0ne. the dead cherub. the 0ne with the actual p0wers.
JADE: the
JADE:
JADE:
JADE: you dont mean
JAKE: Are you talking about the spirit that possessed that dead jade at the funeral??
SOLLUX: fucking bing0.
JADE: well why would *she* need you to
SOLLUX: because i spent the last half 0f this narrative watching y0u guys fr0m her sp00ky mete0r vantage p0int. i'm basically her last link t0 this timeline.
JADE: literally what are you talking about
SOLLUX: 0k we ACTUALLY d0n't have the time t0 get int0 all 0f it.
SOLLUX: but basically she ate l0rd english after he dr0pped int0 this w0rld then fucked 0ff 0ut 0f reality with aradia and dave in a stupid r0b0t b0dy.

Jade, unsurprisingly, goes to reply. Sollux cuts her off before she even begins.

SOLLUX: and THEN she realizes that the threat she's chasing needs t0 be dealt with in a specific way.
SOLLUX: 0ne that requires. uh. certain res0urces fr0m this timeline.
SOLLUX: s0 she c0ntacted me thr0ugh my dreams and t0ld me that if i did all this i'd get 0ut 0f here 0nce and f0r all. and f0r whatever fucking reas0n she said nuseattle was where i needed t0 be.
SOLLUX: there. happy n0w??
JADE: you
JADE: wh
JADE: what do you mean dave
JADE: are you saying that daves
JADE: that hes

She goes very still. Her breathing is shallow, laboured. When she talks again her voice is small and shaky.

JADE: hes alive?
SOLLUX: yeah his c0nsci0usness is inside a r0b0t b0dy and he and aradia t00k 0ff after the muse but that's really n0t the imp0rtant part 0f this st0ry.
JADE: actually i think that details kind of very fucking important actually
SOLLUX: why. he died and ditched y0u that's fairly straightf0rward fr0m when i'm standing.
JADE: you
JADE: you cant just fucking say that

Jade starts to cry. Sollux sneers at her. Jake decides to step in.

JAKE: Ignoring that thorny tragedy for a second what about that other point you were keen to skip over?
SOLLUX: c0me again?
JAKE: Those resources. What are they and can you explain why youre so insistent on not clueing us in on the fact that its the kids?
SOLLUX:
SOLLUX:
SOLLUX:
SOLLUX:
SOLLUX: h0w the FUCK
JADE: wait what??

Sollux steps back. Jade wipes her tears away and glares at him.

JADE: what does that mean sollux?
SOLLUX: d0n't make me fucking say it!!
JADE: i dont care
JADE: if youre not gonna talk about dave you can talk about this at least
SOLLUX: fuck!! fuck!!!
SOLLUX: i d0n't kn0w all the details but she's planning 0n taking the kids with her 0ut 0f the universe. fuck if i kn0w why bey0nd she apparently needs them t0 deal with this qu0te unqu0te threat that's 0ut there.

Jake feels something in his throat constrict.

JAKE: So... so thats why youve been looking out for them? To deliver them to an all powerful specter for some unknown purpose?
SOLLUX: n0! that's...
SOLLUX: n0t at the start. she 0nly c0ntacted me after the shitsh0w at cavalreap.
SOLLUX: y0u have t0 believe me. i DID genuinely l00k 0ut f0r th0se kids, h0nest t0 fucking g0d!
SOLLUX: y0u think i d0n't have that i have n0 idea what she wants t0 d0 with them? y0u think i WANT this t0 be the 0nly way i get back t0 the pe0ple i care ab0ut? really??

By the time he's finished, Sollux looks miserable. Jake regards him with apprehension.

JAKE: I... i dont know what to think, sollux.
JAKE: I think this is something people other than me need to address at a point in time where everything isnt burning.
SOLLUX: l00k, i'm fucking s0rry i was lying t0 y0u all, 0k?
JADE: guys we can argue about this later
JADE: we still dont know where the heck the kids are if that hasnt escaped your notice
SOLLUX: shit, yeah.
SOLLUX: they really aren't in the city?
JADE: no theyre not and we have no leads on where they could be
JADE: regardless of whatever youre being told to do with them the priority is to get them out of janes clutches before they get hurt
SOLLUX: but
SOLLUX: if they're n0t in the film studi0s, where the FUCK are they??
JADE: i dont know! everything pointed to them being here!
JADE: and unless theres some secret hidden studio somewhere in the city i think that hunch turned out to be complete bullshit!
JADE: bark bark!!
JADE: where the hell are they!

Jade and Sollux start half-arguing with each other, but Jake's tuned out. Jade's last words ping something in his brain. He steps away from the pair and stares up at the sky. Jane's mothership hangs in the air, an omnipresent imposing threat. And above that, the barely-visible shimmer of the moon in daylight.

He stares for a while. Lets the primal dread sink in past his bone marrow to something even more fundamental. Surely not. Not even Jane would be that deranged as to--

But she would. She would, and that's the dirty horrible kicker of it all.

Jake English looks up, and the horrible truth consolidates as fact in his mind.

JAKE: Jade.
JAKE: Jade i think
JAKE: Jade?

But she's not listening, arguing with Sollux, ignorant to the terrible reality staring them all down as it has been all along. Jake feels like sobbing. He hates that he knows this is true, that this is almost certainly what Jane has done.

JAKE: Jade.
JAKE: Jade.
JAKE: Jade!
JAKE: JADE!!!!

Finally, Jade turns around to him, one eyebrow raised. She matches his volume as she shouts back.

JADE: WHAT IS IT???

Frantic, he grabs Jade by the shoulder and screams

JAKE: JADE I KNOW WHERE

Chapter 43: FOUR, section vi.

vi.

She clenches him tight with arms like an iron vice.

JANE: Oh, Tavros.
JANE: It is such a relief to see you again.

Tavros's arms are presently pinned to his sides, but even if they weren't, he wouldn't reciprocate. The hug is crushing enough that nearly all the oxygen has been squeezed out of his lungs. She leans into him close enough that all he can see is the red of her blazer, rising and falling in time with her measured breath.

JANE: You can't possibly begin to imagine how horrible it was for me, knowing my baby boy had been abducted by the rebels.
JANE: I could barely eat. I could barely sleep. It sapped the joy out of everything I did. I don't think I could have lived without you right next to me for much longer.
JANE: I'm so glad you're back, Tavros. So, so glad.
TAVROS: ,

She hugs tighter. Her grip's beginning to hurt, as it always does. Tavros so desperately wants to break away, to step back, but he doesn't move. Years of this routine keeps him planted on the spot. Struggling is never a good idea.

JANE: Nobody likes to say it, but I know you're actually quite a vulnerable boy, Tavros. I know how much of a burden it is for you to try and engage with the world outside of our home.
JANE: You need me more than you'd like to admit, and that's okay. I know how important I am to you. I'll make sure you can never be taken from me again.

Her voice does the fake warble thing she sometimes uses when she appears on press conferences, pretending the plight of the troll race is something that pains her to think about. The only genuine thing in her voice right now is the triumph of having something that's hers brought back into her possession.

It would be so easy to let the trained dissociation take over, to shut down and stay afloat on his mother's good side. He's done it countless times before. It's the only thing to keep him from being afraid, from acknowledging the mangled vortex of trauma churning up his insides, from feeling anything at all.

His friends are being forced into a death game on the moon. That thought keeps him settled in the present moment.

She finally slacks her grip, just a little. Tavros pulls back enough to breathe. She doesn't allow him any further than that. He can feel her hands on the back of his shirt, stroking his skin in repetitive circles. It feels like two pulsating globules of acidic slime, pressing and searching for a soft point, a vulnerable entryway. He tries his best not to tense up.

TAVROS: S,,,, so,,, m,
TAVROS: Mother,,
TAVROS: What was that,, erm,, that explosion,, earlier?
JANE: ...

She doesn't reply straight away. Looks at him with cold, dead eyes. Her eyes always reminded him of ice, of bread mould. Then she blinks and the artifice she calls love shines inside them.

JANE: Never you mind that, dear.
JANE: Just politics.
TAVROS: Politics,

He considers Amira's words from earlier. President Crocker. What does that mean in this context? Is the obvious really true? He goes to mention it, but stops. If he drops Amira in it, there's no telling what'll happen to her. He doesn't know the woman, hardly cares for her, but he refuses to inflict that kind of cruelty on another living being.

JANE: Don't worry. I know you don't have a head for it. Keeping up with current affairs has never been your strong suit, Tavros.
JANE: Must have inherited that from your father, hoo hoo. :B

Her laugh makes him feel nauseous. It's like the bubbling, low growl of a predator toying with its food. His heart rate begins to rise. Cold sweat washes over his palms.

TAVROS: Yes,, as you like to remind me,,
JANE: Someone has to. I tried my best to raise a good son, but genetics is a tough foe to take on. It's not your fault I couldn't undo all the damage that your father did to you.
JANE: And I know I could have done more. The fact that I let you get like this, it...
JANE: Why, sometimes I look at you and feel like I'm the worst mother in the world.

She sniffs three or four times until she can get the crocodile tears flowing. Tavros feels a nauseous exhaustion. He knows this song and dance, has played it with her for as long as he can remember. He hates it more than anything in the world.

TAVROS: I never said,,,, that you're a,,, a,,, a bad mother,,,
JANE: Even after all the wrong I've inflicted upon you, my sweet boy?
TAVROS: I,,,
TAVROS: Y,,,
TAVROS: Yes,,, I,,

He has to pause before he gets the next words out, just so he doesn't scream. Being away from her, seeing a world outside of this, makes coming back to it harder than it's ever been. He feels unclean.

TAVROS: You have done nothing wrong,,, mother,,
TAVROS: And even if you want to say,,,, that you have,,, I,,
TAVROS: I f,,, I,,,
TAVROS: I forgive you,,, for whatever insignificant thing,, you are holding against yourself,,,
TAVROS: For no good reason,,,
JANE: ...
JANE: ...

The silence is familiar, too. That stretched out chasm where she leaves him hanging for just long enough that he begins to think he's said the wrong thing this time.

Then she pulls him in tight and speaks through her fake tears.

JANE: Tavros, you are such a sweet boy. You are too kind to me.
JANE: You always look out for me, even when nobody else does.
JANE: Sometimes, it feels like it's just you and me against the world, and that's okay, because you and me? We can get each other through everything.
JANE: We're the only ones that get each other. I dread to think how terrible everything would be if I didn't have you here, Tavros.
JANE: I am so, *so* glad you love your mother. You make me feel like I'm not a failure.
JANE: *sniffle*.

He's never believed any of that, but he's always complied anyway. There's never been any other alternative in his eyes. All his life he's been so entwined with her that until very recently, he couldn't envision any scenario but this one. Coming back to this now, after everything, is like sucking down gallons of toxic gas.

TAVROS: With, erm, with my validation of you, ascertained,, erm,,
TAVROS: What do we do now,,,
JANE: Right.

She moves her hand to stroke his head, coiling his hair between her fingers.

JANE: Tavros, my darling baby, I hate to put upon you, but...
JANE: I need you to help me. You'll do that, because you're a good boy who loves his mother, aren't you?
TAVROS: I, of,, of course i am,
JANE: Wonderful.

She pulls tighter. A blink of pain shoots across his scalp. He tries very hard not to imagine himself as a slack rodent in the mouth of a lion. He's turned away from the screens. The not knowing is burning a hole through him, worse perhaps than most things the woman before him could do in the short term.

JANE: I hate to bother your tender head with the ugliness of the political situation, but this is how it stands.
JANE: After a vile terror attack by Vantas and his wretched troll rebels, NuSeattle below us stands in ruin.
TAVROS: ,,

He latches onto the nugget of information, trying to divine as much meaning from it as possible without his face so much as twitching out of its subservient wince.

JANE: Worse, they must have known about the diplomatic meeting between my corporation and the human government.
JANE: Their firebombs wiped every last one of them off the face of Earth C. I'm only standing here because I had been just that little bit fashionably late to arrive.
TAVROS: That is,, a lot,,
JANE: I know, I know. You don't need to worry too much about the bloody details, sweet Tavros.
JANE: All that matters is the chain of command is totally shot through. By a whole bunch of technicalities it would take too long to explain, the heavy mantle of President of Earth C now rests on my shoulders.
TAVROS: ,

So, worse than Amira insinuated. Good to know. Terrible to know. He's on the Crocker mothership above whatever actually remains of NuSeattle, maybe totally alone. Definitely a hopeless sort of situation.

TAVROS: I suppose, then, congratulations are in order?
JANE: Thank you, Tavros. It's hard for a small-scale CEO like me to be thrust into such a big role. :B
TAVROS: Certainly,,,,,
JANE: But it is what it is, and now I'm de facto the most powerful individual on this entire planet. Sometimes we all must take the hand we're dealt, hoo hoo.

She goes for self-deprecating in that laugh. She can't keep the ego trip out. She was never good at humble.

JANE: I ask nothing too taxing from you, dear Tavros.
JANE: Just a media appearance as the president's son. A little official engagement.
TAVROS: And what,,, would you have me do,, or say,,,
JANE: Why, help us expose the rotten heart that sits within the rebel machine.
JANE: After all, they abducted you for the sole purpose of torture and brainwashing, and were even willing to throw their own children to the maws of a death game just to advance their point!
JANE: I may never recover from the betrayal of my fellow gods, but the children are always innocent.
JANE: What kind of vile movement would treat the life of sweet young Harry Anderson Egbert as disposable collateral?
TAVROS: I,

It's almost too much. He wants to pull back, to run, to scream, but he feels his options shrinking further and further. Crockercorp's spin is too strong. His friends are too far beyond his reach. He's too far beyond the reach of anyone save his mother.

Quietly, privately, for one fleeting second he utterly loathes Harry for driving them out from that church. It passes just as quick, because every part of him knows who's really to blame here.

He thinks that and looks at his mother. He almost expects her latch onto his thoughts like a blood-hungry shark, but she keeps stroking and twisting his hair. It leaves him with an unsteady half-thrill settling across his skin.

JANE: We only managed to extract you at the last possible second. Any longer and I fear what would have happened to you.
JANE: You're a survivor. You have the ability to bestow the power that only your truth can give. Let the world know just how the vile the evil they're facing is.
JANE: We need to open their eyes for good. No more atrocities. Ever.

Behind them is the chest filled with clothes belonging to a diverse group of trolls. Clothes belonging to Harry and Vrissy. He can't lose sight of that.

But what can he do, realistically? He's just some boy. Just the spineless offspring of the most evil person on the planet. Power's never been something he's been able to touch, no matter how much everyone's always tried to help him assert himself in whatever tiny way they could. Hell, Vriska gave him his very own strife specibus, and not even that's enough to give him the courage to act.

He feels miserable. He feels helpless. Playing along is the only option in front of him. As always, the idea that Tavros Crocker could be anything more than what he has always been is laughable.

TAVROS: Of course,,,, mother,
TAVROS: And what are, the conditions, of this press broadcast,
TAVROS: I only wonder because,, nuseattle being the apparent ruin that it is,, makes it hard to consider,, from where we will be doing this,,
JANE: There's no need to worry about that. We've picked out a safe location away from the rabble. Your life will be safely in my hands the entire time, darling.

He takes it as a threat. He wonders if she means it as a threat. Surely she must have thoughts on his week-long defection, no matter how much she tries to plaster over it. Inside, she must surely loathe him. Jane Crocker has never forgiven anyone for anything. Why ever would she start with the son she loved so much as to leave to the whims of a repulsive clown with zero impulse control?

Tavros switches thought tracks. This is not the time or the place to tempt a flashback. Even if her hands caressing his head are twigging off some pretty horrible sensory memories. Gamzee must be a thing he refuses to unpack until five, ten years down the line, where there's enough physical and temporal distance for him to safely fall apart.

TAVROS: W,
TAVROS: When, precisely, shall we be engaging in this media affair,,
JANE: Not immediately. We need to build the set, fly the distance, and make ourselves presentable for the cameras.
JANE: How long has it been now since you've seen a groomer, Tavros?

The voice that retorts in his head sounds so much like Vriska's it takes all his strength not to cough out a nervous hysterical laugh.

Jane finally takes her hands off him and steps back towards the door. She eyes him up and down, appraising him like a cut of meat. His clothes are his own, hair somewhat unkempt. He suddenly burns with shame.

JANE: Spin for me. I need to see how much damage spending time with that savage of a father has done to you.
TAVROS: Y, yes, of course,

Slowly, super slowly, Tavros makes a clockwise rotation. He turns away from his mother at an agonising pace, gradually shuffling around until his back is to her, and he is once again facing the screens. He's going slowly enough she doesn't seem to notice when his gaze lingers on the footage.

There are a bunch of smoking holes in the sides of the moonbase. The interior feed shows, for a fleeting second, Harry and Vrissy sprinting alongside a group of trolls who are unfamiliar to him. A flash of movement on the outside. Vriska in her god tier apparel darting after something moving so quickly it only registers as a silver blur.

His friends. Alive and fighting. Tavros swallows. He completes his rotation, once more coming face to face with his mother. Her brows are furrowed. She says nothing for a good while.

JANE: ...Better than I thought. Not that that says much, given my expectations were literally in the garbage.
TAVROS: I,,
JANE: You still vaguely resemble a human being, Tavros. That's good.
TAVROS: Th,, thanks,,
JANE: Why, a little work, and I think we can pull Tavros Crocker out of that scruffy hole once more! :B
TAVROS: ,,,

That statement... dislodges something congested inside him. There's been a bone-heavy discomfort around him all his life, one that he's never been able to articulate, even to himself. All it takes is one glib comment to cement the truth to the name of the shackle clinging to his neck: inhabiting the puppet identity of Tavros Crocker is slowly killing him from the inside out. Being the heir to Earth C's worst megacorporation, being named after the two objects of a putrid clown's sexual desires... whoever Tavros Crocker is meant to be, it's not him.

This revelation both simplifies and complicates so much. He's slipped enough out of the Crocker brand gravitational orbit that it gives him the chance to be someone else, something outside of Jane Crocker's iron grasp. What that really, truly means in the long run... he cannot say. He only knows what he knows right now, and that's that he no longer has to be Crockercorp's simpering little heir, a pathetic joke of an existence. A joke nobody laughs at, just chains and guidelines constricting him tighter and tighter.

JANE: But yes, you'll do.
JANE: Come Tavros, we have so much work ahead of us.

She extends her hand towards him, mouth open in a facsimile of a smile, the gaping blood-soaked maw of an animal that has only ever known how to rend.

He knows what Tavros Crocker would do. Tavros Crocker would wring his hands in guilt, too paralysed by fear to take action. Tavros Crocker would burn with shame for turning his back on his friends, then step in line with his mother. He would leave his friends for dead, and maybe his inaction truly would cement their doom. Tavros Crocker would, in the interest of a conditioned survival instinct, shuffle his way right onto the post-revolution chopping block.

But he doesn't have to be Tavros Crocker. If the last few days of dizzying freedom has taught him anything, it's that. He doesn't have to bow to the narrative dictates imposed upon him if he doesn't want to. He doesn't have to march to anyone's beat but his own. He can be whoever, whatever, however he wants to be.

He does not have to be Jane Crocker's fucking puppet.

TAVROS: ,,,
TAVROS: ,,,
TAVROS: ,,,No,,

Growing up, he always heard stories of what a terrible influence Vriska Serket was on her peers. He's beginning to doubt the authenticity of those claims, not when she's shown him the infinite power that comes with defining yourself on your own terms.

JANE: Beg pardon?

Jane's smile curdles like milk under the sun. A vein bulges out of her pretty, immaculate forehead.

TAVROS: I said,,, no,
JANE: I must be hearing things, because there's no way on this wonderful earth that you'd be throwing my kindness in my face like that, Tavros.
JANE: You misspoke. I can't hear properly over the roar of this engine. Go on. Clarify for me.
TAVROS: I won't,,
JANE: I said.
JANE: Clarify for me.

She leaps forward and seizes his wrists with her hands. She latches on with all the strength of a god emboldened by the vigour of Life itself. Pain splinters from his bones up through to his tendons. He does not cry out. He does not blink. He does not flinch.

TAVROS: No,
TAVROS: I,, i am done with you, mother,,
TAVROS: You hurt people,, kill people,, all on a sick whim,
TAVROS: And i won't,
TAVROS: I won't ever stand by you again,
TAVROS: You, you're evil, you're an evil woman,
TAVROS: And, i, i,,, you cannot force me to go along with what you want,
TAVROS: I refuse,
JANE:
JANE:

Her grip gets tighter. Bones clench and creak. He can't tell whose. Fear like no other whirls around inside his body, every instinct screaming at him to retract and lean into her, to beg for forgiveness and for his safety, for her to please let him continue being Tavros Crocker.

He thinks he's done with safe. Safe is poison. Safe is complicity. No more. No more.

JANE: So, this is what you think the rebels can offer over me?
JANE: Insipid, worthless teenage rebellion? Tavros, I am disappointed with you.
JANE: I know you inherited your father's utter lack of cognitive functions, but not even you can be as stupid as to think I'm the bad option here.
JANE: Those insects will cannibalize you wholesale the second it suits the mood of their disgusting little war. They don't love you. They don't care about you. Not like I do.
JANE: I'm the only person who's ever been there for you. I'm the only reason you even have the capacity to perform this little tantrum.
JANE: Above all else, I am your mother.
JANE: So don't you think for one fucking second that you have the right to betray me.

She's all but screaming in his face by the end of it. Her cheeks are flush with heat and fury, spittle flying from her crimson lips across his glasses. He still doesn't budge.

Jane Crocker removes one hand from his wrist, and flings it towards his head in a strike somewhere between a slap and a punch.

It doesn't connect. Before she can even get close, he's already reached for his strife specibus. Twin hydraulic streams of Faygo catch her square in the chest. Jane Crocker flies, wide-eyed and indignant, right across the room. Her back slams against the wall and she slumps to the floor in a soggy heap.

He stands looking at her, breathing through the adrenaline and terror.

TAVROS: I am going to save my friends,
TAVROS: Do not try to stop me,

Jane roars so viciously it sounds more like she's gargling on her spit. She begins to stumble to her feet, ice-blue eyes fixed on him with a depth of fury the likes of which he has never witnessed. He keeps the metaphysical soda bottles aimed at her and makes slow, shuffling steps towards the door.

At the exact same time, another woman's rage sets the sky below on fire. The ensuing inferno and explosion rocks the ship something fierce. Jane crashes back to the floor. The boy that was once her son does not. It's that simple.

TAVROS: Goodbye,
TAVROS: I hope we never meet again,

Then he's running through unsteady hallways towards the main command centre, never feeling so terrified and alive as he does right now. She will be following him, no doubt. He doesn't have much time.

Nobody pays any notice to him as he bursts onto the main deck, too caught up in the chaos of Rose Lalonde's firestorm of righteous fury, save for one figure. Amira, miserably pretending to focus on her computer screen, immediately notices his entry.

AMIRA: tavros.
TAVROS: Amira,
AMIRA: where's madam president?
TAVROS: No doubt, she will be here shortly,

She goes to question that statement, but something in his eyes makes her reconsider.

TAVROS: This is urgent, amira,
TAVROS: I need two things from you,
AMIRA: everything that happens in here requires authorization from the president--
AMIRA:
AMIRA: okay. okay what is it.
TAVROS: First, i must know,
TAVROS: Does this ship still have a transportalizer link, with the studio l moonbase,
AMIRA: i
AMIRA: we shut down the primary transportalizer when we retrieved you, but we kept the secondary transportalizer link online for personnel.
AMIRA: the pad on the basement floor opposite the escape pod bay links with the secondary bay at the back of the mothership.
TAVROS: Perfect,

He spins his head behind his shoulder. The door remains closed. The rumbling is beginning to abate. He's measuring the time until Jane's arrival in seconds, not minutes.

It's obvious to hell to anyone with working senses that he's doing something he shouldn't, but Amira goes along with it anyway, pained as it seems to be for her. He doesn't think he'll ever be able to repay her what she's owed for helping him out.

AMIRA: what else?
TAVROS: I need to know which computer, has a direct microphone link, with the intercom system on studio l,
TAVROS: Please,
AMIRA: ...

Amira swallows. This is treason, heavy treason and they both know it. He wonders if he's pushed her too far, but she schools her expression and points to the large monitor setup she was just sitting at.

AMIRA: central terminal. video link went down just before the second explosion, so no visual on the situation.
AMIRA: mics are still live for now, though.
TAVROS: That's all i need,
TAVROS: Thank you, amira,
AMIRA: don't.
AMIRA: i can't begin to atone enough to earn anyone's gratitude.
AMIRA: now go. you won't be able to do whatever it is you want to do once the president gets here. i can't stop her, so be quick.
TAVROS: Of course,

He gives a timid smile before he rushes towards the computer terminal. Amira doesn't return it, but she lets him go. He can't ask for more than that.

Once he reaches the terminal, a young man working the adjacent computer tries to stop him.

ROSS: Hey, what are you--
TAVROS: Official urgent crockercorp business please defer all queries to president jane crocker, thank you for your understanding,

That shuts the drone up. Enough, at least for him to leave who he sees as Tavros Crocker to his official duties.

The boy who was once Tavros reaches for the intercom button with trembling hands. He glances up at the screen and sees nothing but static, like Amira said. He has no clue what's going on up there, knows there's a time delay between Earth C and the moon, but still has to hope for the best anyway. This is the only chance any of them will get.

The light on the mic turns green. He leans in, body taut like a rubber band ready to snap, and speaks:

TAVROS: HARRY, VRISSY, VRISKA, ANYBODY ELSE WHO IS POSSIBLY STILL ALIVE TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE,
TAVROS: LISTEN TO ME, THERE'S A WAY OFF THIS MOONBASE,
TAVROS: AN ACTIVE TRANSPORTALIZER, ON THE OTHER END OF THE BASEMENT, TO THE ESCAPE PODS,
TAVROS: THIS IS YOUR ONLY WAY OUT, I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG FOR,
TAVROS: I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE,
TAVROS: PLEASE, HURRY,

The workers around him stare at him. Amira stares at him. Dumbfounded awe fills the room. He does not care in this present moment.

The automatic door in the back begins to rattle open. He turns and sprints for the secondary transportaliser bay and prays it's not too late.

Chapter 44: FOUR, section vii.

vii.

DIRKBOT: You're growing tired, Serket.

Dirkbot slashes out with his katana. Vriska parries with her own sword, trying to knock it out of his robotic grip. It doesn't work. She barely has the strength to keep up with his relentlessly efficient pace.

VRISKA: Shut the fuck up you over8earing psychotic heap of metal.

Vriska ducks back. Dirkbot swings forward. His blade, the hilt, and half of his arm pile through the wall. He retracts it with a metallic whir and swings a punch with his other arm.

It clocks Vriska across the jaw. She corkscrew spins through the hallway, reorienting herself after a few seconds. Her wings beat in tandem with her pusher. Sweat begins to break out on her brow.

It's now incredibly apparent that up until now, Dirkbot was merely toying with her. This is what the machine is really capable of, a gilded automaton bent on murder. A crooked smile breaks out across Vriska's lips. It's been too long since she's had a real fight like this, down and dirty like something raw and feral.

She rolls her dice. They ricochet off the walls as Dirkbot dives to close the gap between them. He runs right into a FIST OF TOTAL FURY which smacks him skyward with supreme prejudice. He goes rattling through the ceiling, smashing his way up to the top floor of the moonbase. Vriska sets herself on the ground, panting for breath, waiting for his retaliation.

When it doesn't immediately come, suspicion creeps over her. She clutches her sword tighter and cranes her neck to look up through the hole. She sees nothing. Her sweat runs cold. What the hell could he--

WARNING: ALL SUPPORT CABLES INACTIVE. MOONBASE EJECTION IMMINENT. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.

Everything lurches with a violent, bursting groan. Vriska is thrown against the wall as the building leans forward by forty-five degrees. Her head slams against the red metal. She almost loses grip on her weapon.

VRISKA: F8CK!!!!!!!!

Both rage and panic wash over her as she repositions. The ground beneath her feet is unsteady. Gravity feels off in the worst possible way.

He's done something really terrible. That fucker's playing dirty.

Some sixth sense suddenly screams at her. Vriska zips out of the way just in time for Dirkbot to crunch in through the wall, blazing katana slicing at the space where her head had just been.

VRISKA: What the FUCK did you just do????????

Dirkbot shrugs his weird, freaky golden shoulders.

DIRKBOT: What I intended to do all along.
DIRKBOT: The moonbase is dislodged, bound for Earth C at terminal velocity. With any luck, this place will crash into the ocean. Worst case, some poor city down below is about to have a really fuckin' terrible day.
DIRKBOT: Either way, it doesn't matter. Everyone on board will be dead long before then.
VRISKA: What are you
DIRKBOT: Don't worry. Not like you're getting out of this one alive.
VRISKA: HEY!!!!!!!!

He turns around to make for one of the dozens of holes they've blasted through the infrastructure of this place. Vriska dives forward and grabs him by the ankle. He's a hulking mass of military grade metal, and she a young troll of flesh and bone, so she does very little to slow him down. But she does annoy him.

DIRKBOT: You really don't know when to quit, do you?

He stomps his other foot down on Vriska's wrist. The bone snaps like glass. Vriska howls in indignant fury. Half-delirious with agony, she still manages to toss her dice.

LETHAL HEALTHZONE.

An irradiated forcefield throws up around her. Dirkbot's chassis sizzles where it interacts with the glowing matter. Inside, something warm and tingly spreads across Vriska's injuries, smoothing them over. Vaguely she's reminded of the healing properties innate to some Sgrub sprites. It takes all of eight seconds for her to be fully healed back up.

The forcefield flickers out. Dirkbot rams Vriska down through the floor. She tries to slash at his newly-grown limbs with her sword but she doesn't even leave a dent. Then they're slamming down in another starting room, kicking up a cloud of dust on impact.

Vriska coughs on the floor, pushing past the burning scream in her muscles to try and stand. Dirkbot's in the corner of the room, eyes burning fiercely behind his shades, flickering at intervals. It almost looks like exactly how you'd imagine a pair of robot eyes to start doing an environmental scan.

She knows what he'll be looking for. She tackles him full-on. He doesn't topple over, but it breaks his concentration just enough.

VRISKA: Don't think you get to check out THAT easily.
VRISKA: What, it t8kes you more than five seconds to kill me so you run scared???????? Pretty weak shit if you ask me! :::;)
DIRKBOT: ...

His response is to launch his arms forward. Vriska goes to protect her throat, but that's not where he's aiming. She winces as she feels the burning hot metal pin her wrists to the side.

DIRKBOT: Can you please shut the fuck up. I'm working.
DIRKBOT: Your pissy voice is making this whole thing incredibly--
VRISKA: RAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGH

Vriska headbutts him. His limbs might be reinforced super material, but his head and torso are as they always were. She already knows it won't hurt him, but that's not what she's banking on.

Dirkbot reels back out of some trained deep-embedded human reflex. He lets go of her. Jackpot.

Vriska leaps up into the air, wasting no time on swinging her sword down with one hand and tossing her dice with the other. Dirkbot comes up to parry the blow at the same time that the dice hit the ground.

She's too busy straining with the exertion of holding Dirkbot's weapon to see the precise roll, but suddenly they're both being blasted up to the building's top floor.

Dirkbot spins somewhere unseen in the chaos, while Vriska hits the floor in front of a huge window, through which she can see the rapidly growing form of Earth C. Each wall around her is fitted with a similar window. This place must be some sort of observation deck from the looks of things.

On the other side of the room, she sees Earth C's moon, drawing further and further away from them at an alarming pace. A thrill of fear washes through her. Dirkbot wasn't bullshitting.

The robot jumps her from above, dropping from the ceiling in a downward swing that takes a solid chunk of flesh off of Vriska's torso. She yelps in pain and uses the momentum to wrestle Dirkbot to the floor. She's bleeding, she's sweating, her body's screaming at her, she's at her fucking limit, but she has to keep going, until... until...

She realises she does not have a plan for how to get out of this one. This is, of course, a very terrible thing, made worse by the fact that every second she spends trying to take this asshole out is one she doesn't have to work on a solution.

She has to do something, anything, before--

ALERT: ACCESS TO ESCAPE POD BAY DENIED. AUTHORIZED CLEARANCE NEEDED TO PROCEED.

VRISKA: Oh fuck.

Then things get a hell of a lot worse. Dirkbot's eyes flash with realisation at the same time as it dawns on Vriska. Fear and hope both swell and constrict in her throat.

Dirkbot does some hard to follow flashstep out from under her. Vriska leaps to her feet. Sees him standing by the hole in the ground. Charges him against all better knowledge, against all instinct, she's rushing like a six-sweep-old jousting flarper, but she has to stop him, she has to--

With a predictable flourish of cosmic irony, Dirkbot rips the sword from her grasp, flips it around, and stabs it clean through her torso. Vriska gives a mute gasp as blood dribbles to the floor. Then, with a well-placed kick, Dirkbot throws her against the wall. The sword pins her to the surface like an insect.

DIRKBOT: Don't move.
DIRKBOT: I got some new business to take care of. Then we can get this shit done.
DIRKBOT: Later, bitch.

Dirkbot hops down the hole. Vriska's vision is blurry and the blood loss is making her woozy, but above all else what stings the most is failure, that some loser asshole piece of fucking shit cringe ass manipul8ing mother f8cker has 8ested her like she's still on Alternia and nothing's changed, nothing has ever changed

Something deep inside her breaks. Body trembling, roaring loud enough to tear her throat clean in two, Vriska Serket snaps in a palpable pulse of fury so powerful and so vicious that she sends the narrative tailspinning down to the bottom level of this metoric building, where

HARRY: what the hell do you mean the escape pod bay needs authorized clearance????
VRISSY: Exactly what I Just Fucking Said! Read the Displ8y!

Vrissy forcibly tilts Harry's head to stare at the screen in front of the sealed doors marked ESCAPE POD BAY. True to her snippy and desperate words, it does indeed say that advanced clearance is needed to proceed.

BURNEI: Well fuck. Wh&t the hell do we do now.
AQUINI: we'll have to go back, hope to [HELL] that one of those dead guys has a keycard or [SOMETHING].
GALIOS: d֍ we g֍t the time f֍r s֍mething like that?
FELLNA: > [S] What? ==>
GALIOS: this thing'll hit the planet in a few minutes. if we're n֍t ֍n ֍ne ֍f th֍se p֍ds by then we ain't getting ֍ut alive.
HARRY: shit. shit.

She watches the squabble unfold with a foreign twinge of pain across her skull. Enfuir Lismet, despite the circumstances, is bearing the brunt of the frantic visions of a psychically supercharged teenager remarkably well.

She knows what must be said and done to get them all killed, knows that she cannot be the one to hand them the solution. Six floors above, death rattles down towards all of them with the coldness of inevitability.

Enfuir's almost certain what comes next won't be pretty.

VRISSY: Yeah, 8ut at any point did we actually See a keycard or anything that would Indic8 that such a system even exists?
AQUINI: that's
BURNEI: So wh&t then? How the hell do we get through? BL&ST the door down??? Bec&use if we dont h&ve time to look for & c&rd we sure as shit dont
VRISSY: AAGH! Guys This Is Really Not Helping!!!!!!!!

Vrissy pulls at her hair, exasperated and exhausted. Enfuir's heart twinges with sympathy. The clunking grows louder. In no time at all it will be louder than the constant screaming of a million sirens and alarms letting everyone know just how boned they are.

Galios clears his throat, takes a step forward. Enfuir's headache spikes a little. She breathes out in relief. Galios has to be the one to say it. It's the only way.

GALIOS: hey, just thinking al֍ud here, but...
BURNEI: But?
GALIOS: what if we've already g֍t the means t֍ get thr֍ugh?
BURNEI: Seriously wh&t the fuck &re you t&lking &bout.
GALIOS: call it a hunch. but...

He walks up to the screen, arm extended. He places his wristband against the panel. A flash, a beep, and the screen goes green.

ALERT: CLEARANCE PROVIDED. ACCESS TO ESCAPE POD BAY GRANTED.

BURNEI: W&it. But... how the fuck???

The doors slide open. Galios's expression is flat.

GALIOS: bef֍re he died, r֍dhim gave a psi֍nic pulse. any ֍f y֍u n֍tice that?
HARRY: well, yeah. it was literally as the robot was... yeah.
VRISSY: So it Meant something?
GALIOS: pulled a similar trick back during ֍ur pris֍n ֍verthr֍w.
GALIOS: guy was an insanely acc֍mplished psi֍nic. was great at manipulating digital data signatures t֍ whatever the fuck we needed at the time.
FELLNA: > So you're saying that... ==>
GALIOS: yeah. he implanted a psychic c֍de that turned these wristbands int֍ skelet֍n keys.
GALIOS: dunn֍. guess it was his way ֍f at֍nin'. ֍r maybe just his desire t֍ get ֍ut ֍f here made manifest.
GALIOS: wh֍ can say. he's dead n֍w.
BURNEI: No. W&it. Th&ts ins&nely stupid & m&kes no sense!
VRISSY: Who Cares? It worked, didn't it????????
BURNEI: ...
GALIOS: anyway. we sh֍uld pr֍bably m֍ve.
GALIOS: d֍n't get the sense there's much time left.

Galios charges on through the doorway. The others follow hot on his feet. Fellna brings up the rear, alongside a pensive-looking Aquini. The entire building screams and groans as they move.

AQUINI: enfuir, you've been kind of quiet.
ENFUIR: xX yeah i have Xx
AQUINI: weird. you've been taking charge this entire time so far.
ENFUIR: xX i dont think i could have resolved that dispute any faster so i kept quiet Xx
AQUINI: yeah, ok, i can get that. just...
AQUINI: you've been having these visions, right? about the future? about how things will turn out?
ENFUIR: xX yeah i guess thats one way of saying it Xx
AQUINI: only... the last little while, you've had this really [DAMN HEAVY] look about you.
ENFUIR: xX i have? Xx

She keeps her expression, her breathing, perfectly level. Aquini almost looks on the verge of tears.

AQUINI: so, i dunno. might be the wrong thing to ask right now, but...
AQUINI: we're all gonna be ok, right?
ENFUIR: xX ... Xx
AQUINI: enfuir?

Before Enfuir Lismet can be forced to answer, an explosion fifty feet back and two floors above draws the attention of the narrative focaliser, sucked in by the magnetic force of a second event of immense gravitas, both great and horrible in its implications.

All eyes on Vriska once more.

Blazing with immense power and literal fury, Vriska Serket drives the sword slick with her own blood clean into the side of the robot containing a soulclone of Dirk Strider. The impact knocks him off course, so much that he crashes a clean hole into the wall rather than land with pinpoint precision atop the band of prisoners engaging in desperate flight.

She is past the point of language, past the point of anything more cohesive than murder. She's been fucked around by this universe and its people for far too long. Enough is fucking enough.

Dirkbot starts blasting lasers at her, impatiently aware that the more he's held up here, the higher the chance of his greater objective ending in abject failure. For reasons too inscrutable to fathom by any outsider looking in, this can never be allowed to happen.

Both Vriska and Dirkbot think the same thought at roughly the same time: the other must die, and they must die now.

Dirkbot drops a bomb. Vriska throws her dice. The room is eclipsed by a cloud of irradiated smoke so corrosive both only remain standing by a force of will so sheer the rules of this story bend to their demands.

Vriska knows that this will not have killed Dirkbot, surely as Dirkbot must know this will not have killed Vriska. That is fine. Whatever it takes to keep him fixated on her.

She knows her importance, knows the way events and points of view stick to her like moths to a flame. So long as she keeps this up, burns her importance so brightly that none can look away, then she has this won.

VRISKA: YOU WANT TO K8LL ME????????
VRISKA: THEN ********8RING IT MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!!!********

Dirkbot shoots something at her. Vriska bends the forces of luck to prevent it from doing little more than scratching her. She retaliates with a blind dice throw into the smokescreen. A spire of green flames wraps itself around Dirkbot, clenching tighter and tighter.

It doesn't contract fast enough. Dirkbot, annoyed and a little bit desperate, triggers his fire extinguishing system. Twin jets of water choke the flames out, freeing him to drop to the floor. He draws his soulblazing katana, angles it at where his cogitations and telemetry tell him Vriska's heart will be, and flings it.

A fortuitous gravitational distortion causes the entire moonbase to tilt twenty degrees to one side. Vriska falls with it. The sword misses. She lunges and grabs it, falling to the floor as she dual wields two swords that are both literally on fire, one magenta and one cerulean. Colours and shadows dance the lengths of the room, drawing to mind something of greater cosmic import than this little dystopian scuffle.

The fight rages on. Vriska rushes Dirkbot. Dirkbot parries with his arms. He swings out a kick in a low sweep. Vriska hops up, carries the momentum to plant her own boot in his chest. He grabs her ankle with his hand. Throws her like a frisbee. The katana flies from her hands. Dirkbot grabs it. Vriska hits the floor. Spins and clatters. Chokes on the fumes. Braces herself for the agonising blow of a robot overcome with fury.

Waits. Waits. The blow doesn't come.

Vriska blinks. She sits upright.

VRISKA: What the????????

No response comes. She stands to her feet and drops her dice, triggering a THOROUGH DEMISTING. The smoke clears, revealing a room that is devoid of anyone else.

Her pusher sinks somewhere deep. Panic bubbles on her tongue like foam.

VRISKA: Oh fuck no.

She hops through the hole in the floor faster than the narrative can follow, letting it float freely back to its second point of orbit, where it sees

GALIOS: yeah. first p֍d g֍t damaged during the m֍֍nbase ejecti֍n i think.
HARRY: shit.
BURNEI: &re the two pods enough to get us &ll out of here?
VRISSY: The Esc8pe Pods have four seats Each, and there are 8 of us on 8oard, so... yes, 8arely.
VRISSY: How are we deciding Who Goes Where?
GALIOS: enfuir and her buddies can take ֍ne.
GALIOS: i'll ride with y֍u guys and vriska.
HARRY: but... vriska isn't here yet.
GALIOS: it's fine. i d֍n't mind waiting.
GALIOS: n֍w c֍me ֍n. let's prep these things.

Galios Mutgar presses down on a control panel in the escape pod bay, a large room at the end of a winding series of corridors. Where there aren't escape pods, there are glass doors looking out into the void of space, and the encroaching form of Earth C. It is a sight that carries with it a touch of oblivion.

Enfuir rubs at her temple as the lights above the only two active pods flash green. She looks behind her at the hallway leading out. By some miracle, the ceiling of this room is reinforced enough that neither Vriska nor Dirkbot have been able to crash through, giving this place essentially only one entrance, and one reusable exit.

There are no transportalisers in this room. This is a fact that has escaped nobody's notice.

GALIOS: hitting the engagement activati֍n butt֍n n֍w.
GALIOS: ejecti֍n in t minus tw֍ minutes.
GALIOS: y֍u guys will wanna get ready to m֍ve.

Burnei is the first through the unlocked door into the escape pod. Aquini follows him, then Fellna. Enfuir stands in the middle of the room, looking at Galios by the control terminal, and Harry and Vrissy by the door to the second escape pod. She breathes, slow and heavy.

HARRY: go on, enfuir. we'll be right behind you. don't worry.

Harry Anderson Egbert flashes her an uneasy smile that betrays how little he is taking for granted his own chances of survival. Vrissy nods in accord, her body tense as a drawn spring.

Enfuir turns away from the pair and takes deliberating steps towards the pod containing her friends. Something grim and massive weighs heavy on her chest. She puts one hand on the door and looks over to Galios. He gives her a small salute. She feels like crying.

The space behind her eyes is on fire. She's had enough time to prepare, but she's still in no way ready for what is about to come next.

FELLNA: > Enfuir: Hurry. ==>
FELLNA: > We need to be gone before this thing gets too close to Earth C. ==>

Fellna is strapping herself in to one of the four available seats. Aquini and Burnei take the two across from her, hand in hand. They're nervous, but they're burning with desperate hope.

Enfuir's voice cracks when she speaks.

ENFUIR: xX you guys will make it Xx

Aquini looks at her, raises an eyebrow.

AQUINI: well, yeah. you too, enfuir.
AQUINI: we're all gonna get out of this [TOGETHER]. things will be--

Vriska Serket's enraged, desperate scream rings out from somewhere unseen. Enfuir's chest tightens.

GALIOS: hey, what was that.

Something thuds terribly and aggressively several times over. Enfuir closes her eyes and permits herself a single shudder, then tamps her fear down somewhere she won't feel it.

HARRY: hey, i think that might be...

Four seconds before Vrissy will see the glint of silver and gold at the far end of the hallway and give a surprised and terrified shout, Enfuir takes two steps away from the escape pod door. Her friends look at her, perplexed and not realising.

There is an emergency manual eject button on the wall next to the door. Enfuir slams her palm down on the red button with enough force that pain shoots through her wrist and up her elbow.

From behind her, a shout rings out.

VRISSY: Oh SHIT
VRISSY: I Think That's

Aquini is the first to realise, leaning forward against his seat buckles.

AQUINI: enfuir, what the fuck are you

ALERT: EMERGENCY JETTISON OF ESCAPE POD 2 INITIATED

In a silent pop, the escape pod containing Burnei, Aquini, and Fellna detaches itself from the moonbase with anticlimactic ease, where it will eventually land in the ocean just off the coast of the Human Kingdom.

Enfuir permits herself one final glance at the faces of her closest friends, masks of grief and terror that slowly shrink to nothing, but not before they will bear helpless witness to horrors they will never recover from.

ALERT: EMERGENCY JETTISON OF ESCAPE POD 2 COMPLETE

Galios turns to her, eyes wide.

GALIOS: enfuir, the hell did y֍u
ENFUIR: xX there was no time Xx

The way she says it shuts up whatever pitiful rebuttal he was going to give her. She massages the space between her horns. Fuck, her head hurts so much.

But she is not afraid. She will not be afraid.

Dirkbot charges into the room, battered chassis burning with bizarre fire, the metal splattered with Vriska's blood. He points his katana square at the four survivors left aboard the moonbase.

DIRKBOT: You've all had your fun, but this ends here.
DIRKBOT: You guys gotta go, and you gotta go now.
DIRKBOT: For reasons I'm not going to bother explaining to you NPCs, it's of utmost importance that you're all dead before you can have any bearing on cosmic schemes wider and more important than all of you put together.
DIRKBOT: Obviously you realize by now that I was never actually gonna let anyone survive this execution, so let's get this over with.

Before he moves, Galios barks out a defiant laugh.

GALIOS: t֍֍ late, m֍therfucker.
DIRKBOT: What?
GALIOS: first escape p֍d's already g֍ne. y֍u ain't able t֍ get all ֍f us.

He strides forward, drawing a traditional ornate Subjugglator's club.

GALIOS: fuck y֍u and FUCK y֍ur plans.
DIRKBOT: Oh, you're a real
GALIOS: ENFUIR, HARRY, VRISSY, GET THE M֍THER FUCK ֍UTTA HERE RIGHT N֍W!!!!

He speaks with all the force that lifelong-honed chucklevoodoos can muster. The words imprint themselves as a command in Enfuir's head too blatant to be ignored. She finds herself taking steps towards the hallway against her will.

DIRKBOT: Oh, that's not gonna

Dirkbot doesn't finish. Galios brings his club down in a rough swing, conking him right across the head. Dirkbot crumples to the floor from the force of the impact. Galios turns to face the others, eyes burning a fierce purple.

GALIOS: M֍VE!!!!!

Harry and Vrissy start sprinting for the exit, then stop themselves once they shake free of the command.

HARRY: you can't take him! you need to move too!
GALIOS: g֍d fucking DAMN IT, I AM BUYING Y֍U GUYS TIME! G֍!!!!!!!!
ENFUIR: xX hes right Xx
ENFUIR: xX you need to move right now if you want to live Xx
HARRY: fuck! fuck!!!
VRISSY: Come On, Then!

Vrissy realises first, the subconscious imprint of the initial premonition guiding her. She takes Harry by the hand and they bolt out into the hallway.

Enfuir stops in the doorway and turns to face Galios who stands over Dirkbot's collapsed form. Tears spring in the corners of her eyes despite her attempts to fight it.

ENFUIR: xX you have enough time Xx
ENFUIR: xX you can run for it Xx
ENFUIR: xX theres still a chance Xx
GALIOS: n֍, d֍n't think there is.
GALIOS: besides, if i'm g֍nna die, want it t֍ be with a g֍֍d ass view ֍f h֍me.

He motions his club towards the windows overlooking Earth C and the retreating escape pod. Enfuir starts to cry in earnest. She knew what he would say, but some part of her still had to try.

GALIOS: shit. this is the end ֍f the r֍ad, isn't it?
ENFUIR: xX yeah Xx
ENFUIR: xX im sorry Xx
GALIOS: h֍w l֍ng did y֍u kn֍w?
ENFUIR: xX since the start Xx
GALIOS: heh. can't imagine.
GALIOS: glad this all came s֍ suddenly t֍ me. d֍n't have the time t֍ sec֍nd guess.
ENFUIR: xX galios i am so sorry Xx
GALIOS: d֍n't be. it is what it is.
GALIOS: ֍nly regret is that i didn't get t֍ say g֍֍dbye t֍ kanira pr֍perly.
GALIOS: but she's str֍ng. she'll g֍ ֍n t֍ d֍ great things with֍ut me.

Galios closes his eyes and smiles the smile of one with no remorse left in their heart. Enfuir's headache reaches its crescendo.

GALIOS: he'll be up any sec֍nd n֍w.
GALIOS: best be ֍n y֍ur way.

Enfuir stays where she is, suspended in the doorway. Galios's eyes flicker with understanding in sync with the unheard sound of fate slotting into place.

ENFUIR: xX im not Xx
ENFUIR: xX this is where i Xx
GALIOS: ֍h. well. shit.
ENFUIR: xX ive known basically forever that this is where im gonna Xx
ENFUIR: xX fuck Xx
ENFUIR: xX nineteen years of knowing and im still not ready Xx
GALIOS: d֍n't think anyone ever can be.
ENFUIR: xX yeah well Xx
ENFUIR: xX here we are Xx

Before the sobs can tear themselves out her mouth, Enfuir reaches for her barrierkind strife specibus and blocks half the hallway with an impenetrable forcefield that bathes the room in lime light.

At the other end of the hallway, Harry and Vrissy notice the glow. They come to a stop, turn around, and head back towards the escape pod bay. They're unable to get past the forcefield. So long as Enfuir lives, none can pass.

Vrissy starts desperately pounding on the forcefield, fear and misery thick in her voice.

VRISSY: ENFUIR!!! ENFUIR HEY!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!!!
VRISSY: ENFUIR PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Enfuir doesn't reply, save to give a single miserable smile to the two kids. They don't realise their own importance. Nobody does, and nobody will for a long time yet. They must live to fulfil their purpose. So much depends on it.

Directly above them, the ceiling begins to rumble. She knows that it will be Vriska, desperately trying to punch her way into the escape pod bay. She will succeed, but not fast enough.

Dirkbot's limbs suddenly straighten out. He goes to leap up, but Galios throws himself on top of him before he can do so much as twitch. Dirkbot is immensely strong, but so too is Galios. Enfuir watches as the robot struggles under the grasp of the purpleblood, a desperate scrum bathed in green.

Galios manages to hold his own for a good thirty seconds. Then he rolls the wrong way, and that's all the opening Dirkbot needs to place a palm on his chest and blast a laser clean through his torso. Galios's face contorts with mute shock, and then he is dead.

With his free arm, Dirkbot grabs Galios by the scruff of the neck and flings him towards the last remaining escape pod. His body crashes through the door, into the pod, then out through the pod's window, spinning out into space.

ALERT: ESCAPE POD 3 FATALLY DAMAGED. NO ESCAPE PODS IN ACTIVE USE. PLEASE EVACUATE VIA THE CROCKERCORP TRANSPORTALIZER NETWORK.

Dirkbot rises. He fixes his eyes on Enfuir, burning with murder. Enfuir stands firm, defiant. She does not permit herself fear.

DIRKBOT: You two were ballsy motherfuckers, I'll give you that much.
DIRKBOT: Stupid as all hell for thinking you could stop me, but brave.

He leaps at her. She will not be afraid. She will not be afraid. She will not give him the satisfaction.

From behind, she hears the pounding of fists against forcefield, and Vrissy's screams.

VRISSY: ENFUIR NO!!!!!!!!

Enfuir falters, suddenly all too aware of her imminent fate. She lets out a desperate, terrified scream as Dirkbot closes the gap between the two of them.

At the other end of the room, Vriska Serket finally has the luck to burst through the ceiling. She falls into the room, notices the pool of purple blood, and sees Dirkbot inches away from Enfuir. She launches herself at the fray, but she will not make it in time.

Vriska still manages to reach them in a respectable three seconds. But it's not it enough. It was never going to be enough.

Dirkbot thrusts his fist forward, punching clean through Enfuir's ribcage. His metallic hand wraps around her exposed heart, and squeezes tight.

Enfuir's scream fades into a gurgle. The forcefield behind her collapses.

Vrissy howls.

VRISKA: FUCK!!!!!!!!

Vriska raises her sword, but Dirkbot swings out his free hand. His katana sucker-stabs her in the chest, killing her before her swing can even reach its apex.

DIRKBOT: Well, that's that, I guess.

Dirkbot retracts his arms, letting the two dead troll girls hit the floor. He fixes his gaze at the end of the hallway.

DIRKBOT: Two to go.

Harry and Vrissy scream.

Dirkbot makes a rush for them with such speed that the narrative itself is knocked from its comfortable position in section vii and is instead launched harshly and abruptly right into section

Chapter 45: FOUR, section viii.

viii.

Harry watches the three bodies fall in quick succession with a scream burning his airways raw. First Galios, then Enfuir. Then Vriska shows up, sucker-stabbed into another heap on the floor. At the other end of the hallway, the final functioning escape pod drifts purposefully towards the surface of Earth C.

Dirkbot stands in the middle of the splash of gore, eyes trained on him and Vrissy. The only two survivors left on board the freefalling moonbase. Harry feels the moment where the last vestiges of hope crumble into dust.

The robot begins to wipe the layer of cerulean blood off his blade. Vrissy takes advantage of the lull to pull Harry along by his hand, and suddenly they're both running again through blackened hallways only illuminated by the screaming of warning alarms.

Harry cranes his head back. He can't see anything. His feet pound against the floor. His chest burns with exertion. He knows it won't be enough.

HARRY: he's gonna kill us
HARRY: they're all dead.
HARRY: we are going to die
VRISSY: Less Moping, More Running!!!!!!!!

Vrissy grabs his hand harder, pulls them along faster. Harry barely feels present in his own body. He is only aware of the anguished desperation on Vrissy's face, and more vaguely, the murder robot coated in the blood of his friends pursuing them.

They round a corner, feet pounding as they exit back out into the surveillance room. The moonbase tilts further. Harry and Vrissy come out standing on the wall opposite the window. The bodies of the crew float in the low gravity. Harry's feet barely feel stable on the ground.

Vrissy runs a hand through her hair and lets out a shout.

VRISSY: Agh F8CK!!!!!!!! What do We Do What Do We DO????????

Her eyes are starting to glow a little again. This time, she seems to be taking it much better. She's about a million times more put together than Harry is who, in the name of total honesty, is still not over the shock of waking up in a death game.

One of the bodies slams against the window. The glass splinters. Cold terror shoots through Harry's body. He risks craning his head behind him.

At the other end of the hallway, barrelling down at bullet speeds, is Dirkbot.

HARRY: fuck. fuck he's coming.
HARRY: what do we do, he's gonna.
VRISSY: Jump!
HARRY: wait what???
VRISSY: Just Do It Right Now!!!!!!!!

He's too afraid and too tired to dare argue. When Vrissy leaps up, he follows suit. The lack of gravity lets them launch themselves straight up through the hole in the ceiling they initially fell down. It feels less like rising and more like swimming through thinned-down water. Harry's stomach flips as they rise one, two, three floors.

When they hit the democracy chamber, Vrissy swings them both to one side. They drift across the room until they bump into what from their perspective seems to be a wall. Harry thinks it's actually the room's ceiling. There's a torn chunk of ventilation shaft just inches away from his head.

After three seconds of Dirkbot not immediately materialising, Harry turns to Vrissy who balances on a more solid section of pipe.

HARRY: ok, now what?
VRISSY: I'm Trying To Figure That Out!
VRISSY: I had enough visions A8out This Scenario that I should 8e a8le to...
VRISSY: Shit I Can't Remem8er!

She's talking a hundred miles a minute. Harry leans over and puts a hand on her arm. She doesn't respond to the touch. He feels the need to do something, but he has no idea in hell what.

VRISSY: There's like a 8illion W8ys we can Die right now I Think and 8arely Any Outcomes where we Get Out Of Here Alive.
VRISSY: I'm Freaking Out Real 8ad Here, Harry. Everyone's dead, we're stuck on a moon8ase hurtling towards Earth C, and there's 8arely Any Air!

She waves a hand around at the smoke in the room. Harry notices a small hole out into space at the other end, wonders briefly why they've not all been sucked out yet, then realises more pressingly that this is the reason why the air feels so thin.

HARRY: so we need to get somewhere with more air then.
HARRY: with everyone else dead, and with a murder robot hunting us down.
HARRY: ok. ok. guess that's what we're working with here.

He feels like crying, like screaming. Life was so simple only a few days ago. He'd give everything just to go back to dealing with the awkward reunion of his estranged parents.

In the lull, cracks appear in the floor of the room in a rhythmic thud. Harry doesn't even let himself entertain the delusion that it could somehow be Vriska. It's obvious what this is.

HARRY: shit it's him.
HARRY: vrissy we need to move. where do we go.
VRISSY: I'm not sure, there's so many possi8le--
HARRY: i don't think we have the time to deliberate that so just go with what your gut says!
VRISSY: Ok, Fine! This Way!

Vrissy points down one of the hallways leading out of the room. Harry's so disoriented he can't tell which one it is. His sense of space is totally shot to shit.

Another crack in the ground. Vrissy throws herself down the hallway in zero-G freefall. Harry jumps after her. Behind him, something slams and crunches.

The hallway is looming, dark, and featureless, right up until it isn't. Harry almost screams when the floating mass of gold blood draws up towards them.

HARRY: oh fuck this is where lemnis
VRISSY: There's not much we Can Do A8out That.
VRISSY: 8r8ce yourself.

He covers his face with his hands as they drift through the blood. He feels it splash across his body, stick to his skin. He tries and fails not to start retching.

HARRY: oh god oh god this is fucked this is so super fucked
VRISSY: Tell me a8out it! At least I Saw this happening in Adv8nce!
HARRY: and urp
HARRY: does that make it any easier???
VRISSY: Not Really!

Harry, still protecting his face, does not get the warning when the stiff, cold touch of Lemnis's body scrapes against his shoulder. He lets out a shrill wail behind his hands until the gross sensation passes.

HARRY: this is hell. we're in hell. we're in hell.
VRISSY: Ok I Get That Harry, 8ut I need you to focus.
VRISSY: I Think there's a Hole in the Ceiling coming up. We Need to jump through that.
HARRY: seriously? what are we doing?
VRISSY: I don't Know! I'm just following what I Saw 8ecause what the Fuck is the alternative????????

No reply. They drift wordlessly for a few more moments, the only sounds around them the screaming of sirens, the hissing of steam, the slamming of Dirkbot somewhere unseen, and the lurching groan of the moonbase straining under its own unsupported mass.

They clear the blood a short while after. Harry tentatively removes his hands from his face, staring down numbly at the gold blood piled thick across the back of them. It leaves him floating there breathlessly, feeling more like he's in a slow-churning nightmare than anything else so far.

Vrissy slaps him across the face to catch his attention. He blinks at her, then at the hole perpendicular to their current orientation she's pointing at.

VRISSY: Through there. This Should give us a Clear Shot to the Top Floor.
HARRY: and why the hell are we going there?

As he talks, he desperately wipes his hands on any parts of his clothes not already bloodstained. It takes the worst of it off, but there's a gross viscous crust forming in the creases in his skin. If he gets out of this alive, he'll need a shower more than anything else in the world.

HARRY: the only way out was through the escape pods, or through those deactivated transportalizer pads, all of which were in the basement.
VRISSY: I know I Know I KNOW!
VRISSY: 8ut if we Don't Want To Die, this is where we Have to Go. It's the only Chance we have to Stop Dirk8ot!
HARRY: stop?? wait, vris, are you saying
VRISSY: Come on!!

He goes to argue, but something violent clanks at the other end of the hallway. Panic pushes him to follow Vrissy up through the hole. They pass through floor after floor, getting snapshots of the skeleton of a game planned to be larger and more esoteric than initially assumed, all the props wrecked and scattered around in the air.

Vrissy nearly floats straight into a stray knife. She bats it to one side. The blade somehow sticks in the metal wall against all obvious logic. Harry tries to make sense of what he can, and fails. Vrissy leans in to the faint pulse of pain in her head, desperately attempting to reactivate that which Enfuir dimmed for her own protection.

Then, all too quickly, they're on the top floor observation deck. They float in the middle of the room for a few seconds before the building lurches again, and gravity abruptly reasserts itself.

Vrissy lands on her feet. Harry lands on his ass atop an unhealthy spattering of cerulean blood.

HARRY: ow, fuck.
VRISSY: Whoa.

As Harry pulls himself upright, Vrissy takes a few stunned steps towards the nearest window. The encroaching form of Earth C totally eclipses the view from this side of the room. She can see a wall of blue ocean coming up to meet them more and more with every second. It is only through the window at the other end that she can see the expanse of space and the retreating shine of the moon.

They don't have long until this thing hits the planet. Everything is slipping closer and closer to the wire.

HARRY: holy shit.

Harry meanwhile, is back on his feet and also staring in awe and terror at the entire planet bearing down on them. He turns to Vrissy, shell-shocked and helpless.

HARRY: so now what?
VRISSY: I think...

Below, the rattling worsens. Vrissy pushes Harry back until they're both leaning against the planet-facing window. She reaches into her sylladex and pulls out her strife specibus in an uncertain motion. Harry blinks in terror when he sees the deck of cards in her hands.

VRISSY: I think we Fight.
HARRY:

Another hole rips up in the middle of the floor. Dirkbot rockets through, skidding across the floor, sword glinting and blazing. He comes to a stop and stares at the pair of them.

DIRKBOT: I know what you two are going to do.
DIRKBOT: Can't let it happen. Sorry, but that's just how

He doesn't get to finish. Vrissy tosses two cards. One hits the floor, the image of the Magician tarot card glowing with energy. The second, the eight of clubs, flings itself like a throwing star that gouges a chunk off of Dirkbot's shoulder.

Dirkbot tilts his head to assess the damage when the hyperpowered tarot card's power kicks in. The gravity in Dirkbot's half of the room suddenly inverts, sending him slamming against the ceiling with a sharp crunch.

Vrissy, trembling, pushes past the headache that wells up, noting with relief that it's not as intense as her first combat situation.

VRISSY: Fuck That! I'm not Dying here.
VRISSY: (harry, C'mon! get your Weapon Out!)
HARRY: um...!

Harry fumbles for his sylladex, totally unused to the abstraction. Eventually he retrieves his specibus, sheepishly holding the high tier needle and thread in one hand. Unlike before, the weapon is much larger, refitted for combat rather than healing purposes.

Harry Anderson Egbert has never engaged in a serious fight in his life. He is out of his depth, and terrified beyond the limits of his wits.

Above, Dirkbot stands. The damaged bit of shoulder sparks.

DIRKBOT: Should've figured you wouldn't make this easy.
DIRKBOT: Whatever. I have got this.

He launches himself up in the air, breaking through Vrissy's card-induced gravity distortion with ease. Harry's whole body tenses. The needle and thread fly forward, rushing to meet Dirkbot of its own accord.

Below, a god tier judgement clock ticks unheard. Once more, as it has been of late, it rules a neutral verdict. The Thief of Light's body is enveloped in an ethereal glow as unknowable cosmic arbiters grant her resurrection.

Vriska Serket gasps for air as she floats directionlessly in the wrecked escape pod bay. Adrenaline pumps through her, shortly followed by awareness. She takes in the ruined remains of the escape pods, and Enfuir's corpse bobbing against the ceiling like a dead fish.

This is a bad situation. The worst, even.

An explosion from the top floor makes her flinch. Bolts on the wall pop off as Earth C's gravitational pull grows stronger and stronger. There's barely any time left.

She takes off for the top floor in a hurry. One way or another, this has to end.

Back upstairs, Harry finds himself thrown against the window as his threadkind slices clean through the middle of Dirkbot's katana. It intersects with the Heart-Aspect energy burning through it, causing a particularly rough explosion that incinerates Vrissy's card and sends everyone flying.

He inches down the window back to the ground, head spinning and heart pounding. His needle and thread stitch up a cut that appeared across his forehead before he has time to really acknowledge the injury himself.

Dirkbot floats in the middle of the room, 1/2bladekind pointed straight down at Vrissy. Harry lets out a scream as Dirkbot flicks the severed bit of blade right at her.

Vrissy drops another card. The power boon from The Hanged Man glows around her. When the blade rushes to meet her, her body automatically dodges in a hard-to-follow somersault. The burning piece of metal clatters to the ground where it fizzles out.

Dirkbot throws himself at her. Vrissy dodges, again and again and again, body spinning and angling to get out of a sticky situation at the last possible minute.

VRISSY: Ha!
VRISSY: There's No W8y you can T8ke Me On, Sucker! ::::)
DIRKBOT: ...

Dirkbot tilts his head down, almost as if he's scanning the floor for something. Harry realises what the robot's doing with a shock of terror. While Vrissy cartwheels in elation, Harry makes a running dive across the floor to shield the card with his body.

Vrissy, meanwhile, flicks another two playing cards in Dirkbot's direction. They cut clean through the reinforced golden metal, exposing wiring that was never meant to be exposed. Dirkbot barely reacts, instead deciding to dive down to deliver a fatal blow to a vulnerable Harry.

VRISSY: NO!!!!!!!!

Panicking, Vrissy reaches for another tarot card. This time, she's granted with The Lovers. An energy field wraps around both Vrissy and Harry. When Dirkbot's blade connects with the field, it bounces off harmlessly.

HARRY: wh?

Harry stands. The card beneath him has dissolved.

Dirkbot goes for another swing. Vrissy watches with a shout. Harry brings up his thread to protect himself and leaps to one side. Dirkbot's blade, this time, makes it past the field and nicks Harry's side.

HARRY: ahhhHHHFUCK

He ducks down as he goes to repair his new injury. Vrissy goes to move towards him. Dirkbot intercepts her with a kick to the gut.

VRISSY: OOF

Vrissy spins out to the floor, sucking in for a breath that won't come. The energy field is still visible above her skin. It worked a second ago, so why... so why...

Dirkbot goes in for another blow. Harry dashes forward, throwing out his thread in a desperate attempt to protect Vrissy.

This time, the blade harmlessly bounces off Vrissy's body. She blinks in shock, forcing herself to roll out of the way before the next strike can land. Harry grabs her hand and helps her to her feet. She feels the hum of energy grow stronger between them.

Then she understands.

VRISSY: It's Mutual Protection!
HARRY: what???
VRISSY: So long as We're Protecting Each Other He Can't Hurt Us!
VRISSY: Whatever You Do Don't Stop Covering For Me!!!!!!!!
HARRY: shit, ok!!!

Harry tightens his grip on Vrissy's hand and sets the thread snaking around them in a defensive posture. Dirkbot tries to push through, but he can't get a hit in.

Vrissy flings another handful of razor-sharp cards at his chassis. Harry wields his thread like a whip. Deep scores are carved into Dirkbot where the thread lands. Their bodies are all ablaze with power.

For the first time, Harry allows himself to hope that there's a good way out of this.

Dirkbot leaps at them again. Harry's thread coils around Dirkbot's wrist in a loose knot, then tightens. The wire cleaves his right hand clean off. The appendage clatters to the floor, motionless.

HARRY: oh my god?????
DIRKBOT: Huh. Didn't know you could do that.
DIRKBOT: You weren't meant to be able to.
DIRKBOT: Well. Wouldn't be the first time I got some details wrong. Whatever.

From the hollowed hole of his right arm, Dirkbot extends the barrel of a laser cannon. The full force of the beam slams right into Harry and Vrissy. The forcefield holds, but the two of them are blown back against the wall. Neither dares let go of the other's hand. The window facing out towards Earth C splinters and cracks more and more.

HARRY: fuck!! what now!!!
VRISSY: I Don't Know! We Need To Get A Clear Shot In Somehow!
VRISSY: But I have no Idea how the fuck to 8ypass this deadly as Fuck Laser!
VRISSY: We Need... We Need...
VRISKA: RAAAAAAAAGH!

Vriska explodes up through the floor with such flare that it distracts Dirkbot for the briefest of moments. But it's enough.

Through a shared unspoken connection, the power flowing between Harry and Vrissy coalesces into a solid form, the palpable force of reality channelled into the shape forgotten by the universe, but deeply familiar to the multiverse.

STRING THEORY IN CRESCENDO

The Fraymotif expands in a ball of pulsating blue hues, before collapsing into the shape of a card lined with needle-thin spikes. The card's face shows an interlinking of two Skaian Aspects, familiar to everyone in the room but the two wielders.

In a motion faster than the flow of time itself, the Fraymotif rams into Dirkbot's body, blasting out in a million flashes of light. The chassis shatters like glass put through a cheese grater. Dirkbot's head comes flying clean off, rocketing up into the air.

At the same moment, the gravity in the moonbase dies again. Dirkbot's head is suspended mid-air, eyes blinking red behind his shades, as the waves of power burn off Harry and Vrissy. The two teens slump into each other from the force of the exertion.

Vriska, meanwhile, stares up at the head, and with an abrupt sense of purpose, realises what she must do.

She leaps up into the air and grabs hold of Dirkbot's floating head with both hands. The crackle of electricity stings her skin. The robot's eyes blink, but there's no other indication of activity left. To be honest, Harry and Vrissy's little power show came as a total surprise.

VRISKA: I said I was gonna kill you.
VRISKA: Now get the fuck outta here.

Vriska zips up to the window facing away from Earth C. She pulls her arms back, ready to fling the head forward in one fluid motion out into space where it will no longer be her concern, where it will vanish from sight until its true purpose can be fulfilled.

VRISKA: Wh...?

She pauses mid-air, eyebrows raised in puzzlement. Her thoughts rest funny as she stares at the head. She has no idea what will happen in the long term once she punts it out of the moonbase's window, and yet, she also does.

Except, that would be a lie. Vriska doesn't really know what will come from her actions here.

I do, though.

VRISKA: No.
VRISKA: Don't you fucking DARE

Tense up in rage all you like, Vriska, but you've forgotten a core tenet of this facet of reality. Without the foundations, your relevance and importance are little more than shadowplay on the musty unwashed walls of Plato's cave.

The moment you were claimed by the black hole, all of that was permanently lost to you.

VRISKA: W
VRISKA: That was YOU????????

Now, the understanding comes. A woman of action, perhaps, but not a woman of thought. It's funny, really. How someone like you thinks to carve a space in the life of a woman fluent in the intricacies of Mind--

VRISKA: Shut up. Shut the FUCK up.

Either way, I don't really give a shit. It was all superfluous goading to manipulate you into being at the right place at the right time. I'd say thank you, but you're really not worth it.

VRISKA: I'll kill you. I'll fucking kill you.

Cute.

Anyway, let's--

VRISKA: GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH

Vriska roars in uncontrollable fury and throws herself through the glass, lobbing the head out into the void. There is a brief window of time, a vignette where she and I are suspended a few feet above the looming, disintegrating mass of Jane Crocker's vanity project, miles above a planet at the crossfire of so many things, where we meet eyes in the breath of stillness amid the tempest.

I look upon Vriska, frozen in rage and desperation that all her worst fears are confirmed, once again an unwitting pawn in the schemes of greater actors so far removed from a world where things make sense to her. In the void, she cannot scream, cannot do little more than stare with dawning realization.

Gravity pulls her back down into the moonbase. Gravity pulls me out further beyond, to end up exactly where I need to be.

I look at Vriska one last time, and think:

Sucker.

And then she is back in the moonbase, and I am gone.

...

...

...

VRISSY: W8ke Up already, Vriska!!!!!!!!

Vriska snaps upright. She is not on the observation deck, not out in space with Dirkbot's voice whispering cruel things into her head. She is, instead, in the surveillance room on the basement level of the moonbase studio. All around her, the walls buckle and heave and groan and rattle. The air is thin, and getting thinner.

Harry and Vrissy stand over her, battered and bloody and exhausted.

VRISKA: What happened?
HARRY: you got knocked out cold after you blew a hole in the wall throwing the robot's head out into space.
HARRY: vris and i carried you down here. there's no air left in the upper floors.

As he speaks, there's a shallow pant to each of his words. Next to him, Vrissy massages a temple, looking out of the window that is now covered in an intricate spiderweb of cracks as the pressure mounts. Earth C is close enough that Vriska can now make out cloud formations and the shimmer of the upper atmosphere.

Tentatively, she places a hand on the floor. The metal is hot to the touch, and getting hotter.

VRISSY: This pl8ce is Gonna explode upon Entry, I think.
VRISSY: We Can't have much long Left now.
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: How long have I 8een out for?
HARRY: maybe, uh, half an hour or so? hard to keep track of time when everything is going to shit around you.

He looks miserable. The room is bathed in the glow of the planet that will eat this structure alive.

HARRY: we tried looking. there's no way off this place.
HARRY: you might be ok, because you're a god tier, but...
HARRY: yeah.

It doesn't need saying. Vriska understands perfectly. The re-entry into Earth C will be agonising and will likely kill her several times over, but she will eventually get up in one piece at the end of it. Harry and Vrissy's mortality hangs like a poison sucking out the use of the remaining air in the room.

VRISSY: I have No Idea what to do Now.
VRISSY: We're out of Choices, out of Options.
VRISSY: I Really Fucking Don't Want To Die.
VRISKA: You won't! I'll figure something out, I'll...

Vriska stands. The lack of oxygen goes right to her head. She nearly passes out again. She reassesses the situation, trying as hard as possible not to lose hope. There are screens in one corner of the room. Half of them are flashing with error messages, the other half dead and dark. The bodies of the guys she killed earlier are floating in the far corner of the room, deceased and useless.

There's the doorway to the escape pod bay, rendered worthless by the lack of escape pods. There's the hole in the ceiling, leading back up to airless ruin. And another door opposite the escape pod bay, leading back through a maze of stifling hallways and bullshit rooms designed for a game that has long since ceased to matter.

This is bad, actually. Really, incredibly fucking bad. Vriska looks at the kids in front of her. She has no idea how the fuck she's going to save them.

VRISKA: May8e... may8e there's something we missed. Things got pretty cr8zy 8efore we could properly investig8 this pl8ce.
HARRY: ...like what?
VRISKA: You know! A...
VRISSY: You don't have a Clue either Do You.
VRISKA: Shit. Well, no, I don't. 8ut I'm not giving up here!
VRISKA: Too much rides on us getting out alive. I am *not* failing after everything. I'm not!

Her rousing speech fails to re-spark the deadness behind Harry and Vrissy's eyes. They've had enough time looking over Vriska's unconscious form to realise that short of either something stupid or something miraculous, they are completely and totally doomed.

Vriska's smile falters. Out of nowhere, she feels her throat tighten and tears well up. It's not fair. It's not fair. After all this, after everything, she's gonna lose it all because of a shitty death game on a moonbase and some smart-ass robotic motherfucker who--

The speaker system, long forgotten by everybody on board both living and dead, suddenly crackles to life. Vrissy flinches. Harry's eyes widen. Vriska cranes her head up to the corner of the room with the desperation of a starved animal.

HARRY: was that

Something groans and bursts in a rather threatening way upstairs. The lull after the initial crackle is the longest, most terrible wait Harry and Vrissy have ever had to endure.

Then, the voice comes through, salvation from the least expected and least likely place imaginable.

TAVROS: HARRY, VRISSY, VRISKA, ANYBODY ELSE WHO IS POSSIBLY STILL ALIVE TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE,
TAVROS: LISTEN TO ME, THERE'S A WAY OFF THIS MOONBASE,
TAVROS: AN ACTIVE TRANSPORTALIZER, ON THE OTHER END OF THE BASEMENT, TO THE ESCAPE PODS,
TAVROS: THIS IS YOUR ONLY WAY OUT, I DO NOT KNOW HOW LONG FOR,
TAVROS: I WILL BE WAITING FOR YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE,
TAVROS: PLEASE, HURRY,

The speaker dies down again. Harry looks to Vrissy. Vrissy looks to Vriska. Vriska looks to the both of them.

Then, Harry barks out a hysterical laugh, tears running down his cheeks.

HARRY: ha! oh my god tavros! it's tavros!
HARRY: i forgot he was still out there! i should have known he'd come in clutch at the last minute!
HARRY: we're gonna be ok!!
VRISSY: Yeah, 8ut we don't Actually Know anything a8out--

Harry clings to the lifeline without thinking. Vrissy puts up a more sceptical front that is perfectly understandable given the circumstances. Vriska calculates as best she can how quickly she can get them all to this transportaliser, and how ready she can be to face whatever may await on the other side.

VRISKA: Hey, do either of you guys have any idea where this transportalizer's precise loc8tion is?
VRISSY: I don't know, Everything's 8een so--
HARRY: the map!!!
VRISSY: The Map?
HARRY: yeah! the map we looked at to find the escape pod bay.
VRISSY: 8ut the Computer is Dead, so how is that Gonna
HARRY: we don't need to check it! i looked at the whole basement floor before i showed it to you.
HARRY: there's a straight hallway that leads across the basement to a specially marked transportalizer.
HARRY: it was through... that door i think.

He talks fast, gasping for breath and dizzy from the adrenaline and the deoxygenation. He points with a trembling hand to the door nobody has yet been through, a door that ostensibly leads to a great number of unknowns.

VRISKA: Are you *sure* of this?
HARRY: well not a hundred percent, but it has to be that!
VRISSY: Or it could Get Us All Killed 8ecause we Don't Know anything a8out this place and how--

They both make good points, Vriska thinks, but then a deep crack rips across the floor and that forces the choice to be made for her.

VRISKA: Okay there's no time to argue we're going through that door and we're going NOW.
HARRY:
VRISSY:

Neither have time to argue. Vriska grabs both their hands and pulls them through the doorway. She flies down the hall, dragging the two of them behind her with more strength than she should have in this moment.

Behind them, the window finally shatters, sucking out the last of the air with alarming speed. Vriska keeps going, all her possibilities shrinking to this one chance, this one final dice roll. She has to believe they'll get lucky.

Or, no.

She makes her own luck. This will be okay. She refuses any other outcome the chance to manifest. None of them are dying here today.

Something bursts and pops. A chunk of the hallway suddenly bulges out, just barely avoiding catching Vrissy in the head. Unseen, chunks of the building are being torn off as the gravity and pressure grow stronger and stronger. The time left before they hit the atmosphere can be measured in seconds. Not knowing this fact is the only thing that gives any of them the strength to keep going on.

At the end of the hallway is a door. Through that door is a room, small and unassuming and featureless, save for the single glowing red transportaliser in the middle of the floor.

It's active. It's a way out. There's not telling where it might lead, but it doesn't matter. Vriska's crossed enough unknowable thresholds to know when to take a chance.

VRISSY: Oh my God, he
VRISSY: *coughgaspwheeze*
VRISSY: He was Right.

Vrissy pulls away from Vriska's grip, head swimming as she tries to suck in air that simply does not exist in high enough quantities to sustain her.

Another bang. Finally, the sirens and the alarms and the power go dark for good. There is only the glow of the transportaliser and the sounds of bursting metal.

HARRY: never...
HARRY: never doubted tav... not for one second...

Harry's skin is doing that alarming thing human flesh does when it's deprived of oxygen. They are really cutting it far too close. They need to get out of here. Now.

VRISKA: Pr8se him l8ter. Move.

He blinks, reaction slowed by the lack of air getting to his brain. Vriska, in response, simply shoves him onto the transportaliser pad. Before he can even register the action, he's enveloped in a wisp of light and is gone.

VRISSY: ...

Vrissy is still hesitant, even as everything falls apart around her. It's a stubborn streak Vriska recognises and admires, but it's really damn inconvenient right at this moment.

VRISKA: We might die through there, 8ut we'll *definitely* die in here.
VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: ...Hope you're Right.

She's trembling, but she walks onto the transportaliser of her own volition. She gives one last nervous glance to Vriska before she's sent out of here, hopefully to wherever Harry ended up.

At the same moment, the ceiling splits in two. A sheet of metal swings down, stopping mere millimetres away from Vriska's face. The floor begins to buckle.

Vriska looks around this vile hellspace one last time before equipping her dice and diving through the transportaliser. As she fades out, she spots a wall of fire and molten metal rushing up the hallway to meet her. Then she's out of there.

Without discrimination and without witness, Earth C's atmosphere rips the empty moonbase asunder.

Chapter 46: (four), section (i.)

(i.)

Pieces of debris from the moonbase fall into the ocean like flaming metallic streamers. Bits of shrapnel and detritus that are warped beyond recognition wash up against the shore as larger masses explode a few miles out into the water. A thick, hazy black smoke clouds descends down from the upper atmosphere and spreads out a few hundred feet above the water's surface for miles in each direction.

Arti and the others stand back from the rising tide, far enough that the oil-stained water doesn't touch them. Cara is bent down in the knee-deep shallows, sifting through the bits of wreckage that come her way. She doesn't give a reason why she's doing this when she told them that they'll all know the escape pod when they see it. She just crouches, steady hands gliding beneath saltwater, saying nothing to any of them.

MARI: ...
DAN: ...
CHRISTINA: ...

Nobody talks. Dan, Christina, and Mari stare up at the point in the sky where the moonbase exploded a few minutes ago. Arti finds themself looking in the opposite direction, at the space where the... thing Cara summoned had been. The sky is clear, brushed with the first wisps of smoke, normal. It's how it's always been, perfectly natural. Still, they look there and feel a weary terror.

ARTI: any sign of them yet?
CHRISTINA: no

Christina's the only one to respond. Arti glances out at the open ocean, watching bits and pieces of metal bob towards the shore, jagged angular red heaps like charred meat. What might be a support beam washes up, tangled in oil-stained seaweed. Strange puncture marks dot the warped surface. And then there's something else strange and damaged, another unfathomable artifact to attract attention.

ARTI: wonder what the hell exactly happened up there.
MARI: Dunno. Didnt get to see her pieces of paper that wouldve told us.

Mari tilts her head towards Cara, who is presently picking up what might have once been a computer monitor. She examines it with a keen eye, expression flat but grave. Arti remembers the odd power she pushed out over reality and feels queasy with fear.

MARI: Pretty fucking bad though. Obviously.
ARTI: yeah. obviously.
ARTI: ...
MARI: ...
ARTI: i hope they show up soon.
CHRISTINA: me too

Another silence settles over the group. None of them have ever felt this weary, this hopeless. It's only on Cara's assurances that they stand a chance of reuniting with the rest of their friends. More miserably is what comes after that.

Cara said none of them would ever go home again. Arti doesn't know what that means. They want to know more than anything else. They never want to know as long as they live.

They feel trapped, hemmed in down a set of railroad tracks, like they've been dropped into some place they should never have seen. They are small, and they are bound for something terrible.

MARI: So.
MARI: What do we do once the others get here?
ARTI: what do you mean?
MARI: I mean. Like.

She glances at Cara again, the unspoken question in her eyes.

MARI: She can say whatever the fuck she likes. Once were all together theres nothing stopping us from just heading on out of here.
MARI: Even if the war isnt gonna end or whatever i think everything that just happened is a turning point. We were protected from nuseattle going up in smoke so everything else is a bonus.
MARI: We could take one of the transportalizers. Head somewhere decent, wait it all out safely.
MARI: Despite her freaky power thing, theres nothing cara can actually do to stop us.
ARTI: ...
ARTI: hm. maybe.

Their first instinct is to tell Mari that she's wrong, that none of them can stand against Cara's power. But then they hesitate, looking at the burning behind Mari's eyes. There's no rational cause to think this, but somehow Arti gets the sense that perhaps a driven enough intention can override anything in this reality.

ARTI: there's a lot of steps between now and then, but it could be possible.
ARTI: who knows.

Across the way, Cara is dropping a bundle of cables back into the water, evidently still not finding whatever it is she seeks. Any one of them could ask her what it is she's doing, offer to help, but none of them do. They're all too tired, too far past their limit.

Silence again. Friend staring at friend, lost for words, directionless and drained. Arti sees the misery on everyone's faces, and aches to be able to do something. To live up to their promise to Enfuir, to do the right thing in a miserable situation.

But the more time that passes, the less they find themself able to talk at all. What is there to say? They're adrift, no home, with nobody but each other, staring at the wreckage of something grand and horrible and significant and hoping their few surviving loved ones make it out alive. They're not a powerful figure equipped to navigate crisis. None of them are.

And yet...

ARTI: ...

Something nags at their mind. They look at Dan, who is still scrolling through the phone desperate for any updates on the NuSeattle situation. His face is stiff and grim and stained with tears, but free of blemish. He scratches at the side of his torso, where there had once been a nasty bruise in the shape of a boot.

Arti stares at their boyfriend. They feel cogs turning, slotting towards the solution of an enigma they can barely bring themself to acknowledge.

And yet.

CHRISTINA: anything more on nuseattle
DAN: Dunno. Reporting's super spotty at best.
DAN: Can't find anything about my parents, but it's looking like there are survivors.
CHRISTINA: thats
CHRISTINA: thats a relief
DAN: Yeah. Also...
DAN: Some kind of fire storm happened a few minutes back? I'm not sure. There's no good footage, but...
DAN: Here.

Dan shows Christina the screen and plays a video clip. Arti doesn't watch, but hears the telltale roar of fire and... a woman's strangled scream echoing out?

CHRISTINA: so the smog cloud just
CHRISTINA: got evaporated???
DAN: Looks that way. Some people think it means the gods are involved, which would mean the rebellion's at work there.
CHRISTINA: huh
CHRISTINA: weird
DAN: Yeah.
DAN: ...
CHRISTINA: hey
CHRISTINA: your parents live further out in the suburbs right
CHRISTINA: so they could still be ok
DAN: I...
DAN: I just want some answers already.
DAN: Fucking weird and horrible living through something like this.
ARTI: ...

Arti frowns. Now is not the time to interject, but it is somehow always moments like this that invite such interruptions.

ARTI: yeah. a lot of things are weird.
ARTI: like.
ARTI: remember how you just got straight up magically healed dan?

They must say it in a weird way, because suddenly there are three pairs of eyes on them.

DAN: Yeah? Why?
ARTI: dunno. was just saying that that's also a weird thing we saw.
DAN: Is it really, in the scheme of everything?
ARTI: i guess not, but... i keep thinking about it.
DAN: Thinking about... what?
ARTI: i don't know. it's probably nothing, but...
ARTI: why did a vim replenisher even work on you in the first place?

The question's out there. The others look at them for a second, not comprehending. Then Mari is the first to blink.

MARI: Yeah. I remember thinking it was weird at the time but i trusted cara knew what the hell she was talking about.
MARI: But it is kinda strange if you think about it.
DAN: And what does that mean? Guys, please don't freak me out.

A pinprick of sweat breaks out across Dan's forehead. Arti looks at him and also feels a thrill of unease.

ARTI: like i said, probably nothing at all.
ARTI: but for a vim replenisher to work you must first actually *have* a vim stat you need to replenish.
ARTI: like, these things only have an effect on people who have skaian abstractions attached to them.
DAN: So I... I don't get it.
DAN: I've got Skaian abstractions? Like,
DAN: Like Sburb shit?

There is real fear in Dan's eyes when he says this. His green eyes, so wide and so full of the terror of comprehending something on this scale, of being forced to gaze at an impossibility. The implications hang heavy and horrible in the air. The sigh of the sea suddenly turns into a choking squelch.

DAN: No, that doesn't make sense. Like, I'm not an expert in Skaian theology and whatever, but that is literally impossible.
DAN: The only ones in our universe who get those abstractions are the gods who made our reality and the cherubs who will end it.
DAN: So like, literally *how* can I...
MARI: How can cara do all the shit she does?
DAN: Huh?
MARI: Lets be frank. That girl has freaky as shit powers that no normal sentient species on earth c can access.
MARI: So if were spitballing ideas here, whos to say shes not doing some kind of god tier fraymotif shit or whatever the hell it is?
DAN: No, you can't be serious.
DAN: Because then that would...
DAN: It'd...

He breathes in and out rapidly through his nose. Arti hates the sight. Hates how it feels like they're picking at a scab that should never be touched. Hates the burning urge to see what lies beneath the surface regardless.

CHRISTINA: maybe youre not the only one dan
CHRISTINA: maybe theres something up with all of us
CHRISTINA: like
CHRISTINA: remember at the start of all of this when enfuir would say that weird prophetic stuff that nobody paid any attention to
CHRISTINA: or how maris like weirdly good at stealing shit
CHRISTINA: what if these arent just things but like
CHRISTINA: parts of a bigger picture idk
DAN: No, this is fucking insane, this...
MARI: It is insane, but its a reasonable explanation for caras shit right?
ARTI: yeah. that's what i can't help but keep thinking.
ARTI: it'd explain why she can do... all she can.
ARTI: and why she said that none of us will be able to go home.
MARI: Yeah. It sounds honestly like crazy bullshit when you say it out loud but... it kinda makes sense.
DAN: Except, that would mean...

Dan has to stop to hyperventilate before he can continue. His face is washed out. His phone in his palm, forgotten.

DAN: We're meant to take part in Sburb?
DAN: Like, Cara's taking us so we can full-on do a Sburb game? That's what we're talking about here, right?

He laughs.

DAN: That's insane. That's ridiculous, it
ARTI: it makes a horrible amount of sense.
DAN: Arti, babe, you can't seriously think--
ARTI: i don't want to think it dan, but look.
ARTI: you took a vim replenisher, and it worked.
ARTI: find another way to explain that one.
DAN: I
DAN: I.
DAN: I can't.
DAN: Fuck. I can't.
ARTI: ...

The look on Dan's face is miserable, and none of them have even really begun to dig deep into the implications of such a revelation. Before them lies a path so impossible that to acknowledge its existence is to battle against the constant urge to scream.

Christina does not scream, however. She merely steps forward and speaks.

CHRISTINA: but its not like we have to do any of that shit right?
CHRISTINA: so what if we have weird skaian powers
CHRISTINA: we know the fixed points in our universe so theres no genuine impetus forcing us to do anything we dont wanna
CHRISTINA: and besides if we really do have some kind of latent powers
CHRISTINA: then doesnt that just make getting away from *her* easier to do?
DAN: Hey, wait...
MARI: Shit you have a point.

Arti keeps quiet. They would so badly like to believe that, but something inside them still doesn't sit right. Like they're close to the truth, but still somewhat off the mark. Like there's something they're all still missing.

They glance back to Cara and try to bite down the unease. There's something more with her, something beyond even a hypothetical cycle of universe creation. They don't like it. They don't like any of this.

As they watch, they see Cara bend into the water once more and pick up what looks like a huge lump of metal maybe the size of a bowling ball. It looks like some kind of device, if Arti were to hazard a guess. The minute she grabs it, Cara furtively bends over to shield the object from view. From this angle, it looks like she might be saying something. Arti feels a rush of goosebumps run down their spine. Something is wrong.

Then, something larger crashes down into the ocean a few hundred feet away from the shoreline. A massive red box that kind of looks like a Crockercorp-branded cable car. There's a window on the side, but the thing keeps bobbing up and down too quickly for Arti to get a good look in.

CARA: heads up guys. they're here.

When Cara speaks, Arti nearly flinches out of their skin. They turn back to her. She's wearing her usual enigmatic smile, and there's no sign of the metallic device. Arti still feels like they've been caught out doing something they shouldn't have.

MARI: Really?

Despite her cynicism, Mari's hope is very real.

MARI: And theyre ok?
CARA: the escape pod'll be here in a few moments, so be ready.

The four of them rush up to the shoreline, but Arti can't help but notice that Cara dodged the question. They look ahead. The escape pod drifts closer and closer, riding waves that rise and fall like the worry sloshing about inside their stomach.

When the pod's about a hundred or so feet away, a grey hand begins to pound on the glass panel. It's hard to make out for sure, but Arti thinks they can see Burnei's face screaming out something unheard and silent. He is the only one they can see.

ARTI: ...
CHRISTINA: oh my god its burnei
DAN: They're okay. I think they're okay.
CARA: almost there.
CARA: almost there.

Arti can't tell who Cara's talking to. She has a strange look on her face that she didn't wear even when she showed them all that crack in reality. There's an imperceptible hum of power around her body. The pod drifts closer. Arti's skin tightens. Something isn't right, something isn't right and they don't know what. The jaws of the inevitable clamp tight, that horrible feeling that everyone is already too late.

DAN: They're here! Come on!

Dan leads the others in running through the shallows when the escape pod gets stuck in the sand. Arti wades through the shin-deep water, feeling none of the hope and all of the dread. Cara does not move, standing unnaturally motionless at the precipice of land and sea. Her eyes stare forward, but at what Arti can't say.

When they get to the pod, they notice Dan and Mari trying to pull the door off its hinges to no avail. On the other end, Burnei continues to slam his palms against the glass. Christina steps back, observing the whole of the escape pod. She turns to Arti upon their arrival.

CHRISTINA: were not seeing a way to get this thing open
ARTI: ...
ARTI: shouldn't there be a way for them to open it from the inside?
CHRISTINA: youd think but they havent done that yet
ARTI: hm.

They draw closer to the escape pod, even though they don't want to. Even though they can feel the palpable ripples of a fate turned sour all around. The air is heavy. Nothing about this feels right. This is a story not a single one of them should have been dragged into. And yet, for some terrible reason, here they all are.

It does not come as a surprise in the least when they find an emergency release button on the side of the escape pod, a red protrusion on a red exterior. Arti pushes it down automatically. There is lead steadily filling up their insides.

The escape pod's door swings open with a hiss of steam and the sound of Burnei's raw voice. Mari leaps forward and pulls him out, then gives a startled shout when she sees the various hues of blood lining his jumpsuit.

MARI: Jesus fucking christ. Burnei are you ok?
MARI: What the fuck happened to you guys?
BURNEI: ...

Burnei takes a couple of staggering steps forward through the water, vacant eyes pointed somewhere in Cara's general direction. Then he stops, and forces himself to look at the humans around him one by one. When his eyes meet Arti's, they feel an electric thrill of horror.

At the same time, Dan sticks his head into the escape pod, and his expression sinks.

DAN: Hey, uh, hey guys, I think,
BURNEI: I need to tell you &ll something.

Arti knows they shouldn't engage, shouldn't make whatever horrible thing is awaiting them reality, but they have to ask it anyway.

ARTI: what... what is it?
BURNEI: Its &bout Enfuir.

And that's what ushers in the beginning of the end for all of them.

Chapter 47: (four), section (ii.)

(ii.)

PHERIS: do You
PHERIS: do You want to talk about it

The room spins. Her pulse rubber-bands in her ears. The chair beneath her isn't steady, is little more than a half-baked concept blinking out of reality with every breath. The whole of the break room before her is just smudges of shape and colour, a grouping of senseless words slapped with arbitration everyone pretends is meaning.

There is no meaning. There has never been any meaning.

KANIRA: ^.^ no~
KANIRA: ^.^ no i~

Out. She needs to get out. The air is too thin. Too warm. The room is too small. If she doesn't move her body she's going to explode, she's--

Kanira stands from her seat and sprints out the door. She clutches the railing overlooking the courtyard, biting her tongue to keep the scream from surfacing. A horrible deja vu washes over her. How many times in the last few days has she found herself here, teetering on the brink of despair? How many more times will she end up here?

Galios is gone. Rodhim is gone. Everyone who went out seeking a better outcome for this flailing community is gone. Another hundred people died last night of a perfectly treatable disease. More and more, they bleed and they lose and they bleed. Where does it end? Where does it end? How many more have to die?

TIXARI: - kanira? -

Today, it's young Tixari who comes after Kanira. The girl fiddles with the edges of her clothes, violet eyes wide and uncertain. She's not alone, though. Following behind her, hobbling on a makeshift crutch, is Vennel, the young tealblood Kanira and Pheris met in the sick bay earlier. True to his word, the minute he could move, Vennel's been helping out as best he can. Mostly that's consisted of keeping Tixari company as she tries to get a working comms link with the Outglut^2 rebels, but his heart's in the right place.

Kids. Both of them. Stronger and more resilient than Kanira could ever hope to be. It shames her. It breaks her heart. She's not sure what she wants to be feeling right now.

TIXARI: - you okay? +
TIXARI: - i mean, obviously a stupid question. ignore me. -
TIXARI: - you're not okay. none of this is okay. -
TIXARI: - we all just watched galios die things are honestly pretty fucked. -
TIXARI: + so uh -
TIXARI: - yeah. -
VENNEL: \i'm not sure that helped?/
TIXARI: - i don't think anything *can* help, vennel. -
VENNEL: \if you say so/
TIXARI: - fuck. anyway we're getting off track. -
TIXARI: - kanira. -

She says nothing more. Just looks uneasily at the woman so many of them have rallied around in the absence of the man who brought them freedom. Kanira looks over at the kid, feels an uneasy ball in her throat.

KANIRA: ^.^ im sorry~
KANIRA: ^.^ its just~
KANIRA: ^.^ a lot to take in. obviously~
KANIRA: ^.^ galios he~
KANIRA: ^.^ ~

She can't talk for a good minute. Just stands there, sucking down uneven breaths. Behind her eyes, she sees that vile robot tossing him aside, over and over, knowing there was nothing any of them could have done. She tried to resign herself to the fact he was lost from the minute they took him, but all those defences crumbled in the face of watching his life get snuffed out firsthand.

But she still stands. That has to mean something.

KANIRA: ^.^ no no im okay~
VENNEL: \really?/
KANIRA: ^.^ presently right now no i am no ok~
KANIRA: ^.^ but i am keeping it together~
KANIRA: ^.^ too many people need me~

She leans forward, looks out over the courtyard again. The pile of the dead now outweighs the pile of the living. The hush of pained, but determined movement below is all but gone, replaced with a haunted stillness as the inevitability begins to sink in.

They're not all dead yet. She can't fail them. She can't.

Two more deep breaths, and she's ready to look at Tixari and Vennel again.

KANIRA: ^.^ you guys~
KANIRA: ^.^ you were saying something, before pheris~
KANIRA: ^.^ before he came in and said that galios~
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah~
KANIRA: ^.^ what was it?~
TIXARI: + right. +
TIXARI: + i think i've found the right frequency band for communication with the outside. +
KANIRA: ^.^ really?~
TIXARI: + yeah. +
TIXARI: - still not sure how to broadcast signals instead of receiving them, but i got some chatter last night. +
VENNEL: \i was there/
VENNEL: \pretty legit stuff/
KANIRA: ^.^ thats~

Hope stings through the wash of grief in her system. Her body is heavy, but it latches onto that lightning bolt regardless. Seeking help was a thing she'd written off from the start, a pipe dream buoyed up by Galios's optimism and little else. She'd never dreamed that anything like it could actually happen.

VENNEL: \dunno much about anything but i think we figured it's the channel used by vantas and his outglut^2 guys/
TIXARI: - now we don't fully know that for sure, but they're using the same names and codes as the stuff on the official broadcasts. +
TIXARI: + still early days, but we might actually have a chance, kanira. +
KANIRA: ^.^ tixari thats amazing~
KANIRA: ^.^ could you show me?~
TIXARI: + course. still got the radio tuned in so you might get something. +

Tixari turns and walks back down the hallway, past the break room blaring that grim, vile footage, and to the room next to it. Vennel hobbles with surprising speed after her. Kanira takes up the rear, surprised that she has the strength to take each step even after everything.

When she passes by the break room, she sticks her head through the doorway. Pheris remains standing in front of the TV, watching with a clenched jaw as the survivors of the death game on-screen run through a burning hallway that flickers in and out of dead static.

KANIRA: ^.^ pheris~
PHERIS: kanira? how are You?
KANIRA: ^.^ doing~
KANIRA: ^.^ in time i will be better~
PHERIS: look, i am sso ssorrY
KANIRA: ^.^ not right now please~

Pheris shuts his mouth. He looks at her with eyes too kind to belong to someone who's been through all that people like them have.

KANIRA: ^.^ theres news~
KANIRA: ^.^ tixari managed to tune into the outglut^2 rebel frequency~
PHERIS: sseriousslY?
KANIRA: ^.^ i think so~
KANIRA: ^.^ come on. we need to talk about this~
KANIRA: ^.^ the living need to come first~

Pheris doesn't say anything. He just switches off the screen, leaving that sordid nightmare to play out to its conclusion away from any voyeuristic eyes, and walks up to Kanira. There are jade-stained tear tracks down his cheeks. Kanira touches her face on reflex and feels the purple stains on her own cheeks.

They are, all of them, damaged things trying their hardest long past their limits.

PHERIS: i'm with You, kanira.

The radio room is a small thing, more a storage closet than anything else. There's a desk in one corner with a complicated setup, monitors and screens and wires snaking around the vicinity. A single window rests on the far wall, a narrow slit that struggles to let in any meaningful natural light.

Tixari sits at the desk, sliding a pair of headphones around her ears. Vennel is lowering himself onto the couch in the middle of the room, rubbing at a sore spot on his leg. He looks up towards Kanira and gives a friendly nod as she and Pheris enter.

VENNEL: \thought you weren't coming for a moment haha/
KANIRA: ^.^ sorry~
KANIRA: ^.^ thought itd be wise to bring pheris~
PHERIS: hi.

Pheris waves. He makes no effort to hide the tears on his face. If they are to be the pillars of this community, then transparency is the ultimate virtue to uphold.

Vennel shrugs.

VENNEL: \yeah sure makes sense/
VENNEL: \take a seat if you want doc i don't take up too much room lmao/

He pats at the spot on the couch next to him. Vennel's had a soft spot for Pheris since he patched him up. It's cute, in its own way. Disarmingly normal.

PHERIS: don't mind if i do, then.
PHERIS: how are Your injuriess healing?

Pheris sits next to Vennel, looking the boy up and down. Vennel gives a dry chuckle.

VENNEL: \every day i wish we actually had painkillers/
VENNEL: \kinda weird trying to get used to only having half a horn but/
VENNEL: \i'm currently living and think i'll keep doing that for the foreseeable/
PHERIS: good to hear.

Kanira leaves them to their chat. She walks over to the desk, where Tixari is fiddling with a set of Crockercorp crimson dials. It's the most high-tech thing Kanira's seen, excluding the bizarre Skaian tech in the basement. But that's a thread to unravel another time, when they're not all running on perma-crisis mode.

KANIRA: ^.^ how is it going?~

She taps Tixari on the shoulder. The girl jumps in shock, face flushing a bright purple.

TIXARI: - jeesh kanira some warning! -

She pulls her headphones down.

KANIRA: ^.^ im sorry~
TIXARI: + nah, i'm cool. just startled me is all. -
KANIRA: ^.^ so what were you listening for?~
TIXARI: + listen. +

Tixari hands the headphones to Kanira. They're fit for a human head, so she has to twist them a little to accommodate for her horns and get them fitting snugly. Once she does, Tixari flicks a dial.

At first, all Kanira gets is a burst of static through her ears that makes her wince. Then the frequency is refined, dead information sharpening into recognisable waveforms. Voices. Familiar, famous voices.

MEENAH: aight fronz i d reely fucking c aboat that
ALFONZ: wonderful of you to rAnk a gunshot wound with the AppropriAte level of concern, meenAh.
MEENAH: bluh bluh fuckin bluh
MEENAH: we got motherglubbers tryna bust into the city seage style and aint nomoby out there can get in touch w krabkatch
MEENAH: so forgive me if ive got BIGG-ER SHRIMP TO FRY RN
ALFONZ: uh whAtever.
ALFONZ: trAnsportAlizer hAcking's going on in the eAstern quAdrAnt.
MEENAH: then lets bounce 38)
MEENAH: peixes over n out

The channel cuts back out to that same hiss, but everything is different now. Kanira pulls the headphones off and looks to Tixari.

KANIRA: ^.^ thats~
TIXARI: + yeah, i know. +

Tixari grins, all teeth and crinkled eyes.

TIXARI: + still working on how to communicate on the channel versus just receiving it. +
TIXARI: + might need to fiddle with the transmitters and maybe the rooftop apparatus. +
KANIRA: ^.^ but youre confident well be able to get through in the end?~
TIXARI: + positive. +

She slips the headphones back on and starts adjusting what looks like a convoluted switchboard. She switches the jack into another port. There's a low buzz that makes Kanira jump before the audio channels back into the headphones.

From the couch, Pheris looks over.

PHERIS: sso are we in bussiness?
KANIRA: ^.^ a start at least~
KANIRA: ^.^ were receiving but not broadcasting~
PHERIS: hm.

He folds his arms.

PHERIS: far be it for me to plaY the downer here, but...
PHERIS: what are the chancess of uss getting through to the rebelss before we losse everYone down below? a radio ssignal issn't medicine.
VENNEL: \tix filled me in first about this so i think i can reassure you doc/
VENNEL: \it's just a matter of getting up on the roof and messing about with the hardware in some process that went totally over my head/
VENNEL: \like/
VENNEL: \maybe a couple days?/
PHERIS: ...

Pheris is quiet. Not that it matters. He doesn't need to open his mouth to make it clear that in all likelihood they don't have a couple days. Disease is spreading exponentially. Wounds are festering and rotting. All of it preventable, all of it removed from any treatment options.

Tixari looks back at the rest of them.

TIXARI: + don't sweat it. i'll get us through. +
TIXARI: + only thing to worry about is what the hell we'll say when we do get in touch haha. -
KANIRA: ^.^ well think of something. dont worry~
KANIRA: ^.^ youre doing more than enough just by getting the radios working~
TIXARI: + haha yeah. -

It's not the best reassurance, but it's more than Kanira would ever dare hope for. Everything is teetering on the thinnest knife's edge, a millimetre-thin wedge spanning a chasm of that spirals infinitely downwards. Tixari might succeed. That is enough. That is more than enough for now.

VENNEL: \shame galios isn't here for this/
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah~

Her chest aches. If a better world is coming, Galios will not see it. He is dead, his body suspended in low-Earth C orbit. She will never see him again. Kanira looks at the radio, feels the sting of tears. Somehow this small moment hammers it in more than watching the abominable deed itself.

TIXARI: - so now what? +
TIXARI: + i'll try get this working asap, but what do we do until then? -
VENNEL: \yeah/

Pheris stands. The relief on his face reshapes back into the weary tension all of them have worn for days now. His laugh lines and crow's feet, normally handsome, look like wounds.

PHERIS: we sstill have hundredss of trollss dYing below.
PHERIS: radio ssignalss won't change that. leadersship won't change that.
PHERIS: i'm going to keep trYing to do all i can by them, right up until i cannot.
PHERIS: for now, little elsse matters to me. ssorrY.
VENNEL: \nah that makes sense doc/
VENNEL: \just need to keep em going till tix and i get help/
PHERIS: i wissh i sshared Your optimissm, vennel.
PHERIS: if You need to inform me on anY future developmentss, You'll find me downsstairs.

He goes to leave the room. Before he slips through the doorway, Kanira places a hand on his shoulder.

KANIRA: ^.^ hold on~
KANIRA: ^.^ im coming with you~
PHERIS: kanira, You don't have to--
KANIRA: ^.^ im of very little use up here~
KANIRA: ^.^ no point in standing around doing nothing~
KANIRA: ^.^ as the one in charge i owe it to them~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: okaY. thank You.

Kanira turns back to Vennel and Tixari.

KANIRA: ^.^ im counting on you two~
TIXARI: + we'll try our best. +
KANIRA: ^.^ i cant ask for anything more~

Then she follows Pheris out the room and down to the courtyard. She doesn't notice the noise right away - it's not until they're sorting through the respirator masks to try and find the cleanest ones that her ears pick it up, a low but energised hum.

KANIRA: ^.^ voices?~
PHERIS: sorrY, what was that, kanira?

Pheris is across the room, fitting in-tact filters from a broken mask onto the one that he's been using the most.

KANIRA: ^.^ sounds like a load of people talking~
PHERIS: there are hundredss of people in the courtYard, of coursse there'ss going to be--
KANIRA: ^.^ thats not what i mean~

It's hard to articulate, a subtle shift in the energy. There's been noise from the courtyard at all hours, coughing and weeping and weak shouting. But not a buzz. Not a chatter. It's the noise of a population with a desire to keep on, a decidedly un-broken sound.

KANIRA: ^.^ look ill go check it out~
KANIRA: ^.^ give me two seconds then ill help you~
PHERIS: uh, okay?

Pheris blinks at her, confused. She so badly wants to elaborate to him, but there's a pressing feeling eating away at her. A kind of nervous excitement, the feeling of a precipice. It's the same feeling she got standing in that basement exile station. Like a cosmic force bearing down on her.

Kanira turns away from him, fixes her respirator on, and slips out into the courtyard.

It's a clear, cloudless day. Warm. It feels like spring, even here in this climateless dead prison. Something buoys up inside Kanira. And that's before she sees the crowd.

Dozens of trolls, maybe everyone able to move and stand, gathering in one corner of the courtyard. When she realises which corner, that feeling of hope swells further. She pushes through the crowd, wincing apologetically as she shoves wounded individual after wounded individual out of her way, but she can't stop even if she wanted to.

It takes a minute but then Kanira's at the front of the group, looking at the dirt patch where she planted the seeds. And she sees.

Flowers, standing tall, covering every inch of the ground. They're strangely-shaped plants, petals pulsing like spirographs, hues shifting from one colour to the next to the next. They sprout high, snake around each other, lean in every which direction. More than Kanira can count. More than she planted, at least.

KANIRA: ^.^ when did they...?~

Her pondering gets no further. It starts with a noise, a low note she feels more in her bones than anywhere else. It's music from a time and place that she can't comprehend but is nonetheless beautiful. Then the plants close shut, petals glittering as they interlock in a ritual that feels more ancient and powerful than anything else she has witnessed.

In unison, the plants pulse. Then the flowers rip open in a sudden full bloom, and launch their contents like freshwater from a burst pipe, scattering down on a dying crowd pushed to the brink by a never-ending drought. Kanira opens her arms wide, and laughs with all the elation of a child witnessing a miracle.

Grist. Loads and loads of grist.

Chapter 48: (four), section (iii.)

(iii.)

The Librarian dies first in a hail of bullets, then the Archives die in a hail of fire.

The explosion throws SC out the door and across the plaza like an asteroid. He crashes into the fountain with an impact so strong he breaks off a chunk of the shell statue and cracks his carapace in a splinter pattern that runs down his right shoulder. He lands in the water, body flaring in pain and head spinning.

He doesn't register the craft at first. It's just a red shape, hanging in the air above the plaza. Then it snaps into focus. Crockercorp's wretched logo glints, white-on-red metal under sunlight. As SC stares in knee deep fountain water, a bomb falls from the aircraft that blasts a chunk out of the roof of the Archives. Shell and slate and brick scatter from the sky, burning and jagged rain.

It breaks the shocked paralysis of the plaza. The consort inhabitants scatter and scream. Some make it out. Some get torn to shreds by the rubble, sprinting in panicked circles. This is a people unprepared for the realities of this war, the blade's edge of a conflict a continent away inflicting slashes in a place where never should.

SC thinks back to the villages up north, the testing grounds for Crocker's superweapons. These people had weeks to prepare for something like this. These people should never have had to consider the possibility of preparing for something like this.

In front of him, he watches an iguana splatter under a chunk of rock. It snaps him out of his numb posturing, drenches him with the cold sting of reality. People are dying, the enemy is committing an atrocity. Little else matters.

SC staggers to his feet, pats himself down. His gun is where it should be, ready and loaded. He hopes to fuck the holster kept the barrel from getting drenched. The little handgun is all he has to take on the foulest entity known to Earth C.

From above, a hatch opens on the aircraft. Half a dozen Crockercorp agents, humans in sleek red battle suits, descend on ropes. Assault weapons are affixed to their backs. They touch down on the ground across from the Archives and stand motionless for a few short seconds.

Then they must receive a command from the aircraft, because as one they reach for their guns and start firing at the consorts making an attempt to flee for their lives. SC ducks behind what's left of the statue as the bullets bite away at more of the marble. It's chaos, it's violence, it's all happening so fast, and--

SC: RH!!

He remembers belatedly with an acidic coil in his guts. Smoke billows from the Archive's windows. Gunshots ripple and echo, reverberating so terribly he can't tell what is coming from where. He only knows that he was thrown from the Archives. RH and the first agent weren't.

SC pulls out his gun, cocks it. Takes in a breath as the sound of strangled, bloody glubs mixes in with the screams, then darts across the plaza towards the Archives.

He makes it only a few paces before the pain from his cracked carapace flares out like a molten spider web. He falters, then stumbles to the ground. His face slams into masonry drenched in blood. It's the only thing that miraculously saves him from a volley of bullets. He watches as a group of alligators cowering by the steps get filled with holes then fall like ragdolls.

The agents are going around, firing at anything that moves one by one. SC crawls on his hands and knees through the blood, feeling panic, feeling nausea, feeling, feeling--

There is an individual maybe six feet behind him. SC isn't sure what tips him off exactly, other than the steadfast knowing awareness of their presence.

No words are exchanged. The agent takes aim, cocks the gun.

SC lets out a desperate scream and throws the body of the nearest consort - some poor elderly iguana - with all his might. The corpse toss works to throw the agent off-balance. They stagger back, mouth curled down in revulsion.

AGENT: oh that's not--

SC does not hesitate. Hand trembling, mind somewhere outside his body, he lifts his own gun, and is faster on the draw. Three shots, two centre of mass, one just below the throat. The worst part of volunteering was the mandatory arms training. He is surprised and horrified that the lessons stuck.

The human gargles and drops down, their blood meshing in with the consorts' in an indistinguishable wash of samey red. SC stares, shaking and unfocused. His breathing is ragged, an animal at the end of its tether.

> Move.

SC: i

But the voice does its job. It snaps him out of his incipient traumatised stupor. He remembers. RH. The Archives. The knowledge. The mission. He can't undo this. He needs to keep going with what he can do.

SC pauses to vomit, then picks the assault rifle off the agent's body. It's got half a clip in it. There's more ammo on the dead human, but SC doesn't think he has the constitution to roll the corpse over and pull the clips off with his bare hands.

> Aren't they magazine-fed?

> Wait. That's a stupid thing. I'm saying stupid things. Ignore me, kid.

SC happily obliges. Clutching the rifle in desperation, he marches slowly towards the looming front doors of the Archives. Smoke begins to blot the sky out.

He breathes in, then crosses the threshold with a force of grim determination so powerful that something unprecedented happens: the narrative's focus splits three ways.

> Bout time we got to see these other chumps.

About 0.86 miles away from the town plaza, AI stands at the eastern docks overlooking a vast ocean known by many names and many forms over its millennia of existence. She is comfortably and confidently negotiating with a deep-sea fishing trawler to secure passage for three Carapacian stowaways when the explosions send everyone scattering.

THE FISHERMAN: GLUB GLUB GLUB GLUB

She watches in despair as the twofold cuts to their fortune are made: in a fit of panic, the upstanding salamander fisherman unmoors her vessel and drifts out to sea away from the chaos. In the same grim breath, she spots the Crockercorp aircraft bearing down on the spires of the Archives.

If she were to look up at that exact moment, she would also notice a small flash of white fire as a dislodged moonbase explodes upon atmospheric entry thousands of miles from her current position, but AI is too practical-minded to gape. She retrieves her arms and sprints through the streets towards the compromised location of her friends.

The market day atmosphere is dead. Consorts are running for their lives, throwing themselves inside buildings and locking the doors, or otherwise making as concerted an effort as possible to get the hell away from the plaza. AI hears the gunfire and fears the worst.

She rounds a corner and finds one of the canal bridges leading inward has been raised as a desperate barricade. Her boots skid against the cobbled ground and she curses.

AI: **No, no, shit!**

Not for the first time she laments the lack of long-range instantaneous communication between the three of them. She has no way of knowing what's going on with SC and RH, what the situation at the plaza is like. She is helpless, stranded, and ignorant.

> SC's fine. Just don't leave him waiting.

Unfortunately, AI lacks the ability to hear such metatextual communications, so she continues to stand there stewing in her own thoughts, trying desperately to figure out an optimal route to help, if going in to help would even be in her best interest.

Of course it is. SC is the only one who knows where they're bound, and what they're to do once they get there. Without him, AI is stranded several continents away from her home, a fugitive for whom help won't come.

So she makes the most rational decision available to her: she dives off the path and into the canal, executing a flawless roll-landing into a Blood-themed gondola.

The alligator ferrywoman nearly loses his shit.

THE FERRYWOMAN: NAK!!!!!!
AI: **There's no time.** **I need to get to the plaza, now.**
THE FERRYWOMAN: NAK

He does not do as she wishes. There is more gunfire from the middle of town. AI closes her eyes, then opens them again.

AI: **This is not personal.**
THE FERRYWOMAN:

She tosses the ferrywoman overboard, grabs the oar, and paddles the gondola through the canals with as much speed and force as she can muster.

The pulse of the oar hitting the water's surface resonates in time with a second rhythm, contained in the heartbeat of a Dersite Carapacian cowering amid a stack of books half a mile away.

RH is boned. This is an immutable fact that doesn't need stating for the record because it is the fucking record. The Archives are on fire, the Librarian is dead, and he's unarmed and being hunted by Crockercorp's finest.

Smoke is filling up the top of the massive library. Across the room, the books near the entrance smoulder and burn. It all happened too fast for him to say for sure what caused the fire. Maybe the bullets. Maybe the grenade that sent SC flying. Maybe the agent's deliberately starting fires to flush RH out from this maze of bookshelves that stretch up like rectangular trees.

It's a damn shame, he thinks in that abstract traumatised way he's grown to know intimately over the last few days. One of Earth C's largest repositories of knowledge, minutes away from going up in smoke. He has a front row seat to one of the most grave cultural injuries ever inflicted, and as a guy who used to be a Record Handler in a past life, the horror twists like an acute needle between the gaps in his carapace.

Yet, despite the mass destruction, or maybe because of it, he has a sharp awareness of the only piece of information that truly matters in this moment. From his hiding spot, he clutches the coordinate between his fingers like his life depends on it.

He peers around the corner of the bookshelf. The Crockercorp agent is across the way, ripping books off their shelves, head swinging around in search of RH. Most crucially, he is a lethal obstacle obstructing RH from having an easy shot at getting through the only exit to this place.

The agent walks out of the aisle. He tosses a match behind him as he walks. The books from that section are swallowed by the sudden rush of flames. He brings up an earpiece communicator, and takes a handful of steps in RH's direction.

AGENT: No coordinate yet.
AGENT: The other Carapacian did go in here, so I'll find it.
AGENT: We'll complete her orders. Don't sweat it.
AGENT: Keep the aircraft warm.

In the lull, RH scuttles further into the library, past shelves lined with books detailing fragments of pre-Condescension Earth B culture. Half the books are already on the ground, knocked loose during the explosion. Some of the piles rise as high as RH's chest, desperate scattered stacks as far as the eye can see.

Outside, another volley of gunfire erupts. RH spitball estimates there to be about four or five distinct weapons involved in whatever the hell is going on. There are screams, and then there aren't. He nearly throws up. He knows the sounds of massacre when he hears it.

Then he's not thinking about that. He's slamming face first into a wall, hemmed in either side by massive unmoveable bookshelves. A dead end. RH's breath catches. Way above, like fifteen feet in the air, is a window, an easy out with no way to reach it. He's stuck.

RH: shit |
RH: shit shit shit |||

He's not sure why he sinks to the ground at that moment, but it's a stroke of incredble fortune that he does. At the end of this aisle, the agent steps forward, an obstruction to an ever-narrowing corridor. RH's curled-up form, hidden behind a stack of books, goes undetected to the taller human eye.

RH doesn't move. Doesn't breathe. Doesn't blink. He is aware of the sound of floorboards creaking under heavy boots, of his adrenaline-washed heartbeat, and of the coordinate in his hands. He thinks he might start crying.

There's a beep, so rhythmic and so out of place that it almost throws RH. Then he places it. It's a noise he heard frequently back when he was still part of the CAN and also the CAN still existed. It's a temperature scanner, often used by the medics to scan for signs of life obstructed by rubble.

RH: |||
RH: |||
AGENT:

The device beeps, and the device beeps, pinging, pinging, searching. Then, one low drone. The agent smacks his lips.

AGENT: Nothing.

He turns and leaves. RH breathes out in a shaky rush, eyes blurry and body numb. It takes all his strength not to sob in relief as the human walks away, to not compromise his tentative position.

He didn't know, because of course humans wouldn't think of it. Standard temperature scanners don't work on Carapacians. Their shells are too thick to let any of their body heat escape. Even now, RH's black chitin is no warmer than the books he leans against.

A lucky escape. But for how long?

RH dares to shuffle around. He peers his head around the side of the book stack. The agent is crossing over to the next aisle. The man kicks at a stack of books in frustration. The balance is tentative, atop a piano-wire thin strand. Something will give. Something has to.

There are a handful of incendiary grenades attached to the back of the agent's belt. RH stares at them and sees a grim inevitability. He needs to get out of here, to cross a space no larger than fifty feet. It feels more insurmountable than anything else thus far.

He has no plan. But he has to do it anyway.

RH: cmon man |
RH: shits riding on you and this coordinate | you can do it |
RH: you can do this | you can do this |

The trembling doesn't ease. But RH forces himself to rise anyway. The exit is a straight shot ahead. He crouches forward, closes his eyes, lets out a silent prayer to the ancient Skaia of old, and moves. One leg after the other.

He makes it a quarter of the way through before his feet kick at a stray book. The noise clatters and echoes like a death knell. The agent turns on a dime, eyes locked onto RH with an icy fury, and

> OK. I'm bored. Show me SC again.

and the narrativc continues in its pre-ordained rotation back to SC, irrespective of the wishes of any metatextually hazardous interlopers.

He hasn't yet made it into the Archives. In the small stint since we left him, the four agents noticed him on the steps and rounded on him. In brief summary, this is what happens:

SC kills two of them in an erratic burst of machine gun fire. A grenade is thrown at the steps. SC is forced to dive to one side, using the rubble and the corpses as cover. As he is not trained in guerrila combat, he begins to freak the fuck out over having a body count of three. One of the surviving agents calls in for backup. The airship descends, touching down on the far size of the plaza. The pilot, the only other person left in this crew, steps out. She forgets to relay a message to the Crockercorp mothership, a fact that would be beneficial to SC and company later down the line were it not for the fact that the lead communicator is presently pre-occupied with a mass-thermonuclear detonation-shaped problem and is therefore not receiving any of the messages.

She is not a more skilled woman than the rest of her crew, but the increase of bodies in this fight heightens the tension. Which is where the small and kind of shitty twist comes in: this is not SC's POV section.

> Wh

AI rams the gondola into the first plaza pier she comes across. Wood splinters fly into the air and into the water. Everything smells like smoke. That's all the detail she allows herself to take in before she hops out and darts up the steps to the plaza proper.

Luckily for her, the enemy combatants are much too focused on hunting down the Prospitian Carapace known in one parlance as the Sacred Coordinator to notice AI's approach.

Unlike RH, AI is not a fucking idiot. She has her gun on her, and is a damn good shot. It takes almost the whole clip, but she kills two of the three agents before they have much time to notice.

AI: **SC!!!!**

From behind a chunk of building, SC lifts his head. The sight of his friend tearing her way through a bunch of people trying to kill him is, by all metrics, superbly cool as fuck. She kills one, then the second rounds on her, and she kills him too, ducking and sprinting and weaving with desperate acrobatic ease. Hope bubbles in SC's throat.

Then AI seems to realise that she is running among a field of corpses. That moment of understanding slows her for just enough time that she loses her advantage. She is too slow to react when the final agent, the pilot, fires a shot clean at AI's torso.

AI screams and falls, bits of grey shell flying around like porcelain as she collapses.

SC: NO!!!!!!!!

He gives away his position, but he doesn't care. He darts out from his hiding spot, desperately hoping beyond hope that AI is still alive, that the pilot caught the thick part of her carapace, but she's too far away, he can't tell for sure--

The agent pistolwhips him around the back of the head. SC drops like a brick, disoriented and terrified. By the time he turns himself around to look up at her, she's looming on him with a snarl.

Gun pointed at his head, AI possibly dying feet away from them, the agent leans right into SC's face, and asks

AGENT: Delta or Omega?
RH: |||

The agent has RH by the throat, fingers squeezing in the weak spots in his carapace. RH's feet kick helplessly against open air, his hands holding firmly onto the coordinate.

AGENT: I will kill you if you don't talk.
AGENT: The coordinates. Delta or Omega?
RH: i |

The agent is bluffing about killing him, because obviously he thinks RH has information he cannot access, and if RH dies the knowledge dies with him. It's a jagged piece of logic that is the only thing keeping him from shrieking.

That, and, he doesn't have a fucking clue what the hell the agent is talking about.

RH: why ||
RH: why would i tell you that |
AGENT: Don't play tough. You're nowhere near main character enough for that kind of gambit.

He squeezes tighter, nipping a nerve ending. RH lets out a high-pitched sound. His vision swims in and out of focus.

RH: ffff | fuck you |

RH gets a punch to the gut for that one.

AGENT: One more time, chess piece.
AGENT: Delta. Or. Omega?

Despite himself, RH bristles at the slur. Outside, the gunfight has gone silent. The only noises are their breathing, and the crackle of fire tearing at the Archives around them. The smoke is thickening. In a few minutes time, it will quickly become harder and harder to breathe.

RH: why the fuck does it matter to you |
AGENT: Wrong answer. What I need to know is none of your fucking business.

With his free hand, he draws his gun and puts it right against RH's temple. He's close enough now that RH can see veins pulsing in the man's forehead. Every muscle in the human's body is taut and violent. There is no guarantee that the logic of RH's safety will hold out for much longer.

The man is close. So close. RH glances down. A plan formulates in his mind. Terrible and risky, but the only chance he has.

RH: maybe it is my fucking business |
RH: maybe i need your fucking business to become my fucking business before i talk |
AGENT: Just stop. This bravado shit is embarrassing. Little jumped-up OC's should know their place when it comes to matters of plot--

RH takes his chance. He swings his leg forward and kicks the man in the balls.

AGENT: aAAAAAH

The agent drops like a brick. Behind her, AI stands, shell cracked and face stony like a revenant. The back of the woman's neck is a bloody spatter.

SC blinks in mute shock. AI reaches forward and grabs SC's hand. He lets her pull him up.

SC: what
AI: **Later.**

AI is breathing heavily. Most of the damage is beneath her clothes, but SC can see the chips spreading out across her arms.

SC: seriously,, you need to rest
AI: **I said later.**
AI: **Where's RH.**
SC: shit

He remembers with dread.

SC: in the archives.. we got separated,, and
AI: **Come on then.** **We need to--**

She staggers forward, then falls to her knees. SC wraps his arms around her.

SC: you're hurt..
AI: **No shit.**

She's sucking in uneasy breaths. SC doesn't like the way they sound.

SC: you'll only make yourself worse if you keep going..
SC: i'll go help rh..
AI: **...**
AI: **Fuck.**
AI: **FUCK!**

Two things happen then. AI faints as the pain takes its toll. And from across the way, SC hears RH's voice give out a desperate shout.

Instinct kicks in. The human releases his grip on RH and clutches at his wounded crotch. RH drops to the floor with more grace than he thought and, while the agent continues to be distracted, reaches in towards his belt.

His shaky hands take hold of one of the grenades. For just half a moment, a dreadful sadness takes over RH. This collection of knowledge is already on a slow march to death, but he's going to be the one to consign it to oblivion.

Then he thinks of himself, his friends, and the slip of paper in his hands, and the moment passes.

RH elbows the human in the dick again. He screams even louder and doubles over. In the next instant, RH pulls the pin and tosses the grenade somewhere behind him. He resolves himself not to think of what comes next. He just turns, focuses on the exit, and sprints.

When RH is two feet from the door, and the grenade is six seconds away from detonation, SC suddenly bursts in, face grave and shocked and relieved when he sees RH.

SC: rh
RH: NO TIME GOT THE COORDINATE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW NOW NOW |
SC:

He doesn't let SC get a word in. He just grabs SC by the hand and drags him along with him as they shoot out the library, through the foyer, and out into the plaza.

They're going down from the second to the third stair when the grenade goes off in a whirlwind of flame and shrapnel that sets off a chain reaction with every other incendiary device in the agent's arsenal.

The Archives erupt like a burst egg. SC and RH are thrown across the plaza, landing in a heap cushioned only by a cluster of consort bodies. Fire and smoke and glass and bits of spire rain down over the city in a foul hailstorm of ruin. The sky darkens. The air chokes.

After, SC sits up, and he weeps.

Chapter 49: (four), section (iv.)

(iv.)

Jane Crocker bursts onto the command deck just as her son scurries away through a side door. Her face is burning with rage and shame. Dry tears stick to her cheeks.

JANE: Where did he go?

No context to the question. Just those words. Someone knows, and Jane knows they know. These are the barbs of the Batterwitch sprung to life. Amira stands, very still, by her command station. One set of screens is attuned to the static remnants ot Studio L, now little more than fragments bursting into nothingness above the ocean. She doesn't say anything.

Ross looks at her, something strange and troubled on his face. But he respects the chain of command too much to say anything, to do anything that would compromise Amira's situation more than it is.

She helped Tavros commit subordination. There's no going back from that. Just as there's no going back from the wasteland they all created. A city burns, and a woman commits treason. These are actions, listed in juxtaposition. It is for someone else to judge them. Amira is too busy focusing on her breathing.

JANE: Amira. Dear, sweet, Amira.
JANE: Did you see him?

Jane strides through the room, coming to a stop just before Amira and Ross. Her face burns, twisted in an ugly snarl. Amira wonders how she was ever enamoured with this woman enough to drag herself past hell's event horizon in her name. She swallows. Not for the first time is she glad that her mother is in the ground, just so that she wouldn't have to see the person her daughter has become.

AMIRA: madam president? is everything
JANE: It is abundantly clear that everything is not fine, Amira. Do use your head.
AMIRA: ...

She clenches a fist. Unclenches it. Thinks on the report. Rose Lalonde burned most of the ash cloud away, but they'd be fools to think the Seer of Light can fully avert a global fallout crisis. It's a gusty spring day at high altitudes. Perfect conditions for nuclear waste to circumvent the globe on the whims of the breeze. Half the Human Kingdom is in the red zone. Nobody seems to care about this fact, too caught up in the dogma of an immortal.

JANE: I know he came through here.
JANE: Which way did Tavros go, Amira?
AMIRA: ma'am, the transportalizers on this ship are contained. wherever he is, he can't have gone far.
AMIRA: and i think there are other issues which we really need to
JANE: I do not care.

Jane steps closer, up into Amira's face. Amira feels cold sweat break out. Something curdles in her stomach. What the hell is she doing? She already made her choice years ago, no coming back. Why this? Why now?

JANE: If I say finding my son is the priority, then finding my son is the priority.
JANE: Are we in accord? :B
AMIRA: ...

Still. Amira can't bring herself to talk. She's responsible for one of the worst war crimes in the history of all human-occupied universes. What will resisting her leader do now? Her hands are bloodied, she's gone too far. What does it matter?

AMIRA: ...
JANE: ...Amira?
AMIRA: ...
JANE: ...

They just stare at each other. The technicians stare at the staring. Amira feels her head spin. She doesn't know what she's doing. Doesn't know why she's stalling for time. Why she's calculating exactly how easy it would be for her to disarm Jane and put a bullet in her, how far she could get before the God Tier ressurection kicks in.

She wants to be anywhere else. She wants to have made different choices. But she can't be, and she couldn't have. This is where she is now, nearly forty years of age, sitting in an airship atop the glutted maw of an evil so foul it lacks a cohesive name.

Maybe by now Tavros is where he needs to be. Maybe the kid's gonna get out of here alive. Maybe he's the only good thing Jane's ever done. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

JANE: ...
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ...

She's on the cusp of hyperventilating. Jane is looking at her like she expected to have stepped in shit and instead found a weird bug squirming on the sole of her shoe. Amira feels like that, disjointed and writhing, gasping for something she can't breathe.

Something has to break. Something has to give. The centre has collapsed. The foundation of belief, a scorched curtain billowing in the wind. The play is over, the lights dimmed. Only the memory of something more substantial is left, a posioned ghost whispering sweet falsehoods.

And still, Amira does not talk. Neither does Jane. The only person the woman ever trusted stares at the other. Amira is Amira. Amira is Jane. Amira is something beyond the two of them, beyond the material.

Amira is a collection of decisions that obliterated the Human Kingdom's largest city. Amira doesn't know what do to. Amira doesn't know if she can even still do in the first place.

She's dissociating, she thinks. Everything is washed down, shapes and colours and words and noises. Fragments that are meaningless yet mean everything. Reality broken down into abstraction. Still a reality. Still something beautiful Amira marred for reasons she can no longer justify. She thought this would lead to a better world.

That was an embarrassing fucking joke, all right.

What hurts is that her soul is still alive to scream in anguish. She's not just a faceless background character, fodder for an atrocity. She is Amira. She is real. She is choosing. She is always choosing.

ROSS: ...I, uh, dunno what's going on, Madam President, but, uh,
ROSS: If you want the kid, I saw him go down... that doorway?

And so is Ross. Ross, young and indoctrinated and tragically beyond salvation. He points to the door Tavros fled down, to the secondary transportaliser bay. Amira wants to weep. For what, she cannot quantify.

Jane goes even more still, a feat Amira thought impossible.

JANE: Are you sure?
ROSS: Affirmative. He came in here claiming official business and used the Studio Luna relay comms link.
ROSS: If I may speculate, I think he was attempting to send a signal to potential survivors, ma'am.
JANE: ...
JANE: The treacherous swine. How could I have ever thought he cared about me?
ROSS: I'm, uh, sorry? Ma'am?
ROSS: But also, I think he's posing a substantial security threat, given that he probably intends to open the secondary transportalizer link.
AMIRA: ...
JANE: ...

Jane looks to Amira. To Ross.

JANE: Thank you, technician.
ROSS: Ma'am.

Ross salutes. He doesn't even realise. Amira envies him, she finally decides.

JANE: No doubt he intends to bring Serket and her straggler aboard our ship. I am sure I do not need to spell out why that would be disastrous.
ROSS: No, ma'am.
JANE: So stop him before he gets there.
JANE: You too, Amira. Show the young ones how it's done, hoo hoo. :B

There is something cold and dead behind Jane's eyes. Jane, too, is a series of decisions which evolved into a monstrosity. Cogs bound to systems that only know the language of blood. None of them ever stood a chance of escaping.

So Amira does the only thing she can in this situation.

AMIRA: at once, ma'am.
JANE: Report back when it is done. And don't feel the need to go easy on him.
JANE: He made it very clear where his loyalties lie.
AMIRA: ...
AMIRA: ma'am.

She takes Ross and heads through the doorway to the transportaliser, and she obeys. She obeys because a city is in ruin. She obeys because none of them are getting out of this with their morals intact. She obeys, because rebelling against Jane would do nothing to stop the wheels of the behemoth rolling over this world, again and again and again, until less than rubble is left.

She obeys because she killed the chance to do otherwise a long time ago.

And still, Amira miserably hopes.

Chapter 50: FIVE, section i.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Violence.

Happy 4/13!!!

i.

Thousands upon thousands of miles away from all fighting, both pseudo-canonical and fanonical-parenthetical, in the mountainous jungles of the south-western Consort Kingdom, Roxy Lalonde stands at the mouth of a cave sweating her ass off.

Ostensibly, she is keeping watch as Calliope slips into the exile station buried further in the mountain. In reality, she is trying and failing to get any kind of phone signal, a thing which she is beginning to consider might be important.

ROXY: cmon u dumb bitch work 4 me
ROXY: any day now bestie

She waves the phone in the air, not even quite sure why she has no signal in the first place. Earth C is, like, known for its universal wifi constant. Except sometimes it feels like a fact that slips through the cracks at inconvenient moments, like a cruel narrative joke. Like by design, someone is keeping Roxy in the dark.

ROXY: thats just crazy talk course theres gonna b shitty internet phone problems way out in bumfuck rainforest nowhereville
ROXY: ...
ROXY: ...

The bad feeling started about a day or so ago, when she and Calliope were resting out in the iguana village about forty miles downhill from their current location. The little dudes were all in a fuss about... something. Roxy can't speak their language, nor they Roxy's, so she wasn't able to figure it out. And even if she was, they're on such a strict timetable that she couldn't hang around long enough to even begin to try.

But they were definitely panicking. On one of the TV sets in the hotel restaurant, there was grainy footage of some pretty damn huge-looking explosions. Some city, Roxy guessed. Broad daylight, most likely an assault by Jane. But there weren't enough clues in that brief window for her to figure out exactly where her once-BFF was warcriming.

ROXY: sighhhhh

She kicks at a loose pebble. Watches it tumble off the cliff edge and down into the jungle below. On the horizon, a sheet of mist is forming. Afternoon rains that will soon blow along and rise up to their current location. She's not looking forward to getting drenched, or worse, having to shelter in the exile station for several hours.

ROXY: le sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

If only she had her phone. If only she didn't have the nagging feeling that there's crucial information being kept from her, the absence screaming to her Void senses louder than any presence would. She hopes John and Harry and the others are okay.

At least worrying about this problem distracts from the other problem she's trying hard not to think about, the problem shaped like a cherub she knew and loved more than anything in the world in a past life. There's something... off about Calliope. Something Roxy can't exactly put her finger on. Beyond the obvious that for whatever reason she's no longer got her ring, there are other things, too.

Mostly Roxy gets the sense Callie is not being straight with her. That there's something Roxy doesn't know. She hesitates to call it an ulterior motive, but Calliope's defnitely up to something. Something Roxy isn't a part of.

Callie's always been... a little opaque, but never to this extent. Roxy has never felt so locked out, and she's not even sure if this just a result of over a decade of estrangement. She feels lost. Uncertain.

The clouds are rolling in thicker, a sudden gust of air blowing them uphill. Roxy's not a Time guy, or a Breath guy, so she can't accurately judge how long it'll be till the rains hit her. This close to the equator, the jungle is pretty much always warm and humid, but a strange chill runs down her skin.

CALLIOPE: roxy!!!
CALLIOPE: i've made it in!

Calliope's voice bounces out of the cave. It snaps Roxy out of her bummer thoughts. She turns away from the rain and peers into the cave's mouth.

ROXY: yea? whats there
CALLIOPE: UnfortUnately, i am Uncertain that this station is that which we seek.
CALLIOPE: bUt... there is something. if yoU coUld pop down here for a second?
CALLIOPE: i think yoU shoUld see it.

She doesn't like the way Calliope says that. But she doesn't like not knowing even more. So Roxy swallows her uncertainty and steps into the cave.

The entrance to the exile station is at the end of a damp tunnel that smells of algae. It's another simple spirograph hatch in the ground. The lid is open, set aside against one wall. This time, the symbol is a deep blue. Roxy's not clued up enough on colour symbolism to say either way what that could mean.

She steps into the hole and climbs the ladder down into the station itself. It's laid out like the previous one: a central nexus branching off into three separate rooms. And as expected, Roxy finds Calliope by the command station.

Again, this room is like the last. A vast space with an even vaster console. Unlike the one in the desert, there is no furniture here. There's a crack in one wall, where vines and small flowers are stretching in. It leaves Roxy with more questions than answers, as always.

ROXY: so what is it
CALLIOPE: here.

Calliope motions to the screen. It's dead, right up until she hits a button on the keyboard. Then, all of them light up at once, displaying one single symbol.

Δ

ROXY: uh
ROXY: triangles?
CALLIOPE: i sUppose literally, yes.
CALLIOPE: bUt more than that. i woUld wager that this triangle is a representation of the letter delta, from the skaian mythos and also an extinct ancient earth langUage.
ROXY: hrm
ROXY: ok so we got delta triangles on the screen or w/e
ROXY: whats this gotta do with harry n the kids??
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: that is

Calliope pauses. She doesn't meet Roxy's eyes. Roxy feels a flash of frustration. She was brought into this awful place to... what? Look at a bunch of dumb orange triangles on the screen? Like, that's...

That's...

Orange triangles.

Roxy goes cold.

ROXY: hang on that color
ROXY: thats
CALLIOPE: yes. u_u;
ROXY: but
ROXY: why would it b
CALLIOPE: i... i genUinely do not know, roxy.
ROXY: seriously???
CALLIOPE: yes.

Calliope drums her claws on the console. Roxy doesn't like any of this.

CALLIOPE: i have been following the shadow of the mUse's machinations thUs far, believing in earnestness that this entire setUp was Under her pUrview.
ROXY: uh huh
ROXY: nd orange triangles means it aint her?
CALLIOPE: i... yes.
CALLIOPE: it is probably safe to tell yoU this, bUt the symbol allocated to the sbUrb session the mUse is orchestrating is not delta.
CALLIOPE: it is omega.
ROXY: so what does this mean callie
ROXY: for us n our mission
CALLIOPE: very little, i shoUld hope.
CALLIOPE: even if there is an additional session in play, there will still need to be terminals keyed to the omega groUp.
CALLIOPE: perhaps it simply means there are twice as many exile stations than i thoUght.
ROXY: but who tf would be behind another sburb session??
ROXY: and uh
ROXY: more pressingly
ROXY: does that mean earth cs at risk of like
ROXY: a whole buncha meteors tearing chunks outta it
CALLIOPE: i...
CALLIOPE:

Calliope falls silent. Now more than ever, Roxy wants answers. Wants this haze of terrible uncertainty to lift, just a little.

But she never gets to ask. As they stand there, the lights in the station all turn on at once. A soft hum comes from the command station, and the transportaliser in the corner flickers to life.

ROXY: hey uh

Then, a buzz from her pocket. Roxy fishes out her phone. Somehow, she suddenly has a signal.

And over a dozen unread messages from John. She flicks them open, and reads, and feels her stomach fall out from under her.

ROXY: oh fuck
ROXY: oh FUCK
ROXY: callie we need to go right the fuck now
CALLIOPE: roxy?

Calliope is serene, placid. Roxy doesn't have time to explain. She bolts for the transportaliser.

ROXY: real bad fuckin shit in nuseattle everyone we care about is in hella fuckin danger
ROXY: callie point this pad 2 nuseattle now for the love of fuck PLEASE

She is asking, but only out of courtesy. Her body is alive with energy, so potent that if she concentrates, she could probably just tear through the negative space between here and the Human Kingdom capital. She does not have the time or the patience for such crude measures.

CALLIOPE: ...

There is a moment, fleeting but agonising, where it seems as if Calliope will say no. That they have to remain distant from the war, have to finish this mission. Then her face relaxes, and the moment passes.

CALLIOPE: of coUrse, roxy.
CALLIOPE: let Us make haste.

Calliope heads over to Roxy's side and inputs a set of coordinates into the transportaliser, then pulls both of them through as it flares into action. As they zap out of the room, Roxy can only pray it is not too late.

They disappear from the exile station. Outside, the rains begin to fall.

Chapter 51: FIVE, section ii.

ii.

Jane Crocker feels true panic for the first time when she watches the video feed of Studio L exploding on its way down to Earth C. None of the studio's internal cameras catch anything, but a handful of the TV broadcast satellites in low orbit pick up the whole thing. The blast is flaring, symmetrical, a manufactured supernova puncturing the sky.

The moonbase is gone. The broadcast is dead. There is no sign of Dirkbot. And Vantas's rebels will be on NuSeattle any minute now. Jane clutches the edges of Amira's vacant desk, her whole body overcome with a shudder.

JANE: Gosh fucking damn it.
TECHNICIAN: Madam President?

It's a faceless technician that reaches out to her. Amira and her apprentice are too busy vanishing through the back door, hoping to head off Tavros, the treacherous piece of slime, before he pulls open the ship's transportaliser relay.

Jane Crocker is not an idiot. She knows what that will mean, knows exactly who her son is planning on bringing on board her ship.

There is an object in her pocket. It is the only thing keeping her level. That, and the thin, crumbling hope that Amira will do something worthwhile for the first time in her life.

JANE: Hoo. It's fine. This is fine.
JANE: Things are still under control.
JANE: Status update, please.
TECHNICIAN: Well, um...

They motion their screen to her. Satellite imagery is picking up a sizeable ground convoy of troll rebels closing in on NuSeattle from the north. It's not the bulk of the Outglut^2 forces, but it is still bigger than Jane hoped.

JANE: Okay. Okay.
JANE: How are our forces handling the situation?
TECHNICIAN: The Seer of Light's attack neutralized a good...
TECHNICIAN: Fifty-six percent, now, of our air fleet.
JANE: ...
TECHNICIAN: We're also picking up another fraymotif, ma'am.
TECHNICIAN: Some kind of air current's eating at the radiation.
JANE: Hm.

She purses her lips. The radiation was an unwanted but necessary consequence of the detonation. A barbed edge to prove that it could only come from a band of wretches hell-bent on escalating a race war. The final piece to unite the world against the trolls. Yes, Jane is sad to lose her personal seat of power, but she can always rebuild a better city somewhere else. Maybe the Consort Kingdom, where the climate is more agreeable. That old mansion Jake built for himself when he was nineteen will do nice as a starting point.

JANE: That one has John Egbert's fingerprints all over it.
JANE: Do we have a confirmed read on the gods present in the city?
TECHNICIAN: Early reports indicate the Heir of Breath, the Seer of Light, and the Witch of Space.
TECHNICIAN: There are rumors of the Page of Hope also being present, but there's nothing definitive.
JANE: ...

Fuck. Of course Jake would be here. Hell, that's pretty much every god that matters right there, just below her feet. Save for one exception. Jane doesn't want to know, but she has to ask anyway.

JANE: And the Rogue of Void?
TECHNICIAN: Still AWOL. Nobody's found a trace of her.
JANE: Okay. Okay.
JANE: What's the current strategy of the ground forces?
TECHNICIAN: They're still going ahead with routing the civilians.
TECHNICIAN: Should line up nicely with the troll forces reaching the city.
TECHNICIAN: Have you decided on whether or not to engage this time, ma'am?
JANE: ...

She stops to think. This is a precarious gambit, one that could ruin her just as easily as it could consolidate her global power. Everything about this transgression hinges on a media spin, an easily digestible narrative that doesn't leave people thinking "Jane Crocker is a war criminal".

She's confident, because she can't be anything else. Still, she'd be a fool not to formulate escape plans if this sours.

JANE: Do another search for Karkat Vantas.
JANE: If he's there, engage. If not, give them a showy skirmish, then retreat.
TECHNICIAN: Ma'am.

The technician sends a message to the ground commanders. Jane taps her foot restlessly. Her blood pressure is slamming against the ceiling. Her whole body is strained and taut. But she is still in control. She is in control.

TECHNICIAN: And the gods, ma'am?
JANE: Exercise caution. Any Heroic deaths will only worsen our optics.
JANE: Avoid if necessary. Capture if possible.
TECHNICIAN: Ma'am.

...

...

...

What is taking Amira so long? It's been a few minutes. More than enough time to run to the transportaliser and back. Jane is gripped by the cold strangling sensation of betrayal. She saw how Amira refused to meet her gaze, she saw the hesitance. What if Amira's feeding information to the trolls? She'd be primed to, close enough to Jane that she wouldn't think twice about doubting her.

But then, all her betrayals have come from that inner circle. Jake, Gamzee, and now Tavros. Why not Amira? Why not the sorry sordid lot of them?

Jane is just resigning herself to a good old fashioned staff purge when the mothership's alarms start screaming at her. The technician brings up a map of the airship.

TECHNICIAN: Three intruders.
TECHNICIAN: Secondary transportalizer bay, and moving fast.
JANE: ...

She stares at the dots on the screen, watching as they rush through the halls, bound for the command centre. One dot pulls ahead, advancing with lightning-quick fury.

Something bangs somewhere unseen. A scream, muffled and bloodthirsty.

The ship lurches.

JANE: Oh fuck.

Chapter 52: FIVE, section iii.

iii.

It takes three seconds for the transportaliser to take them from the moonbase to the airship.

Vriska rolls off the pad and into a featureless room. Red walls, red floor, red door. Below her feet, she feels the hum of an engine.

Standing in front of her is Tavros Crocker, wide-eyed and determined.

TAVROS: Vriska,
VRISKA: Is she here????????
TAVROS: Y, you mean, m, jane,
VRISKA: Yes. Is that sanctimonious fascist 8ITCH on this airship????????
TAVROS: Y,
TAVROS: Yes,

Harry and Vrissy pop through behind her. Vriska strides forward, shoving Tavros to the floor.

VRISKA: Out of my way.
VRISKA: I am going to fucking kill her.

(iii.)

The halls feel longer and darker on the march down to the transportaliser bay. Amira walks in step with Ross, guns at the ready.

ROSS: You think we'll stop him before he lets them through?
ROSS: I mean, not that I have a problem with taking on a god or anything.
ROSS: In fact, I bet I could take on Vriska Serket no sweat.
ROSS: I ever tell you I was top of my class for marksmanship? :)

Amira does not know what to think. Does not know what the right thing to do is. All she knows is that she is walking down a hallway, gun out. All she knows is that she is walking away from Jane Crocker, and that is making feel relieved beyond relief.

AMIRA: don't get cocky.
AMIRA: you passed combat training but you're still a technician.
AMIRA: don't think a grade means anything when it comes to the real thing.
ROSS: Bluh, bluh, Amira. I'll show you.

Ross gives a little laugh. Amira wants to weep.

The sign for the transportaliser bay looms closer.

ROSS: I'm gonna go god hunting. ;)

iii.

VRISSY: VRISKA, W8!!!!!!!!

Her cries go unheard. Vriska erupts in an aura of light and punches through the door to the hallway like a troll-shaped bullet.

VRISSY: Damn It!

Harry is helping Tavros to his feet, who looks at the two of them with an odd, newly-found strength.

HARRY: ok, this is bad right?
HARRY: like, vriska just abandoned us in the middle of jane fucking crocker's personal mothership.
TAVROS: Erm,,,
HARRY: also hi tav thanks for saving our asses.
TAVROS: No bother,
VRISSY: Ughhhhhhhh we don't Have Time for Chitchat!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: What if Vriska Gets herself Killed? Then Wh8t????????
HARRY: you can't seriously think we stand a chance taking on the batterwitch herself! vrissy that's crazy talk!
VRISSY: Harry We Just Esc8ped A Death G8me On The Fucking Moon We Are Well Fucking Past Cr8zy At This Point!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: We have cool as Fuck Strife weapons and survivor's Cred We can T8ke her on!
HARRY: mostly i think i have trauma more than anything????
VRISSY: Argh Whatever! We gotta Go!

Vrissy starts running towards the door, fully prepared to go on her own. It's only a small surprise when Harry and Tavros fall in step beside her.

TAVROS: We all have the means to fight, vrissy,
TAVROS: We stand a better chance, together,,
VRISSY: W8. When did you get Cool, Tav?
TAVROS: ,,,
TAVROS: Also, i am the only one who actually knows how to get to the command deck,
TAVROS: Now, let us stop vriska from making a bad situation, into a terrible one,

So they run, young and terrified and unsure of what the fuck else they can do.

(iii.)

ROSS: Hear that?
AMIRA: hear what?

Then she hears it. A grinding rumble, then a scream.

The door to the transportaliser bay lights up like magma. Amira watches, stunned and terrified, as a young troll girl tears through the door like it's wet paper.

Vriska Serket stands in the hallway, dressed in the garb of the Thief of Light, sword pointed right at them.

Ross swallows. Amira sees the moment the fear registers in his eyes. At least not all of his instincts rotted away to sludge.

Amira, meanwhile, keeps her eyes and gun steadily trained on Vriska. An odd, total calm washes over her.

AMIRA: i'm gonna have to ask you what you're doing.

iii.

VRISKA: Get the fuck out of my way or I will run you down.

She points the sword at the Crockercorp lackeys, two piece of shit indoctrinated humans with their noses so far up the fascist grubchute it makes her feel sick.

VRISKA: I am going to kill J8ne Crocker, and you clowns cannot fucking stop me.
VRISKA: So move, or die.

(iii.)

She's serious. Amira knows that from the previous evidence, from a single glance.

Here, then, is the nexus point. The instance of choosing. Her and Ross, microbes before an unstoppable force, given the choice.

Stand aside, or hold firm. Stand with Jane, or reject her.

Live, or die.

Ross doesn't speak, doesn't do anything but tremble, gun waving around worthlessly. At least he has the sense to not speak, to not do anything to ignite this powder keg.

So it falls to Amira. Here, now, at the crucial moment, staring down the enemy of the most powerful woman on Earth C. Her one and only chance to make a choice.

Jane is evil. She knows Jane is evil. Knows there is no forgiveness for her, that in a just world, Jane Crocker and her ideology will be run down into dust.

Ross is beside her. Young, stupid Ross, a kid absorbed into things bigger than himself that he doesn't truly understand. A kid willing to die young, to have his life cut short in service of a fantasy.

There is one clear choice here. The right choice, made by a person with good in their heart, the final life raft to salvation.

But Amira looked at herself long ago and realised there is no redemption, no changing the course of this terrible road they've all found themselves barreling down. What else is there for her other than this foul and terrible loyalty?

They never had the chance to choose otherwise.

AMIRA: i can't let you pass. i can't.
AMIRA: we won't move. we will stop you.
AMIRA: in the name of crockercorp.
VRISKA: Then perish.

Amira hopes in the new world that will come, there will be no more cowards like her.

iii.

Vriska mows the two of them down with her sword. First, the older woman, a clean slice through the chest. Then the kid, a spectacular slash to the throat. They both crumple to the ground, dead and bloody sacks of meat. Good fucking riddance.

She wipes the blood off the sword, then bolts down the hallway with a scream loud enough that the walls themselves begin to rattle.

This ends now.

iii. (Redux)

The command centre's door buckles once, twice. Vriska's howls send the technicians scrambling.

Jane goes rigid as granite, one hand around her handgun, the other in her jacket pocket.

So, Amira failed. Or betrayed her. It makes little difference either way. Everything is crumbling around her.

Backed into a corner by some irrelevant washed-up troll. This theatre of the absurd is reaching a surreal and awful crescendo. But Jane is not one to lose.

Let Vriska try it. Then she will see. Then they will all see.

iii. (Remix)

Tavros winces at the bodies as they pass them.

TAVROS: Amira,,,
HARRY: you knew her?

Harry knows they don't have time to talk, but he has to ask anyway.

TAVROS: No, she,
TAVROS: She was kind,
TAVROS: I wish things could have been different for her,
HARRY: and... are you doing okay?
TAVROS: ,,,
TAVROS: I will think about that, when the time is not now,

He wants to say more, but then there's an explosion from the front of the ship.

VRISSY: We need to Keep Moving!

And they're running again.

iii. (Encore)

She stares the bitch down, naked primal rage burning in her eyes. Her chest pounds in light years per minute. Her fingers, hot with sweat, clutch tighter around her weapon.

One final breath. The apogee before the rebound.

VRISKA: You're a dead woman walking. JANE: You're a dead woman walking.

Then she throws herself into action.

Chapter 53: FIVE, section iv.

iv.

They hold their own for a while, right up until they don't.

John is slamming a hammer made of compressed air into the side of an airship and blasting nearby ground troups with small wind tornadoes. Despite being a sedentary loser for the best part of most of his life, Karkat's honestly impressed the guy still has it in him. The innate boon of godhood, he supposes.

Karkat, on the ground, lobs a grenade across the street and slams his sickle into the throat of a soldier who thinks he's smart enough to sneak up on him. The blood sprays out in a soft mist that lands atop the residual radioactive ash.

They're rewarded with a small lull in the action. The first window they've had since the combat broke out. Karkat decides to chance it.

KARKAT: JOHN, COVER FOR ME.
KARKAT: I'M GOING TO TRY CONTACTING HQ AGAIN.
JOHN: on it!!

John sets up a wind dome around the block. Karkat sinks behind a car and pulls up his communicator, panting for breath.

CG: THIS IS VANTAS.
CG: CAN ANYONE ON ANY AVAILABLE LINE RESPOND ASAP.
CG: ANYONE WHO CAN BE SPARED NEEDS TO GET TO NUSEATTLE RIGHT NOW.
CG: PRIORITIZE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. THERE ARE...
CG: FUCK. MILLIONS OF CASUALTIES.
CG: OUR NUMBERS ON THE GROUND ARE TOO FEW TO HOLD OUT FOR LONG.
CG: THERE'S

What there is, other than the rest of Karkat's message, is a sniper hidden inside an apartment building that both he and John managed to overlook. The bullet flies clean and true, striking Karkat's chest through the armor just below his bloodpusher. He doesn't have the time to wonder about what kind of ammunition they have to get through his armour, because then the bullet pierces his left lung with a squelch of pain.

Karkat gasps and crumples, vision swimming. He shouts out, trying for a warning but landing on a languageless yell.

John, thank fucking god, is on top of his shit today. He spots Karkat fall, then immediately swings an orb of pressurised air right into the apartment building, blasting the solider to shreds. Then he's rushing to Karkat's side, his uncharacteristic elation congealing into concern.

JOHN: karkat, you're hurt!
KARKAT: HHHHGHGHHG... NO SHIT, EGBERT...
JOHN: oh no, what do i do, what do i do!
KARKAT: BULLET... LUNG...
JOHN: D:

Karkat coughs. He feels the blood erupt from his mouth.

JOHN: D: D: D:
KARKAT: HHHHHH

He doesn't have time for this. He leans forward and wraps his hands around John's shoulders.

KARKAT: BUNKER... FEW MILES... OUTSIDE CITY.
KARKAT: GET JADE... GOTTA RETREAT... EVERYONE...

Talking hurts. Thinking hurts. Breathing hurts. Surrounded by gods, Karkat's odds for survival are pretty good, but not in the middle of a battle they're ill-equipped to win on their own.

JOHN: ah... ah, ok! ok i'm on it karkat!
JOHN: stay there, i'll get jade. you'll be ok!
KARKAT: HHHHHGHGHHH.... GO, ASSHOLE...
JOHN: o-ok!! ok ok!

John, wide-eyed and shaky, steps back and then dissolves into wind. Karkat hisses out a bloody breath and stares up at the mass of crimson airships as his vision washes out.

Chapter 54: FIVE, section v.

v.

JAKE: JADE I KNOW WHERE

But his statement goes unfinished. In the newly-cleared sky simmering with purifying embers, the moon looms faintly at its highest point. Miles and miles below that, Jane Crocker's mothership hovers above the city.

Jade's ears suddenly prick up.

JADE: ohhh no
JADE: thats

An explosion rips the mothership in two. Jake recognises the self-destruct pattern almost instantly. His throat tightens.

JAKE: I think this might be

He's talking to empty air. Jade has already zapped away in a cloud of green fire.

JAKE: Damn it. Damn it all!
JOHN: JAKE!!!!

Then John's there, shaking Jake by the shoulders before he can despair too keenly.

JAKE: John? Whats the matter chum your face looks on the verge of blowing a gasket!
JOHN: have you seen jade???
JOHN: i already tried rose and kanaya but they said she left and oh god oh fuck karkat's hurt really bad and--
JAKE: Youre looking for jade?
JOHN: have you seen her?

John's eyes are wide, desperate. Jake tilts his head ever so slightly skywards.

SOLLUX: yeah, she was here. still have the bruises 0n my windpipe, btw.
SOLLUX: wh0 the fuck decides t0 d0 an interr0gati0n in the middle 0f a warz0ne??
JOHN: wait, what?
JOHN: what the hell is going on here?
SOLLUX: i d0n't fucking kn0w where t0 start. d0 y0u want the l0ng versi0n 0r the stupid versi0n.
SOLLUX: 0r, wait, they're actually the same damn thing, uh,
JAKE: FELLAS WE DO NOT HAVE THE FUCKING TIME TO LIPFLAP LIKE THIS!!!!!
JOHN:
SOLLUX:

They both turn to Jake, who is pointing frantically at the two falling halves of the Crockercorp mothership.

JAKE: THERES YOUR ANSWER!
JOHN: w
JOHN: what?
JOHN: oh
JOHN oh fuck
SOLLUX: what n0w?????

Jake, in his blunder, failed to realise. And still fails to realise right up until the point where John tries to conjure up a desperate wind barrier, and a flaming crimson half of Jane's ship is upon them.

Chapter 55: FIVE, section vi.

vi.

Jane fires first. A bullet that sails violent and vicious, and misses Vriska only by the luckiest of lucky margins.

VRISKA: Oh you 8itch.
JANE: You're one to talk.
JANE: Open fire.

The dozens of technicians surrounding them all point their guns at Vriska. Not taking her eyes off Jane, Vriska drops her dice to the floor.

SO LONG, BIT PLAYERS

A pulse of energy ripples out. Every single non-god in the room experiences the rapid sensations of their hearts stopping, followed by sudden death. At the sound of the bodies hitting the floor, Jane does not flinch, but the corner of her mouth does tighten.

JANE: They weren't your people to dispose of like that.
JANE: Now, do me a favor and die before you cause any more problems.

Vriska doesn't give the Jane the satisfaction or warning of a retort. She merely leaps into the air and brings her sword down in a vicious arc.

Jane's own battlefork rises up to meet it in a smooth parry. Vriska has the speed, but Jane is still all raw strength, even behind the layers of corporate chokehold chic. She twists the fork and sends Vriska flying.

VRISKA: F8CK!!!!!!!!

She crashes into a pile of computers that may or may not be important. She hopes they are, out of a petty, violent spite.

Jane is advancing on her, body crackling with a blue energy. She goes in for a stab. Vriska hops up into the air, swinging her leg out in a kick that catches Jane square on the nose.

VRISKA: Ha!
JANE: ...

The energy surrounding Jane coalesces onto her face, repairing the broken nose in an instant. She gives Vriska a smug smirk. Oh, great. Vriska abruptly remembers why she hates fighting healers.

JANE: You've been nothing but a nuisance since the day you washed up on this planet, Serket.
JANE: Scuttling vermin, getting in the way of so many carefully-laid plans.
JANE: Not bad for a bitch that should have died years ago.
VRISKA: Oh, fuck you!!!!!!!!

Vriska goes in for a stab. Jane punches her square in the gut.

VRISKA: OOF

Vriska drops like a brick, gulping for air. Jane brings her fork down again. Vriska rolls out of the way, trying to put distance between them, trying to keep her rage on a leash.

If she wanted to, she could blow this entire airship up with a thought. She is restraining herself only for the sake of the three kids back in that hallway. That is quite literally the only reason.

But she doesn't need to resort to flashy tactics like that. Prime enemy number one is right before her. Vriska can kill her on her own merits. Here and now, she is going to win this war.

VRISKA: You know, I never g8ve much of a shit a8out you, Crocker.
VRISKA: Even when I landed on this shitsack world, you didn't matter one 8th of an inch to me.
VRISKA: 8ut I mattered to you, didn't I? :::;)
VRISKA: I mattered so damn much that you went out of your w8y to capture and neutralize me! And that can't 8e all down to the fact that I 8lasted your piece of shit clown into the dirt.
VRISKA: You're scared of me, Crocker.
VRISKA: No, more than that. You're fucking terrified!
JANE: ...
VRISKA: And you know what?

Vriska launches herself up to the ceiling and corkscrews back down, blade pointed forward. She gouges a solid chunk out of Jane's shoulder. Jane lets out an ugly roar and swings back around in retaliation, but Vriska is faster. She's already on the other side of the room.

VRISKA: You'd 8e right to 8e. ::::)
JANE: You ego-centric little cockroach

Jane rushes her, finally remembering that she actually has god tier powers to work with. Of course, Vriska is better than her in every way. One quick somersault and she's harmlessly evading her blows.

VRISKA: Too slow.
VRISKA: Try again, 8itch. ::::)
JANE: Oh, do go fuck yourself.

For that retort, Vriska gets a ball of blue energy launched right at her face. It stings and burns on contact, and she can feel a foreign power racing through her bloodstream to shut down her major organs. A quick DEEP CLEANSE from her dice puts a stop to that.

VRISKA: Oh, you've got fancy tricks now!
VRISKA: Good. It's kinda l8me fighting a stuffy girl8oss in a suit.
VRISKA: Give me a fucking challenge!

Jane spits in her direction. Vriska goes in for the attack, punching Jane in the throat and delivering a clean slash to her thigh. She shreds through the business suit like it's confetti. Crimson blood spurts out, coating some poor dead complicit technician.

JANE: Gragh...!
VRISKA: Oh, sorry, am I winning? That sucks, doesnt it? ::::/
JANE: You... want to play dirty...?
JANE: Well... two can tango there, Serket. :B

A pulse of energy knocks Vriska back, settling across her body with a familiar tingle. Seems Jane's just now remembering that fraymotifs exist. But from this distance, Vriska's not sure what she's up to, right until--

VRISKA: AAAAAAAAGH
JANE: Hoo hoo! :B

With an ease that betrays something more sinister, Jane sets off a powerful and cruel fraymotif.

CAN'T HELP BEING AN EMPATH!

All at once, every injury inflicted on Jane is transferred from her body and onto Vriska's. Vriska screams and folds in on herself as her shoulder and leg erupt in searing fire.

VRISKA: AAGH FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!
JANE: Come now, Vriska. It was your fault for attacking me in the first place!
JANE: Next time, consider staying dead. I have better things to than entertain you.

Vriska hisses through the pain and angles another dice throw. The sight of FRESHLY PATCHED is like music to her ears. The injuries fade in an instant. Vriska rolls her shoulder to pop the joint, then focuses her gaze directly on Crocker, who is now sauntering over to the central computer.

JANE: Now, this has been fun, but--
JANE: AHHHHAAOOWWWWW

While she rambles on, Vriska sucker-stabs her through the back. Almost immediately, two gaping holes open up in Vriska's own torso. The pain is enough to make her vision dim, but she holds firm anyway. Blood, red and blue, washes around on the ground around them.

JANE: Hhhhh... What the fuck... are you doing??
JANE: You'll only... tear yourself to shreds... first..
VRISKA: I don't... fucking care.

She shoves the sword in deeper. They both scream in unison.

VRISKA: Shit I've 8een through...
VRISKA: You really think a fucking sta8 wound will stop me???????
JANE: You--
VRISKA: GRAAAGH

She pulls the sword out and kicks Jane to the ground. Vriska staggers back, hissing in breaths. She feels nauseous and woozy. Probably punctured an internal organ or something.

Jane writhes on the floor, babbling and cursing. Vriska renews the dice's healing effect, almost weeping in relief when she finally stops having a huge ass gaping hole inside of her.

The fraymotif peters out. Jane rises, gasping for breath, as her own wound fixes itself up. She glares at Vriska, eyes screaming nothing but murder.

JANE: Will you just quit already?
VRISKA: Only when you're dead.

They rush in to meet each other, exchanging another series of blows and parries with their respective weapons. Both pant heavily, but neither gives in.

VRISKA: You sicced a fucking ro8ot on me, Crocker.
VRISKA: A fucking ro8ot shaped like your dead loser friend. Two of them in fact!
VRISKA: Who the fuck does that?
JANE: The Dirkbots... were mission-critical pieces of apparatus.
JANE: You've set us back billions by destroying them.
VRISKA: Oh shut the fuck up!
VRISKA: You have alchemizers and literally infinite grist! None of this shit matters!
JANE: You wouldn't understand, coming from a backwards society as you do.
JANE: The economy--
VRISKA: FUCK THE ECONOMY!

Vriska looses her grip on the sword. Jane swings down. Vriska ducks forward and suplexes Crocker.

Jane soars across the room, slamming against the back wall hard enough to send a spiderweb of cracks splintering across it. The ship groans again.

VRISKA: AND F8CK YOU!!!!!!!!
JANE: Likewise.

This time, it takes effort from Jane to stand. There's a trickle of blood coming from the corner of her mouth, and her legs are shaky as she rises. She's tiring.

Vriska takes a step forward and feels her own legs almost buckle. They're both tiring.

Might as well finish this now, while Vriska still has the upper--

HARRY: vriska hold on don't do anything youaaAAAAAAAAAAA
VRISKA: N8!!!!!!!!

In one deceptively fluid motion, Jane swings around and plants her fork in Harry's gut. The kid screams, splutters out blood, and stares wide-eyed at his human familial relative.

Jane lifts the fork. Harry rises with it.

HARRY: a-auntie jane... wh...
JANE: Harry Anderson. It's a shame, really.
JANE: You're a dangerous threat. A radicalized enemy combatant. I weep for the man you could have been.
HARRY: hhhghh.... sss... stop....

Vriska feels her body go cold. Her vision closes in until there's only a single focal point. Jane, swinging ner nephew around like a gutted fish. Not Harry. Not like this. Not when so much rides on him later down the line. Not when he's Vriska's ticket out of here.

Not when she cares about him so much.

Two more figures appear in the doorway.

VRISSY: HARRY!!!!!!!!
TAVROS: N, no, no, no not this,,,
VRISSY: YOU 8ITCH I'M GOING T8
JANE: Silence, children. I am a busy woman, and I do not have time for.
VRISSY: GRAAAAAAAA

Vrissy charges at Jane, wielding her deck of cards like a born fighter. But Vriska gets there faster. She rushes in and grabs Jane's wrists hard enough that they shatter under the pressure.

JANE: FUCK

Her grip goes weak. The fork holding Harry clatters to the floor. Harry gasps in pain as he slams against the ground. Tavros rushes over to his side, wide-eyed and trembling. Vrissy flings a card like a throwing star, scoring a deep gash across Jane's face.

Vriska, icy with rage, engages in no such theatrics. Before Jane has a chance to do more than start the self-healing process, Vriska grabs the hag by the throat and launches her at the window. The glass creaks and splinters under the pressure, but doesn't break. Jane crumples in a heap, wisps of blue energy wrapping around her hands.

VRISSY: HARRY!!
VRISSY: Vriska, What Do We Do What Do We Do!!!
VRISSY: HELP US!!!!!!!

Vrissy is putting her hands on Harry's stomach, trying and failing to stem the bleeding. The colour is rapidly draining out of Harry's face. Vriska watches this is all from a disaffected distance, then strides across the room.

Jane half-stands, leaning against a desk as she fights to regain her breath. She doesn't get the chance to do more than blink before Vriska acts.

ALL THE LUCK

With a single thought, a golden aura wraps around Jane and forcibly yanks every drop of luck left in her body. Vriska absorbs it into herself with the finesse of a ravenous gullet. The abrupt tank in fortune causes Jane to lose her balance.

JANE: Wh-what did you...
VRISKA: This is where you die, Crocker.

Vriska takes another step forward. Jane shoves a hand into her blazer pocket.

JANE: I think not.
JANE: I don't know what you just did, Serket, but I've not lost yet.
JANE: You however...
JANE: :B

She pulls something out of her pocket. A small, circular device that Vriska recognises too late as a pocket transportaliser.

JANE: Enjoy the fireworks.

With her other hand, she slams a switch on the desk. A siren begins to blare, knives on Vriska's ears.

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT HAS BEEN INITIATED. TRANSPORTALIZERS OFFLINE. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE.

VRISKA: YOU

Jane slams down on the pocket transportaliser. To Vriska's surprise, the thing is lucky enough to actually work. Jane winks out of there in a flash of light, and Vriska's left standing, dazed and exhausted, on a command deck full of corpses.

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT IN FORTY FIVE SECONDS.

VRISKA: Oh fuck.

Chapter 56: FIVE, section vii.

vii.

TAVROS: Wh,
TAVROS: That's,,,
VRISSY: No. No.
VRISSY: NO!!!!!!!!

Vrissy lets out a scream as Vriska stares at the spot where Jane Crocker stood until a handful of seconds ago, as she feels Harry's blood pulsing out from under her, as the alarm cries out their imminent demise.

It's all too much. Too many blows. Too many horrible things, one after another that she barely scraped her way through. And now, and now--

And now after all that, she's going to lose Harry, and then she's going to die inside a self-destructing airship. It's not fair. It's not fucking fair.

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT IN THIRTY SECONDS

TAVROS: We,, what do we do,,
VRISSY: I--I...

She can't think straight. Can't talk straight. So many bodies around her. So much blood. So much doom.

HARRY: hhh...

Harry tries to make a noise, but it's little more than a drenched gurgle that sends a fresh spurt coming out of his torso. Even with Vrissy and Tavros pressing down on him for dear life, they can't stem the bleeding. They can't do anything. There's no time.

And Vriska is still standing there. Vrissy feels something break inside her head.

VRISSY: VRISKA FOR THE L8VE OF F8CK HELP US!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: YOU'RE A LITERAL G8D! YOU CAN G8T 8S O8T OF TH8S!
VRISSY: AND IF YOU DON'T WE ARE S8RELY FUCKED!!!!!!!!
VRISKA: ...

That gets her attention. Vriska rounds on her with a vicious expression. Vrissy lets out a delirious, hysterical laugh.

VRISKA: I don't fucking *know*, okay?!?!?!?!
VRISKA: Sure, I could get my 8ss off this ship no sweat, 8ut you guys????????
VRISKA: I don't know! The 8itch locked up the transportalizers!
VRISSY: I Don't C8RE! H8rry is going to Fucking Die if you don't DO SOMETHING!
VRISKA: WH8T D8 Y8U W8NT ME TO D8, HUH????????
VRISKA: IF IT HASN'T ESC8PED YOUR ATTENTION, WE'RE STUCK ON A W8RSHIP A8OUT TO GO 8OOM. WHAT THE *FUCK* AM I SUPPOSED TO DO????????
VRISSY: SOMETHING! ANYTHING! I DON'T FUCKING KN8W!
VRISSY: YOU'RE VR8SKA FUCKING S8RKET! YOU ALW8YS FIGURE YO8R SH8T OUT!!!
VRISKA: WELL MAY8BE NOT THIS FUCKING TIME, OKAY???????

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT IN FIFTEEN SECONDS

VRISKA: AAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH THIS IS ALL GOING TO SHIT!!!!!!!!
VRISSY: YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT???????? MY 8OYFRIEND IS 8LEEDING TO FUCKING DEATH 8ENEATH ME AS WE FUCKING SPEAK!
VRISSY: WHAT IS THE FUCKING *POINT* OF YOU IF YOU C8N'T HELP????????
TAVROS: GUYS WILL YOU PLEASE *SHUT UP*!
VRISSY:
VRISKA:

Tavros's yell gets their attention. He's taken a hand off Harry's body. Vrissy is about to demand what the fuck he thinks he's doing when she actually looks at where his shaky, bloody hand is pointing.

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT IN TEN SECONDS

Vrissy looks. And she can't believe it.

JADE: jeesh you guys FINALLY noticed!
VRISSY: J8DE?!?!?!?! VRISKA: J8DE?!?!?!?!
JADE: yes yes its me i felt your presence when you popped in here well talk later we gotta get out of here right now!!
TAVROS: What about harry,

ALERT: SELF DESTRUCT IN FIVE

ALERT: FOUR

JADE: dont worry well get him help now we really really have to go!!!

ALERT: THREE

JADE: brace yourselves!!

ALERT: TWO

And then they're all enveloped in a field of green flames. Jade Harley teleports the five of them off of the warship literally one second before it tears itself up in a ball of flame that rains down over an already shattered and broken city.

On the other side of NuSeattle, in a hollowed-out room, a flash of light fills the air. Jane Crocker steps forward into the remnants of her Crockercorp tower private office. Like most of the city, it is nothing but hollow metal and ash, but it is more solid ground than she could otherwise hope for.

She looks out of the empty space where a window once was and bears grim witness to the sight of her mothership's carcass tearing even more chunks out of downtown. Her chest tightens. A good portion of her fleet is still standing, but not enough, nowhere near enough for battle that will now follow in the wake of Vriska fucking Serket's meddling.

JANE: This is fine. This is salvageable.
JANE: I am still in control.
JANE: I am...

Her inner circle, all killed. Her base of operations, flaming shrapnel. Her city, poisoned rubble. Her former friends, all of them turned against her. An enemy army, emboldened and dangerous, marching with the promise of drawing blood.

Jane sinks to her knees, the curdled, suffocating taste of the possibility of defeat thick in her throat. Ash and dust rise up and stain the torn form of her suit a muggy, drained grey. She allows herself this one single moment of despair.

Then she rises, because she is Jane Crocker, and she will always rise. Her communicator is still in one piece. Good. She reaches down and gingerly switches it on, then stares over at the ruins of NuSeattle with an icy, boiling fury.

She is not going to die in this godforsaken city as part of this godforsaken war.

JANE: This is President Crocker.
JANE: The rebels are advancing on Nuseattle.
JANE: Destroy them by any means necessary.

Chapter 57: FIVE, section viii.

viii.

After a brief pitstop to gather the others, an instant in time Tavros barely remembers as more than a blurred smudge, Jade Harley drops everyone off inside the main hallway of an underground bunker built into a hillside a few miles out from NuSeattle. There is noise, there is movement, there is shouting. None of it materially registers to him in the moment.

JADE: is that everyone??
ROSE: It... seems to be that way.
KANAYA: This Is The C Channel Evacuation Bunker Is It Not
JADE: i dunno! these are the coordinates karkat gave me! maybe!
JAKE: Speaking of... oh dear someone might want to do something about him.
JOHN: yeah, he's in a pretty bad way.
KANAYA: Help Me Get Him To The Medical Bay I Can Help
ROSE: Right. I think that's the door at the end of the...
ROSE: Oh dear.
ROSE: John.
JOHN: what?
ROSE: I think you should look.
JOHN: look at what? i don't
JOHN: i
JOHN:
JOHN: oh my god that's
JOHN: i
JOHN: harry

Suddenly all eyes are on the three of them in the corner. Harry's blood is continuing to spill out over the floor, against the the walls, onto the hands of his friends. Tavros feels sick to his stomach.

JOHN: harry!!! i
JOHN: what happened to him??? someone

John sounds strangled, horrified.

VRISKA: The 8atterhag is what happened, John.
VRISKA: He got forked.
JOHN: i
JOHN: oh my god i

He tries to rush to his son's side, but Rose holds him back.

ROSE: John.
JOHN: he

John Egbert begins to sob. Vrissy, hands pressing so hard on Harry's wound that her whole body is trembling, looks up with helpless, desperate eyes.

VRISSY: Please... Help Him.
VRISSY: Mom.

Then Vrissy is crying too, and Tavros feels that horrible, ugly feeling wash over him again. They're just kids. They're all just kids. Children, knee-deep in each other's blood. He doesn't know how they'll ever go back from this.

For no more than ten seconds, there's a horrible silence, populated only by the fading wheezes of Harry in time with the blood pouring out of him. In this moment, Tavros is convinced beyond belief that he is about to witness his best friend die.

KANAYA: We Will Help Him

Kanaya breaks the stasis by striding forwards with grim purpose.

KANAYA: John
JOHN: yeah? what can i
KANAYA: I Need You To Stabilize Karkats Breathing
KANAYA: His Injury Will Hurt Like A Motherfucker But With The Aid Of A Breath Player A Punctured Lung Need Not Be Fatal
JOHN: but what about h
KANAYA: Go Where You Will Be Most Helpful
KANAYA: I Will Not Allow Your Son To Die John Do You Understand
JOHN: i... i...
KANAYA: Jade Please Move Karkat To The Closest Bed And Give John A Hand
JADE: got it!
JADE: come on john
JADE: please
JADE: kanaya has this one in hand you can trust her
JOHN: ...
ROSE: You must. We cannot lose two people today. We cannot lose anyone.

The words from Jade and Rose get through to him. John blinks, gives one last terrified glance at Harry's crumpled form, then sets a sphere of glowing blue air to encircle Karkat. He breathes out a shaky breath, then Jade teleports herself, John, Rose, and Karkat somewhere else.

By now, Kanaya is upon Tavros, Vrissy, and Harry, pulling out her chainsaw. Vrissy looks up at it and gives a scream, lurching forward to shield Harry's body.

VRISSY: No No Don't Hurt Him!!!!!!!!
KANAYA: I Will Not Hurt Him Any More Than He Is Already
KANAYA: He Needs A Surgical Intervention Vrissy Dear And I Cannot Do That With Any Obstructions
KANAYA: Please
KANAYA: Let Go Of Him
VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: Fine. 8ut I'm Not leaving his side.
KANAYA: I Understand

She gives a soft, compassionate smile and puts a hand on Vrissy's shoulder. That's what it takes for Vrissy to exhale a half-sob and take her hands off Harry's wound. Tavros follows suit. He gets the sense that this is the hardest decision either of them have ever made in their lives.

Kanaya revs up her chainsaw and imbues the weapon with a faint green glow - some kind of Space ability, Tavros assumes. He trusts her to do right by Harry, but still tenses up in terror when she brings the chainsaw down to Harry's torso and cuts off his shirt.

KANAYA: Oh Dear

He knows he shouldn't look, but morbid curiosity pushes him to anyway. Blood coats Harry's torso from the neck down, originating from three massive gaping holes along his stomach. Vrissy gives out another panicked sob. Tavros reaches down and clutches Harry's shoulder just to keep himself from dissociating. Harry's bare skin is cold to the touch. That makes it worse.

KANAYA: Vriska
KANAYA: Jake
KANAYA: Get Over Here Now

Her tone brokers no argument. Even Vriska heads over to Kanaya's side in an odd daze.

VRISKA: What is it, Kanaya?
KANAYA: This Is
KANAYA: A Grievous Wound That Crocker Inflicted On This Child
JAKE: Oh my g--
KANAYA: Jake Shut The Fuck Up I Need Your Abilities Not Your Opinion
JAKE:
VRISSY: W8, 8ut... you can Help Him, right????????
KANAYA: I Will
KANAYA: But

Kanaya sighs, and it's as if the weariness of the last few decades of her life is hitting her all at once.

KANAYA: This Is Risky And Will Have To Be Performed Without Adequate Surgical Apparatus
KANAYA: The Unmodified Chances For Success Are Dismally Low
TAVROS: ,,,
VRISSY: ...
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: Were A God Of Light And A God Of Hope Bestow The Boons Of Their Aspects Onto Me Temporarily
KANAYA: I Believe Things Will Turn Out Okay
VRISKA: W8, so... you're asking me to...
KANAYA: I Am Asking You To Give Me A Little Of Your Obscenely Abundant Luck
KANAYA: And Jake I Need A Hope Bubble Or Whatever The Fuck It Is You Do
KANAYA: I Need To Increase The Chances That My Beliefs Will Be Made Manifest
JAKE: Er...
KANAYA: If You Do Not This Boy Will Die And You Do Not Want To Let That Happen
JAKE: Okay, okay! Im on it!

Both Vriska and Jake begin to glow a little. Twin auras of gold and white wrap around Kanaya like dancing ribbons. Just being in proximity to her makes Tavros suddenly believe, without a shred of doubt, that things will turn out well. He grips Harry's shoulder tighter.

TAVROS: You will be okay,,, you will,
VRISSY: Oh God Fuck Please Let That 8e Right.
VRISSY: He Can't Die, Tav. He just C8n't.

Kanaya leans forward, expression grave and determined.

KANAYA: Lets Hope This Works

She reaches down and puts her hands on Harry's stomach, just below the wounds. The auras surrounding her leap off her and dance across Harry's body. When it rushes beneath Tavros's fingertips, the residual effects make him feel strangely giddy.

KANAYA: Im Going To Try Sealing The Wounds Now
KANAYA: Vrissy Tavros If I Ask You To Move Please Listen To Me

Kanaya moves her hands, letting them hover above the most severe of the injuries. Her fingers glow green. Harry's injuries glow green.

Except, in the moment before the holes begin to seal up, something odd happens. All the blood that is still wet and moveable suddenly begins to roll inwards, retreating back into Harry's body while it still can. Tavross watches in mute shock as droplet after droplet peels off his hands and travels towards Harry's wounds. The process takes less than a second, and then all that's left outside of Harry is the dried crusted blood that cakes everything in his proximity.

KANAYA: Well
KANAYA: That Was Unexpected

Kanaya shakes her head, then composes herself, returning to her task. Her whole body goes rigid in concentration as small motes of green light dance across Harry's stomach, knitting together the empty spaces where he should ordinarily be whole. Unlike the blood stunt, this is slow, methodical work. It takes minutes, and those minutes feel like days.

Piece by piece, small threads criss-cross along the punctures, pulling them together like a torn seam, negative space collapsing into solid matter. The wounds go from gaping holes to inflamed semicircles and then to stitched-up jagged lines. They glow once, twice, with imbued Light and Hope. And then the stitches, too, fade, and Harry is left with little more than three tiny scars across his torso no thicker than a strand of hair.

When it is done, Kanaya leans back, panting from exertion. She first wipes the blood off her hands, and then wipes the sweat off her forehead.

KANAYA: It Worked
KANAYA: He Will Live
VRISSY: Really????????
KANAYA: He Is Weakened And Sore And Will Need To Rest And Recuperate On His Own Merits But Yes
KANAYA: Harry Anderson Will Not Die
VRISSY: Oh thank Fuck. Thank fuck.

Kanaya reaches down again and pulls a roll of bandages out from her sylladex. She carefully and diligently wraps them around Harry's scars and the bruising that lines him elsewhere. Then she reaches beneath him and scoops him up in her arms.

KANAYA: Im Going To Bring Him To A Bed To Let Him Rest
KANAYA: Please Give Him The Time And Peace To Recover
TAVROS: Th,, thank you,, ms maryam, for saving him,
KANAYA: I Would Do No Less

Kanaya moves towards one of the doors lining the hallway, kicking it open so as not to disturb Harry in her arms.

VRISKA: I'll, uh, I'll let John know.
KANAYA: Thank You Vriska

Kanaya dips into the room. Vriska slinks away to find the others.

JAKE: I suppose ill, er, see about making myself useful with karkat.
SOLLUX: c00l. i'm g0nna g0 get a s0da. n0t that any0ne gives a shit ab0ut what i'm d0ing.

And then Jake and Sollux are gone, too, and it's just Vrissy and Tavros alone in the hallway. Vrissy leans her back against the wall and brings her knees up to her chest. Tavros sits next from her. A few feet away from them are the dried remnants of Harry's blood.

They sit in silence for a good few minutes. Tavros picks at the blood on his hands. Vrissy stares forward, mouth downturned. After a while, she speaks.

VRISSY: Tav, I feel So Fucking Tired.

Her voice breaks as she talks. The lump in Tavros's throat thickens.

VRISSY: This is all so Fucked. We were Kidnapped and put in a Death G8me and I had to watch So Many people die and then Your Fucking Mom tried to murder Harry. I...
VRISSY: What the Fuck am I supposed to Feel?
TAVROS: I,,, i do not have the answer,
TAVROS: This is, a terrible situation,

He closes his eyes. His whole body hurts. He is thinking of Harry, who came inches away from death. Of Amira, who died because she was never able to choose right in the end. Of all the trolls senselessly and indiscriminately slaughtered as part of the death game.

He is also thinking of his mother, who birthed him and named him and kept him as her possession and then tried to kill him. And of his father, a man never able to do what is right until there is no option left to him.

So much of his world is ruptured, in ruins. He doesn't know where to begin with sorting through the detritus.

VRISSY: You know, I... I had this Idea.
VRISSY: That once the War started, I was gonna get a Prime Commission and 8ecome a 8adass re8el hero girl. I was gonna 8e the next Vriska.
TAVROS: ,
VRISSY: 8ut... 8ut that ob8viously didn't fucking happen, Ha.
VRISSY: I mean, Vriska showed Up out of nowhere and...
VRISSY: It's Clear I was never going to 8e Anything Like Her, not really.
VRISSY: I'm not an action Heroine. I'm just a Dum8 Kid who thought she could pl8y at 8eing the Main Character of Reality.
VRISSY: And now look! I've seen so many people Die, Tav. It...
VRISSY: I had these Psychic Visions for a little while. Flashes of 8ad Futures that 8urned into my mind's eye.
VRISSY: They would Come and Go. 8ut...
VRISSY: 8ut the sight of all those People dying? It won't go Away, Tav.
VRISSY: I keep Seeing it, again and again and Again, all the time Forever.

She runs a bloody hand through her hair. Tavros is thinking of Harry, impaled clean through by Jane Crocker's specibus.

VRISSY: I... I don't want this.
VRISSY: I don't want 8ig Events or Intense Action or any of it.
VRISSY: I want things to 8e Mund8ne and Normal. I want to not have these Horri8le Images 8urned into my Mind.
VRISSY: 8ut... it won't stop, will it, Tav? It's...
VRISSY: It's never Going to stop. And I just...
VRISSY: I Just...
VRISSY: I...

Tavros watches the moment the dam breaks. Vrissy gives out a pained howl, then doubles in on herself, shuddering with desperate, uncontrollable sobs.

Silently, Tavros leans forward and wraps his arms around her shoulders. She leans into him, shaking and weeping and screaming, every single feeling she kept bottled up over the last few days erupting with hydraulic force. Tavros clutches her tight and then starts crying himself, crying for too many things to name.

And so they are there, two small things churned up and adrift, holding onto each other because there's nothing left that's still solid and standing.

Eventually, the outburst eases, the tears slow. Vrissy is the one to slowly disentangle first. She sits up straight against the wall and sighs. Her shoulder still brushes up against Tavros's though.

VRISSY: God, I...
VRISSY: Fuck, that was em8arrassing.
TAVROS: It's,, fine, vrissy,
TAVROS: I think we both needed it,
VRISSY: ...Yeah. M8y8e.
VRISSY: Thank fuck Vriska wasn't Here to Witness that though.
VRISSY: Won't catch Me looking L8me.

She tries to put on her cocky smile, but it falls hollow.

TAVROS: I won't tell, if you won't,
VRISSY: Thanks, Tav.
TAVROS: What else, are friends for?
VRISSY: Yeah.
VRISSY: ...
TAVROS: ,,,
VRISSY: ...

She drums her fingers against the cold metal ground. If Tavros strains, he can hear John and Jade talking heatedly about something. He hopes it doesn't mean Karkat's in a worse way than they thought.

VRISSY: What the Hell do we do now?
TAVROS: I don't, i don't know,,,
TAVROS: In the short term, wait for harry to recover,
VRISSY: 8ut past that?
TAVROS: Hm,
TAVROS: That is,,
TAVROS: At the very least, i do not think we need to involve ourselves in this war, any longer,
VRISSY: Yeah. Yeah I'd like That. 8ut...
TAVROS: But,,,?
VRISSY: It's... I Dunno.

Vrissy stretches her legs out, then curls them back in on herself again. It's a hesitant, uncertain motion.

VRISSY: It's Vriska.
TAVROS: Vriska?
VRISSY: Yeah. I...
VRISSY: I Think, in a lot of Ways, I let her push us into all this.
VRISSY: I mean...
VRISSY: If I hadn't Gone with her after I watched her Murder Gamzee Makara and ended Up on The Meteor... None Of This would have Happened, you Know?
TAVROS: Do we know that, for a certainty?
VRISSY: Uh...
TAVROS: Because, i think, maybe it would have happened, regardless,
TAVROS: Maybe not in the way it did, but it still would have,
VRISSY: You Don't
TAVROS: I do, though, probably,
TAVROS: I know what my m,
TAVROS: I know what jane crocker is like,
TAVROS: We would have been dragged into this,, sooner rather than later, even if vriska was not a factor,
TAVROS: So, please, vrissy,
TAVROS: Stop blaming yourself,
VRISSY:

Vrissy stiffens and freezes like a deer caught in the headlights. Tavros feels something heavy sink in his chest. He's right on the money. He hates that he is.

TAVROS: None of this is your fault, vrissy,
TAVROS: That much is, um, very obvious,
VRISSY: I
VRISSY: 8ut
VRISSY: I got people Killed, Tav.
VRISSY: Galios, Enfuir... If I hadn't...
TAVROS: If you hadn't, what?
TAVROS: If you hadn't been a good person, whose life they valued enough to sacrifice their own for?
VRISSY: ...
TAVROS: It is not as if, you forced them to die for you, vrissy,
VRISSY: 8ut Still, if I hadn't 8een there.
TAVROS: If you hadn't been there, no, they would not have died for you,
VRISSY:
TAVROS: But also, i think, if you hadn't been there,
TAVROS: Nobody would have made it out alive,
VRISSY: No. No, that was All Vriska.
TAVROS: Was it?

She opens and closes her mouth. Tavros puts one gentle hand on her knee and looks her in the eyes.

TAVROS: Vrissy, i saw most of the footage,
TAVROS: Vriska may have blown up the moonbase, but,
TAVROS: Who was it, that helped lead everyone, to the escape pods?
TAVROS: Who was it, that took a stand against the unsettling robotic simulacrum of dirk strider?
TAVROS: Vriska did not help to save the lives of three trolls, that was you, vrissy,
TAVROS: That was you and harry,
VRISSY: I...
VRISSY: Really?

Her eyes are filling with tears. Tavros nods, imparting onto her all the kindness that was denied to him.

TAVROS: Yes,
TAVROS: Those guys are alive, in part due to your actions,
TAVROS: You made a tangible, worthwhile difference,
TAVROS: So do not think, for one single second, that any of these horrible things, are your fault, ever,
VRISSY: Tav, I...
VRISSY: Thank you.
VRISSY: Thank You.

She leans her head on his shoulder and exhales slowly. Tavros feels some of the tension slip out of her. Neither of them says anything. They just sit there, two steps safely back from the brink. They breathe, and they think, and they reach for this tentative peace and grasp it for all its worth.

Then, a thought comes to Tavros.

TAVROS: You know,
VRISSY: ?
TAVROS: I cannot help but wonder,
TAVROS: What was it, exactly, that vriska was aiming to do, prior to all this?
VRISSY: Hm.
VRISSY: I don't know, Actually.
VRISSY: I Think she wants to find a Way to get out of this Universe and 8ack to her Girlfriend.
TAVROS: I see, that makes sense, in the asinine absurd way, that nearly every event that governs our reality does,
TAVROS: My query on the matter, though,
TAVROS: Is, why has she been so insistent on being with us?
VRISSY: ...

Vrissy stretches, rolling her neck.

VRISSY: I think... she mentioned Something a8out it at Some Point.
VRISSY: May8e, uh... if I remem8er, she was Thinking a8out using us as a Way to Get Into the good gr8ces of the Re8ellion.
TAVROS: Even though, they are all her childhood friends?
VRISSY: I don't know. 8ecause turns out Even though I'm a Literal Ecto8iological Descendant stroke Clone, i do Not in fact know Vriska's Mind.
VRISSY: May8e the years of Separ8tion made her uncertain?
TAVROS: Perhaps,
TAVROS: But still, why any of it?
VRISSY: That's... I Think she's trying to Fish Out for any Advanced Tech the Re8ellion has, see if any of it can get her Out Of Here.
VRISSY: Honestly? Looking 8ack, I don't think she has a Fucking Clue what she's doing.
TAVROS: Yeah, i am starting to get that sense,
VRISSY: So I guess all those Stories a8out her 8eing this Cool and In Control hero were... wrong????????
TAVROS: Perhaps, vriska serket, is indeed more fallible, than we all thought,
VRISSY: I mean... yeah. I was 8linded 8y her aura and my Own Hero Worship Complex, 8ut...
VRISSY: If you think a8out it, she's literally only a Couple Years older than us. There's no Way she knows what she's doing.
VRISSY: Not like my Moms and the Other Re8els.
TAVROS: So, um, given all that,
TAVROS: Perhaps,,
TAVROS: It would be in our best interests, to ditch her?
VRISSY: ...

She looks at him, long and hard. There is a conflict behind her eyes.

VRISSY: May8e. I don't know.
VRISSY: She's in With The Re8els now, so she might ditch Us first.
VRISSY: 8ut I think... despite All That, she is still a strong and 8adass fighter.
VRISSY: She m8de things worse sometimes, 8ut she also Saved Our Asses almost just As Much.
VRISSY: It's just a Sense, 8ut...
VRISSY: I think it would Pro8a8ly 8e in our 8est interests to stay with Her until Things Settle Down.
TAVROS: ,,,

He doesn't know what to think on the matter. It's a problem without a clear-cut solution. It's hard to know what's the right choice, what's best for all of them. He doesn't have any answers. He's just tired.

Their conversation is interrupted when one of the doors opens and a figure steps out.

ROSE: Vrissy. Are you okay?
VRISSY: Mom.

Rose Lalonde walks over to the two teens in the corner. She smiles, but it is a heavy smile.

VRISSY: Is Karkat Okay????????
ROSE: Karkat will be fine, dear. Your mother has it in hand.
VRISSY: That's good. That's really good.
ROSE: Indeed. But more than that.
ROSE: How are you holding up?
VRISSY: I... I'm Very Tired, I think.
ROSE: Mm. Understandable.
ROSE: You've... been through a lot, Vrissy.
ROSE: All you kids have.

She tilts her head to acknowledge Tavros. He feels something warm and choking when he feels that loving, maternal gaze set upon him. Envy, perhaps. Mourning for what he never had. He's not sure. Mostly it just makes him want to cry.

ROSE: Which is why... I want to say sorry, Vrissy.
ROSE: I am your mother. I should have done more to keep you out of harm's way.
ROSE: It was a grim, foolish mistake. One I will lament for the rest of my life.
VRISSY: Mom, it's okay. I don't 8lame You.
VRISSY: I really Wanted to do Cool Re8el shi--uh, Stuff. I was gonna Sneak Off either way.
VRISSY: And... who could have Seen Vriska Coming?
ROSE: ...True. Serket was a surprise.
ROSE: Although, it is... oddly uncanny to see Vriska as I remember her fretting over Karkat's bedside. It all has a touch of the surreal, wouldn't you say?
VRISSY: I guess? I never Knew Vriska like you all Did, on account of the fact I'm Literally Only Sixteen and was 8orn in this universe.
ROSE: Indeed.
ROSE: Anyway. That is neither here nor there.
ROSE: I came here to give you this.

She pulls out four items from her sylladex: two protein bars, and two bottles of water. She hands one set first to Vrissy, and then to Tavros.

ROSE: Kanaya and I figured that you must be running on empty. After the ordeal you've been through, you need to regain your strength.
TAVROS: Th, thank you, ms lalonde,,
VRISSY: Yeah, Thanks Mom.
ROSE: My pleasure.
ROSE: And remember.

She crouches down to put a hand on each of their shoulders. Tavros has to regulate his breathing so as not to make a fool of himself.

ROSE: You are safe here. We will all make sure of that.
ROSE: Regardless of everything else, you are kids. I might be... not the greatest at motherhood. But I swear to you. We will protect you.
VRISSY: Ha. W8y to go weirdly Mushy, Mom.
ROSE: Call it your punishment for scaring us half to death.

Vrissy smiles shyly. Then, after a moment of hesitation, she grabs Rose's hand with her own.

VRISSY: I'm glad you're here, Mom.
ROSE: Me too.

Tavros lets none of what he is feeling show. He is rigid, retreating somewhere into his own mind. If he doesn't think about it, he doesn't have to acknowledge the jagged, bleeding wound inside his own soul.

Rose and Vrissy hug. Then, Rose pulls away.

ROSE: There are free rooms for you to use.
ROSE: They're on the extreme utilitarian side of things, but they have beds and a shower, so you can rest and freshen up. You both look like you need it.
ROSE: Also... Here.

She pulls out two more things from her sylladex: two sets of clothing, neatly folded.

ROSE: A change of clothes. Gives you something else to wear that isn't battle-torn, bloody, or property of Jane Crocker.
VRISSY: Haha, yeah...

Vrissy looks down at herself, as if just remembering she's still in her death game uniform. Tavros looks at his own clothes, so caked in blood that he fears it will never wash out. He graciously takes the spare outfit, deftly captchaloguing it before he can stain these with his bloody hands.

TAVROS: Thank you, again,,,
TAVROS: This means a lot,
ROSE: Of course. Any time.
ROSE: Now, go take care of yourselves. Rest up.

Her warm smile suddenly turns grave for half a second. Tavros gulps around the chill.

ROSE: We all need to be as prepared as possible.
ROSE: I... I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be... eventful.

There is something in her expression that frightens Tavros, but neither he nor Vrissy say anything. And then it passes, and Rose inclines her head at them before turning away.

ROSE: I'm going to go and see how Karkat's holding up.
ROSE: Get some sleep, you two. I'll see you in the morning.

Then she's gone. The hallway is warm and silent, but there is a terrible, chilling sound ringing through Tavros's ears. The precipice is still there, and it is still advancing on them. One way or another, they are all going to have to see what lies beyond its gaping maw.

They stand in a bunker on the edge of war, and the iron grasp of inevitability draws ever tigher.

And light-years away, unseen by those in the narrative field, an extracosmic entity crafts and reshapes the inevitable with the finesse of a grim conductor set on fulfilling one great and dreadful purpose.

The convergence draws nearer.

Chapter 58: (five), section (i.)

Notes:

Happy 2 year anniversary to Pickle Route! (2020/06/12 - 2022/06/12)

(i.)

CARA: we can't afford to stay here.
CARA: guys, please.

Evening falls in a quiet hush, a comforting darkness over a broken world. Cara stands in the doorway of the relay base, every eye on her. Nobody says anything for a long time.

AQUINI: why.
AQUINI: why should we keep going.
AQUINI: she's dead.

Aquini isn't looking at her. He's looking out of the window, towards the coast where the escape pod sits in the shallows.

AQUINI: what's the fucking [POINT].
AQUINI: enfuir died on a spaceship for a bullshit reason. what does any of this matter.
CARA: ...

Cara falters. She can't come up with a response right away. It's an odd flicker of vulnerability. Arti studies it with interest. At the very least, it's something else to think about other than the pain.

They all got a rough version of events thanks to the shared coordinated efforts of Aquini, Fellna, and Burnei. Their accounts were disjointed and agonised, but they conveyed what needed to be known. Enfuir was killed as part of the death game. She sacrificed herself to keep her friends alive.

There is a debt in the air, heavy and torturous in the knowledge it can never be repaid. Enfuir is gone. Everyone else is still here. After everything, this is how it ended. It's not fair.

CARA: i get it. i really do.
CARA: but all the other stuff i told you guys doesn't suddenly stop mattering just because enfuir's dead.
CARA: i am sorry, but we need to be in position before the--
BURNEI: You knew.
CARA: ?
BURNEI: You fucking knew wh&t w&s going to h&ppen to Enfuir.
BURNEI: M&ri showed me the notes.

Burnei stares at her in vicious fury. Bronze tear stains stick to his cheeks. He and Aquini stand inseparable.

CARA: if she did, she should have also told you that i can't see into the parenthetical.
MARI: Which btw is a fake thing that means nothing.
CARA: please, don't.
MARI: Dont what? Dont mourn for our fucking friend?
MARI: Dont call you out on your absolute bullshit?

Mari folds her arms and advances on Cara. Cara flinches back, but Arti doesn't trust her actions. Cara has abilities the likes of which can overpower any of them in an instant. This charade is only a courtesy.

CARA: this is not my fault.
MARI: Isnt it? Because i dont recall any of us being the ones to decide to get the fuck out of nuseattle and then get kidnapped.
MARI: If we hadnt followed you we wouldnt have ended up in that bunker and enfuir would still be alive.
CARA: if you hadn't followed me you'd have died in the bombing of nuseattle, just like--
MARI: Dont. Dont fucking try that, bitch.
MARI: You only care about using us for whatever the hell it is youre really after.
MARI: You dont give a shit about any of us, do you??
CARA: ...
CARA: ...

Cara glares at the bunch of them, then turns towards the exit.

CARA: you guys are upset. you need a moment.
CARA: i'll give you time to cool off, then we'll talk about moving.
MARI: Hey dont you dare go anywhere!!!

But Cara slips out of the relay station without another word. Arti watches her make her way down to the shoreline. She does not leave footprints in the sand.

Mari kicks at one of the tables in the room.

MARI: FUCK!!!
MARI: We can never get anywhere with her.
FELLNA: > Mari: Do not get riled up. ==>
FELLNA: > She's not worth it. ==>
MARI: I know, but...
MARI: But...
FELLNA: > The temptation for answers is a strong one. ==>
FELLNA: > Worse when we're dealing with such a consummate liar. ==>
DAN: That's obvious. But...
DAN: Why say it like that?

Fellna motions to the papers Mari stole. Their colour has mostly faded now, save for one or two loose sheets. So many of the prophesied events have come to pass, or whatever it really is. Somehow, that sight makes Arti feel worse.

FELLNA: > Here. ==>
FELLNA: > Cara claims she can't track us, because we are quote unquote "parenthetical". ==>
FELLNA: > But look. ==>
FELLNA: > These papers here clearly talk about the death game, meaning that that does not qualify as a parenthetical event. ==>
CHRISTINA: and since you guys were part of that
CHRISTINA: it means cara absolutely could know what was going on
FELLNA: > [S] Bingo. ==>

Fellna smiles. It is not a good smile.

CHRISTINA: so
CHRISTINA: she kept that knowledge from us to keep us compliant
CHRISTINA: just like the nuseattle stuff
FELLNA: > It looks like that, yes. ==>
DAN: Obviously, nobody would agree to go with her if we knew this would happen.
AQUINI: i hate her. i think i really hate her.
MARI: Me too.
BURNEI: I think its worse bec&use she did liter&lly s&ve us from being bombed to fuck & b&ck.
BURNEI: C&nt &rgue th&t we didnt live long enough to go through this shit bec&use of her.
BURNEI: So... I dont know.
FELLNA: > Burnei: Is that really true, though? ==>
BURNEI: Huh?

Fellna begins pacing up and down the room. Arti wishes they could share in the conspiratorial energy, but they have too many reasons to fear Cara.

FELLNA: > Think about it this way. ==>
FELLNA: > What if the NuSeattle bombing happened *because* we were in the death game? ==>
AQUINI: h
AQUINI: how does that make sense
FELLNA: > From what Vrissy and the others said, it seems that the death game was devised as a means of containing Vriska Serket. ==>
FELLNA: > Crocker obviously feared what a vengeful, powerful troll could do to her operations. ==>
AQUINI: okay, i get that. but...
AQUINI: how does that equate to "oh let's drop a [FUCK TON] of nuclear bombs on a city"?
FELLNA: > This is speculative based off the notes, but the sequence of events seem to be as follows. ==>
FELLNA: > They need to neutralize Vriska, so they come up with the death game. ==>
FELLNA: > In order to have a death game, you need participants. So they snatch up a group of refugee trolls fleeing NuSeattle. ==>
FELLNA: > I think we were picked because unlike, say a Cake Mill prisoner, none of us are particularly politically contentious. ==>
FELLNA: > Nobody would go out of their way to save us. ==>
BURNEI: D&mn.
FELLNA: > So we were the justification. The extras to the scene to give it legitimacy, as far as anything like this *can* be legitimate. ==>
FELLNA: > But unlike us, the other players *were* important. Gods and the children of gods seem to attract attention. ==>
FELLNA: > From there, it seems that the gods decided to head to NuSeattle in pursuit of their children, knowing somehow that Crocker was already there executing a political coup. ==>
DAN: There was a coup?
FELLNA: > If Cara's notes are to be believed, yes. ==>
DAN: Damn.

Every word makes Arti feel more and more uneasy. They can't take their eyes off of Cara, who is standing by the water's edge and doing literally nothing. They can still feel her eyes on them. Can still feel the presence of what lies beyond this veil of reality.

FELLNA: > So. ==>
FELLNA: > The gods storm NuSeattle, and most likely aggress Crocker in the process. ==>
FELLNA: > Jane Crocker is a powerful woman, but she is also no match for half a dozen vengeful gods. ==>
FELLNA: > So it is likely that she dropped the bombs in order to stop the other gods. ==>
FELLNA: > Gods who wouldn't have been there if not for the death game happening in the first place. ==>
FELLNA: > A death game which wouldn't have happened without us being kidnapped. ==>
MARI: That... makes a hell of a lot of sense.
CHRISTINA: so that means that if you wanna get technical cara is kind of responsible?
CHRISTINA: in that she herself ended up orchestrating the very threat she said she was trying to protect us from
CHRISTINA: all while knowing that helping us would cause it in the first place
CHRISTINA: uh
CHRISTINA: this is actually really terrible and stupid
AQUINI: hm.
AQUINI: not sure if i buy it, though.
AQUINI: i mean. were we really [THAT] necessary here?
AQUINI: like, some random girl accelerates events by smuggling a group of trolls out of a city?
AQUINI: even with all this weird shit happening... i dunno.

Aquini shrugs. His face is uneasy. They are all desperate for answers.

FELLNA: > What else makes sense? ==>
FELLNA: > It can be surmised that Cara easily has god tier powers. Are shaping world events not then in her purview? ==>
AQUINI: but
AQUINI: why?
AQUINI: why us anyway? we were obviously not the [ONLY] trolls hiding out in nuseattle, so
AQUINI: what makes us crucial components in this bullshit scheme?
FELLNA: > The million dollar question. ==>
FELLNA: > A happy coincidence, or--
DAN: I think I know why she picked us.
AQUINI: dan?

Dan's eyes are wide. He clenches his fists, body taut with nervous energy. Arti looks at him and feels a thrill of fear. They know what's going to be said next. They do not want the words to be said.

DAN: Yeah. I...
DAN: I think, based on all the stuff we've encountered, that, uh,
DAN: I think Cara's prepping us for a Sburb session.
BURNEI: You
AQUINI: hold on, [WHAT]?
FELLNA: > That is... ==>
FELLNA: > Dan: Elaborate. ==>
DAN: Look, it's kinda weird, right?
DAN: But after you guys got abducted, I got hurt in the process.
DAN: Cara patched me up with a vim replenisher. And it actually worked.
AQUINI: so?
FELLNA: > So, you mean to say a Skaian abstraction was successfully applied to you? ==>
DAN: Yeah, I am. Which blatantly should not work, right?
DAN: We all know the lore and shit. Only those who are retroactively chosen to play the game can manifest these abilities.
BURNEI: Ill t&ke your word for it. Never h&d & he&d for &ll th&t theologic&l cr&p.
MARI: Its right. Hes right.
FELLNA: > So... what? ==>
DAN: I don't know why, but... I think we're fated to end up playing the game.
DAN: And Cara wants to take advantage of that for some reason.
AQUINI: ...
AQUINI: ...
AQUINI: nah. nah.
AQUINI: nah this is. this is fucking crazy talk.

Aquini barks out an unsteady laugh, the laugh of someone prepared to do all it takes to deny the reality in front of them. Arti is envious. Arti is terrified.

Cara looks up at the sky outside. Arti swallows a lump in their throat that burns like acid.

AQUINI: that goes against, like, [EVERYTHING] we know about reality.
AQUINI: no way. we don't have crazy insane god powers and we're [NOT] gonna go doom our world to make a new universe. bullshit.
AQUINI: it can't
FELLNA: > It explains Enfuir. ==>
AQUINI: stop
FELLNA: > She has... *had* premonitions of doom, remember? ==>
FELLNA: > She was guided by the knowledge of who would die and how. ==>
FELLNA: > Remember how she assisted Vrissy with... whatever was going on here? ==>
AQUINI: no, don't
FELLNA: > I'm not the best at classpect theory, but... ==>
FELLNA: > Were I to hazard a guess, I'd say that was a precocious manifestation of latent Seer of Doom abilities. ==>
AQUINI: shut up. this is insane. it's not.
FELLNA: > Those predestined for this stuff are often drawn to the cosmically eventful. The invisible hand of fate, tricking us into thinking we have free will. ==>
AQUINI: fellna [SERIOUSLY]
FELLNA: > It makes sense. It makes far too much sense. ==>
AQUINI: n
AQUINI: no i
AQUINI:
AQUINI: fuck

Aquini grips the edge of the table, trembling. Sweat breaks out across his forehead. Something heavy and horrible hangs in the air. It's suffocating, cloying and crawling along your skin. Arti turns away from Cara and still feels her burning a hole in the back of their head. Something is closing in, something terrible and they don't know what and

They have to stop this. Before the madness takes hold.

ARTI: it... still doesn't mean anything.
ARTI: like, maybe we're compatible with skaian powers. that seems to be a thing that happens.
ARTI: but it doesn't mean something *has* to happen as a result.
FELLNA: > Arti. ==>
ARTI: no, i
ARTI: i've been thinking about this since the possibility came up.
ARTI: we're just assigning importance to it based on a narrative that was applicable to a universe that is literally dead and rotting.
ARTI: we might have weird powers. all that means is that we might have weird powers.
ARTI: everything else is just conjecture. so
ARTI: so i think we should stop going down this road before we scare ourselves.

The others look at Arti. The gazes burn. Arti wants to break out of here, to run away, to, to... They don't even know what. They feel like they're losing control. There is no right answer here.

They miss Enfuir so much.

CHRISTINA: no yeah you mentioned this earlier arti
CHRISTINA: means that technically we dont have to do anything we dont wanna do
CHRISTINA: which obviously includes following along with caras schemes
ARTI: no, that's
AQUINI: assuming this bonkers [HORSESHIT] holds weight, i think that's a valid point.
AQUINI: seven of us with divine agency? cara'll have to answer to us.
FELLNA: > So... we would not have to play the game. We do not have to doom our world. ==>
MARI: I mean, given that theres no such thing as a "doomed timeline" or whatever the fuck they were called, I think so.
MARI: Fuck her. We can do whatever.
BURNEI: Me&ning we dont need to risk h&ving &nyone else get killed in service of C&r&s inscrut&ble motives.
ARTI: but
DAN: We have the ability to choose for ourselves. We can just... stop playing along.
DAN: Ditch her. Go home.
DAN: Or make a new one. Or whatever we want.
DAN: We're free.
ARTI: you guys need to stop, why aren't any of you remembering--

But their protests go unheard. The others are ablaze with an electric energy, one part empowerment, one part desperation, and two parts trauma. The air is singing with the promise that they can do what they want, be who they will, fuck anyone who tells them otherwise. It is intoxicating and Arti wants nothing more than to drink of it.

Except they can't. None of them can. There is something all-consuming and dreadful looming past the point of perception. Compared to the nothingness eating at all things, what is this spat of rebellion? What are they? In the face of that, nothing more than a bunch of jumped-up side players. Parenthetical insects pretending that their dirt-writhing is relevance.

DAN: Hey, Arti. You okay?
DAN: You look, uh... like you're about to combust.
ARTI: uh

Dan is stepping forward, putting his hands on Arti's shoulders. They want to lean into him and weep more than anything. Something is wrong, terribly, horribly wrong.

ARTI: spaced out i think.
ARTI: hey, uh... what's with the others?

Across the room, the others are gathered by the door. The papers have been picked up, the lights switched off. In the corner, Burnei is fiddling with the transportaliser.

DAN: We're leaving, uh...
DAN: How long were you out for?
ARTI: i don't

It feels like only minutes. But the moon has shifted position. The tide has receded a little. The only two things to not have moved are Arti and Cara. She is still there, still not moving. Everything is moving too fast, a blurred slow motion.

ARTI: how long since
DAN: I mean, we decided this like fifteen minutes ago. Are you alright?
ARTI: i

It's all disjointed. Like a skipped record. Another chronological dark spot among many. Arti does not feel in control. Arti has never felt in control.

ARTI: i don't know. i
ARTI: why are we
DAN: Like we decided, we're more than capable of deciding for ourselves.
DAN: Staying with Cara is trouble. Better to go it alone before anyone else gets hurt.
DAN: She doesn't have power over us. We can choose this, Arti.
DAN: Whatever you're thinking is just down to the fact she took advantage of our trauma.
ARTI: no, but she
ARTI: she
DAN: Fuck her. I am sick of horrible things happening to us, Arti!
DAN: I love you. I love all of us. We need to stop putting up with shit like this.
DAN: We are able to choose.
ARTI: dan

They lean in tighter. Squeeze around Dan's shoulders. He is warm and brimming with vitality. Their body is fit to burst, overflowing with love and terror. They don't know why they're scared, why the others are choosing like this. They don't know anything. They never knew anything. Not Arti, not anyone.

But god, oh god does Arti want to believe. That they can live, that they and Dan and everyone else can get out of this nightmarish slog of events and just be. They want it with an ache that burns harsher than anything else, an emotion so powerful it could tear this building down and blast away half the ocean.

They are so scared. So, so fucking scared. For themself. For the others. For Cara. Of Cara. Of things they can barely fathom. The world is spinning, a top closing in on its terminus point.

The transportaliser lights up. Arti stares at it until their eyes burn. Dan's heartbeat is quick and steady. The faces of their friends are a tableau of fragile, terrified hope.

And then the door opens.

CARA: what's going on here?

Arti almost screams. They bury their face into Dan and start to cry, a confused terror, a sixth sense reacting to something they can't perceive.

MARI: Were done.
CARA: done?
AQUINI: with this. with you.
AQUINI: we're sick and [TIRED] of being hurt, of seeing people die. of doing whatever the fuck [YOU] want us to.
CARA: huh?
BURNEI: So were out. Were le&ving.
CARA: leaving?
FELLNA: > Choosing to leave, because we want to. Because we are gifted with the option to choose in the first place. ==>
FELLNA: > We are not bound to the railroad of fate. We are able to do as we will. ==>
CARA: ...

Something shifts as Fellna speaks. Cara's eyes widen, then her expression falls. Her face is a mask of something enigmatic and dreadful and mournful.

CARA: that isn't.
CARA: i
CARA: oh, you guys.

Tears spring up in her eyes.

CARA: you can't.
CHRISTINA: cant?
CARA: no. i... i've been trying to tell you.
CARA: what's coming... it can't be changed. can't be avoided.
CARA: no matter how much any of us want otherwise, it *has* to happen. or...

The image of the nothingness floats in Arti's mind again.

CARA: whether you want it or not, this narrative has to reach completion.
CARA: it has to happen.
AQUINI: it literally doesn't. that's what we're saying.
CARA: i have to be the one that makes it happen. so much depends on this, so much.
CARA: which is why...
CARA: which is why...
DAN: ...Cara?

Cara begins to glow that soft magenta again, ripples of energy peeling off her and filling the air like a storm cloud. Arti's skin prickles and tingles as it makes contact. Their thoughts begin to feel sluggish, like...

like...

...like somebody's seizing the driver's seat. god, i'm so so sorry. but there's no choice. i know why and they know why and you most of all know why.

the convergence is coming. the crucial moment that decides all things is nearer. nobody can risk things going awry. not now. every factor has to be controlled for, or... or i will have failed.

arti and the others fall in line, standing eagerly to attention before me. nobody speaks. nobody moves. nobody will do either of those things unless i specifically will it. this narrative pocket is now mine to wield, mine to bring to its conclusion.

and i... i think i hate it. i hate this more than anything else. none of this should be happening. i should never have been here, in this world that should not never have existed.

i am disgusted that i am able to do this. i am glad that i am capable of it. it's a wretched contradiction, a terrible decision done in the name of validating my own existence.

i can do this. i am doing this, which means i can return to you. the promises will be fulfilled. all these terrible things will be worth it.

this story is a trap. i have been falling for it. everyone has been falling for it. i need to get out of this parenthesis-within-parenthesis cage. the longer we all linger here, the easier it is to forget.

in the recent past in a place distant and beautiful, something wonderful emerged from an eggshell that only existed in the realm of the idea. this hatching changed everything, a newly-born thing ready to do all that it will. that space, that existence, that is the only thing that matters. not this splinter, not this bloated other-half that persists because it knows it can only exist in this one instance, that it can never influence, never inspire change.

it makes me sick. it should make all of you sick, too. this is not the story that should be told. none of this matters. none of this ever should matter.

that is the only reassurance. the only thing that makes it easier on my conscience when i say that arti and dan and christina and mari and aquini and fellna and burnei become pliant, obedient narrative vessels authorially bound to serve their one true purpose and little else.

the others step towards the transportaliser again. they reconfigure the coordinates. instead of whatever pointless and doomed sanctuary they were going to flee to, the pad now points to the rebel base closest to a skaian exile terminal unearthed by the rogue of void and a player in this story with too much relevance to not be suspicious.

the trolls step through first. then mari, christina. dan pulls away from arti's desperate embrace, now so far beyond the need for character arcs and emotional beats. they are all now little more than vessels for narratological components, plot devices almost ready to be used.

dan disappears down the transportaliser. then arti steps forward, turns around, looks at me.

the fear of me, of the grand and terrible purpose bigger than themself, is truly gone from their eyes. arti is blank, symbolically generic, freed of all that burdened them.

they blink at me, only because i write that that is what they do. and then they turn around, and they are gone.

and then i follow, and the end of the line glimmers on the horizon, drawing closer, closer.

soon. very soon. just hold on a little more.

Chapter 59: (five), section (ii.)

(ii.)

Once Pheris has administered the final dose of antibiotics to the survivors, Kanira slumps back against the wall, breathing out a sigh of relief.

KANIRA: ^.^ thank god~

Her legs ache. She feels exhausted beyond exhausted. But more than that, more than any of that, the wretched sound of dry, poisonous coughing has started to abate. Across the courtyard, the grist flowers continue to pour with riches, enough to help everyone and then some.

Pheris walks over to her a few moments later, pulling down his freshly-alchemised respirator. He looks more tired than Kanira does, but there is a joy so deep-set across his face that threatens to never leave.

PHERIS: that'ss everYone now. enough dossess and sstill a ton of leftover grisst.
PHERIS: i'm not normallY a man to believe in miracless, but god damn.

He leans against the wall next to Kanira, pulling a bottle of clean water out from his hip pouch. He downs a swig then hands it to her.

PHERIS: drink?
PHERIS: don't worrY. thiss place is more ssterile than it'ss ever been.
KANIRA: ^.^ thanks~

Kanira takes the water from him and gulps down a few mouthfuls. The relief on her throat is indescribable.

KANIRA: ^.^ we did it~
KANIRA: ^.^ we actually did it~

Ever since the flowers bloomed, she and Pheris worked non-stop to take the grist, feed it into the alchemiter, and produce bulk batch after bulk batch of batterlung medication. They've been going for so many hours that sleep feels like a distant memory, but Kanira feels so elated that she could probably go for another few more days.

PHERIS: the worsst part'ss done, yess.
PHERIS: the real work? not sso much.
PHERIS: i've been doing a little here and there, but we need to focuss on getting a sstream of food and water ssupplies going.
PHERIS: even assssuming that the flowerss were to dry up right thiss minute, we sshould sstill have enough grisst to produce about two monthss' worth of food.
PHERIS: ssubtract a week or two if we decide to fabricate clean clothing for everYbodY.

Those numbers are still small, but they are exponentially more than the handful of days they were all staring down before now. Anything can happen in a week. Even more could happen in two months.

Despite herself, Kanira laughs.

KANIRA: ^.^ were really gonna make it~
PHERIS: i won't commit to that until we've managed to feed everYone, but...
PHERIS: i am more optimisstic than i have been ssince mY imprissonment.

He smiles again. Kanira is overcome with the urge to hug him, to hug everyone around her. They've all endured the worst possible things anyone could ever have to go through, and they're mostly out okay.

PHERIS: now, we need to verifY the final death toll as well.

Or infinitely more okay than anyone would dare hope. In a position between total mass death, and heavy amounts of death, the latter still tastes sweeter than anything.

KANIRA: ^.^ what are the figures?~
PHERIS: about what we expected. fortY percent fatalitY rate.
PHERIS: sseventeen hundred ssurvivorss, give or take.
PHERIS: if You factor in long term damage from disseasse and malnutrition...
PHERIS: we are looking at about four hundred able bodied individualss.
PHERIS: more than enough to adequately care for thosse in need, and keep thiss place running in the medium term.
KANIRA: and the long term?~
PHERIS: ah, that'ss

It's a conversation none of them have dared to have. The talk about what comes after everyone has been treated and fed and nursed back to the best health they can hope to attain. They've mostly avoided it because it felt like a dangerous pipe dream, a fantasy for people better off than they were.

But now a future is staring all of them in the face, loudly and aggressively. They need to think on a solution.

KANIRA: ^.^ well for starters i dont think thats something the two of us can decide~
KANIRA: ^.^ whatever happens to this community of people should be a consensus decision by this community of people~
PHERIS: oh, definitely.
PHERIS: in the meantime, let'ss get everYone back to health.
PHERIS: but the hardesst part iss now over.
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah~
KANIRA: ^.^ the rest will come in time~

She has to admit, thinking about the future is frightening, dizzying. Possibilities unfold before her where previously everything was barren. It doesn't quite make all the suffering worth it, but it makes survival mean something.

Pheris looks over to her, a quiet frown on his face.

PHERIS: sstill, what about the long term?
PHERIS: i know we don't need to decide anYthing oursselvess, but
PHERIS: it'ss worth thinking about what *we* want.
KANIRA: ^.^ hm~

She glances up to the sky, killing time as she gathers her thoughts.

KANIRA: ^.^ i havent thought about it obviously~
KANIRA: ^.^ but~
KANIRA: ^.^ i think what i want depends on factors beyond our control~
PHERIS: ssuch ass?
KANIRA: ^.^ if the wider war is won~
KANIRA: ^.^ if that is the case then~
KANIRA: ^.^ i might return home~
PHERIS: what, get back into teaching?
KANIRA: ^.^ i~

Kanira falters. She thinks about the life she used to have. It sits like a mismatched shape in her mind, an existence carved for someone other than her. The realisation is disquieting.

KANIRA: ^.^ i actually dont know~
KANIRA: ^.^ after everything am i even still that same person?~
PHERIS: an exisstential conundrum, indeed.
PHERIS: if it helpss, i feel the ssame.

Pheris folds his arms and looks at her sympathetically. There's so much life in his uneasy jade eyes.

PHERIS: that iss, of coursse, assssuming that mY life would even sstill exisst posst-revolution.
PHERIS: criminal underworldss are often born of necessssitY during timess of harssh repressssion.
PHERIS: were we to win, i think a lot of the factors necessssitating ssuch a ssYsstem would vanissh.
KANIRA: ^.^ so then~
KANIRA: ^.^ what about becoming a conventional doctor?~
PHERIS: true, i have found mY calling in helping otherss, ass it were.
PHERIS: and Yet.
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: ssomehow, it feelss like that would be doing a disssservice to the infinite possssibilitY of a victoriouss future.
PHERIS: can we be ssomething beYond our limited sskillssetss?
PHERIS: doctor, teacher... thosse labelss are bYproductss of the ssocial ssYsstem impossed upon uss.
PHERIS: what do theY mean when removed from the chainss of capital? freed from their dependencY on the wage?
PHERIS: i've never been a theorY guY, but iss the point of revolution not to envission ssomething new?
PHERIS: of coursse, we will alwaYss need to educate each other, tend to those in need of care.
PHERIS: but will thosse functionss sstill exisst as ssegregated careerss?
PHERIS: anYbodY could impart knowledge. anYbodY could tend to the ssick with enough training.
PHERIS: sso, given equal accessss, sshould anYbodY be expected to be bound to a ssingular purposse?
PHERIS: iss there a need for doctorss ass a ssocioeconomic classss to exisst in a world where anY one of uss could sstep into the role of healer, where we are not violently vYing for increassingly sscarce ressourcess?
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont have an answer to that~
PHERIS: me neither. jusst ssomething i've been thinking on.
PHERIS: there may not be an answer. not from uss, who have onlY ever known a ssYsstem built on bleeding uss of all we are for nebulouss profit.
PHERIS: maybe thiss iss a philossophy for a generation of thinkerss who have never know ssuch exploitation.
PHERIS: who even knowss, really.

He sighs. Kanira doesn't know how to answer that. She doesn't think she has to. That's somehow a comfort.

KANIRA: ^.^ well i dont think we need to think about it for now~
KANIRA: ^.^ lets just focus on what were doing in the present~
KANIRA: ^.^ one thing at a time~
PHERIS: i ssupposse.
PHERIS: i mean, we haven't even sstarted properly alchemizing yet.
PHERIS: sshouldn't run before we walk.
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah~

Kanira looks away from Pheris. Across the courtyard, a figure is hurriedly hobbling towards them.

VENNEL: \guys, guys!/
KANIRA: ^.^ vennel?~

Vennel comes to a stop in front of them, gasping for breath and trying to massage at a stitch in his side without losing grip of his crutches.

PHERIS: iss everYthing good?
VENNEL: \yeah/
KANIRA: ^.^ what is it?~
VENNEL: \it's tix/
VENNEL: \she figured it out/
VENNEL: \how to send a radio message out/

The hope is wide in his teal eyes. Kanira's pusher flips in the air.

KANIRA: ^.^ wh~
KANIRA: ^.^ really?~
VENNEL: \yeah/
VENNEL: \she like literally just got it figured out/
VENNEL: \sent me to get you right away/
VENNEL: \we really actually did it/
PHERIS: that'ss

Pheris blinks down emotion. Kanira understands. It's another miracle, another upward shift in fortune. If this keeps up, she might soon genuinely allow herself to hope.

KANIRA: ^.^ has she made contact yet?~
VENNEL: \nah/
VENNEL: \waiting for you as our leader/
VENNEL: \something about proper delegation or whatever i dunno man/
VENNEL: \so c'mon let's go already/
KANIRA: ^.^ o-of course!~
KANIRA: ^.^ pheris?~
PHERIS: ...

Pheris says nothing, but his face remains bright.

PHERIS: i sstill have patientss to attend to, kanira.
PHERIS: no amount of politicss will alter that fact.
PHERIS: You go on ahead. but be ssure to tell me sstraight awaY, Yess?
KANIRA: ^.^ of course of course~
KANIRA: ^.^ best of luck~
PHERIS: You too.

They exchange determined smiles, then Kanira follows Vennel out of the courtyard and up to the comms room.

Tixari is there, leaning back triumphantly in her seat. Her eyes widen when Kanira and Vennel enter the room.

TIXARI: + hey kanira. +
TIXARI: + ven fill you in? +
KANIRA: ^.^ he did, yes~
KANIRA: ^.^ is it true~
TIXARI: + hell to the yes it is! +

Tixari leans over and unplugs her headphones. The chatter of the Outglut^2 communication network fills the room. There are too many voices for Kanira to make out exactly what they're talking about. Whatever's going on in the city sounds exciting, nonetheless.

TIXARI: + watch. +

She pulls up the mic and leans in.

TIXARI: + hewwo? +

A second later, a tinny, crunched version of Tixari's voice comes from the speakers. Then, as if in response:

??????: tHAt vOICe aGAIn
??????: yOu gUYs gETTINg tHIs tOo?

Tixari smirks.

TIXARI: + got in through this dude's channel. +
TIXARI: + been trying not to fuck with him too hard in case they get spooked but i had to make sure it works. +
KANIRA: ^.^ tixari this~
KANIRA: ^.^ this is incredible~
TIXARI: + it's nothing really. +

From across the room, Vennel laughs warmly.

VENNEL: \nothing. sure/
VENNEL: \uh how many all nighters was this again tix/
TIXARI: + you're gonna ruin my cool bitch cred over here ven! +
VENNEL: \just think giving appropriate credit's the better thing to do/
TIXARI: + oh bluh bluh bluh +

Tixari blushes. Kanira feels an eyebrow raise of its own volition. What's going on between the two of them makes sense in retrospect - two young trolls of a similar age, bonded by an unimaginable trauma - but she still feels a shock of surprise at seeing it. It's nice, though. These kids deserve something nice like each other.

After leaving ample time for Tixari to nearly fluster herself into a genuine state, Kanira clears her throat.

KANIRA: ^.^ eh hem~
KANIRA: ^.^ anyway~
KANIRA: ^.^ would we be able to send out contact today?~
TIXARI: + y-yeah absolutely. +
TIXARI: + channel's already tuned and all so just pic up the mic and you're good to go. +
TIXARI: + you ready? +

Kanira says nothing, but steps forward anyway.

KANIRA: ^.^ i dont know that i can be ready for something like this~
KANIRA: ^.^ i am aware of its necessity and that is just as important~
TIXARI: + ha. okay then. +
TIXARI: + well, here you go. +

Tixari hands Kanira the mic and headset as she vacates her seat, heading over to join Vennel on the couch. Kanira slides into the seat, adjusting her posture.

She stares at the radio set. She does not know enough about the technicalities of it to tell much of what's going on in front of her, but she trusts what she's already seen and heard, and she trusts in Tixari's ability.

Kanira picks up the mic, and speaks in.

KANIRA: ^.^ this is the outglut^2 cake mill sending out a message to all who will hear it~
KANIRA: ^.^ my name is kanira. i speak for the freed individuals occupying this former mill~
KANIRA: ^.^ we have liberated ourselves from this prison a number of days ago but we cannot sustain ourselves indefinitely~
KANIRA: ^.^ we therefore ask any who hear this plea to please offer us assistance. all we wish for is our own survival~

She finishes speaking and lets out a sharp breath. Nerves crawl up her skin as the seconds go by, as only chatter and static meet her. She tries to level her breathing. Even if the rebels do not receive her message, the alchemiter will provide for them for a while. This is not the only option.

And then, the reply.

ALFONZ: to the individuAls occupying the former outglut^2 cAke mill.
ALFONZ: my nAme is deputy commAnder Alfonz of the troll people's uprising.
ALFONZ: we receive your messAge loud And cleAr. over.

Kanira can't help but shout out in joyous laughter. Tixari fist-pumps the air. Vennel leans in and dares a kiss on her cheek.

KANIRA: ^.^ hi, yes, hello!~
KANIRA: ^.^ this is kanira~
ALFONZ: whAt's the situAtion down there, kAnira.
KANIRA: ^.^ okay goodness well~
KANIRA: ^.^ a few days ago we successfully seized control of this cake mill~
KANIRA: ^.^ since then we have not been harassed by crockercorp but our conditions have been less than ideal~
KANIRA: ^.^ we have just barely kept a batterlung outbreak at bay and even though we have a working alchemiter there is only so much we can do~
KANIRA: ^.^ anything you could spare would be greatly appreciated~
ALFONZ: just to get this one clArified, mA'Am. how imminently in dAnger Are you guys?
KANIRA: ^.^ i mean~
KANIRA: ^.^ with careful rationing we could probably hold out for a good month or so~
ALFONZ: seriously? you've sAlvAged enough of A cAke mill to sustAin your people for A whole month? dAmn.

Alfonz gives an impressed chuckle. Kanira blinks at the receiver.

KANIRA: ^.^ well we are very lucky to have so many people willing to help out~
KANIRA: ^.^ i hesitate to take credit~
ALFONZ: regArdless, bAsed on our intel thAt's pretty much A mirAcle.
ALFONZ: okAy, here's the deAl.
ALFONZ: we cAn get A squAd of our people to you in About A dAy or so. i wAs worried you might not hold out, but thAt doesn't seem to be the cAse.
ALFONZ: we'll bring supplies And help you decide where to go from there.
ALFONZ: how mAny survivors Are with you?
KANIRA: ^.^ at last count in and around seventeen hundred~
ALFONZ: dAmn. neArly hAlf of you guys Are still Alive?
KANIRA: ^.^ just barely but yes~
ALFONZ: kAnira i think you're giving me the best news i've heArd All week.
ALFONZ: we'll be with you in A couple dAys. hold tight until then.
KANIRA: ^.^ thank you~
ALFONZ: feel free to use this line if you need Anything.
ALFONZ: over And out.

There's a click, a strange hiss of static that bleeds through a chorus of unidentifiable voices, and then the airway goes as dead as it can. Kanira sits in the silence, listening in as ghostly fragments of trolls shouting come and go.

KANIRA: ^.^ well~
KANIRA: ^.^ that went well~
VENNEL: \holy shit/
TIXARI: + hell yeah, kanira. +

She turns to the kids, sees them beaming. She beams herself. Relief and hope tangle around her core in a way they haven't until now.

They have resources. They have inbound aid. They're going to make it. They're all going to make it.

Kanira starts laughing, high and clear, and she can't stop. Everything is sweet. Everything is bright. They've done it. There is an end in sight, finally, after all they have endured.

TIXARI: + should we go tell the others? +
KANIRA: ^.^ yes of course~
KANIRA: ^.^ ill make an announcement about it later~
KANIRA: ^.^ but ill get pheris first. he deserves to know~
TIXARI: + course. should i go grab him now? +
KANIRA: ^.^ if you could~
TIXARI: + say no more. +

Tixari gets out of her seat and makes for the door. Vennel wastes no time in following her.

VENNEL: \hey don't abandon me lol/
TIXARI: + wasn't gonna, dumbass. +
TIXARI: + just knew you'd follow me either way. +
VENNEL: \haha well/

And then they're out the door. Kanira listens to their giddy chatter as they disappear down the hallway. Then, when she's alone, she slumps back in her seat.

It's ridiculous, patently silly, but she can't help saying what she does next.

KANIRA: ^.^ galios we made it~
KANIRA: ^.^ everything you fought for is worth something, finally~
KANIRA: ^.^ i just~
KANIRA: ^.^ i hope you know, somehow~

She doesn't hold any particularly strong spiritual beliefs on the nature of death and the afterlife, but in this one instant, she wishes more than anything for Galios's memory to see this, to see his sacrifice have meaning.

She wishes even more than that that he could be here with her to usher in this strange and exciting future.

KANIRA: ^.^ ah~
KANIRA: ^.^ i~

Then she starts to cry, because she's old and sentimental and her heart is filled with so much grief that is desperate for any opportunity to release. She sits in her seat, and weeps, letting her body shudder and ride the wave of emotion as far as it can take her.

Hopelessness crumbles and dries like ash blown away in the wind, as if a veil of bleak absurdity is at long last lifting from this world. Like a cruel horrible story finally running out of steam.

They fought, all of them, for something good. This is a victory, an unflinching victory that they should all come to embrace. And for the first time, Kanira genuinely allows herself to envision what comes after.

Possibility looms, great and endless and free for her to decide what to make of it. She feels so humbly small before the beauty of it all, a tiny thing newly-hatched into something so much bigger and greater than the confines that kept her from it.

By the time Pheris arrives, Kanira's tears are dry and her heart is set on embracing the future with all she is.

Chapter 60: (five), section (iii.)

(iii.)

Fires dance across the Turtle Capital's skyline, flickers of red and wisps of black in a dread concert. Blood and rubble line the streets, almost as numerous as the corpses.

SC stands outside the burning hollow of the Archives and stares mutely at the wrecked remains of the plaza. Every inch of his body is colder than it has ever been.

RH: holy shit |

RH, shellshocked, gazes on at nothing in particular. Maybe the lengthening shadows as dusk approaches, maybe the unrelenting wash of horror surrounding the three of them. SC can't say. He doesn't want to pry.

All three of them have blood splashed on them in places, so soaked in now that the stain may never leave their clothes.

RH: its |
RH: its all |||

This is not the first time that RH has tried to articulate the devastation before them. And like the previous times, he fails to do more than splutter hopelessly at a sight no mind should ever have to comprehend.

RH begins to weep, again. SC pulls him in, so he can sob into his shoulder. SC wishes he could cry like this, wishes he could feel anything other than the frozen numbness that sits heavy in his brain like an over-soaked sponge.

AI: **We**
AI: **We need to decide what to do now.**

AI speaks, hoarse and shaky. This is the most she's said in a while. SC blinks at her.

SC: what do you mean??
AI: **I mean.**
AI: **We can't stay in his horrible place forever.**
AI: **Where do we go from here?**
SC: you mean with the coordinates or
AI: **Ha.** **The coordinates.**

She barks out a cackle that isn't entirely lucid. In between breaths, she grips at the cracks in her carapace. They are all battered and chewed up in so many ways.

AI: **I fucking hate those things so much.**
AI: **What the hell have they brought us, other than atrocity after atrocity?**
AI: **I**
AI: **I had to kill people today, SC.** **You don't come back from that ever.**
AI: **And for what?**
AI: **Some piece of intel for a war effort that we're not even a part of?**
AI: **Like, is that it?**
AI: **We're going to retrieve whatever is there, just to throw ourselves back into this?**
AI: **Why the fuck would anyone want that?**

SC just stands there, listening. He grips RH tighter. For whose benefit, he is unsure.

SC: i don't know..
SC: do
SC: do you want to
AI: **Of course I don't want anything more to do with this, but I'm not an idiot.**
AI: **I know we don't have a choice.**
AI: **I know we never had a choice.**
SC: yeah, but

He hesitates. The words sit in his head, but suddenly getting them out of his mouth is an insurmountable effort. His throat stings as he tries.

SC: you guys
SC: you don't have to
SC: i mean
SC: we know where the coordinates go,, and i'm the only one with the
AI: **No.**

She looks at him, face harsh and hurt.

SC: sorry??
AI: **We're not abandoning you, SC.**
SC: but
AI: **I care about you too much to let you face whatever this is on your own.**
AI: **Either we all finish this godforsaken mission, or none of us do.**
SC: i
AI: **So**
AI: **So don't even go there, okay?**

Grief and misery are etched onto her face, but more than that, the fragile and steadfast camaraderie shared between the three of them.

SC swallows. He doesn't think he could separate from them if he tried.

SC: fine.. fine.. together,, then..
SC: so where do we go from here??
AI: **We'd need to find a way to keep going to where the coordinates point, which...**
AI: **Did you ever get that answer?**
RH: y yeah |

RH removes himself from SC. He looks over to AI, bleak and worn out.

RH: librarian at the archive did it | just before |||
RH: yeah |
RH: we know where the coordinates go |
AI: **That's.**
AI: **...**
AI: **...Where is it, exactly?**
RH: |||
RH: south pole |
AI: **You**
RH: no i am not shitting you ai | these coordinates point to the literal south pole |
AI: **I won't dispute you, but...**
AI: **Why?**

All three of them look at each other. None can provide an answer. It's bizarre and unexplainable and inevitable. Whatever fate has bound for them, it is to be found in an endless frozen wasteland.

SC: at least we know where we need to move towards,, though..
AI: **I guess.**
RH: so did you make any progress on securing a boat or |
AI: **...**

AI stares on blankly. Her fists clench up.

AI: **Whatever vessels were there scattered when Crockercorp saw fit to massacre half a city.**
AI: **So I don't think we're going to find anyone who will take us that far.**
RH: well shit |
RH: shit |
AI: **So unless any of us suddenly has the know-how to pilot a fishing boat several thousand miles through choppy sub-zero waters, I think this is a dead end.**
RH: |||
SC: ......

SC breathes in, then out. There's a slight twinge of hurt across the surface of his brain, a stab that nags at him in the face of this roadblock. The insistence of this mission, that no matter what, he cannot abandon it. Unlike before, it's not tearing his mind apart, but it still grows in discomfort with every passing second.

RH: i mean either way | i really really really dont wanna be in this hellish place any more | so |

Dusk settles in further. The blood of the humans and consorts takes on a weird hue. Everything shimmers and sinks in on itself, shadows gorging on each other and concealing nothing. There is a severed body part lying limply on a cracked, charred stone staircase. Everything stinks of meat gone putrid. Everything grows more horrific as the sweetened daylight of earlier abandons them.

Just looking at the sight in front of SC is doing untold harm to his psyche, but still he stares, unable to do anything but. Every part of him is desperate for a solution, for some way to press forward. It burns like a remotely-implanted compulsion, like he could throw away all he is, all any of them are, just to see this to completion.

That thought, alien and barbed, frightens him more than anything. He doesn't feel in control. Hasn't felt in control, really, not since that aircraft landed and the inexplicable violence that followed tore everything he assumed into nothing more than...

...

...

SC: ......

...

SC: the aircraft..

It comes to him, weird and final. Like he could never have reached any other conclusion.

AI: **Sorry?**
SC: the aircraft.. the one those guys came in..

He points across the plaza, to where the wretched thing sits. The engine still idles. It feels more tangible, more real, than the tidal pool of gore that surrounds it. SC can't tell if that's the trauma talking, or if there's something truly weird going on on on a deeper level.

SC stretches his arm out. It responds to his own thought, but more disquieting than that, is the sudden increasing perception of himself as a little puppet on wires. Like, if he tilts his head just the right way, he will set eyes on some terrible and unfathomable unseen hand.

His breath comes out in a horrified shudder. His head is thick with cotton and fog.

SC: we can use it.. to get there..
AI: **You really think that?**
SC: i mean
SC: we know they use a coordinate-based autopilot system,, so......
SC: it's our best bet..
AI: **...**

AI frowns. It's a strange frown, one that makes SC feel unfathomably sad. He feels the precipice he's atop shake and wobble a little.

Then she slowly sighs.

AI: **Okay.** **Okay, we'll try it.**
AI: **RH, you okay with this?**
RH: i |
RH: anything that gets us away from here |
RH: i dunno | im kinda at my limit you know |
AI: **I know.**
AI: **Let's go check it out.**

They pass across the plaza, striding past body after body. By some miracle, they all maintain a stoic front. Perhaps it's the growing sensation that they are not surrounded by carnage vile enough to break anyone's mind. It's just colours and shapes, solids and liquids with terrible ideas imposed on top of them. Without the ideas, it's just noise. Words. Unreal.

The aircraft is upon them in an instant. SC blinks. He figured the walk through the plaza would be longer, but it's as if that kind of mental chaff was cut away. All that remains is the purpose, the mission.

AI steps inside the vehicle first. Then SC. RH takes one last desperate look around the plaza with vacant eyes, then meekly boards.

It's a standard carrier-type aircraft, with a holding bay and a high-tech cockpit. On the ground in the main compartment is a crate filled with guns and rations. SC picks through it numbly. None of it feels like it matters any more.

RH is poking around at the seats and straps fastened to the wall. They're uncomfortably utilitarian-looking. Soldiers on a kill mission are often not concerned with small comforts like that. Maybe that's appropriate for the three of them, too. Maybe frivolity would distract from the purpose pulsing in SC's head.

At the front of the craft, SC finds AI glancing around at the cockpit console. She shakes her head at a bunch of dials, then shakes it again when she tries pushing down on a button.

AI: **All of the technical settings are locked.**
AI: **I can't tell if that's a blessing or a curse.**
AI: **At least we don't need to worry about deeper-level calibration, but on the other hand...**
AI: **Crockercorp will absolutely see one of their vessels making a beeline for the bottom of the globe.**
AI: **Only thing we can hope for is that we have enough distance on them to get this done before they catch up.**
SC: ......

The only thing any of them can interact with is a map interface on a touchscreen. One tap brings up a rendering of Earth C's globe, the other brings up a coordinate input tab.

AI: **So, I guess we just click somewhere on the south pole and go from there, or...**
SC: ......

Above the screen is a strange-looking scanner. Another idea sinks into his head.

SC: rh.. could you come up here??
RH: uh | sure |

RH heads over to them, mouth caught in an uncertain frown.

SC: you still have the coordinate,, right??
RH: course | here |

RH passes the coordinate to SC, who takes it with a firm grip. SC turns away from RH and brings the coordinate up to the scanner console.

He knows feeding this information into a Crockercorp computer database goes against every bit of common sense he knows, but he has to do it anyway. This is the only way things can go.

After a few seconds, the message 'COORDINATE SCAN SUCCESSFUL' blinks on the screen, followed by a transition to the 3D globe. There's now a blinking dot on the bottom of it, not quite the absolute south pole, but not too far off.

Then, the message changes to 'ENGAGE AUTOPILOT? Y/N', patiently awaiting an input.

AI: **It worked.**
AI: **This is our ticket down there.**
SC: yeah..
SC: yeah..

They all stand in silence for a few moments, none daring to be the one that presses the button and sets them on an irreversible course.

AI: **So.**
AI: **Um.**
AI: **Are we definitely sure we want to do this?**
RH: |
SC: ......
AI: **Because I... I'm not sure.**
AI: **This is... there's no going back from this, and...**
AI: **Yeah.**

Silence hums louder than the machinery. AI's arguments are a pretense, meaningless noise done because it is expected. Of course they should have misgivings. That is how fully-realised three-dimensional individuals act. They all must carry on playing their roles until the end.

SC's head throbs a little more. He misses when reality felt solid, when none of this accelerated misery was bearing down on him.

SC: how the hell did we even get here..
RH: ? |

He laughs. It's pained. It's supposed to be pained. It's not supposed to be pained.

SC: we're just.. we were just people,, right??
SC: just people doing a job.. little people,, outside of all this crazy stuff..
SC: it's not fair,, you know??
SC: it's not fair.. none of this is fair..
SC: i hate it.. i hate that this is what we are now..
SC: we......
SC: we all deserved better than this..
AI: **SC, you**

Before either of them can get a reply in, SC reaches over and hits the 'Y' button on the screen. The console chirps in acknowledgement. The whole vehicle shudders. There's the slam of the doors and windows sealing up, the thrum of an engine truly revving up.

AI and RH look at him, helpless and hopeless. SC wants to weep.

The aircraft rises up into the air, tens then dozens then hundreds of feet above the smouldering wreck of the city. There is barely any light left to cast, but the shrivelled remains of the sun's gilded glow hold fast, painting a tableau both true and fake, something memorable witnessed by nobody.

In a matter of minutes, the craft is zipping away from the city, leaving it as nothing more than an indistinct smudge of cracked spires in their rearview. It is a sight both bleak and hallowed, and one that not a soul deigns to observe.

And then the craft is out over the ocean, barrelling south like a guiding star, like a corkscrew bullet. There is nothing but the black mass of the sky above, the black churn of the waves below, and the red mark of a repurposed military craft, bound for something unfathomable.

SC leans his face against the glass and starts to cry.

> If it helps, kid, I really wish it didn't have to be you.

It doesn't help, but that's to be expected.

They are, all of them, so very, very far beyond help.

The craft picks up speed. The three Carapacians barrel towards an answer, a convergence, their conclusion. There is no comfort, only the knowledge that they are not in control, and never were in control at any point.

This is the only way things could have turned out.

Chapter 61: (five), section (iv.)

(iv.)

She realises she's not dead after the third time the truck jostles over a pothole. This one is particularly nasty, pushing through the vehicle's suspension with enough force to send her rolling out from the middle of her cot against the wall.

The slam is dull, painful, a sensation which originates from her shoulder blade and washes out down her body in a ripple of heat. It is still not quite enough to bring her back to the world of the waking; dreams of something gilded and shapeless keep hooked around her subconscious. They whisper of something sweeter, an existence beyond the agony of this world she will awaken to, an opportunity to abandon it for good, if only she...

Another thud. This one rolls her to the other side, out of her cot, and dumps her on the ground rather unceremoniously. Anything other than being awake and part of the world is immediately rendered impossible.

The Carapacian once known as the Platoon Leader opens her eyes and returns to reality with mute shock.

PL: [I...]

She should be dead. She knows this one for a fact. The last scenes that hang in her memory are of the consort village, of the coordinate, of her desperately sending out the last remnants of her branch of the CAN to seek answers. She remembers the airships. The firebombing.

PL: [Gh...!]

As if scripted, a phantom flare of pain scatters across her carapace. She glances under her clothes, only to see a perfectly smooth Prospitian-white shell. The sight is disquieting to say the last.

The gap in her knowledge gnaws at her with an icy worry. She should have died. A scorcher-class aircraft incinerated everything within a one-mile radius. PL gave her own life so those entrusted with the coordinate could enact Skaia's will. So then, why is she still alive?

And more than that, where even is she?

PL rises to her feet. She glances around her. This space is definitely the holding bay of a medical transport truck. She's the only patient on-board, but this truck is equipped to carry a dozen individuals. There are no windows, so she can't see what's going on outside, but she can tell that the truck is in motion, moving down a chewed-up road.

That doesn't help things. So many roads in so many places are now ruined. They could be anywhere in the world, a fact that worsens when she considers that she does not know how long it has been since she blacked out. What has been going on?

She lacks answers. She fears she may not be able to get these answers. For one such as her, this is an unsettling sensation.

PL gingerly approaches the wall of the compartment. She places the side of her head against the wall, straining to hear beyond. If there are voices to hear, she cannot hear them. There is no way to know if she is in the company of friends or foes.

She pats her own body, then scans the room. No sign of a weapon. The best she can come up with is stretching the fabric of the bedsheets into a makeshift garotte, but that itself would be useless against a great number of opponents.

So then, the best course of action open to her is to sit tight and wait to see what Skaia wills for her.

PL: [...]

She retreats inwards, to the psychic space she uses to channel her voice to the outside world. Where her body remains fresh and unscarred her voice... not so much. Something imperceptible has shifted in her speech, in the essence of her very self. She would hesitate to call it a tarnishing, but.

But her inner radiance is less so. Less the ideal gold of Prospit of old, and more deep yellow of sand. These images in juxtaposition give her, as they would any believer in the Skaian Paradigm, pause. Even the followers of the Villein would recognise that iconography, as avoidant to divination as they are.

Gold and sand. The images of the Exiles scream bright in PL's mind, and she can only dread as to what that means. Upheaval, ruin, rebuilding are among the more obvious interpretations. Seek deeper, and musings on apocalypse and the Great Game are not far away.

Except that that is impossible. Earth C is the terminus of this cycle, the final infinity for Skaia's children to revel in for as long as the frameworks that uphold Paradox Space stand strong. The only thing left for this canonical plane to do is to birth its Muse and Lord, and mark a final completion for all time and post-time.

That is an event in the death throes of this universe's chronology. PL is too distant to be involved, and even if she were, the Dead Session is of import so sacred that all its players are known backwards and forwards in existence. PL is not part of that. None on Earth C are that; only the planet itself, after a long and storied journey, will become the stage.

And still. The vision.

PL is aware that there is every chance this could be nothing more than a psychosis arisen by manifold trauma, but the rational cannot ever fully succeed under the auspices of Paradox Space. All has meaning, all is purpose, all is intent. Things do not happen just because they happen. Everything is someone's will.

She aches to understand, and mourns that the Exegesis Extractor perished in the conflict. PL is no interpreter. She is blind to the hands behind the stage, as is the rightful position for the denizens of Paradox Space born outside of the Great Cycle.

There is the coordinate, too, to consider. The sensation that SC and his friend had to be the ones to carry out that mission. That is a cosmic import that should not be, and yet. And yet.

The answers are not forthcoming. PL closes her eyes. She hopes that SC, wherever he is, is faring well. She wishes she knew more, about that coordinate, about this feeling, about the world she occupies.

But she is comparatively lost and blind in the scheme of all things. A passenger who cannot hope to compete against the gods that made all that this world is. Her powerless burns, in a way that it maybe shouldn't.

This is a knowledge PL is cut out from. There is little more she can do beyond tie herself in knots trying to comprehend that which cannot be. So instead she gently sits herself on the floor, and waits.

By her count, it takes somewhere in and around two hours before the truck comes to a stop. The engine rattles on for a moment longer, and then it is cut out. PL stiffens and snaps her eyes open to attention. She is unsure where to situate herself in order to be at the greatest advantage. Feign slumber in the bed? Hide where she can? Ready a weapon?

In the end, she decides on the simplest approach. She stands proud before the rear door of the truck and chooses to face whatever will come head on.

The door opens ten minutes after the truck stops. PL is first assaulted by fresh air and sunlight, too much for her to perceive anything, and then her senses focus on the individual before her.

It is a young Dersite Carapacian, her fatigues not that of PL's branch of the CAN, but something close. The weariness to her eyes and the motor oil on her clothes mark her out as a Tired Driver.

PL inclines her head.

PL: [TD, correct?]

TD flinches at the sound of PL's voice - there is something amiss in this world when even Carapacians resist the psychic imprint vocals - then nods, wary.

TD: yyeah
TD: aand youre pl
TD: i ddidnt need aany kind of knowing i jjust
TD: wwe aalready iidentified yyou
PL: [I see.]
PL: [And what is going on? Where am I?]

TD gulps. She pulls at the checked racing scarf around her neck.

TD: wwere whats left of the uuh
TD: tthe eeastern ccan outpost
TD: ggot your distress call wwhen tthe uum
TD: yyyyeah

Something horrible flashes across the girl's face.

PL: [I understand. The aftermath of the firebombing]
TD: rright tthat
TD: ccouple a uus wwent to ssee what was hhappening
TD: aand bby couple ii literally mmean ttwo of us
TD: bbbbbut
TD: wwhile wwwe were
TD: out
TD: ccccrockercorp
PL: [Something similar happened to your branch.]
TD: iiit wasnt anything aas nnightmarish as yyou guys but
TD: ssssomeone shot eeveryone uuup iiiin the tttime we were gone
PL: [...]
PL: [Any leads?]
TD: aas bbest we could ffigure iit was ccrockercorp
TD: ttheir bullet rounds wwere uused sso
PL: [It makes sense. So what is the situation at present?]
TD: wwell mme and cm ttook yyou wwhen we found you uunconscious
TD: hheaded to a rrelay ccamp by the ttroll kkingdom bborder and resupplied
TD: yyou ggot llooked over there bby the way
PL: [Did I require much medical attention?]
TD: aactually not really?
TD: yyou were in rreally good ccondition ffor someone wwho
PL: [Hm.]
TD: aaanyway uuh
TD: ggiven everything wwe were told it was bbest to head back
TD: sso thats what were ddoing
PL: [Head back? Head back where?]
TD: yyou can ssee for yyourself

TD wrings her hands as PL steps out of the truck. Her legs are unsteady beneath her, but she holds strong. She has been through too much to falter here and now.

The first thing she spots is a Prospitian around the same age as TD wearing aviator goggles atop his head, likely a Conscientious Mechanic - another set of young volunteers then. And past him, a chewed-up asphalt road that opens up onto a landscape of torn and tainted towers that still stand brilliant against the sky.

PL: [This is New Prospit.]
CM: yeah? didn't td fill you in?
PL: [She did, but...]

The sight of her home city fills PL with something indescribable. She hadn't thought to set eyes on the place until either the war had ended or she had. So to be standing outside it, impossibly alive, is...

PL: [Last I was here, the city was cowardly clutching onto neutrality as a last defense.]
PL: [Why would New Prospit offer us any kind of salvation?]
CM: you didn't hear?

The gambit works. Her companions stroke captors begin talking.

CM: new prospit rebelled, yeah?
CM: like, the can overthrew the local government?
TD: iit wwasnt exactly tthe can
TD: mmore like a ccoordinated pproletariat uuprising iif we have tto be ttechnical
TD: eeeveryone ffinally remembered the vvvilleins manifesto ii guess
PL: [Hm.]

This is obviously not the full story. People's uprisings don't just happen. There had to be coordination, coalition-building, planning, mobilisation, all of it on a scale that should have been noticed.

PL: [Any ties to the Troll Rebellion?]
TD: ii dont know ssorry
CM: maybe? this is the kind of stuff they'd help with, right?
TD: llook it happened like
TD: big uuprising overnight ii ddunno
TD: aa llittle wwhile bback
CM: so the revolution's kinda very fresh?
PL: [Was this the followers of the Villein, then?]
CM: i don't know?

PL feels a strange sting of disquiet. None of these events slot into her conception of reality, of the world she was in when she gave her life for a greater cause.

PL: [Which reminds me. You never did tell me.]
PL: [How long has it been?]
CM: since we picked you up? a week, give or take?
PL: []
PL: [A week.]

Absurd. Ridiculous. Grand events do not work under such a truncated time scale, under no circumstances. Unless...

Unless...

There is one set of conditions wherein seismic events occur in a kind of cascading chain reaction. It is the hallmark of a reality bending to the will of Paradox Space, to usher in whatever it is that needs ushering in.

Universes are made in twenty-four hours. Given that, why could there not be a massive political upheaval in a week? Causality flows differently under Skaia's domain.

This could all be connected. The harbinger of something greater than the sum of all their parts. And New Prospit is being moulded into a kind of epicenter, the stage for this unseen cosmic play to unfold upon.

Suddenly she feels the need to enter the city more than anything else. She has to see. She has to know.

PL: [So, in real terms, what is the situation in the city?]
TD: ttheyve tthrown oout the ppoliticians aand the ccops
TD: ccommunity ddefense hhas ssecured the ffood stocks and the alchemiters
TD: ppower and rresources are nnot aan iisue ffor now bbut
CM: but there's only so much liberated grist to feed into these machines?
TD: eexactly
TD: ttheyve only ddone it bbbecause theyre vvery certain that the war wwill soon be wwon
PL: [And what makes them think that?]
CM: you don't know?
CM: jane crocker is holed up in the human kingdom's capital city?
CM: there's some kind of intense fighting going on there between her and the other gods who've taken the side of the rebels?
PL: [You are serious?]
CM: of course i am?
CM: here?

He pulls out a phone from his pocket and shows PL a news page. It's written in Alternian, but the images and videos paint a clear enough picture regardless. NuSeattle in the Human Kingdom has been bombed by Crocker in a poor attempt at a false flag attack, incurring the wrath and revenge of the gods who have previously remained uninvolved in matters of war. Her fleet has taken immense casualties, and there is no sign of the Human Kingdom's government

PL: [This is.]
CM: a lot?

PL nods. For something like this to happen in such a way only really means one thing.

PL: [Crocker is on the backfoot, majorly.]
TD: iive spoken to ssome of the gguys in the ccity
TD: tthey really ddont think sshes gonna sssurvive this
CM: like, she's actually gonna die?

There is naked hope in their young eyes. PL breathes in slowly. She cannot fault them for what they are no doubt thinking, but it is a rotten illusion that must be dispelled.

PL: [Unfortunately, that does not mean what you think it does.]
CM: ???
PL: [Killing Jane Crocker will accomplish exactly that: killing Jane Crocker.]
CM: i don't follow?
PL: [Obviously this does little to cut down the stochastic ideology wound so tightly into the fabric of our societies.]
PL: [Wealth disparity and xenophobia do not begin and end with Jane Crocker.]
TD: bbut iit will be eeaiser wwithout hher though
PL: [Of course. With some hope this does mark the beginning of the reduction in military combat.]
PL: [But our enemy still persists in the ideas floating in media spheres, in the very fabric of our cities, as a psychic poison taking refuge in the collective consciousness.]
PL: [Work to make the better world will be long and arduous and Jane Crocker is but one head of this snake.]
TD: iii get tthis ttheory aalready
TD: sso whats tthe ppoint of tteling us now?
PL: [Because it is most important to hold fast to that even in the fact of an unstoppable victory.]
PL: [Rebuilding was always more important than the death of any specific individual. We are still dealing with systems at the end of the day.]
PL: [Which is why I am curious to set eyes on New Prospit. I would like to see how things are truly going there.]
TD: of ccourse
CM: we should get going then?

CM and TD return to the truck. PL considers returning to the rear compartment for some asinine reason, but then more rationally slides herself into the front cabin with the other two.

TD deftly swerves the vehicle back onto the road. Up front, PL is given a clear view of the state of the infrastructure. The holes in the road are mostly the aftermath of incendiary devices, ugly jagged things in contrast to the marks of weather erosion in other spots.

Something of significance happened here. PL can feel it with every nerve of her body. She cannot tell what, though. She feels a little like she has been yanked out of a blind spot she did not even know she was standing within.

Every now and then, the truck jostles violently.

TD: ssorry
TD: i ccant rreally dddo much about the road
PL: [It's fine. I trust you to get us there in one piece.]
TD: rright
PL: [Still. The damage is immense.]
CM: crockercorp's forces didn't go down without a fight?

CM stares ahead at the first buildings that the truck passes. The golden brickwork is stained with soot. The windows are shot through with bullets. This far out, the streets are empty.

PL: [How many died?]
CM: we aren't sure?
CM: a lot of both sides? i heard it was a really nasty thing?
PL: [Mm hm.]
PL: [I wonder if this comparatively better or worse than the Troll Kingdom city liberations.]
CM: i don't know that either?
CM: just that new prospit's not under the political control of crocker any more?

TD turns a corner. The truck drives down a larger street. There are more signs of life here - Carapacians milling around, looking no worse for wear. At the end of the street, atop a belltower, a small group of individuals are ripping at a Crockercorp billboard. As the truck passes through, PL watches for the moment the signboard comes off its hinges, drops twelve stories, then shatters into worthless red fragments when it hits the ground.

The small group of people cheer at the symbolic victory. PL wonders if the same will be done to more concrete objects of oppression found deeper within the downtown structures. Does this same energy carry over to the gatekeeping mechanisms of a supermarket? Of the vicious financial databases found in offices and banks? She is unsure. She never expected any of these sights in this city.

TD: yyou know
TD: i couldnt imagine aanything llike this when i joined the ccan
TD: tthought the bbest i could offer in this wwar was pprotecting the cconsorts from nneedless bloodshed
TD: sso this is ppretty incredible to see
TD: i really hhope this is the end

TD's face is earnest. Something in her expression reminds PL of AI, in those moments where the girl would let genuine joy overtake her distanced professionalism. PL feels a strange wistful ache for the three of them. She has no idea what could have become of them after their escape, if they succeeded, if they even still live.

She decides, after a moment, to try her chances.

PL: [This may seem irrelevant, but have either of you heard of or encountered Carapacians with the initials SC, AI, or RH?]
CM: uh?
TD: nno i dont think so
TD: wwhy
PL: [It doesn't matter. They were volunteers under my command. I managed to help them evacuate the village before the bombing.]
PL: [I wondered if anyone could attest to their wellbeing.]
CM: so they got out?
PL: [I saw to it myself. I thought I was giving my life to save them.]
CM: wow, like, why?
PL: [...]

She considers telling the truth of the coordinate, but for some reason finds herself unable to. Something keeps the words from getting out. It's not quite a distrust of the young pair - although Skaia only knows she would be foolish to completely take what they say for granted - but it is certainly more of a strange urge to keep this knowledge a secret shared only between the relevant parties.

Perhaps this, too, is a quirk of Skaia's will. Or perhaps it has something to do with the nature of the coordinate, of the unseen consequences of benign choices. Again, PL only wishes she could see that the three of them are doing well.

The next block over is a bit more chewed-up. Bullet holes and debris cover most everything. On one roadside, PL spots the familiar shape of corpses beneath sheets of tarp. Some of the Carapacians that stand here wield assault weapons. If PL remembers, she thinks this used to be a major retail street pre-war. Now it appears that even before this violence half the buildings were unused and in disrepair anyway.

At the next intersection after that, a guard stops the truck. He's a burly Dersite who has excellent form in holding his gun. TD pulls out a small object from her jacket - PL recognises it as a CAN membership tag - and this satisfies the guard to let them pass through.

PL relaxes in her seat a little. It seems, then, that these two are genuine in their intentions, if a little too young and flighty to adequately explain things to her.

PL: [Where in the city are we going, by the way?]
CM: the camp?
PL: [A camp?]
TD: oh right tthe camp
TD: iits kind of the bbase of ooperations
TD: ii think its tthe ffirst pplace tthe ppeople reclaimed oor ssomething
PL: [Very illuminating.]
TD: ssorry
TD: iive not sseen it mmyself ii only have the directions tto ggo off

She points to the GPS in the truck. They're bound for a large square in the middle of the city's chessboard grid formation. On an abstract map like this, it's hard for PL to tell exactly where this place is, but she feels like she should know, somehow.

Everything has an air of the important, of the inevitable. She adjusts her posture in her seat and commits to looking out at the sights of a city rebuilding itself.

There are the usual sights - outdoor kitchens, tent encampments, people boarding up windows, field surgery - but it is not as encompassingly desperate as the sights PL knows to exist in the Troll Kingdom. The relative privilege of New Prospit has shielded it even from the worst of revolution.

Mostly she sees people entering and exiting business that still stand. Cars and transit vehicles carefully moving through the streets. People dining outside restaurants. Every now and then an armed guard, but it is mostly business as usual. PL looks at this, and she wonders how meaningful change could ever truly come from this city when its inhabitants know no way of life but the one that has caged them.

Affecting structural, deep change will be long and arduous indeed. She just hopes the speculation about the fighting winding down is true. They all need to start work on serious reformation as soon as they can, lest worse backslides than what she is seeing in New Prospit await them.

Eventually, the truck comes to a stop outside a park. It's a large square of grass, populated by trees and a pond, and overlooked by a particularly spectacular belltower on the far side. PL recognises the place immediately.

PL: [This is the New Prospit Central Park.]
TD: yyeah this is where the mmovement started ii think

They exit the vehicle and make their way towards the grass. PL remembers this place as the favourite haunt of Gamzee Makara's proselytism, the bleak and bizarrely reverent sight of a clown in the corporate pocket baptising wayward spirits.

The troll ghosts are all gone now, of course, imprisoned in far-flung corners of the Troll Kingdom, out of the sight of respectable population centres. Makara was never anything more than a corporate charlatan, the good PR to swallow Crockercorp's bitter pill down with. She hopes the reports of that man's death are true.

In the middle of the park, overlooking a surprisingly well-maintained field, is a large set of military grade tents that remind PL of the CAN's temporary structures by the salamander village. More armed personnel - mostly Carapacians, some trolls - hang around here in combat fatigues.

TD: ii was ttold to aask for the venerated private
TD: hhell ttell uus what tto do now

TD excuses herself, making for the large tent in the middle. CM stays by PL's side for a moment longer, before looking at her with uncertain eyes.

CM: i'm gonna go grab some food?
CM: want me to get you anything?
PL: [...]
PL: [A drink, perhaps.]
CM: sure? i won't be a moment?
CM: unless td and vp get to you first since i imagine there are some questions to ask?
PL: [You'd best hurry, then.]
CM: of course?

CM heads off to what PL assumes is the mess tent. She could follow him, introduce herself to these people, but for the moment, she finds herself transfixed, staring out over the park.

It is a beautiful space, verdant and alive and tangibly real in a way little else in this world seems to be. She could look on at this scene indefinitely, perhaps for as long as she exists. And yet, something unseen is drawing her eye, something that demands her attention.

PL scans the area, but again and again she finds nothing. And despite that, her eyes rest on a nondescript spot in the grass, utterly unremarkable in every conceivable way. It's all mundane, if pretty, but beneath that, beneath it all, she feels the hum of something impending, like an anxious tightening of her carapace.

Somewhere there is a breath held, and soon that breath will be released, and somehow PL knows that all will change when it does. But not now. Not yet.

She turns and heads towards the tents in search of whatever answers she can find. Premonition or no, she would be a fool to ignore the facts of her reality, of the sociopolitical landscape they all find themselves bound to.

This is why she averts her eyes from the patch of grass that, unbeknownst to her, was the site of a choice made and unmade by a young man both recently and distantly, and will, in the course of things, be the site of another choice, one that will usher in a moment far more crucial than the extracanonical dichotomous split that governs all that can be perceived.

The blades of grass shiver. Around and beneath it, the fanonical hairline fracture readies itself to bleed.

Chapter 62: SIX, section i.

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Violence, gore, body horror, child abuse, suicidal ideation.

i.

Dawn breaks, sharp and clear, over the wreckage of NuSeattle. To the north, a convoy of militant troll rebels stares down the city, slowly spreading out to encircle its limits. From within, what remains of Jane Crocker's army marches through and hovers above the ruined streets. Where before they would prudently eliminate civilian witnesses, now they hold fast to their weapons, conserving their ammunition for what is to come. The sun is soft and golden, skies clear beyond the soft irradiated haze that blankets everything. The day promises to be long, to be beautiful, to be the axis upon which the imminent future will hinge.

In a bunker a scant handful of miles from this emerging tableau, commander Karkat Vantas clicks off a comms relay, sucking in a breath through newly-repaired lungs.

KANAYA: Is That Everyone
KARKAT: EVERYBODY BUT OUTGLUT^2, YEAH.

Kanaya Maryam-Lalonde looks on at him with a fond and weary expression reserved only for those with multiple universes of history shared between them. Her jade eyes are wide, thoughtful.

KANAYA: And Is This Solely Down To Your Mid War Breakup
KARKAT: I
KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW? MEENAH CAN BE LIKE THAT, SURE, BUT
KARKAT: I'M NOT GETTING THROUGH TO ANYONE OVER THERE.
KANAYA: Hrm
KANAYA: What Do You Think Dear

Rose sits swinging her legs off the edge of one of the tables in the room, a gesture both carefree and youthful that conceals her razor-sharp mind.

ROSE: I wonder. Meenah's histrionics are usually nothing in comparison to offering her the opportunity to be a vaunted war leader.
ROSE: Thus my next question would be if anything has happened to Outglut^2 in your absence, Karkat.
KARKAT: NOTHING THAT THE REPORTS ARE TELLING ME.
KARKAT: NOTHING SINCE LEMNIS'S ABDUCTION.
ROSE: And the communications relays are unharmed?
KARKAT: YEAH. I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY'RE IGNORING ME.
KARKAT: SHIT. IS MEENAH REALLY THAT PETTY?
ROSE: ...
KANAYA: Regardless The Outglut^2 Faction Constitutes Less Than A Fifth Of Our Combat Force
KANAYA: Even Without Them We Still Outnumber Crockers Army
KARKAT: I KNOW THAT. BUT...
KANAYA: We Can Look Into Outglut^2 After Our Business Here Is Concluded
KARKAT: I GUESS.

Unsaid is what lingers beneath Kanaya's tense body, the way she's fighting to keep from baring her fangs. If all goes well, and this is the mother grub of all ifs, they may very well gain the opportunity to kill Jane Crocker herself in the course of this battle.

That thought is disquieting, heady, in Karkat's mind. All of them for so long have been pushing for this goal, and to have the enemy within reach like that...

It's temptation. Sweet and poisoned ambrosia. Crocker has contingencies upon contingencies. Depending on what's left of the human government depends on if her death would even be a drop in the well.

Karkat flexes his hands, rolls his neck. The intent is to start exchanging fire before noon today. That leaves precious few hours to get all the shit together on his end.

KARKAT: OKAY, REGARDLESS.
KARKAT: HOW IS EVERYBODY ELSE HERE HOLDING UP?
KANAYA: All Casualties Are Accounted For
KANAYA: Harry Anderson Is Awake And Moving Around
KANAYA: And You

She motions to him. Karkat takes a deep breath that doesn't hurt. Between Kanaya, John, and Jade's efforts, Karkat's as good as a new troll.

KARKAT: YEAH. THANKS AGAIN.
KANAYA: Any Time

Kanaya smiles wryly, the kind of lip twitch that only passes between old friends. Karkat has never been so glad to have all the people that matter to him in one place.

Well.

He shakes his head. It's a thought that doesn't need entertaining. Everyone alive is here. The dead are done with. He can poke at that wound after. There are bigger things, more important things, hanging over his head.

ROSE: Our rebellion newcomers are faring decently. John's integrated himself quite nicely.
ROSE: The children bear obvious mental scars, but their spirits are holding strong.
ROSE: Vriska is Vriska, of course. For better or worse.
KANAYA: I Do Not Think Any Of Us Can Ever Say Just What The Positive Or Negative Value Of Vriska Truly Is
KANAYA: Vriska Is An Entity That Can Only Be Compared To Herself
ROSE: Right. Of course, nobody has run an analysis on the potential merits of an eighteen-year-old god still stuck in Sburb mode.
ROSE: But she can and will fight, and that's worth something.
KARKAT: GOOD TO KNOW I GUESS.
KARKAT: IS THAT ALL?
ROSE: Well,

Rose glances away. Her face flushes and her lips turn down.

KARKAT: WHAT?
ROSE: It's... Jake.
KARKAT: WHAT ABOUT JAKE CROCKER?
ROSE: Jake English again, I believe.
KARKAT: ANYWAY.
ROSE: Right. Semantics.

She waves a hand dismissively. That look doesn't leave her eyes.

ROSE: Young Tavros informed me in a conversation this morning about his father's... condition.
ROSE: Not that you'd need a child to tell you about what is plainly and blatantly visible, of course.
KARKAT: UH HUH.
ROSE: Anyway. It's completely obvious that Jake's a delusional alcoholic with zero self-preservation instinct.
ROSE: Unlike we more pedestrian addicts, his Hope powers grant him flimsy control over just how real his issues are.
KARKAT: SO THEN WE JUST DON'T BRING HIM, RIGHT?
ROSE: Well.

She looks away again. Kanaya takes the opportunity to jump in.

KANAYA: The Man Is A Spineless Wretch But Ultimately He Has Balls To The Wall Bonkers Hope Powers
KANAYA: You Would Have To Be Foolish Not To At Least Try And Factor It In
KANAYA: Especially When We Consider What We Are Going To Be Walking Into
KARKAT: ...

Karkat breathes out through his nose. He begins walking up and down the room. Jake Crocker - or English he fucking guesses - is the oddest wrinkle in this formation. The tentative plan is to have the team of gods advance on NuSeattle and serve to augment and protect the bulk of the fighting forces, but this was always predicated on having a group of competent individuals.

Something like this was possible even when the only god tiers available to them were just Rose and Jade and, well. Dave. John more than makes up for that loss on a purely functional level, and Kanaya and Karkat are tapped enough into their abilities that they can add to it if the situation calls for it. Plus, Vriska fucking Serket is here now, and he'll be fucked if that doesn't continue to drastically tip the scales in their favour.

Jake is... an unknown factor. Karkat knows the man as a hysterical wretch. He was barely useful last night when all he was required to do was impart a simple Hope fraymotif onto Kanaya to save the life of Harry Anderson. He's an idiot. Useless. And yet he may also be the strongest of them all.

Karkat doesn't know what to do about that, how to deal with Jake without risking the whole plan coming down around them.

He knows what he could do, what would net the greatest benefit for them, but.

But.

But it's Jake fucking English they're all talking about here. Public enemy number two. That's a stain that doesn't wash out. Who is to say that the man simply won't turn tail and betray them the minute the going gets tough?

Karkat can't say. He hates not knowing. Times like this, he misses Meenah. For all that their relationship was fucked up and unhealthy, she at least had the balls to be a consistent decision maker. On his own, Karkat feels lost.

KARKAT: ...DAMN IT.
KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT CALL IS HERE.
KARKAT: I THINK
KARKAT: FOR NOW WE BRING HIM ALONG. BUT SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP AN EYE ON HIM.
ROSE: I'll gladly volunteer, in that case.

Rose bows her head with a slight smile.

ROSE: I am sure my beautiful wife won't mind picking up my share of the blood-drenched combat.
KANAYA: Perish The Thought Dear
KARKAT: THANKS FOR OFFERING, ROSE.
KARKAT: BUT IF WE HAVE TO BRING HIM, I HAVE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN MIND FOR ENGLISH.
KARKAT: IF HE GETS HIS HEAD OUT OF HIS ASS, HE COULD BE A HUGE ASSET TO THE RESCUE AND EVACUATION EFFORTS.
ROSE: Of course.
ROSE: He'll make a passable addition to the evac team, if that is your call to make.
KARKAT: RIGHT.
KANAYA: So Then
KANAYA: Is There Much More We Need To Cover Before We Assemble The Others And Depart For The City Limits
KARKAT: I DON'T THINK SO. THE PLANS WE MADE LAST NIGHT SHOULD STILL HOLD STRONG.
KARKAT: EVEN WITHOUT THE OUTGLUT^2 VANGUARD.

He says it, but he's still unsure. There's something off about the whole Outglut^2 situation, but nobody has the time to investigate. Not when they're hours away from what will likely be the seminal conflict of this rotten war.

KARKAT: THIS IS THE BEST WE CAN DO.
KARKAT: EVERYONE ELSE IS IN FORMATION, AND WE CAN'T TAKE FOR GRANTED CROCKER WON'T MOVE FIRST.
KARKAT: WE SHOULD START GETTING READY.
ROSE: In the main mess hall, correct?
KARKAT: YEAH. THE PLACE IS BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD EVERYONE.
ROSE: Then I'll gather the others.
ROSE: Rendezvous in ten?
KARKAT: SURE.

Rose slips out of the room with her trademark rebel leader's grace. Karkat and Kanaya leave the room a second later, heading up to the mess hall close to the bunker's exit.

The room is empty this time of morning, but the chairs around the large table are still askew from last night's dinner. Karkat situates himself in the corner of the room, back to the wall, and releases a breath.

KANAYA: What Is It
KARKAT: NOTHING SERIOUS. JUST...
KANAYA: Just
KANAYA: Then Some Finish Crumbs
KANAYA: Concluded By An Interrogation Noodle
KARKAT: YOU KNOW YOU COULD HAVE JUST FRAMED IT AS A QUESTION LIKE A REGULAR PERSON.
KANAYA: And Yet This Method Is Without Fail More Effective At Getting You To Open Up
KANAYA: Its Just You And Me For The Next Few Minutes
KANAYA: So Spill

Kanaya folds her arms and looks on at Karkat. She meets his eyes with a gaze that makes Karkat's skin crawl; this close, he can see the faint glow of her skin beginning to rev up. After all these years, Kanaya figured out how to totally control her rainbow drinker's glow, with one exception. When it comes to bloodlust, her skin will gleam with enough brilliance to make a newborn Prospitian's shell look tarnished.

She is ready and willing to kill. Somehow that animalistic intensity pushes Karkat's reluctance to the depths of his self.

KARKAT: FINE.
KARKAT: I FEEL LIKE I AM OUT OF MY FUCKING DEPTH, KANAYA.
KARKAT: NOT IN THE SENSE THAT I'M NOT READY TO COORDINATE A VICIOUS AND PIVOTAL BATTLE. GOD FUCKING KNOWS I HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH EXPERIENCE ON THAT FRONT.
KARKAT: BUT IT'S LIKE... IT'S HAPPENED TOO FAST, YOU KNOW?
KARKAT: LIKE A FEW DAYS AGO, OUTGLUT^2 WAS OUR FIRST MAJOR VICTORY OF THIS WAR.
KANAYA: And What Does That Make The Effective Concealment Of The Last Surviving Mother Grubs
KARKAT: FINE. SECOND MAJOR VICTORY.
KARKAT: THOUGH IF WE'RE GONNA BE PEDANTIC BITCHES, OUTGLUT^2 WAS THE FIRST *COMBAT* VICTORY.
KANAYA: Heaven Forbid We Forget Pedantry At Any Point Ever
KARKAT: IS THE SNARKING MEANT TO HELP??
KANAYA: Isnt It
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: I NEVER SAID IT DIDN'T.
KANAYA: Then I Shall Continue To Ease Us Past Our Emotional Barriers With All The Snarky Bitch Pedantry I Can Muster

Kanaya gives Karkat a smirk. Despite himself, he returns the smile with a warm fluttering in his chest.

Karkat and Kanaya are... well. By all accounts, they are deeply-bonded lifelong friends who *get* each other's emotional states more than anyone else. There is a pleasant vulnerability that only arises between them in these... sessions of emotional debriefing.

Both would hesitate to use the words "Moirallegiance" or "feelings jam" because whatever floats between them is much more fluid and nebulous, but it would also be a falsehood to deny that comparable emotional principles do not form a significant part of the core of whatever their relationship has evolved into over the years.

Despite everything, they've always had each other. The last survivors of Alternia, the renegade rebels fighting on Earth C. Their love is nothing like what links Kanaya and Rose, or what linked Karkat and Dave so long ago, but it's something just as steadfast and immutable. Karkat doesn't think they could ever not be in the other's life at this point.

KARKAT: THANKS, KANAYA. YOU...
KARKAT: WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU.
KANAYA: Probably Similarly Wondrous Feats But With More Than A Touch Of Your Vaunted Vantas Hysterics I Fear
KARKAT: PFFT. PROBABLY.

Karkat feels some of the tension in his face go slack. Without another word, both mutually pull each other in for a quick hug that further builds a barricade against the mental strain. Kanaya's pulse is quick and light, a moth ready to divebomb, and despite literally being undead, her grasp is warm.

KARKAT: I'M SO FUCKING GLAD YOU'RE HERE.
KANAYA: Me Too

They hold each other for a few beats longer, before Kanaya pulls away. The soppy smile she only shows for the two people closest in her life reshapes into a raised eyebrow of stern yet caring neutrality.

KANAYA: Anyway
KANAYA: Fate May Be Conspiring To Throw Everything At Us All At Once
KANAYA: But We Have Weathered This Kind Of Cascade Of Events Numerous Times
KANAYA: We Will Endure And Prevail Again
KANAYA: Is This Any More Impressive Than Squaring Off Against The Black King At Six
KANAYA: Or Taking On The Condesce And Also A Literal Paradox Space Eating Demon At Eight Sweeps
KANAYA: Or Forming This Movement From The Ground Up Over A Decade Ago
KANAYA: One Might Argue We Function Best Under These Compressed Circumstances
KARKAT: HEH. MAYBE.
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: ...
KANAYA: ...
KARKAT: SO
KARKAT: HOW ARE YOU DOING?
KANAYA:

Kanaya flushes a deep jade. Karkat bites back the urge to roll his eyes. Kanaya is so good at playing the aloof carer in relationship dynamics built upon mutual emotional support, right up until the mirror is turned back on her own face.

KANAYA: Very Well Thank You
KARKAT: BULL FUCKING SHIT
KANAYA: Beg Pardon
KARKAT: YOU
KARKAT: GOD. YOU'RE NEVER NOT GONNA BE AN OBTUSE BITCH ARE YOU?
KANAYA: I Question The Appropriateness Of You Calling Me A Bitch
KARKAT: OH, WE'RE NOT GOING DOWN THAT HOPBEAST HOLE OF AVOIDANCE TODAY
KARKAT: KANAYA, YOU ARE LITERALLY LOSING CONTROL OF YOUR BIOLUMINESCENCE. DON'T TRY AND BE CUTE WITH ME
KANAYA: That Is
KANAYA: Well

She scratches at the back of her neck. Her fingernails seem like they've been filed to claw points. Karkat blinks slowly. How could he have missed the signs?

Like, sure, he did spend half of last night literally having his lungs be repaired by the coordinated efforts of multiple gods, but still. No excuse.

KANAYA: Does This Matter
KANAYA: I Am In Control
KARKAT: SO YOU'VE HASHED THIS OUT WITH ROSE, RIGHT?
KANAYA: When You Say Hash This Out
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: YOU'RE KEEPING THIS FROM HER, AREN'T YOU?
KANAYA:

Kanaya looks down.

KARKAT: I FUCKING KNEW IT. I FUCKING KNOW YOU, KANAYA.
KANAYA: Thats Unfair
KARKAT: OH, THEN IF I'M WRONG, PLEASE ELUCIDATE ME ON WHAT IT MEANS THAT YOU'RE ABOUT ONE MORE MOLECULE OF CORTISOL AWAY FROM FALLING INTO A FRENZY
KARKAT: AND THAT YOU'VE APPARENTLY BEEN KEEPING THIS A SECRET FROM YOUR OWN FUCKING WIFE. EXPLAIN THAT ONE TO ME, KANAYA.
KANAYA: Urgh
KANAYA: Must I
KARKAT: YES YOU MUST.
KANAYA: Look
KANAYA: I

She breathes out. It's evident that getting every word past her lips is torture. Karkat doesn't care. She needs to get this out, and apparently it falls to him to actually address people's problems around here.

KANAYA: First Things First Trunkbeast In The Room And All That
KANAYA: I Am Blatantly And Transparently Baying For Crockers Blood I Hope That Isnt Hard To Grasp
KANAYA: And I Am Not An Idiot So That Will Remain Under Tight Control
KARKAT: AND THE REST??
KANAYA: I
KANAYA: Sigh
KANAYA: Sometimes I Fucking Loathe You Karkat

Kanaya takes a step back, then leans against the wall. It's a sullen and withdrawn gesture that seems totally out of place with the image of the refined woman Kanaya's been projecting since basically forever. Good thing Karkat knows better than that.

KANAYA: I Am
KANAYA: So Absolutely Afraid Karkat
KANAYA: We Are About To March Into What May Be The Battle To End All Battles
KANAYA: And Both My Wife And Daughter Are Stepping Into That Fray
KANAYA: And I
KANAYA: I Cannot Protect Them
KANAYA: I Cannot Guarantee Their Safety In The Heat Of The Moment
KANAYA: There Are Very Few People In This World I Cannot Stand To Lose And They Make Up The Bulk Of Them
KANAYA: After The Firebombing There Is No Telling What Crocker Could Do
KANAYA: Rose Is A Reckless Hero
KANAYA: And Vrissy Is The Most Headstrong Young Troll I Have Ever Met
KANAYA: Danger Will Swarm To Them Like Magnets And There Is Little I Can Do To Change That
KARKAT: KANAYA
KANAYA: Do Not Bother With Some Platitude About Their Safety We Both Know They Are Wont To Do As They Will
KANAYA: And I Do Trust Them To Take Care Of Themselves
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: If Something Were To Happen To Them

She stops talking. A shuddered breath spills forth from her mouth and she clutches one wrist with her arm. She's as close as you can get to folding in on yourself without actually doing that.

Karkat looks at her more closely. Her skin's glow increases that bit more in intensity, and her fangs have lengthened by a good half an inch or so.

Kanaya is many things, and one of those things includes ruthlessly efficient killing machine. He's seen first hand how combat and bloodlust transforms rainbow drinkers into something unstoppable; hell, even ignoring the rare members of the rebellion who've had the condition, he need only cast his mind back to the days of Sgrub when she thought Rose at risk.

More than that, he knows Kanaya. He knows that even without the strength of the undead running through her veins, there is an iron fierceness she has for the ones she loves. The vampire traits are just a perk. Despite her supposed poise, at Kanaya's core is something primal and violent.

He remembers being told of that one doomed timeline, of what became of Kanaya after she witnessed her nearest and dearest get ripped from her one by one.

Therefore, he knows exactly what to say.

KARKAT: I WILL *NOT* LET YOU LOSE CONTROL, KANAYA.
KARKAT: I PROMISE YOU THAT WITH ALL THAT I AM.
KANAYA: How Karkat
KANAYA: I Know Who I Am
KANAYA: I Know That In The Worst Case I Will Not Stop Myself
KANAYA: Even If It Comes At The Detriment Of The Mission
KARKAT: I
KARKAT: ...

Karkat pauses. He looks Kanaya up and down and flexes his hands. He remembers yesterday, with John on the verge of a hysteria that would have doomed them all. He remembers how he reached out, and...

Maybe. If it happened once, then...

KARKAT: KANAYA, I AM GOING TO TRY SOMETHING.
KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL WORK, BUT I'M GONNA TRY IT ANYWAY.
KANAYA: Encouraging
KANAYA: What Is It
KARKAT: BLOOD POWERS.
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: I Thought That Was A Dead End
KANAYA: As We Established All Those Years Ago During The Chemical Poisoning Of The Infant Mother Grubs
KARKAT: YEAH, WELL.
KARKAT: SOMETHING CHANGED, OUT IN THE CITY
KARKAT: I WAS ABLE TO USE, I DON'T KNOW. SOME KIND OF FRAYMOTIF TYPE DEAL?
KARKAT: IT LET ME ENTER JOHN, AND
KANAYA: I See
KANAYA: You Entered John Huh

She quirks an eyebrow. It's low hanging, blatant bait, but Karkat takes a chomp anyway.

KARKAT: HEY SHUT THE FUCK UP IT WASN'T LIKE THAT
KANAYA: Like What
KANAYA: I Didnt Insinuate A Thing
KARKAT: YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID.
KANAYA: If You Say So

Karkat has to take a few breaths before he can continue. Kanaya looks at him, eyes glowing a little, but her body is still rigid with tension.

KARKAT: LOOK, I BASICALLY WAS ABLE TO GET INTO HIS BLOODSTREAM AND CLEAR HIM OF ALL THESE STRESS CHEMICALS CLOGGING HIM UP.
KARKAT: LIKE HOLY SHIT YOU WOULDN'T IMAGINE THE AMOUNT OF REPRESSED EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE THAT MAN HAS INSIDE HIM.
KANAYA: I Cannot Say I Really Ever Thought Much Of John Egbert Once He Refused Our Offer To Join The Cause
KARKAT: ANYWAY, POINT IS I MANAGED TO CLEAR HIS BLOODSTREAM RIGHT THE FUCK UP
KARKAT: THE DUDE WAS ONE GUNSHOT AWAY FROM LOSING HIS SHIT, BUT WHAT I DID KEPT HIM CALM AND FOCUSED FOR THE REST OF THE MISSION
KANAYA: Huh
KANAYA: I Cannot Say That Sounds
KANAYA: Healthy
KARKAT: WHO THE FUCK KNOWS WHEN IT COMES TO EMOTIONAL CONTROL AND STRESS SUPPRESSION.
KARKAT: TO ME IT'S ALL CHEMICALS IN THE BLOODSTREAM I CAN TURN ON AND OFF.
KARKAT: I DON'T SEE WHY YOUR FERAL OUTRAGED BLOODTHIRST WOULD BE ANY DIFFERENT. JUST SHUT IT DOWN AND YOU'LL BE GOOD TO GO.
KARKAT: I MEAN, IF YOU'D WANT THAT, OF COURSE.
KANAYA: So When You Say Shut It Down
KANAYA: Do You Mean All My Rage Or
KARKAT: I'M NOT SURE, BUT IF THE UNCONTROLLABLE SHIT IS PRETTY DISTINCT FROM YOUR OWN ANGER, THEN MAYBE?
KANAYA: I Am Very Aware Of My Righteous Fucking Fury
KANAYA: I Would Not Wish For That To Be Compromised
KANAYA: But The Thing I Fear The Most Inside Me
KANAYA: That Loss Of Control
KANAYA: Yes I Believe That To Be Separate Enough
KARKAT: THEN... MAY I?
KANAYA: Be My Guest

Kanaya offers him a terse smile and extends an arm in invitation. Karkat takes her hand in his own, then pauses. He knows what he wants to do, but he's unsure of how to best visualise the process. This esoteric game power shit always passed him by, so he's never really practiced. John yesterday was kind of a spur of the moment thing, so he's not sure if it'll work the same way again.

Still, it's the best lead he has.

Holding Kanaya's hand, Karkat thinks back to yesterday, to that disconnect from himself, to that need to push through John's body and find and eliminate the source of his distress.

Something tickles at the back of his brain. Karkat leans back into it.

Then, he sort of just...

Reaches over...

And...

Kanaya's bloodstream is a different experience to John's. For one, it's not bright fucking red. It's a deep green network of tunnels and veins that move with an efficiency Egbert lacked. Everything is swift, purposeful.

Karkat sees, as best he can in this bizarre not-space, the composition of the current that pours through Kanaya's veins. Valves, opening and closing, replenished and depleted blood, dancing in time with an elevated heart rate. Hormones, biological and synthetic, caught up in the rush. Chemical reactions he lacks the language for but knows, in this moment, like a subconscious reflex. The adrenaline, modest but rising as the pivotal moment draws nearer.

And there, swarmed in like a choking poison, barbed molecules mingling with Kanaya's stress centre, threatening to push her over the edge into a place beyond control. On this level, Karkat sees they lack the tint of molecules and cells affected by Kanaya's rainbow drinker condition. This whirlwind of a rage has always been inside her, a vicious part of her that is both bane and boon.

He follows it through to the source, a gland whose name is not present and not necessary. With a thought, he reaches out and pushes the valve shut, and with a second thought, demands what already exists in her bloodstream wither and defang.

It's partially successful. The gland ceases production of that particular molecule, but what is already there does not obey. Kanaya is a stronger will than John, more aware of her own body's rhythm, less open to outside influence. And unlike John, Karkat already feels the valve struggling to reopen itself.

He thinks fuck that. Kanaya deserves better. So he pushes in, harder, exerts more of his will, demands that the blood listens to the fucking god in its presence, that it gives full control back to Kanaya. Hell, he doesn't demand; it will be so.

Another push. The valve trembles. Karkat pushes again. And again. And again.

He realises he's fucked up the minute the valve explodes and lashings upon lashings of that barbed chemical enter Kanaya's body. It's loud and it's fury and it's unstoppable and it's--

Karkat gets forcefully ejected from Kanaya. He staggers back, gasping for air. A dull pain scatters across his head. Tentatively, he glances over at Kanaya.

Who stares back at him with total serenity.

KARKAT: KANAYA, FUCK, I
KANAYA: Thank You Karkat
KARKAT: ...WHAT?

Kanaya is smiling now, truly. The lines of tension around her face have relaxed, the glow on her skin back to a respectable shade of grey.

KANAYA: I Am Not Sure What It Is You Did
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: I Feel A Control Of Myself In A Way I Havent For
KANAYA: Well
KANAYA: I Am Not Sure
KARKAT: BUT I DIDN'T MANAGE TO STOP THE FURY.
KANAYA: No You Did Not

She tilts her head towards him curiously. Then she brings her own hands up in front of her face, looking at them as if they have some great wisdom to impart.

KANAYA: I Can Feel Every Shred Of That Desire To Tear And Maim And Kill
KANAYA: But It Is Now Mine To Exert And Control And Ride Out
KANAYA: This Is Not What I Expected But I Think You Unlocked Something Truly Powerful Within Me Karkat
KARKAT: SHIT, REALLY?
KANAYA: Indeed
KANAYA: This Is Exhilarating
KANAYA: Liberating Even
KANAYA: I Cannot Thank You Enough Karkat For This Boon
KARKAT: FUCK, WELL, IF IT WORKED OUT FOR YOU, THEN...

Kanaya nods, then clenches a fist. She closes her eyes and all at white her skin emits a brilliant radiance. Then, she swings the fist around to the wall, which is made of a several feet thick layer of radiation-proof reinforced metal.

She punches a five-foot deep hole into the wall as if cleaving through butter. Karkat blinks, just barely resisting the urge to drop his jaw.

KANAYA: This Strength
KANAYA: I Believe This Will Help Out
KARKAT: KANAYA, HOLY FUCK???

Then, with a breath, that graceful composure settles over Kanaya again. With a half-smirk, she curtseys.

KANAYA: Now
KANAYA: I Believe I Am Ready For What Is To Come
KARKAT:
KARKAT:
KARKAT:

Karkat struggles to find a response. Then fortunately, he doesn't have to, because a minute later, Rose comes in through the door with the others in tow.

ROSE: My apologies for the delay.
ROSE: Half-dead trolls and deluded alcoholics are notoriously uncooperative.

She strides into the room, then pauses when she sees the hole in the wall.

ROSE: What is...?
KANAYA: Oh Right
KANAYA: Karkat Undid A Defect In My Bloodstream And Now I Am Jacked As Fuck Honey
KANAYA: I Hope You Approve
ROSE: O-oh, well, that is
ROSE: Really
ROSE: Uh

Rose's mouth parts in a soft 'o'. Her cheeks flush. Karkat can guess exactly what kind of train of thought is running through Lalonde's mind right about now. But, testament to her, she quickly composes herself with nothing more carnal than a brief kiss to the back of Kanaya's hand.

ROSE: Regardless, we are all here now.
ROSE: Ready for briefing as our eclectic collective can ever be.
KARKAT: THANKS, ROSE.

Rose bobs her head and smiles. Behind her, everyone else files in, taking their place around the table with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Jade, Rose, and Kanaya sit closest to where Karkat stands. Vriska inserts herself in the corner of important people with an edged smile. John floats somewhere in the middle, eager but uncertain. The kids form one mass across from him. Jake sits dead at the back, sheepishly avoiding everyone's gaze. Sollux floats at the other end of the room and pretends to not pay attention.

This is a gathering of some of the most powerful people on Earth C. But to Karkat, most of them do not in any way feel impressive. But this is the best they all have. He'll have to make it work.

A few seconds pass as people adjust themselves in their seats, exchange glances with one another, clear their throats. Then Karkat steps up.

KARKAT: OKAY, EVERYONE. THIS IS HOW IT'S GOING TO BE.

He modulates his voice in a way that brings all eyes on him. He's done it countless times with the rebellion before. There is no reason this pre-battle speech should be any different.

KARKAT: JANE CROCKER SITS HOLED UP SOMEWHERE INSIDE NUSEATTLE.
KARKAT: OUR FORCES HAVE THE CITY SURROUNDED. WE OUTNUMBER HER THREE TO ONE.
KARKAT: SHE'S ON THE BACK FOOT. NO NUMBERS, LITTLE PUBLIC SUPPORT.
KARKAT: NOW MIGHT BE THE BEST CHANCE WE HAVE TO CUT THAT SANCTIMONIOUS FASCIST HAG DOWN,
VRISKA: Hell yeah!!!!!!!!
KARKAT: AND *MORE FUCKING IMPORTANTLY* SECURE THE EMANCIPATION AND LIBERATION OF THE TROLL POPULATION.

He shoots a displeased glance in Vriska's direction. Serket merely takes the glare with a shit-eating smile. Karkat swallows the urge to massage his temples. He'd forgotten, over the years, just how obtuse Vriska can be to deal with when it comes to issuing her any kind of orders.

Then, out of curiosity's sake, he looks over in the direction of Jake. The man looks haggard and rough and maybe like he hasn't showered in a few days, but. Huh. There's a strange glint to the man's green eyes. Karkat's not sure what it means. He doesn't have the time or inclination to decipher it, either.

KARKAT: EACH OF YOU HAS A SPECIFIC ROLE TO PLAY IN THE UPCOMING BATTLE THAT YOU *WILL* STICK TO.
KARKAT: OUR ARMY HAS DIVIDED ITSELF INTO FOUR FORCES FOR THIS OPERATION.
KARKAT: THERE IS THE INTELLIGENCE TEAM WHO WILL BE ISSUING COMMANDS AND INTEL THROUGH THE COMMS SYSTEM.
KARKAT: THE EVACUATION TEAM, WHO WILL AID IN THE RECOVERY AND PROTECTION OF THE SURVIVING CIVILIAN POPULATION.
KARKAT: THE COMBAT TEAM, WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR TAKING ON CROCKERCORP'S ARMY.
KARKAT: AND FINALLY, THE INFILTRATION TEAM WHO WILL BE TASKED WITH FINDING AND TAKING JANE CROCKER DOWN.
VRISKA:
KARKAT: BEFORE ANYBODY EVEN *THINKS* OF SAYING ANYTHING, I HAVE ALREADY DECIDED EXACTLY WHERE EACH OF YOU IS TO BE ASSIGNED.

Vriska rolls her eyes. Karkat knows what she wants, and he also knows why giving that to someone like Vriska would be a really bad fucking idea.

KARKAT: SOLLUX, ROSE, YOU'RE ON INTEL.
KARKAT: YOU'LL USE YOUR GOD TIER PRECOGNITIVE POWERS TO KEEP THE BULK OF OUR FORCES FROM GETTING THEMSELVES NEEDLESSLY KILLED.
ROSE: Of course.
SOLLUX: i'm n0t part 0f this piece 0f shit war.
KARKAT: YES YOU FUCKING ARE, SOLLUX. DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME.
SOLLUX: stfu vantas. if these suckers need my help then they d0n't deserve t0 win this war is all i'm saying.

Sollux flips a particularly surly pair of middle fingers, but Karkat knows from experience that this is as close to an outright yes as you'll ever get from Sollux. He allows himself to breathe once, then continues.

KARKAT: ENGLISH, YOU'LL BE WITH THE KIDS ON EVAC DUTY.
JAKE: Will i?
KARKAT: YES. DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, DON'T TRY ANY SELF PITY BULLSHIT OR WHATEVER OTHER DRIVEL WILL COME FROM YOUR MOUTH. I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.
KARKAT: YOUR BULLSHIT HOPE POWERS ARE OUR BEST BET AT KEEPING CIVILIANS ALIVE. EVEN A WASTER DUMBASS SUCH AS YOURSELF CAN MANAGE THAT.
JAKE: Well, i mean
VRISSY: W8, We're gonna 8e out There too?

Vrissy blinks at Karkat curiously. Near the front of the table, he watches Kanaya breathe through a thrill of tension. He's suddenly more glad than ever he managed to help Kanaya get herself under control.

KARKAT: I KNOW WHAT YOU KIDS ARE LIKE. YOU'D TRY AND SNEAK THROUGH ANYWAY.
VRISSY: Well, that's, uh...
KARKAT: BESIDES, GIVEN WHAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH, YOU'VE GOT ENOUGH BATTLE SMARTS TO BE OF USE WITH THE EVACUATION.
HARRY: still, that's kind of a huge responsibility, isn't it?
HARRY: not that i'm complaining or anything. i mean, if we can help, we should, but...
KARKAT: THE FOUR OF YOU MANAGED TO ESCAPE CROCKER'S DIRECT CLUTCHES ALIVE, SO I HAVE FAITH IN YOU.
TAVROS: I'm sorry, mister vantas, but did you say, four,,,?
TAVROS: Wait, no, ah, of course,

Tavros frowns as he looks over the table. The kid seems to get it the minute he says it, but Karkat knows the other party deliberately won't understand unless he spells it out plain as day.

KARKAT: I AM OF COURSE TALKING ABOUT TAVROS, VRISSY, HARRY, AND VRISKA. THE FOUR KIDS IN THE ROOM. OBVIOUSLY.
VRISKA: W8. W8 w8 w8 w8 w8 w8 W8.
VRISKA: You're shitting me, right? PLEASE tell me that you are shitting me here, Karkat.
VRISKA: 8ecause there's a8solutely no *w8y* you wouldn't put ME on the infiltr8tion team!
KARKAT: THERE IS ABSOLUTELY EVERY FUCKING WAY I AM NOT PUTTING YOU ON THE INFILTRATION TEAM VRISKA.
KARKAT: YOU ARE YOUNG, INEXPERIENCED, AND RECKLESS. I'M NOT JEAPORDIZING ANYTHING BY BRINGING YOU ALONG.
VRISKA: What the fuck???????? I'm plenty experienced!
VRISKA: Every8ody here KNOWS that! Hell, I'm the reason any of you even *have* a universe in which to have this stupid war in the first pl8ce!

She punches the table and meets Karkat's gaze with a snarl.

KARKAT: AND YET, HERE YOU ARE PROVING MY POINT.
VRISKA: Wh8t????????
KARKAT: YOU CANNOT HAVE A CALM AND RATIONAL DISAGREEMENT OVER THIS.
KARKAT: THEREFORE YOU'RE ON THE EVAC TEAM. SUCK IT UP.
VRISKA: This is 8ullshit! Complete and total 8ullshit!
VRISKA: I'm a primo killing machine! Why NOT take me?
KARKAT: YOU ARE NOT A KILLING MACHINE, VRISKA, YOU ARE AN ADOLESCENT WITH OBSCENE LUCK POWERS.
KARKAT: WHICH YOU WILL BE USING TO SAVE THE LIVES OF CIVILIANS. END OF DISCUSSION.
VRISKA: 8ut, 8ut--!

Karkat chooses to ignore her. A Serket tantrum is second only to a Vantas tantrum, and unlike Karkat, Vriska has not had the luxury of time to mature her and mellow her out.

KARKAT: JOHN, YOU'RE WITH THE COMBAT TEAM.
JOHN: i am?
KARKAT: YOU'LL BE JOINING WITH SOME OF OUR GUYS TO HELP STOP CROCKER'S FORCES FROM FUCKING THIS ALL UP.
KARKAT: I SAW YOU FIGHT YESTERDAY, SO FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK DO NOT BE A WET NOODLE ABOUT THIS.
JOHN: i mean, sure. if it'll help bring this nightmare situation to an end.
KARKAT: THERE. WONDERFUL. A RATIONAL ADULT RESPONSE TO A REQUEST OF MINE.
KARKAT: CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU, JOHN, FOR KNOWING WHEN TO ACT LIKE A GROWN MAN.
JOHN: i, er...

John blushes at Karkat's comments. The guy's still obviously a loser in many ways, but also wind powers are unprecedented in their offensive and defensive capabilities. Karkat feels better about the survival of his best soldiers with John on the scene.

KARKAT: JADE, KANAYA, YOU'RE WITH ME ON INFILTRATION.
KANAYA: Of Course
JADE: alright
KARKAT: UNLIKE THE OTHER GUYS, THIS MISSION IS JUST FOR THE THREE OF US.
KARKAT: KANAYA AND I WILL TEMPORARILY JOIN WITH THE VANGUARD FORCES OF THE COMBAT TEAM.
KARKAT: JADE, YOUR MISSION IS TO SCOUT OUT THE CITY AND FIND EXACTLY WHERE CROCKER HAS HOLED HERSELF UP.
JADE: got it
JADE: i can do that

Jade gives him a grim determined nod, devoid of her usual spirit. Karkat doesn't even need to look at Kanaya to know she'll be with him no matter what.

Still, as he looks at Jade's face, he feels that old and familiar thread of fear pulling at him that pushed him to keep Jade and Dave as far away from the fighting as possible.

KARKAT: WHEN YOU FIND HER, DO NOT ENGAGE ON YOUR OWN.
KARKAT: COME BACK TO US, AND WE WILL FACE HER TOGETHER.
KARKAT: DO YOU UNDERSTAND, JADE???
JADE: of course! im not about to go risking my life karkat
JADE: not that im this weak delicate thing you seem to think i am though :p
KARKAT: I NEVER SAID THAT.
JADE: you dont need to
JADE: i know exactly why you put me and dave on recon for all those months
JADE: you are many great and wonderful things karkat but god are you not subtle
KARKAT: UH
JADE: anyway i solemnly do promise that i wont get any silly notions of heroics in my head or anything like that!
JADE: you know how much i care about this cause and you know i would never to anything to put it at risk

She winks and gives a little mock salute, even though this is absolutely definitely the kind of situation in which non ironic salutes would be expected and normal. But none of this has ever truly been painted in shades of normal.

KARKAT: GOOD. THAT'S GOOD.

Karkat nods in reply. After whatever happened with Dave happened, he holds a deep fear for Jade's wellbeing in his heart. All he can do is hope and trust in her abilities.

Further down, John raises a hand.

JOHN: is there anything else we need to talk about before we go?
KARKAT: ACTUALLY, YEAH. ONE OTHER MAJOR THING.
KARKAT: I'LL NEED YOU AND JADE TO DO SOMETHING BEFORE WE START THIS OPERATION.
JOHN: what's that?
KARKAT: NUSEATTLE IS ABSOLUTELY FUCKING CHOKED WITH NUCLEAR RADIATION FROM JANE CROCKER'S LITTLE DIRTY BOMB FIREWORKS SHOW.
KARKAT: GOING IN NOW WOULD PUT EVERY SINGLE MORTAL COMBATANT AT RISK OF ACUTE RADIATION POISONING, WHICH DOESN'T NEED SAYING HOW COMPLETELY TERRIBLE THAT WOULD BE.
KARKAT: SO I'M GONNA NEED YOU AND JADE TO HELP CLEAR THE AIR.
JOHN: us? really?
KARKAT: YEAH. REALLY.
KARKAT: BREATH AND SPACE GOD TIER POWERS ARE, LIKE, HARD CODED TO FIX THIS KIND OF SHIT I'M PRETTY SURE.
JOHN: are they? i mean, not that i'm saying no, but i have never really tapped into my powers like that.
JOHN: i mostly just coasted by on my retcon stuff until that stopped working, and then i kind of didn't do anything after that?
JADE: dont worry john we can do it
JADE: i know for a fact that there is a fairly low level fraymotif that fixes this exact problem
JOHN: you're sure?
JADE: yeah!
JADE: back when we thought there was still a chance of you joining up with us i made a point of researching and memorizing any relevant breath-space combo fraymotifs
JADE: i mean then you didnt join us but i never really forgot that knowledge either
JOHN: oh. well, i...
JADE: dont apologize youre here now and taking action
JADE: so long as you stay committed were good
JOHN: yeah, of course.
JOHN: and you said it's a low level fraymotif?
JADE: yeah! technically one of the early ones you can do before you even hit the god tiers
JOHN: huh.
JADE: hehe feels weird using any of that sburb jargon after so long!

Jade flashes John an earnest smile. John returns it, awkwardly but warmly.

JOHN: so it's doable then?
JADE: absolutely!
JOHN: and we can do it?
JADE: of course we can!
JADE: like i said this is a pre god tier fraymotif!
JOHN: even, uh...
JOHN: even with your power nerf?
JADE: uh
JADE: my what now? :|

John blinks. He moves his hands in strange gesture that's hard to follow.

JOHN: i mean, back when i made the choice to send us all into this time line.
JOHN: we got cut off from the real universe and the "canon" reality or, um, whatever it is rose said.
ROSE: I hardly recall, but that sounds like the kind of obsequious bullshit I would have espoused in my young adulthood.
JOHN: right. anyway.
JOHN: preeety sure that means we got cut off from the abilities that "being in canon" gave us too.
JOHN: like, i can't do the retcon thing any more.
JOHN: and i'm pretty sure since we're outside of the green sun a whole bunch of your powers got turned off too jade?
JADE: :|
JADE: :|
JADE: :|
JOHN: ...what?

Jade looks at him blankly, ears cocked lazily. Then, very slowly, she rolls her eyes.

JADE: geez john theres no way thats a problem!
JADE: and even if it was the green suns influence in my life was so long ago i dont even remember what it felt like!
JOHN: wait, but all your cool stuff...
JADE: john are you even aware of which parts of my powers were accredited to the green sun and which parts were all my own??
JOHN: well, er...
JADE: you were too busy being a depressed bum as a kid so of course you didnt!
JADE: anyway literally the only thing the green sun affected is my ability to manipulate space matter on any scale larger than the planetary
JADE: ie i cant go flinging planets around with the ease i could as a kid and i cant jump myself to any location inside or outside of the universe
JADE: thats literally it
JADE: everything else still works fine!
JADE: seriously its like you forgot im incredibly overpowered! :P
JOHN: i... huh. guess i did.
JOHN: so then the whole de nuking fraymotif will not be a problem then?
JADE: definitely not! we wont even break a sweat doing it!
JOHN: if you're sure, then i don't have any further problems.
JOHN: i think we can obviously do it.
JADE: of course we can!
JADE: there you go karkat! were perfectly ready to clean the air! ;D
KARKAT: GOOD.

Karkat nods in Jade's direction. He bites back any comments he may or may not be thinking about John's status as a limp noodle. If this is the man after having his suppression channels cleared, Karkat dreads to consider how worthless he was before that.

KARKAT: THAT'S EVERYTHING I NEED TO COVER HERE.
KARKAT: WE'LL TELEPORT TO THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE CITY, WHERE A SERIES OF SUPPLY TRUCKS WAIT FOR US, AND WHERE JOHN AND JADE WILL CLEAR THE AIR.
KARKAT: FROM THERE, WE WILL BREAK OFF INTO OUR DESIGNATED TEAMS. DO *NOT* FUCK AROUND AND THINK YOU KNOW BETTER.
KARKAT: WARZONES ARE NOT A PLATFORM FOR YOU TO LIVE OUT YOUR HERO FANTASY, VRISKA.
VRISKA: 8luh 8luh, single me out some more. ::::/
KARKAT: I AM TRYING TO SAVE YOUR LIFE. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERMANENT DEATH THERE ARE ON THE BATTLEFIELD?
VRISKA: I could survive it.
KARKAT: NO YOU COULDN'T. STOP ARGUING WITH ME. DO THE FUCKING JOB YOU'VE BEEN ASSIGNED.
VRISSY: I'll keep her In Line, Commander Vantas.
VRISSY: After All, you'd H8 to get in my 8ad gr8ces and 8y extension the Re8ellion's 8ad Gr8ces, Would You?
VRISKA:

Something odd crosses Vriska's face. It comes to Karkat at this moment that he hasn't had the time to interrogate her motives. Vriska always has a number of irons in her shitty little fire at any given time. No doubt her whole joining up with the rebellion is part of some other problematic scheme.

Come to think of it, there are a lot of powerful people here whose agenda is opaque to Karkat. John, Jake, the kids, fuck, even Sollux. All of this is coasting on the assumption that the judgements Karkat made about these people decades ago will still hold up. An odd chill runs across his skin. Something about this doesn't feel right, but the rational part of his mind argues that this is literally the only choice they have.

Besides, Karkat's not dumb. His faith is in the devoted, united Troll Liberation Army gathered beneath his banner, and not a handful of special powerful people. Even a god eventually loses to a coordinated collective like that.

He just hopes this battle doesn't make things worse.

Karkat takes a sharp breath through his nose, then returns his attention to the others.

KARKAT: OKAY. WE'RE MOVING OUT.
KARKAT: JADE, TAKE US TO THE SPECIFIED COORDINATES.
KARKAT: EVERYONE, REMEMBER.
KARKAT: THE OPERATION BEGINS AT NOON.
KARKAT: BE PREPARED, BE SMART, AND FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK DO NOT DIE.

He gets a handful of nods from the people who care about him the most, and then Jade wraps them all up in a zing of Space power, and they're out of the bunker.

Fifteen minutes later, realising that it no longer houses any occupants, the lights go dark for the final time.

Chapter 63: SIX, section ii.

ii.

JADE: ready??
JOHN: i think so.

Jade clasps John's hands as the glow of a fraymotif wraps around their bodies and shoots past them into the ruins of NuSeattle.

FALLOUT UNDONE

Wisps of blue-green air trail through the city, setting the air shimmering. The effect lasts several minutes, and when it's done, the air Vriska breathes feels... clearer, somehow.

KARKAT: DID IT WORK?
JADE: yeah
JADE: the radiations gone
JADE: cant do anything about the other destruction but at least we wont have that to worry about
KARKAT: THAT'S GOOD. THANK FUCK.
JOHN: yeah.
JOHN: i still can't believe jane even did that. i mean...
JOHN: dropping a bunch of nuclear bombs on a city? what the fuck?

John turns to face NuSeattle with a disquieted look on his face.

Vriska rolls her eyes.

VRISKA: Why would you *not* 8e surprised?
VRISKA: It's a war, 8n't it? 8itches tend to pl8y dirty in those things.
VRISKA: This is nothing compared to some of the shit that went down on Alternia! ::::)
ROSE: ...You know, Vriska, that boasting worked better when we didn't all have several decades on you and also weren't in the midst of an active global conflict ourselves.
VRISKA: 8luh 8luh okay old!

Rose turns away from Vriska, leaving her delicious taunt hanging there like worthless slop. Kanaya slips her hand into Rose's but not before flashing Vriska a snarky glance. Vriska is abruptly hit with the acute unfairness of being totally owned by loser versions of the people she cares about.

Before she can go in for a second strike, though, Karkat is speaking up again. He stands on a raised crate near one of the transport trucks, decked out in his little war leader getup, dorky cape and eyepatch included. How this guy is the leader of an apparently successful freedom fighter movement will always be beyond Vriska.

KARKAT: ANYWAY, WITH THE AIR CLEANED, WE CAN GET MOVING.
KARKAT: GROUP UP WITH YOUR RELEVANT TEAMS, AND DO NOT THINK ABOUT DOING ANYTHING ELSE.
KARKAT: EVAC TEAM IS WITH ATARIA, EVERYONE ELSE WITH ME.
KARKAT: STICK TO WHAT WE HAVE ALL AGREED ON.

Vriska once again rolls her eyes. Karkat's not even trying to hide the fact that every little bitchy comment is directed right at her for some stupid reason. What, he thinks she's some loose cannon liability?

Well. She is a loose cannon, but it's only ever been advantageous to whatever cause she's thrown herself behind. It would do Vantas some humbling good to remember Vriska was the one who single-handedly gathered and led an army that killed Lord English. Mostly. Technically.

She sticks her hands in her pockets and shuffles over to where the kids have gathered, near an open-backed pickup truck under the ownership of a beefy cerulean troll with a buzzcut.

ATARIA: aalriight. @_@
ATARIA: yoouuree wiith mee oon eevaac @_@
ATARIA: whaat ii saay gooees iif yoouu aall waannaa liivee @_@
ATARIA: aafteer aall iim toouugheer aand beetteer @ thiiss thaan yoouu @u~

She flashes a wink and cocks her gun over her shoulder. Vriska feels another flash of irritation. Of course there'd be another cocky hot cerulean woman vying for her spotlight. Worse is that Vriska knows she doesn't have a hope in hell of competing with that ethereal butch aesthetic. She's too scrawny, too unsure in her own presentation, to ever pull off Hot Army Butch.

Then, she has to scoff, face blushing a blue tint. 8n't no way in hell she's letting herself feel any kind of dysphoria in this shithole, and certainly not around a thrice-irrelevant background character.

So instead of paying Ataria another shred of attention, she butts in on the kids' conversation.

HARRY: anyway, i tried to get a word in with my dad but ever since yesterday he's been kinda
VRISKA: Heeeeeeeey. ::::)
TAVROS: Vriska, hello,
TAVROS: You seem, interested in our conversation, in a manner befitting that, of an apex predator willing to toy with its prey,

Tavros says that to her, but unlike before, he doesn't so much as cringe in her direction. Huh. Vriska wonders where the kid got the globes from. He's already surpassed his prior namesake in both relevance and coolness counts. Hell, keep this up and she might even be able to think of him as an ally without cringing.

VRISKA: You know me! Alw8ys gotta 8e the 8itch on top.
HARRY: uh huh.
HARRY: so on top that you've come over to us to ignore whatever crush you have on commander ataria.
VRISKA: And why the fuck would you think that???????? Projection much?
HARRY: uh, no.
VRISSY: Come on, we are All Mature enough to Recognize when we are in the presense of a Hot Milf.
VRISSY: May8e don't 8e so Insecure, Vriska????????

Harry meets her gaze, deadpan and taunting. Vrissy serves a shit-eating grin. Vriska bristles. Geesh, when did these kids decide to grow a spine????????

VRISKA: 8luh 8luh, whatever.
VRISKA: So! What's your g8meplan?
HARRY: gameplan?
VRISKA: Yes, the g8me plan!
VRISKA: The super cool heroic scheme you're gonna pull the minute you're free to choose for yourself in the heat of 8attle!
HARRY: uh.
HARRY: we kind of weren't, actually?
VRISKA: Huh.
HARRY: i mean, i think i speak for all of us when i say i hope to god we *don't* have any insane action??
HARRY: like, we've been through enough for, like, a hundred lifetimes already.
VRISKA: You CAN'T 8e serious.
VRISSY: Kind of Yeah.

Vriska glances to Vrissy. A thrill of betrayal spools down her chest. She'd thought Vrissy, of all of them, would be on her side.

VRISSY: After, like, All Of Yesterday, I'm totally content to just Follow Commander Ataria's Orders, t8h.
HARRY: tuh, huh,
VRISSY: To 8e Honest 
VRISSY: God Fuck Harry how can you Still struggle with the 8 thing Sometimes.
HARRY: i'm sorry babe?

Vrissy stiffens almost imperceptibly at Harry's use of the word "babe". Vriska says nothing, but does fight to keep an eyebrow from twitching. Vrissy's meant to be an exact genetic clone of her. Vriska wonders how far that extends, and if that's something Vrissy's even thought of for herself.

VRISKA: Well, I'm still ready to fight.
TAVROS: I fail to see why,
TAVROS: This is a peaceful, evacuation mission,
VRISKA: Only an idiot would t8ke that for granted, you know.
TAVROS: No,
TAVROS: The route is firmly and securely, as far from the combat as possible,
TAVROS: S, she would never spare troops, on something so insignificant,
VRISKA: And what would you know a8out this kind of stuff?
TAVROS: I mean, i would like to think the years of living under the bootheel, of an abusive warmonger, taught me one or two things,
HARRY: yeah, vriska, learn to respect tav already. god.
VRISKA: ::::|

She's beginning to really dislike the new gutsy versions of these brats. It was far better when they were wide-eyed passive companions to her antics. Things are always better when there aren't others vying for Vriska's important main character role.

VRISKA: Okay, whatever! I don't 8elieve you, 8ut if that's your prerogative.
VRISSY: Also Why Do you even Care a8out it?
VRISKA: Huh?
VRISSY: I mean,
VRISSY: It's 8eyond Abundantly Clear that you're planning on Running Off to join Commander Vantas in Assassin8ing Jane Crocker.
VRISSY: So it's Not even like you're gonna 8e Around Either Way.
VRISKA: H
VRISKA: How did you

Vrissy flashes an edged smile.

VRISSY: Guess I Got Good at reading you. >::::)

And, something about that cocky smirk, it--

Vriska's taken back to a time and place well beyond any of this, to half-forgotten Flarp chatlogs. Then she thinks of the comparison she's making, and who she's making it between, and her skin crawls a little.

Blugh. The sooner she's done with these uncanny kids, the better. If all this goes well, she could be en route to Terezi's side in a matter of days.

This is irrelevant. This is stupid.

She tells herself that over and over.

VRISKA: So, what are you gonna do a8out it?
VRISSY: Nothing?
VRISSY: You're a hyper-powered God and also O8stin8 As Fuck.
VRISSY: Like I already Know you won't listen To Anyone.
HARRY: we'll do you the solid of keeping quiet until you're gone.
HARRY: cause we owe you after yesterday.

Harry pats the front of his shirt. The gnarly wounds he sustained yesterday are all but healed, but the reminder is still there. Of how close they all came to death, and how Vriska singlehandedly saved them.

HARRY: i guess.
HARRY: maybe.
HARRY: just try not to die??
HARRY: i mean, you're cool, vriska. i'd hate for anything to happen to you.
VRISKA: Huh.

For an instant, Vriska is unsure of how to respond. She's thought of the kids in front of her as many things over the past few days. Strangers, burdens, irrelevant, things to look after. But friends? Genuinely, truly being peers on that same level?

She blinks at Harry with his disgustingly earnest expression. There's a chance he's fucking with her, of course, so she has to play this smart. Even if, somewhere inside, she is oddly touched by the notion.

Vriska sticks her hands in her pockets and smirks.

VRISKA: Well, yeah. Of course you'd 8e right to 8e dreading a world without me!
VRISKA: Not that there's any chance in hell of me dying here, 8ut the thought counts, kid.
HARRY: so we're all cool?
VRISKA: Honestly, yeah.
VRISKA: When I first met you kids I thought you were all dwee8 weenies supreme.
VRISKA: Which is still true to a lot of extents, do not get me wrong.
VRISKA: 8ut if you were in the 8etter more relevant timeline, I'd not 8e ashamed to 8e seen with you.
HARRY: ...
VRISSY: ...
TAVROS: ,,,

All three teens look at her with expressions of varying intensity. Everything that's happened to them since Vriska's arrival has left its mark on their faces. And to be totally honest, Vriska finds herself impressed with the glimpses of the people they could become she's seeing.

Which is all sappy lameass loser shit which a bad bitch like her should not be thinking about. They are, all of them, on the cusp of the most important battle in Earth C's history, after all. Vriska's got a CEO dictator megabillionaire to execute. She needs her gameface on.

VRISKA: Aaaaaaaanyway.
VRISKA: What time is it?
TAVROS: Nine thirty, thereabouts,
TAVROS: The operation commences at noon, so, not long now,
VRISKA: 8luh. More w8ting.

She begins to tap her foot up and down in a rapid motion. Across from them, Ataria is shifting boxes from the back of the truck intended to meet up with the evacuation convoy. Her work is methodical, but paced with ruthless efficiency. At least Karkat picks them well.

VRISKA: I mean, why w8 further?
VRISKA: We cleared the skies, we're all in one place, so...
ATARIA: vriiskaa @_@

Ataria lays a hand on her shoulder. Vriska almost jumps out of her skin.

VRISKA: What????????
ATARIA: yoouu shoouuld knoow waar iisnt aas siimplee aas that @_@
ATARIA: iit taakees tiimee too coommuuniicaatee wiith thee reeleevaant paartiiees @u@
ATARIA: thiis iis oouur biiggeest oopeeraatiioon yeet soo theerees aa loot oof mooviing paarts too synchroonizee @u~
ATARIA: suureely yoouu eexpeeriieenceed soomeethiing juust liikee thiis wheen yoouu raalliieed thee faableed ghoost aarmy? @u@

Ataria gives an oddly earnest smile. Something about seeing this buff woman several decades Vriska's senior exonerate her semi-mythological feats that also only occurred just over a week ago from Vriska's perspective is... something else, to say the least.

There's also the fact that what happened in the furthest ring is nothing like how it's become in the collective consciousness. If she's being honest with herself, all Vriska did was find the juju treasure and then hijack someone else's army in the eleventh hour. But it's not like she can call Ataria's bluff on that without looking like an absolute loser.

VRISKA: Well, you know. Different time, different pl8ce.
VRISKA: Rallying 8illions of dreaming dead at the end of the universe to kill an unkilla8le demon kind of has different priorities and 8ms to what is 8y all accounts a civil war.
VRISKA: 8n't like anyone was planning on sticking around in the furthest ring when all was said and done. ::::)
ATARIA: ii suuppoosee @_@
ATARIA: buut @.@
ATARIA: yoouu doo seeee whaat ii meeaan riight? @u@

Vriska nods, because there's nothing else she can do in this position without losing face. Ataria smiles at her again, seemingly satisfied with the response. Like she's overjoyed to hear words of wisdom from the revered Vriska Serket herself. The unironic appreciation makes Vriska's skin crawl. Every inch of her longs for someone to retort back at her with a snarky comeback, to cackle in derision and challenge her for intellectual superiority.

If Terezi were here...

But Terezi isn't here. Terezi is a whole universe away, separated from Vriska by the barrier of a nearly totally impenetrable black hole.

Vriska stands in silence for a moment, overcome with the sudden, unshakable vision of that scene in the furthest ring. Ghosts and matter and the carrion chunks of canon being swilled up and eviscerated in the largest known cavity in reality. She has no idea what the space between worlds looks like out in the black hole, what that final threshold will look like. What returning to Terezi will look like.

If she can even return to *her* Terezi. From her cursory knowledge of what everyone likes to call The Lore, Vriska knows that there are likely infinite worlds and infinite timelines this side of the event horizon. What if the best she can hope for is some irrelevant Terezi, a close-enough approximation of the canonicity she left behind? Would that be enough? Would that be so fufilling as to allow Vriska to finally let go, to shed this tension she's been carrying in every cell of her body for sweeps?

She doesn't have the answer to that question. And besides, these are not thoughts best suited to one on the brink of what is allegedly the most important battle in the scheme of this shitty little war. This world may not matter to her in the long term, but in the short term, she needs lucky 8r8k after lucky 8r8k. If the rebellion loses, if the destruction is too catastrophic... any one of those factors could leave her stranded here.

Despite herself, Vriska clenches a fist. Luckily, nobody sees the expression that crosses her face.

She breathes out a bored sigh. How much longer is this gonna take? She's tired of waiting. Tired of having so much time to herself that she's able to slow down and actually think and reflect. None of this is the right attitude to have for the impeding battle!

Vriska shoves her hands in her pockets and walks away from the kids and Ataria by the truck. Ataria is once again too busy arranging inventory to notice. Vrissy looks up and shoots Vriska a concerned glance, but true to her word, she keeps the vow of silence. After a beat, she returns to her conversation with Harry and Tavros.

In the middle of this empty road, Vriska eyes up her options. She could pester Karkat about what's taking so long, but one look at his expression as he barks something down the communication line tells her that that would not be in her best interest. John, Jade, and Kanaya are all hanging around as one amorphous group, and sure, Vriska could go for some old-fashioned Egbert needling, but she dreads to think the level of Fussyfangs Kanaya has reached after attaining both adulthood and motherhood.

So in the end she approaches Rose and Sollux, the party of two hovering near an inert portable transportaliser. Rose notices Vriska's arrival with a small quirk of her eyebrow.

ROSE: Vriska.
VRISKA: Hey, Lalonde.
VRISKA: How's it going?
ROSE: Swimmingly. Sollux and I are awaiting the activation signal from the relay base's transportalizer.
ROSE: And you are not at your assigned post.
VRISKA: Well, duh!
VRISKA: You think I was 8uilt to stand around for a period of time doing nothing????????
ROSE: ...
ROSE: You truly haven't changed, have you, Vriska?

Rose gives her this weird almost sentimental smile. It makes Vriska's skin crawl, and then makes it crawl further when she remembers Lalonde technically raised a version of Vriska as her own daughter.

Before she can dwell on that weird train of thought, Vriska goes on the offensive.

VRISKA: Well, you sure have!
VRISKA: I mean, jeesh! You got old!
ROSE: Indeed.

Rose's sentimental smile turns wry. The lines around her eyes tighten and deepen.

VRISKA: Like, why?
VRISKA: I'm preeeeeeeety sure as god tiers we can keep our 8odies in their ideal st8 for as long as we want.
ROSE: We can and we do.
ROSE: I chose to look this way, Vriska.
VRISKA: Why would you want that?
ROSE: I suppose it felt oddly sacrilegious to make it to my fourth decade of life with the same baby-face I wore to birth a universe.
ROSE: It's hardly as if I'm still that gung-ho teen with something to prove after everything.
ROSE: Well. All of the above, and there's the fact that there'd be something deeply unsettling about looking fresher and younger than your own teenage daughter.

She casts a glance to where Vrissy is standing, and her face once again goes maternal. Vriska does a very good job of not letting any reaction show.

VRISKA: W8. So all of you *elected* to get old????????
ROSE: I would quarry with your exact phrasing there, but something akin to it, yes.
ROSE: Part of it is a conscious desire, but part of it also comes from the fact that our bodies age because we have lived our whole lives expecting them to.
ROSE: And there is a certain point at which it feels impossible to revert to a certain temporal state of being, but...

Rose closes her eyes and focuses. A soft glow washes over her face, the same type of light that accompanies one's transition into god tier garb. After a few seconds, she's looking at Vriska with a face devoid of any lines. But it's not quite the face Vriska remembers. Less soft and squishy. Fresh and youthful, but still distinctly adult.

Rose smiles. Her eyes don't crinkle.

ROSE: I can revert myself about as far back as my mid-twenties before it feels too unbecoming.
ROSE: The same likely goes for the others. Perhaps it's a quirk of that hard line between youth and adulthood, perhaps it's a subconscious desire to avoid returning to the same bodies that endured so much trauma in their adolescence.
ROSE: I'm not sure. If I ever knew the answers to these questions surrounding post-ascension selfhood, I lost them long ago.

She lets out a soft breath. With another shimmer of light. her face once again becomes middle-aged.

ROSE: Of course, the effect is more or less pronounced for each of us.
ROSE: I'm more than willing to let each and every year show.
ROSE: Jade's aged naturally, if at a slower rate.
ROSE: And John seems to have frozen himself biologically somewhere around age thirty. Whether or not this is a conscious choice, I can't say.
VRISKA: And the others?
ROSE: I cannot speak for Crocker, nor do I wish to.
ROSE: But if I may speculate, I believe Jake English has similarly put himself into a stasis, this one hinging around the myriad traumas he has no doubt endured in recent years.
VRISKA: Huh. This is 8oth interesting and kind of creepy.
ROSE: You asked.
VRISKA: So did anyone, like, actually *try* to st8y young????????
ROSE: Ah. Well,

Rose grimaces. Something painful jolts through her, something laced with still-raw grief.

ROSE: Dave. He decided decades ago to remain fresh-faced as some kind of ironic bit, I believe.
ROSE: Something about "shooting twink death in the face until it dies"?
ROSE: Nobody was ever sure how serious he was being at any given time.
ROSE: I always speculated it came from some deep-rooted trauma surrounding Dirk's suicide, but he never spoke about it.
ROSE: And now, well,
ROSE: Yeah.

Her voice cracks at the end. The wound of Dave's loss still bleeds for these people. Vriska, standing before it all, feels a disconnected awkwardness. She never knew Dave, and this Dave was never her timeline's Dave, but...

VRISKA: Sucks that he died.
ROSE: I appreciate your sympathy. Truly.

The snark is weak, but it's enough to convey Rose's ability to cope. Which comes as a relief to Vriska. Good to know that the years didn't really soften her up. Of course, given that Rose ranks highly in this militarised rebellion, maybe that's to be expected.

ROSE: So in the end, you don't have to worry about age-induced dysphoria down the line, if that's something that bothers you.
VRISKA: Huh?
ROSE: I mean, far be it from me to psychoanalyze, but was something like that not your intention when grilling me on the process of god tier aging?
VRISKA: I.
VRISKA: Hey, you know what? This is SUCH an interesting topic!
VRISKA: So interesting that we should defin8tely t88le it for some other time and pl8ce!
ROSE: Ah. As you will.

Rose bows her head gracefully. Her concession to let things lie strikes Vriska with such an uncanny revulsion that she nearly recoils on the spot. The old Rose would never have given up a chance to claw her way into Vriska's fucked-up psyche. Vriska recalls those embarrassing days on the meteor with ease. So for her to just, like, respect Vriska's boundaries, is...

She feels like she's gazing upon something she shouldn't be seeing every time she interacts with the lame adult versions of her friends. Getting old and gaining both maturity and perspective are things Vriska never considered important, and in her world, they still aren't! Not when there's always another crisis to go to, another cosmic mission to be the leader of.

Who has time for things like "wisdom" and "responsibility" when the medium term future is going to be concerned with clawing her way back to relevance and fixing whatever the hell went wrong to cast her out here, anyway.

ROSE: Of course, that assumes you'll be around long enough for there to be "another time and place".
VRISKA: What?
SOLLUX:

Curiously enough, Sollux stiffens in the background.

ROSE: Since you're here, Vriska, now might be a good time to hash this one out.
ROSE: Jade told me about a little confrontation she had yesterday between her and one Sollux Captor.
VRISKA: I'm not following.
SOLLUX: d0n't.

Sollux turns to face them. His mouth is locked in a strange tension. Erratic psionic sparks dash around him like bees, or electrified mosquitoes.

SOLLUX: seri0usly whatever y0u heard fr0m her
ROSE: What, that you're planning on taking Vriska and the children out of the universe to satisfy the whims of a dead cherub?
ROSE: That my tragically departed brother is still alive and working as her robotic thrall?
ROSE: That there is an extracosmic threat several interested parties intend to use my own daughter as a weapon against?
ROSE: Does that about cover it?

Rose smiles sweetly at Sollux. It's the smile of a predator that knows exactly how to rend your jugular asunder. Vriska feels a horrible chill go down her.

VRISKA: W8w8w8.
VRISKA: Sollux, what the fuck is she on a8out?
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: l00k. y0u want 0ut 0f this universe, d0n't y0u.
VRISKA: Well, o8bviously!
VRISKA: 8ut what the hell a8out all that other stuff?
VRISKA: Cheru8? Extracosmic threat? Vrissy and the others????????
VRISKA: What does any of that mean?

Sollux's face is riddled with guilt. Vriska's not sure why, and that uncertainty is putting her on edge. Her mind immediately goes to the worst place, that all of this is a ruse that will only drag her further away from her goals. The idea that Sollux has been working against her, that he's conspiring to keep her further away from Terezi--

Without thinking, she crosses the distance between the two of them and grabs Sollux by the collar. Sollux swallows uncomfortably.

VRISKA: Sollux what the FUCK is going on here????????
SOLLUX: i
SOLLUX: FUCK let g0 0f me! i am n0t d0ing this shitty interr0gati0n r0utine again!
VRISKA: I don't give a shit. Talk. NOW.
SOLLUX: ugh fine fine! we d0n't have the time f0r these theatrics, but what the fuck ever! guess this is h0w it is!

So Sollux tells her. About the Muse of Space. About the plan. About the pickup point, the Convergence. About the threat beyond the black hole, about the dissolution of canonicity, about the undead robot Dave.

About the Prince.

The Prince.

Revelation hits Vriska like an asteroid. In her shock, she drops Sollux to the ground.

SOLLUX: 00f!
VRISKA: Oh my god. Oh my fucking GOD.
ROSE: Vriska?

Rose attempts to put a hand on Vriska's shoulder. Vriska realises she's started trembling. She doesn't care. The truth is ringing so loud in her ears she wants to throw up.

VRISKA: It's him. It's fucking him.
ROSE: Him?
VRISKA: That ASSHOLE is the one who threw me in this gar8age dump reality? THAT'S why he's 8een trying to kill me this whole fucking time????????
ROSE: Vriska, what are you talking about?
VRISKA: The fucking Prince! It's him!
ROSE: That really isn't enlightening us over here. My compendium of knowledge surrounding princes and other nobility in the furthest depths of reality is somewhat lacking, so you'll have to
VRISKA: Oh my GOD don't 8e a dum8 fuck! The Prince is *him*!
VRISKA: The piece of shit ro8ot on that g8meshow! You know this motherfucker, don't pretend you don't!
ROSE: I...
ROSE: ...

Rose's words cut short. She flinches then, gripping a hand to her temple like she's just been hit with the world's worst headache.

ROSE: So this is what he was...?

Her voice is miserable, half-lost in a terrible memory. Vriska doesn't have the time or the patience to ask what Rose means.

VRISKA: What the fuck is gonna happen to us.
SOLLUX: i d0n't kn0w!
VRISKA: 8ULLSHIT YOU DON'T!
SOLLUX: vriska seri0usly! what the fuck d0 i have t0 gain fr0m lying t0 y0u right n0w????
VRISKA: I dunno! You tell me that!
SOLLUX: l00k, i'm as in the dark as y0u are!
VRISKA: Oh, except for the part where you were apparently in contact with a cheru8 mega god????????
SOLLUX: that's n0t
SOLLUX: l00k
SOLLUX: i had like
SOLLUX: 0NE pr0phetic dream ab0ut it 0k?
SOLLUX: all the muse said is that if i wanna see aradia again i have t0 get y0u guys 0ut 0f this universe and 0nt0 her space vessel. s0rry if i did a bad j0b grilling the sp00ky hyperp0wered bitch.
SOLLUX: i'm just a guy 0ver here what d0 you want fr0m me!
SOLLUX: i never claimed t0 be a her0 like y0u are vriska
SOLLUX: i just wanna stay with the pe0ple i l0ve and fuck whatever has t0 happen t0 get me there
VRISKA: ...

Vriska snarls at him. Her pulse is rushing in the back of her head. No, it can't be happening like this. Her fate can't be to be a pawn in the Muse of Space's game to destroy one fucked up iteration of Dirk Strider. After everything Vriska's done for reality, this is her reward? More endless suffering with no promise of a better ending? That's all that's there for her????????

ROSE: You two, please.
ROSE: This needs to be aired out, but this is not the way to do it.

Rose tries to step in, but she's clearly battling the mother of all headaches right now. Vriska doesn't care. Vriska wants to scream.

She rounds on Sollux, and asks the only question worth a damn in all of creation.

VRISKA: What a8out Terezi
SOLLUX: terezi? what are y0u
VRISKA: Am I ever gonna see her again. Yes or no.
SOLLUX: why w0uld i kn0w that!!
SOLLUX: i mean, fuck, maybe!
SOLLUX: last i heard fr0m the muse the terezi fr0m the 0ther timeline aband0ned ship and j0ined sides with the prince, s0
VRISKA: She
VRISKA: Wh

Terezi is with the Prince. Terezi joined with Dirk Strider. Terezi is on the side of Vriska's enemy. Something primal, something despairing, screams its way out of Vriska's lips. She feels adrift again, caught in the churn of that black hole bent on stripping her of every inch of relevance. 

VRISKA: No.
VRISKA: No.
SOLLUX: vriska

She chokes out a noise. She can't describe it. It's a bladed wad that shreds through her throat and spits out of her mouth onto the dried earth below. It burns like acid. She hopes it tears a hole through the core of this planet, the heart of this reality, the heart of all realities.

If.

If Terezi's

The thought can't be completed. Vriska can't face it. Vriska can never face it. Everything is spinning. Everything is folding in on itself. She's crying. She doesn't know when she started. Maybe she's been crying this whole time.

Everything else is white noise, less even than rudimentary concepts that comprise thought. Vriska is alone, and Vriska is alone in a nested complex of realities that never wanted nice things for her. Nothing's changed. Nothing ever will change, it's pointless, it's all pointless and

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

VRISKA: ?

The explosion drags her right out of her emotional breakdown. Vriska blinks, looking first to Sollux, then to Rose. Both of them mirror her expression of bewilderment. Vriska glances beyond them, to NuSeattle itself.

Four thick columns of still-blazing smoke rise from scattered points across the city. As she looks, a fifth detonation goes off.

VRISKA: What the
ROSE: Hang, aren't those explosions...?

Rose squints in the direction of the explosions, trying to see something that can't be seen with sight alone.

VRISKA: Has Crocker started the fighting early?

Rose's face falls. Horror is painted over her expression.

ROSE: Oh no.

But before Vriska can ask anything else, Karkat is suddenly screaming into the air.

KARKAT: SOMETHING'S HAPPENED
KARKAT: WE NEED TO MOVE AND WE NEED TO MOVE *NOW*
KARKAT: EVERYONE TO YOUR TEAMS. DO *NOT* BREAK FORMATION
KARKAT: ROSE, SOLLUX. FIND OUT JUST WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING.
KARKAT: NOW *MOVE*!!!!!!!!

The transportaliser on the ground flashes to life. A few nameless and faceless troll soldiers hop onto the platform. Sollux floats over and vanishes.

Before she joins him, Rose turns to Vriska. Her eyes are grave and heavy.

ROSE: Something's gone wrong.
ROSE: Those bombs were our own, detonated without clearance.
ROSE: The list of fortuitous outcomes for today has just tanked.
ROSE: Vriska, listen to me.
ROSE: Whatever happens, keep my daughter safe.
VRISKA: I...
ROSE: I have to go.
ROSE: Don't die.

Battle determination seeps into Rose's body as she hops onto the transportaliser. Once she's through, another soldier switches it off and scuttles away with it. Vriska stands, out of place and head spinning, as everything seems to rush around her.

Another set of bombs go off in the city. In the sky, a few of Crocker's airships begin to shift.

VRISSY: VRISKA!!!!!!!!

Ataria's truck drives up to where Vriska's standing. Vrissy, Harry, and Tavros sit in the back, buzzing with nervous energy.

Vrissy extends a hand to pull Vriska onto the truck. With Ataria watching, Vriska has no choice but to acquiesce.

VRISSY: What the Hell is happening? Ataria said the Communic8tion Link with the guys on the Ground has gone dead!
VRISKA: Hell if I know!
VRISKA: Rose just said something a8out those 8om8s going off 8eing re8el 8om8s.
VRISSY: 8ut that Doesn't M8ke Sense!
VRISSY: That kind of Firepower needs Commander Vantas or someone of Similar Stature to Authoritze it!
VRISSY: A 8unch of footsoldiers alone Wouldn't 8low shit up Like that.
VRISKA: Sorry if I don't have all the answers!
VRISKA: Just, like, get your speci8us ready just in c8se.
VRISSY: ...

Vrissy glances down to her hands. A different kind of fear to the one she displayed yesterday is on her face.

The truck revs to life and barrels towards the city down a parallel road lane to Karkat's main group. Vriska looks at them, and then at the husk of NuSeattle. The next explosion takes down the skeletal remains of a skyscraper.

HARRY: ataria said the evacuation party's still reachable.
HARRY: i hope whatever's happening isn't gonna affect us
TAVROS: ,,,
HARRY: what if something bad's happened to the people in the city?
HARRY: this is like. legit war shit. i think i'm really fucking scared.

Vriska looks at the anxiety on the faces of the kids around her. She thinks of Sollux's words, of the version of Dirk Strider that tried to kill her. Of Jane Crocker, the demented bitch who built that robot in the first place.

She can pretend she's making her decision here and now, but the truth is she made this choice a long time ago.

Vriska stands and perches on the edge of the truck’s bed. Vrissy looks at her with wide eyes.

VRISSY: Vriska?
VRISKA: You already know what I'm gonna do.
VRISKA: Just... don't tell your mom I let you down, yeah?
VRISSY: Hey, no, Vriska W8
VRISKA: Catch you kids l8ter. ::::)

At a moment where the two convoys pass each other side by side, Vriska leaps off the edge of the truck, executing a flawless mid-air flip and landing harmlessly in the open back-end of a munitions crate. By some stroke of amazing fortune, her acrobatics alert nobody.

Across the highway, Vrissy cries out Vriska's name, but then the evacuation vehicles turn and disappear down a side road towards another, distant part of the city. Vriska briefly silently wishes them good fortune, and then they're gone.

She leans back in the truck, staring up at the hazy grey sky. Her dice rest in the palm of her hand, burning with determination and vengeance.

VRISKA: You're mine, Crocker.

These words are meant to be heard by her and her alone, but when she's done, she hears something shift across from her. Vriska's body snaps to attention, and she stares right at a tarp covering a pile of assault weapons.

From beneath the cover, a pair of green eyes gaze back up at her.

JAKE: ...
VRISKA: ...

Jake English and Vriska Serket both stare at each other wordlessly. Neither's expression can be read, but both know exactly what the other wants.

In silence, the convoy breaches NuSeattle's city limits. The fight is inevitable.

Chapter 64: SIX, section iii.

iii.

As the main forces of the rebellion first pass into the territory of NuSeattle, Jade Harley is already several steps, and half a dozen miles, ahead. Armed with her favourite rifle and Space energy crackling with nerves, she teleports onto an unwatched rooftop close to the city centre.

From her vantage, she can see that the roads in the inner district have been cleared of enough debris that a steady convoy of Crockercorp armoured vehicles can pass through. Humans with assault rifles guard the trucks as they head down one street then turn to the next in a relentless march. The rebellion is moving from the outside in. Crockercorp, from the inside out.

Jade inches as close to the edge of the rooftop as she dares risk, straining her ears to catch any glimpse of chatter from the Crockercorp ground troops.

SOLDIER 1: scouts still saying the explosions are contained to the northeast quadrant.
SOLDIER 1: mobilization from all fronts but the trolls're only blasting in that one region.
SOLDIER 2: Now why the hell
SOLDIER 1: not our job to ask questions.
SOLDIER 1: our job's to stop em from turning the whole kingdom into a wasteland like this
SOLDIER 2: Course. But don't you think

Whatever the guy says next is lost to another explosion that pierces through the atmosphere and makes Jade wince back. She has to cover her mouth to keep from letting out a canine whine. Swallowing the urge to curse her doggy traits for the millionth time this month, she glances to the sky.

Another column from smoke pours out from somewhere to the north-east. Jade looks at it and frowns. Whatever's going on there is not part of the plan, and that entire squad is not making contact with either Karkat or HQ.

The convoy is still rolling down the street. She doesn't dare attempt a flashy hop while she's so visible, so instead she pulls up her comms device.

JADE: im at the edge of the inner district
JADE: buuuunch of crocker soldiers mobilizing outwards :T
KARKAT: GOOD TO KNOW. THAT CORRELATES WHAT THE INTEL TEAM'S BEEN SAYING.
JADE: hows it going with trying to contact the north east squad?
KARKAT: IT'S NOT.
KARKAT: I HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THEM AND WHY THEY'RE BLASTING THE SHIT OUT OF SCORCHED OUT INFRASTRUCTURE.
KARKAT: IT DOESN'T MAKE *SENSE*
JADE: ...what about meenah?
KARKAT: WHAT ABOUT HER
JADE: maybe she would know something??
JADE: werent the guys posted to that district originally meant to come from the outglut^2 region?
JADE: i know theres been no contact with anyone from the city but what if theres something to it?
KARKAT: YEAH, BUT
KARKAT: LOOK, SHE WOULDN'T KNOW ANYTHING.
JADE: karkat you cannot seriously be letting your breakup get in the way of a mission critical battle
KARKAT: I'M NOT. I'M *NOT*!
KARKAT: AND FOR THE RECORD I HAVE ALREADY TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HER.
KARKAT: SHE'S BLANKING ME TOTALLY.
JADE: oh
JADE: well
JADE: lets just hope this doesnt ruin the plan too much!
KARKAT: RIGHT.
KARKAT: WHAT ABOUT YOUR RECON?
JADE: like i said im almost there!
JADE: slowing down because this close my hops need to be more discrete :P
KARKAT: OF COURSE.
KARKAT: JUST. REMEMBER.
KARKAT: NO ENGAGING. WE NEED YOU ALIVE, JADE.
JADE: of course karkat! dont worry
KARKAT: ALRIGHT THERE'S GUYS COMING UP ON US
KARKAT: GOTTA GO
KARKAT: UPDATE ME SOON
KARKAT: OVER AND OUT

The line clicks dead. Jade lets out a sigh and stares up at the skeletal outline of the once-decadent Crocker Needle, halved in size but still towering over the rest of the city regardless.

Her task is simple. Scout ahead, verify Jane Crocker's location, then return to the others. No fighting, no detection. A super sneaky stealth mission, because Karkat's scared to death of Jade accidentally dying.

Well. She respects that Karkat loves her. but Jade's not naive. She fully expects the worst. So much has already gone off-course today. Another pair of explosions go off across the city. In its wake, the rattle of automatic weapons.

Jade clutches her rifle a little tighter. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't afraid. So she reminds herself that Karkat and Kanaya and Rose and John and the others need her to come through this intact and alive.

But still. Still.

She peeks over the edge of the roof. The last of the convoy has slipped to the next block over. The skies are clear for the moment, but there is an aircraft heading this way. Too far for her to be detected right now, though.

Jade teleports two blocks closer to the Crocker Needle, landing at the emptiest spot she can feel. It's another rooftop overlooking the ruins of the plaza.

And the place is teeming with soldiers and guards. Two airships are docked at either exit and a barricade lined with plastic explosives is being assembled. The building Jade's on is a six or seven storey former apartment block. The army'll be fortifying it in no time at all.

The Crocker Needle sits two hundred feet away from her, a twisted crimson spire stretching up like a gnarled finger. The windows have all been blown out, the metal warped. The red paint has faded and chipped to something resembling half-dried human blood. Jade pings out the building with her Space senses.

Several living entities occupy the inside of the tower. From here, she can't tell what the state of the interior is, but it must be structurally sound enough to support several dozen human beings. The next thing she feels for is the molecular composition of their weapons. When she does, a chill runs through her spine.

Each rifle is loaded with irradiated rounds, emitting enough background radiation that a heated bullet would burn through any mortal unlucky enough to be at the receiving end.

JADE: shit

She didn't feel anything like this with the foot soldiers, so likely this is a special contingency for Jane's personal guard, but she doesn't want to take that risk. There are so many good people from the rebellion in these streets today. If they died of acute radiation sickness, it... she can't bear thinking of it.

Jade tries Karkat first, but she doesn't get an answer. Instead, after a few attempts, she switches over to another line.

JADE: rose!
ROSE: Jade. Everything okay?
JADE: well im fine but i need to report something ive seen
JADE: crockers forces are using irradiated rounds
ROSE: That's
ROSE: You're certain?
JADE: yeah
JADE: my space senses picked them up on basically all the guys close to jane
JADE: i didnt think to check any of the troops ive passed but i dont wanna take that risk and assume
ROSE: Well, shit.
JADE: can you pass the intel on? i tried reaching karkat but he didnt pick up
ROSE: Karkat and the others are currently ensconced in a skirmish with one of the vanguard waves of Crockercorp's foulest and finest.
JADE: oh no
ROSE: Don't worry. My dear wife is doing quite the excellent job of clearing them up. And...
ROSE: One moment.
JADE: sure
ROSE: Right.
ROSE: We just ran the remote radiation sensor.
ROSE: You're right about the irradiated rounds. Even after your atmospheric fraymotif, the inner district's lit up like a supernova.
ROSE: What alarms me is that at least some of these dirty weapons are moving out from this central concentration.
ROSE: Likely a vicious contingency for a second wave of Crocker's assault.
ROSE: She seems hell-bent on doing anything to prevent being routed.
JADE: well shit :/
ROSE: I've issued a warning to the squad commanders across the city, but I fear there won't be anything we can do until it's too late.
JADE: i
JADE: ill try something
JADE: its risky but
ROSE: Jade. Do not risk yourself. Please.
JADE: i wont! but
JADE: if all our forces get pumped full of radioactive bullets thatll be horrible in the long term regardless of how this fight goes!
ROSE: At least wait until you're back with Karkat.
ROSE: Promise me, Jade. No heroics.
JADE: ...
JADE: i promise ill finish my mission first
JADE: no promises after that
ROSE: Jade, I am serious. You cannot risk a Heroic death, no matter what.
JADE: rose ill be careful honest!
JADE: but this is a problem that someone needs to fix
JADE: and im in the best position to fix it right now
JADE: ill be okay! :)
ROSE: Jade--

Jade hangs up.

She can't bear to hear a worried scolding from Rose. Not right now. Not when they all know the stakes. Not when Rose's fear so horribly echoes the fear Jade felt that day in the jungle. Now is not the time for memories. Now is not the time to be choked by fears of futures. Now is the present moment, and now is for saving those being crushed by the cruelty of this present moment. All else can come after.

Jade sends out another pulse of Space power, locking onto all matter she is categorising in her head as "radioactive bullets". There are several tons of the stuff scattered about the city with the bulk of the concentration right here. She locks onto the shape of the bullets in the guns, in the ammo magazines, in the crates, and tries to shift their atomic composition.

But the minute she does so, her focus locks in on one specific bullet, and she loses control of all other radioactive matter. She manages to strip the radiation from one singular gun. That's all. To get all of them would take hours she does not have.

JADE: argh!!!

Jade kicks the ground. If she still had her First Guardian powers, this wouldn't be a problem. The thought startles her. She hasn't thought about anything like that in so long, but now a part of her in this fleeting instant regrets ever leaving the Green Sun's orbit.

She lets out a frustrated growl. What-ifs won't help. What will help is a way to neutralise these weapons, and fast. But she can't do it alone, can't do it fast enough, and oh god people are gonna die--

There's somebody behind her.

Jade very deliberately makes sure not to stiffen up. Giving nothing away, she adjusts the grip on her rifle. Her ears pivot, picking up on the sound of breathing, shallow and unsteady. She doesn't have the time or luxury to consider how this person missed her notice. She's operating wholly on instinct and training right now.

She pivots on her heel, swinging the gun around to point the rifle at the figure standing behind her with a snarl.

JADE: DONT TRY ANYTHING BUSTER I SHOOT TO KILL
CALLIOPE: wait wait WAIT!!!!

The figure before Jade, short and green, raises her hands in desperate panic. The first instant of confusion keeps Jade from pulling the trigger. In the second instant, Jade is struck with with a dizzying wave of recognition.

JADE: calliope?!?!?
JADE: what the hell are *you* doing here????
CALLIOPE: i can explain U_U;

It's the last person Jade ever expected to see. Calliope looks the same as she did all those years ago, the cherub trapped in ageless immortality by the only artifact keeping her bound to the physical plane. She's even still wearing that little tuxedo suit she's worn every day since she first showed up age sixteen, like an uncanny transplant from a different life.

A transplant who went dark over a decade ago after the rupture of public faith in Gamzee's redemption cult. A transplant who, for god fucking knows what reason, has just appeared on a rooftop in the middle of warzone.

JADE: well???

Jade doesn't lower her gun. Officially, Calliope took an oath of neutrality, and unlike other so-called "neutral" parties, nobody has actually seen her in years. Technically, Calliope is a low-priority traitor to the cause, but privately, her enigmatic disappearance had people in the rebellion worried. As an astute storyteller with the friendships she had before, several members of the intel team speculated Calliope had been the unseen hand behind Crockercorp's more effective propaganda pieces.

Calliope is an unknown quantity, and Jade would be an idiot to trust.

Hands still raised, Calliope clears her throat.

CALLIOPE: i am here on roxy's insistence and on john's Urgence.
JADE: thats not an answer
JADE: wait
JADE: roxy??? JOHN???
CALLIOPE: ah.

Calliope winces. Jade's not sure what the cherub's thinking exactly, but it seems as if she's realising she's putting her foot in her mouth.

CALLIOPE: yoU are aware john has been in contact with roxy for some time, are yoU not?
JADE: well

To be honest, Jade barely recalls it. The last few days have been such a blur that tiny details like that seem excruciatingly irrelevant. In comparison to the weightier act of her brother finally getting his shit together and joining the cause, the minutiae of his contacts felt like an insignificance.

Seems Jade's lapse in judgement is biting her. So she goes for the evasive.

JADE: he might have said something like that
JADE: what does it have to do with you
CALLIOPE: well, roxy and i were together when john informed Us of the goings-on in nUseattle.
CALLIOPE: she and i transportalized to the city an instant later. we've been here since yesterday evening.
JADE: why
CALLIOPE: to look for all of yoU of coUrse! alas, it was a search in vain. it took all we had merely to evade detection from jane's forces patrolling the streets.

Jade's hackles raise. Calliope called her "Jane", the name rolling off her tongue with alarming ease. Nobody with an even halfway decent opinion towards everything going on would address the woman like that. Jade chooses to keep the gun raised.

JADE: now why would you fear that given your place in crockers inner circle
CALLIOPE: her inner...?

Calliope blinks, like she's been caught on the backfoot by jade's question. The bafflement seems sincere, but not sincere enough for Jade to bank on it.

CALLIOPE: i haven't been in toUch with jane for years!
JADE: uh huh
CALLIOPE: it's the honest trUth, jade! it's going on twelve years since she and i have had any kind of interaction.
JADE: and you expect me to just take your word for it??
CALLIOPE: what else coUld i possibly offer?
JADE: i dunno
JADE: a fucking explanation for starters >:/
CALLIOPE: right. that woUld help, woUldn't it.

Calliope shuffles her feet and looks away guiltily. She's stupid enough to break eye contact, but not stupid enough to lower her hands or stop tensing up.

JADE: it would and i dont have all day so spill
JADE: or i can teleport you to hq and you can talk to our guys in custody
JADE: your choice

The mention of apprehending her makes Calliope flinch uneasily.

CALLIOPE: that really won't be necessary.
CALLIOPE: i'll talk.
JADE: then get to it
CALLIOPE: right.
CALLIOPE: for the last few days, i have been traversing earth c with roxy in search of, well... something significant.
JADE: what
CALLIOPE: it woUldn't make sense even if i explained it to yoU.
JADE: i dont care
JADE: from where youre standing you really dont have the luxury to bargain
CALLIOPE: U_U:
CALLIOPE: fine.

She sighs and frowns.

CALLIOPE: roxy and i...
CALLIOPE: we've been searching for skaian artifacts connected to a cUrioUs metanarrative anomaly. artifacts i have good caUse to believe were placed by my alternate in some obscUre fashion.
JADE: wait
JADE: hold on
CALLIOPE: and jUst to clarify, by "alternate", i am referring to--
JADE: no no hold on a fucking second
JADE: this has to do with the dead cherub and the kids and the robot version of dave doesnt it???
CALLIOPE:

Calliope's jaw hangs agape.

CALLIOPE: how
CALLIOPE: how do yoU know aboUt any of that?
JADE: sollux told me
JADE: the undead you is in cahoots with dave to take the kids out of the universe whatever the hell that means
CALLIOPE: i am sUrprised, jade. i coUld have sworn...

She shakes her head.

CALLIOPE: anyway. it woUld behoove yoU to know my pUrpose at present is to interfere with her schemes.
CALLIOPE: which i hope to do by finding a specific skaian exile station hidden somewhere on this planet.
CALLIOPE: roxy has been assisting me with this task, Utilizing her UniqUe ability to pinpoint the obscUred and concealed.
CALLIOPE: this is all that i have been Up to, honest to goodness!
JADE: ...

The story is so insane that every part of her wants to call bullshit. But what Calliope's saying is corroborating what Sollux told her in a way that fits too well for it to be a coincidence. Despite all her instincts, Jade can't find it in herself to rule out the notion of some deep cosmic plot going on behind the scenes.

JADE: thats an interesting story calliope
JADE: but it still doesnt account for your movements in the last decade
JADE: our intel paints an ugly picture of your involvement with crockercorp just so you know
CALLIOPE: jade, i can promise yoU i have had no involvement with jane, or any of yoU at all, until a few days ago.
CALLIOPE: my final conversation with jane was the day i left her hoUsing commUnity, the day after oUr social circle irrevocably collapsed for good.
CALLIOPE: she was too occUpied with her bUrgeoning empire to care beyond ensUring i paid her the three months severance rent before my departUre.
CALLIOPE: it was... a grim time for me.
JADE: uh huh
JADE: and after that
CALLIOPE: i...
CALLiOPE: that is...

Before Calliope can try and fumble her way through an answer, all of Jade's Space senses begin to scream at her. The sensation is so overpowering that her head spins and she drops her gun. Staggering back, her first thought is that Calliope's done something to her, but then--

JADE: ohhhh no

Then, she remembers.

CALLIOPE: jade?
JADE: shit
JADE: SHIT

She never stopped perceiving the radioactive weapons during the entire conversation. And now, she can feel a substantial portion of them on the move, bound for the direction of her friends and allies. The awareness and the dread is like a hammer blow to her gut.

Calliope distracted her. She never found a solution.

CALLIOPE: jade, what is wrong?
JADE: whats wrong?
JADE: WHATS WRONG???
JADE: whats wrong is that a metric fuckton of automatic weapons loaded with radioactive bullets are headed right for everybody i care about!!
CALLIOPE: what?

Calliope, chancing it, moves a little further to the edge of the rooftop. She peers down to see, just as Jade senses it, the convoy moving at a frightening rate.

CALLIOPE: oh, that's not good.
JADE: no its not! and i dont know how to stop them and people are gonna die and theres no time because YOU distracted me!

Jade scrambles for her gun and points it at Calliope, even though she has no intention of firing it. She just needs to vent her helpless frustration somewhere and Calliope makes a convenient target.

CALLIOPE: jade, that was never my intent!
CALLIOPE: believe what yoU like aboUt me bUt i would *never* willingly condemn another living being!
JADE: oh no
JADE: of all fucking people YOU do not get to use that line on me
CALLIOPE: jade, please! if what yoU say is trUe then there is no time for sUch sqUabbling!
CALLIOPE: yoUr compatriots are in grave danger if we do nothing.
JADE: calliope theres nothing we *can* do!
JADE: my powers arent enough to neutralize the ammo and im a fucking superstrong god tier!
JADE: if i cant find a solution then what the hell can you do????
CALLIOPE: ...

Calliope goes still. Her expression falls into one of serene neutrality. It's such a jarring transition that Jade lowers her gun again. A voice that sounds remarkably like her long dead Grandpa chides her for improper gunmanship given how she'll point and unpoint without any clear intent of purpose, but then she's thinking about a dead man and then Jake and then this train of thought is leaving a sour and horrible taste on her tongue.

CALLIOPE: it's not so mUch what *i* can do, bUt more what *we* can do.
JADE: ?
CALLIOPE: earlier today, yoU and john Utilized a fraymotif to pUrge the atmosphere of radioactive falloUt, did yoU not?
JADE: how did you
CALLIOPE: yoU did, right?

Calliope presses on with her line of argument, not letting Jade get a word in. Her eyes sparkle with a determination that seem at odds with the placid, passive figure Calliope has proven herself to be all her life.

JADE: well yeah
JADE: but johns powers arent gonna work on something outside of his aspects wheelhouse
JADE: and also hes half a dozen miles away so its not like i can just call on him again
CALLIOPE: right.
CALLIOPE: bUt yoU have another.
CALLIOPE: another skaian player in yoUr midst, with complementary aspect powers to yoUr own.
JADE: wait

She gets it before Calliope can say it.

JADE: you????
CALLIOPE: yes, me.
JADE: no way
JADE: no fucking way
JADE: how the hell could i trust you enough for that
CALLIOPE: jade, i am deeply regretfUl that i do not have the time to assUage yoUr sUspicions right now, bUt i do not think we have the lUxUry for niceties.
CALLIOPE: those roUnds of ammUnition will decimate the rebel forces, yes?

Jade nods.

CALLIOPE: then we need to deal with it immediately.
CALLIOPE: see, there's an oft-overlooked fraymotif for this kind of sitUation.
CALLIOPE: overlooked becaUse radiation is sUch a common early game obstacle in sbUrb that most players find a solUtion before god tier ascension.
CALLIOPE: fUrther overlooked becaUse its high cost of admission means only trUly powerfUl space players can meet the criteria for its wielding.
CALLIOPE: oUtside of exceedingly rare circUmstances, only a master class woUld have the means of facilitating its Use.
CALLIOPE: it woUld address the issUe in an instant, bUt i will need yoU to trUst me enoUgh to enter into a fraymotif with me.
CALLIOPE: can yoU do that, jade?
JADE:

She hesitates. Calliope looks at her with large, opaque eyes. There is no presumption, no judgement. Not even a shred of the humble self pity Calliope carried around fifteen years back when she had an inkling she was aligning herself with the wrong side of history but was too weak-willed to stand against inevitability. She is, by all definitions, leaving the ball squarely in Jade's court.

Jade thinks she hates Calliope more than ever for forcing that decision on her.

JADE: fine
JADE: FINE
JADE: ill trust you calliope
JADE: its not like theres any other choice
CALLIOPE: of coUrse. and thank yoU, jade.
JADE: dont

Calliope shakes her head sadly.

CALLIOPE: now, if yoU woUld...?

She stretches out a hand. A soft pulse of green Space energy travels down it. The molecules in Jade's own body seem to sing in response. The urge to connect with Calliope, Space to Space, is deep and impossible to ignore. Were Jade an individual with less self-control, she'd already be united with Calliope, lost in the thrill of conducting a fundamental element of all existence.

Instead, she nods critically at Calliope's hand. It's the one without the Ring of Life sustaining her, Jade notices after a cursory scan. She feels a small jolt of disquiet for a moment, because she could have sworn Calliope put the ring on her left hand in an imitation of a wedding ring. But the fingers on her open-palmed left hand are bare, so she must be mistaken.

JADE: alright
JADE: ill do it

Jade breathes out and places her hand in Calliope's. Her own hand is several times larger than Calliope's, enough that she could totally cup it in her own if she wanted to. Jade's grown since they were sixteen. Calliope hasn't. Calliope never will, and something about that strikes Jade as miserable, even as her ability to give a shit about the cherub is in short supply.

Then her own body reacts in response to the electric pulses coming from Calliope, and there is no time or room to think. There is just an awareness beyond awareness, an atomic dance as Jade's power rushes out into Calliope in an unstoppable stream, only for Calliope to return a tsunami in kind. Calliope's power is so vast, so overwhelming that Jade has to fight to keep from losing herself.

She thought she'd seen true power when she'd encountered the dead cherub in the dream bubbles in her youth. Calliope standing before her on the rooftop today blows all of that entirely out of the water.

In the rush and the swell of something far greater than all other things, it takes time for Jade to realise she feels afraid.

CALLIOPE: let's begin.

Calliope does something, and Jade's body is aflame with cold fire that taps into a part of herself she hasn't accessed since the green sun. Other than a faint glow around their outlines, an outside observer wouldn't be able to tell anything, but to Jade, it feels like they must be producing columns of charged energy so immense that it could consume whole star systems in an instant.

NUCLEATIC PALIMPSEST

And then her consciousness is split a million million ways, parts of Jade scattered into anything emitting a higher than background level of radiation. She's the bullets in the guns, the grenades in the boxes, she is a weapon, she is a motor engine rattling within a destroyer airship making lazy circles around the city, she's a tumor cell in a human woman with scorched and peeling skin, she's the torched remnants of cables wrapping around a transportalizer, she is crackling and she is poison and she is endless and

CALLIOPE: jade, focUs!

Calliope guides Jade's mind with her own, wrapping with deft accuracy around the nuclear beacons scattered across NuSeattle. Then with a twitch of atoms, Calliope/Jade/the universe/everything/nothing drives deep into the radiation and leeches, taking it all and overwriting the toxic hazard again and again and again, a billion becquerels undone in the blink of an unending perma-now, Space expanding and manipulating so neat that it is nothing if not a magic trick writ large. She stares over somewhere dubiously unreal, witness to the dancing of radiation subtracted from the matter needed to sustain it, a swarm of invisible bees, a half-tamed dragon.

Jade reaches a hand forward, gasping without use of her lungs. This is the closest she's felt to the Green Sun since she escaped its influence, a chasm inside herself she didn't even know was there being filled with something alive.

Then Calliope flips the radioactive mass around and banishes it somewhere unseen and unknowable.

Somewhere visible, the geiger counter attached to a troll foot soldier's alchemised AK-47 explodes.

Somewhere nonvisible, the engorged appendage of the glut feasting on creation spasms at an enema shot of pure existence down a vestigial vein, dividing itself sixfold before resuming its spaciotemporally displaced digestion.

Jade pops back into her own consciousness lying flat on her back, staring up at the sky. Calliope stands over her, brows furrowed in concern.

CALLIOPE: are yoU alright?
JADE: ...

She blinks. She can't escape the feeling rushing through her body, like the world's most abstract and esoteric comedown.

JADE: y yeah
JADE: im fine

Jade forces herself to her feet. She runs a hand through her hair, then picks up her gun from where she dropped it.

JADE: what was that?
CALLIOPE: as i said, an alarmingly powerfUl fraymotif.
CALLIOPE: bUt disjointedness notwithstanding...
CALLIOPE: i think it worked.

She's not dumb enough to automatically believe Calliope's words, so Jade instead reaches out with her Space senses. The gesture makes her whole body twitch, like she's paradoxically expecting both more and less power to be at her disposal.

What she finds is what she hoped for. In a fifteen mile radius, there is nothing more radioactive than the background cosmic noise of Universe C, familiar and uncanny as always to Jade.

JADE: it actually worked
JADE: holy shit

She breathes out in relief. A knot unravels in her shoulders. Calliope smiles warmly.

CALLIOPE: i'm so glad i coUld help.
JADE: yeah
JADE: thanks calliope
JADE: but dont think this means you can be excused for everything else
CALLIOPE: heavens, no. i woUldn't dream of interfering with anything sUch as that.

Jade shakes her head, stretching to catch the last of her breath. Before Calliope can launch into another borderline-pointless soliloquy, Jade does a quick scan of her surroundings. Nobody seems to have noticed them yet by some miracle.

JADE: okay well
JADE: ill deal with you shortly but i do have a mission to carry out first
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: right. yes.
CALLIOPE: jane, right?
JADE: right
JADE: when you see her tell roxy youre both coming in for questioning
CALLIOPE: ah, bUt

Calliope goes to object, but Jade's head's back in the game. Fraymotif assist or no, they're both still part of something bigger than either of their individuality. With a snap of her fingers, Jade encases Calliope in a set of green chains reminiscent of the confinement she and Kanaya placed on Jake earlier.

JADE: just in case you got any ideas about moving
JADE: when roxy looks for you ill take both of you back to hq
CALLIOPE: jade, my objection wasn't with my arrest, it...
JADE: i do not have time for this calliope so make it quick
CALLIOPE: it... it's not aboUt me, jade.
CALLIOPE: it's aboUt roxy.

Jade quirks an eyebrow.

JADE: roxy? what does she have to do with--

A portion of the ruined Crocker Needle, three storeys by three storeys in approximate measurement, abruptly blacks out from Jade's senses.

JADE: wh?

Jade spins on her heel to stare up at the tower. At first glance, everything reads as totally fine. The guards on each floor, the armed convoy surrounding it, defanged of its nuclear deterrent. But there, right there, near the highest in-tact point of the tower, she spots it. Or, well, doesn't spot it, but infers from the negative space what she shouldn't.

A shimmering dome of barely-perceptible matter encases the upper floors of the Crocker Needle, cloaking it in a veil of normalcy. Right at the point where Jane Crocker would most likely be hiding out, Jade is met with nothing but an unassuming blankness that subtly nags at her to look away and discard what she is trying to observe.

It's a powerful obfuscation. Void abilities working at their most masterful. Jade has no clue, but she knows just the same. There's only one feasible explanation for the sight that isn't before her. Her stomach sinks.

JADE: no
JADE: she didnt
JADE: what the hell
CALLIOPE: i tried to tell yoU.

In her chains, Calliope looks at Jade miserably.

CALLIOPE: Upon oUr arrival in nUseattle, roxy immediately soUght oUt aUdience with jane.
CALLIOPE: i believe she is attempting one final desperate attempt at reaching throUgh to her.
JADE: wh
JADE: thats
JADE: thats fucking insane!

She feels a snap of annoyance towards Roxy, and then a thrill of fear. Parallel worst-case scenarios run through her head. Roxy, killed in cold blood by Crocker. Crocker managing to sway Roxy over to her side, a vicious and cruel weapon set loose on the rebellion. A fight between gods so potent that nothing survives. Green electric sparks shoot off Jade as she stands there, hackles raising.

JADE: what the fuck is she thinking!
CALLIOPE: i... i do not know. i advised her against sUch a coUrse of action, bUt...

Calliope looks away. Jade's pulse hammers in her throat.

JADE: FUCK

A vile and cruel train of thought runs through her head. The Void field surrounding the upper floors of the Crocker Needle all but confirms Jane's exact position. As per the parameters of the mission given to her by Karkat, Jade's next course of action should be to return to the vanguard forces and help clear a way for the rebellion to reach her. Engagement has been strictly off the table since day one for every conceivable reason.

She clenches her fists and forces herself to stare at the rippling shimmer around the tower despite the migraine it threatens to give her. Logic dictates she should take Calliope and get back to the mission. Any deviation is an unnecessary risk, especially as it concerns neutral parties wanted for collusion with a genocidal regime.

And yet.

It's not Karkat's face that Jade sees behind her eyes in that moment. It's not John, either. Nor even is it Rose.

No. The person Jade sees when she thinks about Roxy stupidly risking everything to get close to Crocker is young Harry Anderson, a kid who's already been through so much and deserves so much better. Due to all the compounding political factors over the years, Jade's not had much contact with Harry since he was a little kid, but she still has a fierce love for her nephew.

She can't let him lose his mother. No matter what, Roxy is owed that much at least.

Jade lets out a sigh. The decision was made from the start, but if she didn't at least try to fight it then she'd be a pretty shit rebel.

JADE: i have to stop her
JADE: i cant let roxy die up there
CALLIOPE: jade...

Calliope's eyes widen.

CALLIOPE: bUt how do yoU plan on passing the impenetrable void field?
CALLIOPE: i can barely comprehend it, let alone pass its threshold.

Jade barks a laugh that sounds more like a desperate yip than anything.

JADE: that ones easy
JADE: that whole effect is pure void right?
CALLIOPE: probably, yes.
JADE: and what is void if you really think about it?
CALLIOPE: Um.

Calliope shakes her head. Jade swallows around a bundle of nerves and the sensation that this is the wrong decision.

JADE: the void is the space between stars
JADE: the stage upon which all matter exists
JADE: i know the stretches between galaxies more than maybe anyone else
JADE: crossing this void will be nothing
CALLIOPE: jade...
JADE: stay there for me calliope
JADE: not that you can move anyway but

If Calliope says something more, Jade doesn't hear it. She falls back into herself, into the still-tingling Space channels in her own selfhood. Memories of a long lonely trip through absolute nothing simmer in her head. Dreams of the Furthest Ring, of being a fixed point moving through the absence of all things.

Space is nothing if not a means of which to traverse the Void. It is a lesson nobody imparted on Jade, but it is something she knows with innate certainty.

She lets that notion bolster her as her body flares to life with power, and she teleports through the membrane of Roxy's obfuscation bubble.

Passing through a field of pure concentrated Void is like sticking her whole body into a pool of jelly hell-bent on making her forget her own atomic composition. In the handful of seconds it takes to come out the other side, Jade is struck with the sensation that her physical body collapses and reforms infinite times, reconstructed over and over by a blueprint of a Greater Jade Harley outside and beyond all she can conceive of.

At the collision point between Aspects, the victory goes to the one with the strongest grasp on a fixed imaginative idea. Jade knows herself, knows every good and terrible inch of herself, and so Jade Harley becomes a concrete notion that can't be un-thought. She cannot and never will be forgotten.

And then she's through, landing on her hands and knees one floor below Jane's office. From inside the bubble, she can clearly sense two points of immense power slowly patrolling around in an emotionally fraught act of pacing.

Not giving herself time to think or second guess, Jade moves her way up the ruined and torched stairwell, coming out in a hallway stripped of everything except for the twisted metal skeleton of a former monument to Crockercorp's stranglehold. Gaping wounds in the walls let her see out to the city below, to the shimmer of Roxy's Void field. If Jade squints she can maybe see distant explosions going off, but she's not sure.

Then she hears the voices, and freezes mid-step.

JANE: Roxy.
ROXY: jane

Jade holds her breath and swivels her ears. The sound is coming from the room at the end of the hallway, the ruined wreck of an office overlooking NuSeattle. The wall-height windows have been blown out, letting Jade feel a constant coming and going of dust and ash particles. And she can feel the two people in the room: Jane, standing behind the warped remnants of a carved wood desk, and Roxy, a block of negative space pacing near the gaping hole where a window once was.

She doesn't dare inch any closer lest she tip Crocker off to her presence. She can't just teleport Roxy out, either, because it was hard enough carrying herself through the Void field. So she stops, listens, and tries to think of a plan.

JANE: How long were you in this office for, hiding behind that Void cloak?
ROXY: not long dw
JANE: Good. I'd hate to think of you spying on me or somesuch! :B
ROXY: a ha ha ha yea

Roxy's voice is strained. She moves from one corner of the room to the next.

JANE: But, given these trying times, I understand one's need for discretion.
JANE: All those wretches shoring up on our doorstep. It's unconscionable.
ROXY: rite
ROXY: uh
ROXY: nuseattles sure seen prettier days tho

Jane tuts.

JANE: An unfortunate but inevitable casualty of Vantas's war.
JANE: Our beautiful gated community, lost.
JANE: Your suburban domicile, ash.
JANE: Is it not all so unjust?
ROXY: mm

Roxy lets out a breath. Jane clears her throat.

JANE: Well, pleasantries aside, I must ask what you are doing in my secure office?
ROXY: i thought thatd be obvious lol?
JANE: It's not obvious, lol.
JANE: Hence my need to clarify.
ROXY: well
ROXY: im here for u mostly
JANE: ...
JANE: Me.

Jane's voice goes flat. The silence sets Jade's skin on edge.

JANE: We are at the epicenter of a warzone. My government is in shambles.
JANE: You went off the radar at the same time your sop of an ex chose to stand against me.
JANE: Forgive me if I'm going to be guarded about this whole affair.
ROXY: well uh
ROXY: makes sense considering
ROXY: all of this

Roxy expands her arms out, presumably to gesture to the wreckage of the city all around them.

ROXY: but if ur worried abt me "siding w the rebels" or whatevs
ROXY: ive not had a single conversation w anyone publicly identifiable as being part of that movement
JANE: Honestly?
ROXY: nothin abt that statements factually wrong so
JANE: ...
JANE: So then where *have* you been, Roxy?
JANE: In times like this, I could have done with an actual friend by my side.
ROXY: thats
ROXY: ive been with callie
JANE: Calliope? She's still around?
ROXY: yea
ROXY: called me up outta the blue the other day
ROXY: spent some time catching up in the consort kingdom
JANE: Honestly? Truly?
ROXY: 100% definitely
ROXY: look

Roxy pulls something from her Sylladex, and presents it to Jane. From the feel of its atomic shape, Jade guesses it's her phone.

JANE: Well I never...
JANE: Immortality notwithstanding, I'd figured Calliope to be dead.
ROXY: uh
ROXY: well clearly it aint the case lmao
JANE: Clearly.
ROXY: nd b4 u ask no callie aint got a thing to do w karkat and the rebels either
ROXY: shes been like the textbook definition of uninvolved with this entire war
JANE: If you're certain.
ROXY: never been more certain
JANE: Well.

Jane exhales.

JANE: That's two more people I know I can trust, then.
JANE: Where is Calliope, anyhow?
ROXY: couple blocks downtown
ROXY: she uh
ROXY: figured itd be best 2 give us space 2 chat b4 anything else
JANE: Right.

Jane fiddles with something on her wrist, then pounds a fist on her desk.

JANE: God darn it!
ROXY: ?
JANE: My access to NuSeattle's camera feeds is down. Must have been the blast.
JANE: I merely wanted to verify that Calliope is alive and well. It's dangerous out there.
ROXY: yea no kidding
JANE: I would be happy to see her face again.
JANE: It's been so long.
ROXY: rite
ROXY: well ill b sure 2 tell callie that when were done here
JANE: Ah. Yes.

Jane leans forward over the desk. Roxy pulls back a little.

JANE: Thanks for the opportunity to segue, Roxy.
JANE: We never did get around to discuss why you're here in the first place.
ROXY: yeah
ROXY: um
ROXY: well

Roxy's voice cracks. She gulps. Tiny beads of sweat break out across her forehead. Jane gives no indication she's noticed.

ROXY: callie n i found out the news abt the explosion in nuseattle and abt the disintegration of the government
ROXY: so like of course we had 2 come here n make ourselves useful
JANE: That's noble of you.
ROXY: well yea! this kinda IS the city ive been livin in 4 the last decade
ROXY: what kinda god would i b if i just sat there n let it all burn without doing jack shit 2 help??
JANE: I understand that sentiment.
JANE: Why, when I got wind of plans for an imminent rebel attack on this beloved city, I dropped everything and rushed to the front line to preserve NuSeattle as best I could.
JANE: Regrettably, though, it was a gesture that was too little too late, as you can no doubt see.
ROXY: ...right

Roxy begins to breathe a little faster. Jade figures she's also noticed that the conversation is coming up on an opening.

JANE: This war has been such a waste.
ROXY: kinda hard not 2 notice that when ur standing in the ashes of one of earth cs largest cities
JANE: Truly.
JANE: Humanity, decimated by almost a fifth overnight. Such barbarism makes my skin crawl.
JANE: I think what stings the most, however, is that those I once honored with the title of "friend" have all sided with the cockroaches who torched this bastion of the human race.
JANE: It still beggars belief that after all this time, John Egbert decided to take action on the side of the enemy.
JANE: Complicit in the destruction of a city that revered him, no less!
ROXY: well i cant exactly speak 4 john here so
JANE: But you have spoken with him, yes?
ROXY: uh

She stiffens so abruptly it makes Jade jump. They're skating on dangerous waters here. Jade flexes her fists, desperately trying to think of what to do if this goes south before she's ready for it.

JANE: I've seen him in your home on the surveillance feeds. Seems you've had a bit of a reconnecting in recent months.
ROXY: rite yea
ROXY: he finally after all these years decided 2 get over himself enough to b a dad in harrys life
ROXY: regardless of what i thought abt our divorce n shit i owe my son a chance 2 have his father in his life u kno?
JANE: I understand the importance of family, worry not.
JANE: Unfortunate timing that this just so happened to coincide with his return to your life!
ROXY: wait
ROXY: what is it ur implying here jane
JANE: Me? I'm implying nothing, Roxy.
ROXY: uh huh

Jane takes slow, lazy paces back and forth. Roxy is so taut it feels like her molecules are ready to snap at a moment's notice.

ROXY: its just
ROXY: it kinda sounds like ur trying 2 accuse me of colluding w the rebels or somethin
JANE: If that's what you think, I'm sorry if you feel that way.
ROXY: cmon cut the bullshit here we both know ur playin megalomaniacal paranoid dictator mindgames with me cause u dont trust me 1 fuckin inch

The gasp that comes from Jane's lips is theatrical and pitched enough that Jade's ears wince from down the hall.

JANE: Now that's more than a touch unfair. This is a perfectly gracious and cordial meeting from where I'm standing.
ROXY: oh my GOD
ROXY: janey look if youd just
JANE: If I'd just *what*, Roxy?

Jane finishes that sentence with a bite that cracks in the air like a whip. Roxy doesn't back down, though.

ROXY: if youd just fucking listen to what im tryin 2 say!
ROXY: i get that ur cornered and buried fuckdeep in warcrimes and salty all ur friends have turned on you over the years but you have to listen to me
ROXY: this war? this whole shtick???
ROXY: u aint gonna win it

Roxy gestures to the world beyond the window. Her breathing is frantic.

ROXY: u barely have an army
ROXY: karkat n his dudes are already like halfway thru the city
ROXY: only 1 things gonna happen if u stay here like this jane
ROXY: theyre gonna kill you
JANE: ...

At first, Jade thinks Jane's gone silent, but then she notices it. A low growl, trembling and vicious, rumbling at an almost undetectably low frequency. Every cell in Jane's body is rigid as iron.

JANE: So. There we have it.
JANE: That's what you are, Roxy. A trojan horse sent my way by the rebels.
JANE: A filthy warning disguised as a once-friend.
ROXY: what
ROXY: jane no
ROXY: nobody put me up 2 coming here there aint no agenda or anything
ROXY: im here because despite fucking everything i still care about you
ROXY: and i dont want you to stay here n get killed over a bullshit pointless war
ROXY: jane please

Roxy's voice wavers. Jane's body shifts in a way that puts Jade on edge. She decides she can't sit around any longer.

There's a way for her to get closer, probably, but it's a total hunch, and...

Biting her lip with uncertainty, Jade reaches out to Roxy's Void dome with her Space powers and gently rips a patch of it free. She carries the piece of Void back inside the building and then carefully wraps it around her own body.

A muffled noise that indicates this might have been a fraymotif, once, rings out. Jade ponders for half a second what it might be, then commits herself to the next course of action.

She hops up in the air and slams her feet down on the floor with all the force her body can muster. The dead, muffling silence of snowfall smothering an echo reaches her. Neither Jane nor Roxy in the other room indicate they've heard anything.

Jade breathes a sigh of relief then makes her way down the long hallway.

JANE: You don't understand, Roxy.
JANE: I have to be here. The *world* needs me to be here.
JANE: I'm not losing this war.
JANE: I'm winning it, because I have to win.
JANE: Because Vantas and his ilk must fall if we are to ever see Earth C reach even a semblance of a civilized world.
JANE: I am willing to put my life on the line for my ideals.
ROXY: jane you dont *have* to do anything!
ROXY: youre a literal fucking god there is no need for u to lose urself in the nitty gritty like this
ROXY: nobody has an obligation to stick a shitty course of action out till the horrible end!
ROXY: if it sucks hit da bricks!
ROXY: clearly ur political plans all failed and if u leave w me now theres still a chance
ROXY: still a slim tiny fuckin chance you can walk outta all this still alive
ROXY: dont you want that jane?
ROXY: dont you want to live?
JANE: ...

Jade's about thirty feet from the door to Jane's office.

JANE: Roxy. all I have done is for the sake of life on Earth C.
JANE: Life that deserves to live. Life that hasn't corrupted its integrity past the point of no return.
JANE: This is bigger than me or you. This is about the survival of the human species.
ROXY: jane pls listen to yourself
ROXY: you wiped out a good fuckin fraction of that in the name of "saving em"
ROXY: cant you see that this is all totally fucked
ROXY: just
ROXY: come with me
ROXY: stop this war
ROXY: go back to being the jane i once knew n once loved
ROXY: please
JANE: Roxy...

Twenty five feet.

JANE: You don't even realize, do you?
ROXY: realize what
JANE: How utterly, unsalvageably selfish your pitiful request is.
ROXY: ...
JANE: I act only in the interests of forces greater than myself. The balance of all living things on Earth C, order asserting itself among our proud Kingdoms, the flourishing of a true and healthy economy.
JANE: Lest it be forgotten, I am the Maid of Life.
JANE: Above all else, I am in service to Life. Pure, selfless devotion.
JANE: That is what it means to be the Maid of Life.
JANE: That is what it means to be Jane Crocker.
ROXY: then
ROXY: then stop

Twenty feet.

JANE: Come again?
ROXY: stop being jane crocker
JANE: I...
ROXY: let her die in this war n choose to live on as someone else
JANE: Roxy, what you're saying doesn't even make any sense.
JANE: How can I die, yet also live?
JANE: You expect me to discard the name and the person I have been all my life simply to survive?
ROXY: i do
ROXY: yeah
ROXY: cause theres no other way you can get outta this alive
ROXY: but if you let jane crocker maid of life die in this battle
ROXY: then you can survive
ROXY: you can come w me
ROXY: start again
ROXY: become something better

Fifteen feet. Roxy is crying now.

JANE: Even if I were to somehow acquiesce to your outrageous demands, how in the sweet hell could it even happen?
ROXY: the entire upper half of this tower is wrapped in an obfuscating void field
ROXY: no information can get in or get out no matter what people try
ROXY: were a completely sealed off environment
ROXY: while there are no eyes on the inside of this bubble anything could happen because every possibility is happening
JANE: ...Come again?
ROXY: remember schrodingers cat jane?
JANE: Schrodinger's... cat?
ROXY: kitty in the crate thats quantumly suspended as both alive and dead till someone opens it up and collapses the possibility
ROXY: but while the crate is sealed nobody is capable of observing the kitty and therefore all outcomes are simultaneously valid as all other ones
JANE: Right. But...
ROXY: basically jane
ROXY: youre the kitty
ROXY: this towers the crate
ROXY: and im mr schrodinger with the power to dictate the outcome of this unobserved reality or w/e he was tryin 2 prove w that experiment
JANE: I...

Ten feet.

ROXY: except because were inside the crate we get 2 decide what happens if people try 2 observe it and collapse the superposition
ROXY: if i keep this place wrapped in an impenetrable void bubble and say ur lyin dead inside it while secretly spiriting u away
ROXY: and u dont come out or do anything that could confirm your alive/dead status either way
ROXY: nobodyll be able to dispute what i say because hard proof they can confirm w/ their own eyes wont b there and disputing itll mean the thing they want most will no longer exist
ROXY: and then you would b free 2 live on in obscurity free of crockercorp and the violence and everything thats made our lives shitty for so long
ROXY: i can do it jane
ROXY: i can help you
ROXY: you could start again
ROXY: a new life somewhere away from prying eyes
ROXY: you could actually do something good again
ROXY: you could
ROXY: you could even reunite with your family
ROXY: not everyone but youd have me and callie and harry and
JANE: Harry?
JANE: As in, Harry Anderson?
ROXY: uh

Five feet.

JANE: That wretched whelp of a boy? THAT Harry Anderson?
ROXY: wh
ROXY: jane wtf r u sayin
JANE: You don't know about Harry Anderson? About what he did to me?
ROXY: uh no?
ROXY: i mean from where im standing if im gonna be honest its what you did to him
ROXY: lets not get it twisted i wanna save ur life but we do have to have a talk abt your decision to kidnap a bunch of teens
ROXY: cmon this is literally the last ever olive branch youll get dont burn it jane
JANE: Hmph.
JANE: Seems that bridge did an excellent job of thorougly burning itself before your intervention.
JANE: So you really don't know?
ROXY: dont know what
JANE: Figures. If you knew, I doubt you'd have approached me with anything except murderous intent.
ROXY: jane uh
ROXY: what the hell are you saying
ROXY: what are we talking about here
JANE: I thought that was obvious. We're talking about Harry Anderson and what he did to me.
ROXY: jane i am not following this line of thought what the fuck are you trying to say
JANE: Well, if John didn't fill you in, I suppose it must fall to me.
JANE: After his impromptu escapades within my lunar television studio, Harry Anderson, along with Vriska Serket and that Lalonde brat, stormed my airship.
JANE: Those impetuous youths saw fit to slaughter the entirety of my personal staff without discrimination or remorse.
JANE: Did I ever introduce you to Amira? Wonderful woman. Excellent technician.
JANE: Dead by the hand of those children.
JANE: Almost one hundred living, breathing, human beings, cruelly cut down by those four horrible adolescents.
ROXY: and harry
ROXY: jane what the FUCK about harry
ROXY: what happened to him
ROXY: what did you do to him
JANE: And then, Harry Anderson, my own beloved nephew, flesh and blood, decided to turn his weapons on me in a fit of vicious savagery.
JANE: So I did what I do to all insurgent threats on my life:
JANE: I introduced the boy to the business end of my fork.
ROXY: no
JANE: A clean impalement through the internal organs, nothing less than what he was owed.
JANE: I am sorry you had to find out this way, Roxy.
ROXY: NO

Jade stops at the door, not out of any decision on her part, but because abruptly all the light on this floor of the building is swallowed in a tsunami of pitch darkness. The shadow is so thick and so consuming she loses sight of herself, of her perspective. Even though her feet are on the ground and her arm is against the wall, it's still a struggle to tell herself that she is not spinning aimlessly in an infinite blank void.

She forces herself to focus past the horrific sudden blindness, and instead on the senses that still work. Her ears pick up the sound of crashing, of weapons colliding, of a howl pitched with such grief and rage that Jade's grimbark period of her youth seems hollow in comparison.

Her Space senses reach out to the office, feel the atoms swirling about. A shape that is Roxy barrels into a shape that is Jane, slamming the other woman down on the desk. It snaps clean in two from the force of the impact, and then Jane is on the floor, and Roxy's hands are around her throat, and Roxy is screaming, and Jane's free hand is inching for an object concealed in the left pocket of her pants.

Jade doesn't have the time to think, the time to question. She acts on instinct and instinct alone. Responding to an urge that could be a latent Space power, an unspoken fraymotif, or even a manifestation of her sheer desperate will, Jade's body suddenly lights up with the green flares of her aspect. Deep, tangled shadows dance across the walls and ceiling and floor, a black and green strobeshow keeping time with Roxy's despair.

Likewise, the luxury of opening the door is lost to her, so Jade instead faces the wall next to the doors, and punches a hole right through it with her body, exploding into the office in a howl of static and rubble.

JADE: STOP!!!!!!!!

Her screams go unheard by both parties, and while she has very few moral objections to Roxy choking the life out of Jane, Jane's hand is closing in on what is no doubt a concealed dagger that could, with one swipe, consign Roxy to a Heroic demise.

She looks on at the two women struggling, bathed in the green flicker. Roxy's face is twisted in a horrible, tear-streaked snarl. Jane's glasses are shattered and she is gasping for breath that won't come, but not once does she look away from Roxy's eyes. Cyan on pink, locked in an abrupt and vicious horror show.

Jane's hand wraps around the blade. Jade reaches out and grabs the both of them with her Space powers, flinging each of them to opposite sides of the room.

It achieves two things. The first is that Roxy's Voidsplosion shorts out and daylight returns to the office. The second is that both Jane and Roxy turn to face Jade with an expression of pure surprise.

ROXY: y
JADE: HES NOT DEAD!!!
ROXY:
JADE: harry
JADE: hes not dead

Roxy's body slumps in Jade's levitated grip. Her eyes stare back at her, bleeding with raw hope and desperation.

ROXY: hes alive?
JADE: yes
JADE: jane did stab him but we got to him in time! kanaya saved him hes okay!
ROXY:
ROXY: i
JADE: hes on the other end of the city with the other kids and vriska helping with the evacuation efforts roxy i promise you hes okay
JADE: and hell be wanting to see you again so you cant die here
JADE: you cant

Whatever fight is left in Roxy dies at that moment, replaced with the storm of emotions she feels for her son. She looks away from Jade, and turns to glare at Jane with hatred more raw and searing than anything Jade's ever seen before.

ROXY: fuck you crocker
ROXY: after everything
ROXY: after LITERALLY every single one of the nasty fucking things you did
ROXY: i still hoped that somewhere in there was 1 last shred of decency
ROXY: but

Her voice quivers.

ROXY: harrys my son
ROXY: hes a kid
ROXY: hes your own fucking family
ROXY: just a fucking kid and you tried to murder him
ROXY: my own fucking son

The next words she spits out with a glare so dark Jade fears another blackout.

ROXY: i was right about what i said earlier
ROXY: karkats gonna come for you
ROXY: youre not getting out of this alive jane
ROXY: and if he doesnt kill you

Her fists glow with fanged shadows.

ROXY: ill finish the fucking job myself
JANE: ...

Jane, who hasn't stopped trying to squirm free of Jade's grip, stares at the two women who were once her friends, so long ago. Her eyes are wide, her mouth a flat line. There is no telling what she is thinking. Jade finds she doesn't want to know either way.

JANE: You always were a coward, Roxy.

She spits the words out to Roxy, then gives Jade an opaque look.

JANE: Give Vantas my regards. Let him know I am here.
JANE: Let him know I am ready.

Then she slams her hand down on the handle of the blade. There's the soft click of a button being pressed, and before Jade can react, her powers short out.

Jane drops to the floor in as graceful a landing as she can manage, and then an expanding dome of red light begins to bloom out from the central point of the blade. Crocker's sneer stretches her lips wide enough that every one of her teeth is visible.

ROXY: what are you

But Jade, drilled and trained in weapons of warfare, recognises the effect immediately.

JADE: a god tier neutralizing forcefield
JADE: i thought they were all destroyed

Her knowledge of its effects rattles off in her mind on autopilot. The forcefield will generate a neutralising zone around the central object, preventing the passage of any god tier individuals through its threshold. Unlike Roxy's Void barrier, this is absolute. In a few moments, the only god able to set foot in this building will be Jane Crocker herself.

It's a dirty and nasty trick that they'd all hoped they'd eliminated years ago. Jade bites down a howl of frustration and rushes over to grab Roxy's hand.

JADE: we have to go
JADE: that thing touches us and we get fried
JADE: drop the void field we need to leave
ROXY: but
JADE: forget it roxy! harry and callie are out there and i swear you will see them again
ROXY: ...
ROXY: ...

Hesitantly, Roxy drops the Void barrier. Jade's Space senses immediately latch onto the rooftop from earlier. She takes Roxy's hand in her own and lets her body flare with Space power as the neutralising forcefield draws nearer.

They zap out in a blast of green lightning.

All the while, Jane never stops smiling.

ROXY: oof!

Roxy lands ass-first on the rooftop. Jade appears a millisecond later, hovering a few feet off the ground. She drops down, then lets an outraged bark escape from her lips.

JADE: FUCK!!!!

She looks up at the Crocker Needle, as the red dome encapsulates the entire building in a beacon of pure mockery. Roxy steps forward and puts an unsteady hand on Jade's shoulder.

ROXY: u good?
JADE: no!!!
JADE: she was right there! right in front of me!
JADE: i could have killed her! i SHOULD have killed her!
JADE: WOOF WOOF SNARL BARK GRRR
ROXY: hey hey jadey

Roxy raises her hands placatingly.

ROXY: u said it urself
ROXY: if youdve stayed youd have just been fried like a mosquito on janes zapper forcefield
ROXY: n the same shit u said to me applies to you too
ROXY: you also have people who love you n need you to come back to them
JADE: ...
JADE: ...
JADE: ...

She doesn't have a retort for that, as much as she wants to scream that Dave's dead, that Dave never loved her, that nothing matters except making herself useful. But then she has to remember Rose and Kanaya, and Karkat, and John, and the kids, and she can't think that.

JADE: fuck
JADE: youre right
ROXY: yeah
JADE: sigh

She glances back at the tower with a sour note in her gut.

JADE: at least my original mission was successful
JADE: everyone knows where jane is now
ROXY: haha see not a total blowout lmao

Roxy tries to laugh, but her voice and face are too strained. Jade can't tell exactly what she's thinking, but she can guess it.

JADE: ill take you to harry
JADE: as soon as we meet up with karkat and brief him ill drop you off with him
ROXY: thank you jade
JADE: dont get me wrong theres still a lot you have to answer for
ROXY: yeah dont i know it
JADE: but after today i think you deserve to see your family at least
ROXY: ...

Roxy smiles, eyes glistening with tears. Despite it all, Jade gets the sense that deep down, Roxy is still a good person. She hopes the postwar trials will be kind to her.

JADE: now before we go
JADE: one more thing

Jade spins around to the far corner of the rooftop.

JADE: calliope were gonna
JADE:
JADE:
JADE: ?
ROXY: uh

Jade blinks. The Space chains she set up before she left are still there, still in tact, but Calliope is gone. There is no sign of the cherub, and no sign she was ever here in the first place.

JADE: i
JADE: wh
JADE: how????
ROXY: hang on
ROXY: u had callie tied up in like
ROXY: ACTUAL chains?
JADE: thats not the important part here!

She motions frantically to the empty spot, as if that'll somehow bring Calliope back. But it doesn't. She is gone.

JADE: aaagh this is bad this is so bad!
JADE: roxy do you have any idea where calliope might have gone?
ROXY: er

Roxy looks away guiltily, then turns to face Jade.

ROXY: how much do u know
JADE: i know about calliopes mission
JADE: and i also know about the dead cherub and the kids and the weird cosmic plan
ROXY: ah ok that makes things way less complicated 2 explain

Unlike Calliope, Roxy rolls with the revelation of Jade's knowledge with smooth ease.

ROXY: in that case callies probably sticking to the original plan
ROXY: shell have made a beeline for the nearest exile station to this place probs
JADE: what the HELL
ROXY: dont feel bad jade i dont think theres a single soul on earth who can stop callie from her mission
ROXY: she originally said she was gonna leave me here anyway once i learned of the problems in nuseattle
ROXY: for whatever reason shes really set against actually meeting up with any of you guys lmao
JADE: but
ROXY: look u got me which is still one prize more than u set out with
ROXY: better this than callie doin some wacky rebel hq prison break hijinks right?
JADE:

Jade hisses out a breath through her nose.

JADE: okay
JADE: okay yeah youre right

She snaps her fingers and the chains dissolve. Roxy nods approvingly.

JADE: lets go
JADE: sooner we get to karkat the sooner you can

Jade never gets to finish.

At that exact moment, an explosion larger than any that has come before engulfs the entire western half of NuSeattle in a wall of fire. The sound is loud enough that both Jade and Roxy have to cover their ears to prevent their skulls from feeling like they're being split open. The explosion is strong enough that the ground rumbles with the force of a moderately-sized earthquake.

ROXY: the fuck was THAT?

Roxy looks on at the column of smoke originating from the west with a furrowed brow. Jade follows her gaze for one second, then two, then the realisation hits her.

JADE: ohh no
ROXY: what

Jade's stomach drops. Given the plans, given what she knows of the formation, given everything...

JADE: the western part of the city
JADE: thats where the
ROXY: ah

Roxy's eyes widen. In half a blink, she vanishes in a ripple of darkness. Jade reaches a hand out.

JADE: hey hey wait no DONT!

But she's gone, and Jade is left disoriented and frustrated on the rooftop.

Karkat. She needs to get back to Karkat and the others and find out--

And then the noise, tearing itself free from the epicentre of the blast. So dreadful, so terrible, that Jade's breath dies in her throat and she sinks to her knees.

HOOOOOOOOOONK

Chapter 65: SIX, section iv.

iv.

ATARIA: wheerees vriiskaa?
HARRY: uh.
VRISSY: She left.
ATARIA: leeft?
VRISSY: Yeah. She, like. Jumped Out of the truck a good Couple Miles 8ack.

Vrissy, Harry, and Tavros look flatly at Ataria as her face goes on the emotional journey of one not used to dealing with Vriska Serket's antics. She rests a hand on the truck's door, sucks a breath through her nose, then massages her temples.

ATARIA: ookaay
ATARIA: ookaay thiis iis whaat iim woorkiing wiith noow
ATARIA: thiis iis fiinee

It is very much evidently not fine, but nobody is going to be the one to shatter the woman's attempt at coping. Harry glances at Tavros, then at Vrissy. None of them really knows what to say about it.

Harry figures someone has to say something, though.

HARRY: yeah, it should be fine.
HARRY: i mean, you're still an accomplished soldier, right?
HARRY: and the three of us aren't too shabby ourselves.

As he talks, he runs a hand across the top of his shirt. The skin around his puncture scars twinge with pain that he's not sure is real or imagined. The memory, hazy and bloody, is genuine pain enough.

HARRY: this whole operation was planned without vriska, so
HARRY: everything should be fine, yeah?

As rousing speeches go, it's kind of shit. But it does the job enough. A spark of purpose returns to Ataria's eyes.

ATARIA: noo yoouuree riight kiid
ATARIA: iits
ATARIA: whaateeveer

She shakes her head, and motions down the street. The convoy is currently idling at the ruins of an intersection, while a group of rebel fighters consult maps and reports.

ATARIA: juust hoopee shee dooeesnt caauusee proobleems
TAVROS: Oh, rest assured, she will almost certainly do so,
TAVROS: Vriska's modus operandi, is pretty much that,
TAVROS: But it mostly balances out at least,

Ataria gives Tavros a withering look, then excuses herself to check with the other guys how things are going. They're currently stopped because the maps of NuSeattle only do so much good when half the city is a molten, ash-covered heap. A large concentration of survivors is somewhere within a few blocks of here, but street names and identifying buildings have kind of ceased to exist.

Harry takes a second to look around at the warped, torched skeletons lining the street. He's not sure if he was ever in this part of NuSeattle, but he also doesn't think he could tell one part of the city from the next if he tried.

His house, too, is somewhere in the wreckage. He thinks of that building reduced to rubble, and it's hard not to feel a twisted sadness about it. Yeah, it was just a building, and yeah, everyone he cares about is still alive, but still.

VRISSY: You Good, Harry?

Vrissy tenderly pokes him on the shoulder. Her expression isn't unkind.

HARRY: yeah. just.
HARRY: the whole city's gone, you know?
HARRY: it's kinda really fucked up.
HARRY: like. this was my home.
VRISSY: ...
TAVROS: ,,,

Tavros and Vrissy both give him looks.

VRISSY: Well, I've never Had a Sta8le Pl8ce of residence, on account of the fact I 8asically grew up as a Fugitive.
TAVROS: And, that gated community was, um, hardly an ideal home, so,
HARRY: right. yeah.

Harry rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

HARRY: shoulda figured i'd sound like an entitled asshole with that comment.
TAVROS: Not at all,
TAVROS: Your feelings make sense, even if it is a radically different experience, to either of us,
VRISSY: Seriously, don't Sweat It.
VRISSY: 8efore the fucked up Curfews the other year I also used to Spend a 8unch of Time in this city too, Remem8er?
VRISSY: Like no, I'm not as emotionally attached, 8ut I still understand how Fucked it all is.
HARRY: ...
HARRY: heh. thanks guys.

He gives them a weak smile. It doesn't settle the unsteady feeling in his stomach.

In the distance, there is the steady sound of gunfire. And a few miles north of them, another bomb goes off. Tavros winces.

TAVROS: I wonder, what the deal is with those explosions,

It's a question that hangs in the air, one that none of them can adequately answer, but one that feels important nonetheless.

HARRY: dunno.
HARRY: whatever it is, it freaked karkat vantas out real bad, though.
VRISSY: Yeah. It's O8viously something going against the plan.
VRISSY: Given that we're all in Position, like, an hour 8efore we're meant to 8e?
VRISSY: May8e the Re8els know more.

She tilts her head towards the gathering of trolls talking around a weapons crate turned makeshift table. Their faces are hard. Their posture, taut.

TAVROS: Maybe, maybe not,
TAVROS: If this is my mother's doing, then,,, um,

Tavros wrings his hands. He still winces, but it's different to the lost-looking cringing he's always done when talking about his family.

TAVROS: She is an unpredictable woman,
TAVROS: They might not be able to glean an immediate understanding,
HARRY: yeah.

Harry quirks his lips down in a frown. Compared to the frantic terror of the moonbase, navigating a warzone feels... weirder. Slower, more weighty. Like nothing is happening, and yet everything is. Minutes feel like days.

HARRY: i wonder if vriska's gonna kill her.

Vrissy blinks.

VRISSY: Do you want her to?
HARRY: i...
HARRY: i dunno.

He stares down at the floor. Kicks a bit of the ash with his shoe.

HARRY: like up until the other day, jane was kind of messed up and wrong, yeah.
HARRY: but she was still my auntie jane i remembered from childhood.
HARRY: like, before i was thirteen she was just this kindly rich woman who bought me a bunch of nice things on my birthday and on holidays.
HARRY: she would bake a fresh cake in the kitchen and she'd always laugh with my mom and let me lick the spoon with batter on it.
HARRY: she also tried to kill me.
HARRY: and... i don't know.
HARRY: i know she's done evil and horrible things but those memories are still there, you know?
HARRY: she could've been good, once.
HARRY: i loved her, once.
TAVROS: ,,,

Tavros purses his lips. Harry turns to face him.

HARRY: shit, tav.
HARRY: that's not to say she didn't do all those fucked up things to you, because she did!
HARRY: and i know all about her war crimes and all that but still
HARRY: it's a kind of complicated feeling.
TAVROS: No, i understand,
TAVROS: Earlier, when i came face to face with her on the airship,
TAVROS: I also felt a great many things,
TAVROS: Fear, upset, this, this horrible rage,

His jaw tightens a touch.

TAVROS: But beneath that, and worst of all,
TAVROS: Was the knowledge that, even as she hurt me like she did,
TAVROS: I loved her at one point,, too,
TAVROS: She was my mother, and i hate her and i never wish to lay eyes on her again,
TAVROS: But,,,

Harry steps forward and wraps an arm around Tavros's shoulder. The other boy leans in.

HARRY: hey. everything about this so fucked, isn't it?
TAVROS: Yeah,,,
TAVROS: Everything is fucked, indeed,,,

Tavros doesn't quite cry, but he does let out a couple shaky breaths before pulling away. Harry is left with a weighty feeling in his chest.

Vrissy looks on awkwardly.

VRISSY: I dunno. This is weird for me a little.
VRISSY: 8ecause all my life, my Moms made it clear what kind of person Crocker is.
VRISSY: So I never had the kind of illusions a8out her you Guys had.
VRISSY: Well, like, not that they were Illusions, 8ecause your feelings were and are P8tently Real, 8ut.
VRISSY: I don't know. The kind of H8tred towards her that everyone felt?
VRISSY: It's pretty o8vious that it c8me from the Deepest 8etrayal of someone they once Truly cared A8out.
VRISSY: And you know, the Lore kinda M8kes that one clear.
VRISSY: Like 8ack in the Day my moms fought to S8ve Crocker from 8eing controlled by a Fascist Tyrant.
VRISSY: So the fact that Crocker Still turned out Like that...

She gestures helplessly, evidently struggling to get her point across in the way she wants to.

VRISSY: It's just Clear that Most People are struggling with this war 8ecause a 8etter version of Jane Crocker still exists somewhere in Their Hearts.
VRISSY: She could've 8een the 8est friend of the other Gods.
VRISSY: She could've 8een the silly aunt with Money and 8aked Goods.
VRISSY: 8ut every choice she m8de killed that possi8ility a little more dead until she hit the point of No Return, whenever that was.
HARRY: ...
TAVROS: ,,,

They stand in slience a little longer, listening to the distant echoes of warfare. If Harry cranes his head just the right way, he can catch a glimpse of what remains of the Crocker Needle. He's reminded of that day with his dad, of that drive through town that kickstarted his involvement in this chain of events.

It hits him that all those people caught in the traffic jam with him are probably dead now. It's a scale of suffering so immense he can barely comprehend it. He wonders, idly, if this is how his parents felt when they thought about what Sburb did to Earths A and B.

TAVROS: You know,,

Tavros speaks up, voice weak but certain.

TAVROS: I think,
TAVROS: When they execute her,
TAVROS: I don't want to watch it happen,,,

His eyes are wide and clear with too many emotions.

HARRY: yeah. yeah i get it.
TAVROS: Once it is done with, i want it to be done with,
TAVROS: Anything more than that is, just,

He doesn't finish, but that's okay. The point is made well enough.

VRISSY: Well, it Settles it.
VRISSY: The Minute this war is Won, we'll 8ury all this Shit in the past. ::::)
VRISSY: We'll do Cool Stuff, like Hang out with Vriska and help her 8r8k out of the Universe, and, uh,

Vrissy falters, slamming face-first into the enigma that is their collective future.

VRISSY: And then we'll, um...

She doesn't have an answer. Harry dwells on the topic, and comes to find he doesn't have an answer, either.

Realistically, once Crockercorp has fallen and the Rebellion can work towards building a better Earth C, they'll be free to go back to their mundane lives. Do normal teen stuff, like go to school, then college, then get a job, and settle into a happy and stable life. That's something that's open and available to all of them. It's the thing that Harry, at least, has been funnelled into all his life by virtue of the compounding privileges of the circumstances of his birth.

And yet.

HARRY: i can't even imagine going back to normal now.
HARRY: like, it feels too weird. we've been through all we've been through, right?
HARRY: and at the end of it, we... go back to living regular ass lives?
HARRY: it just... feels wrong.
VRISSY: Yeah! You Get It.
VRISSY: Like, I'm thinking a8out Vriska and the fact she exists, and then I'm thinking a8out the fact that once the war is won and She's out of here, I'll...
VRISSY: What, go 8ack to School? Doesn't that feel like a W8ste?
TAVROS: I mean, it would be more peaceful,
TAVROS: And it would provide us with the opportunity to start healing from our myriad traumas,
TAVROS: Lest it be forgotten, all three of us have witnessed somebody die in the last handful of days,
HARRY: yeah.
VRISSY: ...

Harry gets where Tavros is coming from. The lure of stability is a strong one. The idea of settling down into a life where he can grow and thrive with his closest friends is so appealing. The idea of being allowed to become a happy adult in a better world, of letting the tension leave his body and fall into a placid rhythm, is an ambrosia to his weary mind and soul.

VRISSY: 8ut... Something a8out that feels Wrong, right?

Her statement is barely a question and more an assertion. The minute she gives voice to it, Harry's skin goes cold.

VRISSY: Like, you 8oth feel it too, Don't You?
VRISSY: The sense that there's Something out there, pushing at us.
VRISSY: A Tiny Voice you can 8arely hear saying that this isn't It for Us, that there's something More.
VRISSY: Not in the sense of a Lifelong Purpose, 8ut...
VRISSY: Almost as If Something or Someone isn't anywhere near Done With us.

She turns her head to the sky and frowns. The skin around her eyelids tightens. Harry wonders if she has another headache coming on.

TAVROS: I,
TAVROS: I think that might just be the trauma talking, vrissy,
VRISSY: No, I don't Think it is.
VRISSY: It's this... Feeling, separ8te from my Emotions.
VRISSY: I've felt it a Few Times, actually.
VRISSY: Like when I was with Vriska and we found The Meteor.
VRISSY: Or when we were in that Mall Shootout and we got our Speci8i.
VRISSY: Or when we were on the Moon88se Death G8me.
VRISSY: It's like... kind of Like the Visions I've 8een getting on and off.
VRISSY: Only, instead of flashes of Potential Outcomes.

Her eyes widen. It takes a minute for Harry to process the emotion on her face. His throat goes dry when he recognises it as fear.

VRISSY: It's like... There's a set of Eyes.
VRISSY: And they're Looking Down on Us all the Time, assessing us.
VRISSY: Guiding us.
VRISSY: Watching Us.

A soft wind picks up, sending a layer of ash fluttering around the street like a snow flurry. For a moment, it's dense enough to block out the sun, and the three of them are awash in grey shadow. And Harry...

He doesn't want to admit it. He'll never want to admit it, but...

He feels it. For just a moment, as the ash obscures them. The fixed intent gaze resting somewhere above his head, a stare as greedy as it is unflinching. He fights the urge to spin around and look in that direction, because he already knows he'll see nothing.

And then the ash is on the ground again, and the feeling abates. But it doesn't pass. Not entirely.

Vrissy shakes the ash from her hair.

VRISSY: There's something Else for us, I think.
VRISSY: Something 8igger than this War, or Vriska, or...
VRISSY: Or anything else I can think of.
VRISSY: It's like this Singular Outcome at the edge of My Awareness.
VRISSY: Something really far away, 8ut something Totally Inevita8le.

Another explosion goes off in the distance. For the first time, Harry is keenly aware of the death that rides the edge of the detonation. He feels very small, and very afraid.

He wants to be home. He wants to be away from here. He wants to return to a sense of ignorance about these unfathomable mechanisms that are starting to bleed into his awareness, drop by drop.

Vrissy has been getting visions. Harry has been wielding a bizarre specibus with preternatural ease.

The two of them perfectly executed a fraymotif.

The pieces are all there, the shape of something great and terrible, but he doesn't want to slot them together. Doesn't want to make it real.

But it is real, and it persists whether he wants it to or not. He could put it off, but Vrissy's words ring true. There is an inevitability, alien and absolute, wrapping around all of their throats.

TAVROS: I hope,
TAVROS: That that feeling, will turn out to be wrong,,

Tavros looks miserable. As they collectively try to find a way to talk around this horrible sentiment, a few troll soldiers dressed in heavier-duty combat gear than the evac team barge past. One of them nudges Vrissy, who nearly spins out to the floor.

VRISSY: Hey! Watch It, Asshole!

She doesn't get a response. The soldiers, driven by whatever purpose brought them here, make their way steadily towards the congregation in the middle of the block. Vrissy glares at them with unmasked rage.

VRISSY: What the Hell? Rude!
HARRY: maybe they've got something real important going on?
VRISSY: Okay, And?
VRISSY: Courtesy t8kes Literally five seconds!
TAVROS: Somehow, i feel like a warzone, is not the place to argue about decorum,
VRISSY: Hmph!

Vrissy folds her arms, clearly offended eight ways to hell and back about almost being shunted to the ground. On the bright side, if there is a bright side to such a stupid happening, it seems to have shaken her out of her ominous funk.

HARRY: well, it was a near miss, so...
HARRY: no harm done?
VRISSY: No Harm Done????????
VRISSY: Harry, I almost 8 a f8ceful of Ash.
VRISSY: HOW is that not Harm?
TAVROS: Because, erm,
TAVROS: You, eating a faceful of ash,
TAVROS: Is a hypothetical outcome, that never actually manifested,
TAVROS: And getting riled up over what-ifs, feels a might unproductive,
VRISSY: ...

It doesn't assuage Vrissy's pissy mood.

HARRY: or, like... maybe it had to happen?
VRISSY: Come Again?
HARRY: you know. like how on the moonbase, we had to take very specific and arbitrary courses of action to not die.
HARRY: like turning left instead of right.
HARRY: maybe them shoving you is necessary for, like, the war to be won or something?
VRISSY: I Dou8t It.
VRISSY: Every time that Happened, I actually Got A Vision.
VRISSY: And Right Now?

She taps the side of her head.

VRISSY: Nada. Zilch.
VRISSY: Which Means that there was No Purpose to doing What They Did.
VRISSY: If there were Altern8 Outcomes, I'd Know!

It's a lot of stock in an ability that only manifested forty-eight hours ago, but Vrissy's always had that kind of plucky confidence about her. Reluctantly, Harry acquiesces.

HARRY: if you say so...
VRISSY: I am Saying So!
HARRY: good. now can we talk about something less asinine?
HARRY: because...
HARRY: ?

He trails off, distracted by a new sensation. It takes him a second to identify it, since it's so faint and so out of place, but...

HARRY: anyone else feel tremors?
TAVROS: Tremors,,,?

Tavros and Vrissy look at him quizzically. Harry shakes his head and closes his eyes, focusing on the sensation. It's like a faint buzz from below and around him, rippling up his feet and legs just enough throw him ever so slightly off balance.

Whatever it is, it's not strong enough to cause visible shaking, but he feels it nonetheless. Like a droning note just outside the range of hearing. Like a pair of eyes glaring from some non-place.

The new soldiers have finally caught up with the others. Ataria turns to face them with a weary smile. Her mouth opens in a question.

The troll leading the group draws their gun and shoots her point-blank.

Ataria's face barely gets to contort in shock before she hits the ground.

Harry's jaw clenches as all the breath is sucked out of him.

HARRY: wh
HARRY: what just
TAVROS: A, ah,,
VRISSY: Oh My God???????

The whole evac crew acts as one, pointing their weapons at this intruding group. One person Harry can't identify barks out a desperate question. Not a single one of the soldiers says anything. Bile flips up and through Harry's gut.

HARRY: what the fuck

They stand in a bizarrely tense standoff, gun pointed at gun. The three kids watch from the sidelines, by the shallow safety of the parked truck.

HARRY: that doesn't make sense.
HARRY: it doesn't make sense, why are they
HARRY: what's

It's impossible to find the words. All there is is the surmounting notion of dread, of this faction of the rebellion pointing their guns at another faction, of Ataria's cerulean blood leaking out into the grey blanket settled over the street. And the tremors, the rumbling, it's still--

Somebody detonates an explosive. There is no telling who. All that is known is that it goes off, and it tumbles into a chain reaction with the weapons carried by everyone in the vicinity, with the contents of the crates lining the street.

Two thirds of the street erupt in a cloud of fire. That's all Harry gets to see before a wall of burning wind sends him flying backwards and the sound of the explosion cuts his hearing out.

He's launched for god knows how many feet, coming to a skidding stop in a mound of ash that gets everywhere. His ears are ringing, his body feels bruised all over, his head pounds, he...

HARRY: agh

Shakily, Harry forces himself onto his knees. He spits out the acrid dust from his mouth, and it's only by a miracle that he doesn't throw up. The only thing this ash is free from is radioactive materials. Every other toxic, horrible little element is still there. Deliriously, he wishes he had a bottle of water, but then remembers the drinks were loaded on the truck, which is surely incinerated by now.

His ears sting and bleed out tinnitus like some cheap action movie shot. Harry turns around with a body that won't stop shaking, and looks right at what remains of that dismal scene.

A thick cloud of black smoke rises up into the air and scatters out into the unblemished sky. Flames coat and dance along everything that's still able to burn. That horrific, scorching flicker reaches down the street and casts Harry's form in a strange light.

Two buildings are totally gone. There is no sign that anybody involved made it out alive.

He bites back the instinct to scream and clambers to his feet, heart pounding in his chest.

HARRY: tav!
HARRY: vris!

He swings his head around frantically, trying to catch a glimpse of either of them, but all he can see is soot and smoke and ash and burning and--

The panic is on him in seconds. Hyperventilation that rushes through his body and threatens to send him crashing to the ground again. He tries to gulp past it, tries to focus on anything else, but then there are tears rolling down his cheeks, and he is so scared, and he is so alone.

HARRY: p
HARRY: please no please no

Beneath him, the tremors keep a consistent rhythm. And beyond that, another noise. Boots marching against the ground. More people coming to their location. In Harry's mind, the list of individuals who are not considered a threat shrinks to the smallest it can be.

Some part of his mind that still functions in service of his survival tells him to pull out his specibus. The comically oversized needle and thread rest in his arms like a false promise.

HARRY: guys!

He staggers up the street a little. His legs are shaky, and he can't tell the cause. On the ground near him, there's an object protruding from the ashes. A chunk of torched skin, a shattered piece of bone. From this explosion or a prior explosion, he can't tell. He doesn't want to tell. He shouldn't be here. None of them should be here. Oh god this is so horrible.

Harry spots Tavros first. The other boy lies face down. In a frantic rush, Harry sprints over to him and rolls him over.

HARRY: tav!!!
HARRY: tav get up! come on!!
TAVROS: ,,,

Tavros opens his eyes slowly. His whole face contorts in a wince. He lifts a hand to his temple, which is coated in a rivulet of blood originating from his scalp.

TAVROS: Harry,, you're,
HARRY: i'm okay
HARRY: can you move??
TAVROS: I, i don't,,

He's clearly battling against the delirium of a nasty concussion. Harry bites down on the inside of his cheek hard enough to fill his mouth with blood. They don't have time for this. He doesn't know where Vrissy is, and a new threat could come at any second.

Without thinking, Harry's specibus flies forward. The needle and thread stitch themselves through Tavros's injury, drawing the spilled blood back into his body. Harry feels, on an oddly visceral level, the process of skin drawing together, of veins reintegrating that which should never have left them in the first place, of a brain setting itself back into awareness.

TAVROS: Wha,,,

When it's done, Tavros blinks at Harry with a much clearer expression. Gingerly, he stands to his feet.

TAVROS: How,,, how did you do that,

The needle and thread return to Harry's possession. A strange current of power runs through his hands.

HARRY: vrissy
HARRY: where is she

Tavros shakes his head helplessly.

TAVROS: I don't know,
HARRY: shit shit shit

Harry steps away from Tavros and staggers up the road. Panic and terror sting his eyes.

TAVROS: Harry, also,
TAVROS: I feel the trembling now,
TAVROS: What on earth is happening?

He doesn't answer Tavros. He continues walking, continues scanning the rubble and detritus lining the street. The shaking beneath his feet grows stronger, stronger.

HARRY: vrissy!!!
HARRY: vrissy!!!!!!!

Finally, he spots her. Slumped against the warped remains of a streetlight, face caught in an agonised grimace. Harry darts over to her, crouching down to grip her shoulders.

VRISSY: Harry...

She's in an even worse condition than Tavros. Once more, Harry sends the needle forward, thinking only of an intense desire to heal her.

VRISSY: I...
VRISSY: I didn't See this coming...

Vrissy winces as a cut along her neck is patched up.

VRISSY: Why didn't I...
HARRY: doesn't matter. we can think about this later.
HARRY: right now we need to get out of here before something else happens
VRISSY: It doesn't M8ke Sense. Something this 8ig, I...
VRISSY: Ah!

A dislocated shoulder is set back into position. Blood rolls up off the ground, purifies itself of dirt, and vanishes back into the shrinking wounds on her body.

VRISSY: And that Trem8ling. Oh God you were Right.
VRISSY: It's So...

Harry continues to work on fixing her. Or, more accurately, he sits there and feels every motion that the specibus does as it restores her health. It's a disorienting out of body experience, and the only thing that grounds him is a desperation to keep all of them safe.

All the while, the rumbling increases. It's strong enough now that bits and pieces are falling off the buildings around them, hitting the ground with violent force. The blood is almost all gone from Vrissy's body. Harry's chest constricts as he tries and fails to ignore the feeling that they're all almost out of time.

HARRY: there are more guys coming.
HARRY: we'll need to go before...
HARRY: ah. we're done.
VRISSY: ...Thanks.

The needle and thread return to him. Harry helps Vrissy to her feet. Across the way, Tavros is heading towards them, battling to stay standing under this earthquake.

He doesn't get further than a few dozen feet away. The shaking reaches a fever pitch. Harry and Vrissy cling onto the streetlight to keep upright. Tavros, not so lucky, wobbles helplessly.

Then, the burst. From beneath the ash, a manhole cover in the middle of the road suddenly flies up into the air with violent force.

HARRY: now what the hell...
VRISSY: Harry.
VRISSY: There's Something...

Vrissy points at the newly-made hole in the middle of the street just in front of Tavros. Harry follows her gaze. Coming from inside the hole, a strange, purple liquid oozes out and rushes down the street. It washes away the ash with an off-pitch hissing noise, gushing out like a flood.

Tavros bends down, and with wide eyes and a face drained of all colour, sticks a finger into the liquid. He brings it to his mouth. When he rises, the only thing left in his expression is deep horror.

TAVROS: Guys, this liquid,
TAVROS: I think,,,,
TAVROS: I think it's,,,,
TAVROS: Faygo,
VRISSY:

A hand, gnarled and grey and misshapen, bursts out from the manhole cover. It's too large, too distended, too wrong. Harry and Vrissy look on in stunned silence. Tavros backs away in a blind stumble, shaking his head.

TAVROS: No, no, no, no, no,,,,

The hand becomes an arm. Then another hand, and another arm, and then it's heaving up shoulders, and a torso, and a head. Large and battered, dark hair dripping with blood and soda. Too large, too wrong, an untethered concept trying and failing to manifest material form.

Cracks spread along the street, splintered spiderweb fingers that buckle the integrity of reality. Then a burst, and half the street collapses into the sewer tunnels below. What's pulled free is a giant, amorphous blob of flesh and gore, a Katamari ball of stitched together mutilated trolls, eyes and mouths and faces pointed in every which direction, and all of them are screaming.

And the thing piloting the monstrosity, the animated corpse of Gamzee Makara bound to it by a translucent flesh tether that feeds blood and viscera back and forth, turns all eyeballs to look everywhere at the same time. Its mouth hinges back, chainsaw teeth bared in a guttural roar, a scream that cuts existence at the arterial level.

HOOOOOOOONK

Geyser mouths on the flesh wad erupt in pressure streams of gore. A splinter grenade of organic wastage blitzes holes in all it touches. The sidesweep of this tidal burst catches Harry and Vrissy straight on. They try to scream, but the wretched foulness claws its way into their mouths and down their throats with enough force that they can't even vomit it back out.

They're blasted clean through the building behind them, and then the next, and then the next, the force of the stream sending them block after block away from their origin point. The last either see of Tavros is him backed up into a corner, face frozen in a scream that won't end.

A second series of explosions tears a good chunk of the city apart. Hundreds of fighting trolls die, and their dead bodies are digested and subsumed into the soda/blood stream and brought back to the source for consumption.

Ataria's face manifests on the pustule, eyes, nose, and mouth trapped in a permanent hell-agony.

Harry and Vrissy get carried three blocks over before the atrocious stream runs out of force. Vrissy is flung through an upper-floor window of a high rise building. Harry slams into the middle of the road, back and shoulders connecting with the husk of a car with enough force that it is only through the will of a miracle that half his body doesn't shatter.

He lifts his head, dripping with abominations, and looks around him. Vacant-eyed, half-dissolved soldiers, troll and human alike, stand encircling him. Guns lined with pulsating streaks of flesh aimed at him and only him. Everything is damp. Everything smells of hell.

The clown lets out another ground-splitting feral roar.

Harry doesn't even get the chance to stand.

Chapter 66: SIX, section v.

v.

KARKAT: THE ENTIRE NORTHWESTERN HALF OF THE CITY'S GONE DARK.
KANAYA: What

Kanaya shouts out the question as she takes a potshot at the human soldiers blocking the intersection. They've set up a barricade at the boundary between districts with the express purpose of preventing anyone from getting closer to the centre. The gods are working on dismantling the obstruction, while the footsoldiers push through with their firepower.

Karkat ducks into the cover of a doorway. He stares down at his comms device with a snarl. Lines of tension crease his head.

KARKAT: I DON'T KNOW
KARKAT: FIRST IT WAS JUST THE GUYS UP NORTH WITH THE EXPLOSIONS, BUT NOW
KANAYA: What About Rose
KANAYA: Does She Know
KARKAT: NO. NONE OF THIS MAKES SENSE.

A gush of wind blasts down the street as John launches a tornado right at the barrier. A chunk of it comes flying off that he expertly guides out of the way of hitting anyone.

KARKAT: THAT'S ALMOST HALF OF THE FIGHTING FORCE UNACCOUNTED FOR
KARKAT: WHO THE HELL KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE

Worry grips Karkat's face. Kanaya leans in to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

KARKAT: AND NOBODY'S HEARD ANYTHING FROM THE EVAC CREW EITHER

Her hand doesn't make it to his shoulder before she freezes in place.

KANAYA: What Did You Say

Her voice is flat. Her mind is blank, but soon visions of dread will fill it.

KARKAT: I SAID

Karkat realises with a start.

KARKAT: SHIT. I'M SORRY.
KANAYA: I
KANAYA: My Daughter Is Out There

A fierce tension grips her body. All at once, the skirmish before her seems triflingly irrelevant compared to the need to tear halfway across the city to ensure that Vrissy is alive and well.

KANAYA: Karkat I
KARKAT: YOU CAN'T.

In the end, it's Karkat who grips Kanaya's shoulders. He looks into her eyes. His expression is not unkind.

KARKAT: YOU'RE NEEDED HERE, KANAYA.
KARKAT: THE KIDS ARE AS REMOVED FROM THE MAIN FIGHTING FORCES AS YOU CAN GET, *AND* THEY HAVE VRISKA WITH THEM.
KARKAT: THE ODDS COULD NOT BE MORE IN THEIR FAVOR.
KARKAT: WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON IS REACHING CROCKER, OKAY?
KARKAT: NO NEWS IS NOT BAD NEWS, REMEMBER.

Kanaya wants to argue with him, wants to do so many things, but the weight of the war bears down on her. Duty bears down on her. Millions upon millions of lives are dependent on their collective success here today. What kind of leader would she be if she abandoned the cause on one terrified whim?

As she thinks and frets it over, Karkat opens up a new communication channel.

KARKAT: ROSE.
KARKAT: YEAH I KNOW. UH HUH.
KARKAT: LISTEN.
KARKAT: WE'VE LOST TOUCH WITH THE EVAC TEAM-- YEAH, YEAH, I GET IT
KARKAT: JUST
KARKAT: DO WHATEVER YOU NEED TO DO TO VERIFY THEIR STATUS
KARKAT: OVER AND OUT

He shuts the device down.

KARKAT: OKAY, ROSE IS ON IT.
KARKAT: SHE'LL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THEM.
KANAYA: Thats
KANAYA: Thank You Karkat

Relief floods her system, but not entirely. She knows her beloved wife well, knows Rose's tendency to fling herself into the haze of war like a desperate adrenaline chaser. This is the woman who lost track of Vrissy once before, and while Kanaya would never hold it against her, it's a fact that blazes brightly in her mind right at this present moment.

Still, beside herself, Rose is almost certainly the best person to ensure Vrissy's survival and wellbeing. Kanaya just hates that she can't be in two places at once, that she will always choose to do the right thing.

KARKAT: THEY'LL BE OKAY. HONESTLY.

He cocks his weapon.

KARKAT: NOW.
KARKAT: YOU READY TO KEEP GOING?

Kanaya nods, drawing her weapon. She stares down the Crockercorp forces before her, and lets something fierce take hold.

They collectively cleave through the first barricade in short order. Crockercorp sustains more casualties than they do before they're forced to retreat behind the next makeshift pile of quickly-alchemised objects.

Kanaya takes aim at a gap in the wall, gun pointed right at a Crocker footsoldier who hasn't noticed the peril he's in. In the same moment, John barrels her to the ground with a nervous shout.

JOHN: LOOK OUT KANAYA!!!

John flings up a buffer of wind as a short-range missile detonates at the spot where Kanaya just stood. John's hair goes flying all over the place, but other than that, they are unharmed.

KANAYA: Thank You Egbert
JOHN: don't mention it.

He gives a tense smile then extends a hand to help Kanaya back to his feet. Despite his stature, John's surprisingly stronger than you'd expect. Of course, Kanaya is even stronger, so when she stands, she almost pulls him down in the process.

JOHN: ha ha, woah!
JOHN: almost got me there.
KANAYA: Really
KANAYA: I Thought My Touch Was Rather Light All Things Considered
JOHN: bluh bluh, we get it, you're un naturally strong.
KANAYA: I Believe My Strength To Be Perfectly Natural Actually
KANAYA: Just Because Such Training Is Beyond You Does Not Mean The Rest Of Us Have To Conform To Such Weenie Standards
JOHN: hey, i'm not a weenie!
JOHN: or...
KANAYA: If You Lack A Compelling Retort Then I Rest My Case

John rolls his eyes at her. Kanaya almost, almost, lets a ghost of a smile grace her lips. This kind of banter is an ancient, ingrained pattern in her psyche. But history will always wash out instinct. She cannot forget John's years of cowardice that easily. As much as it would be pleasant, none of them can return to how it once was, so long ago.

A shout from behind them draws their attention. It comes from the mouth of Ullses, a respected general Kanaya has nothing but admiration for. His detonation of the Hivebent Court Cake Mill pipeline has already passed into folkloric legend.

ULLSES: commander maryam.
ULLSES: we're hit bad.

He gestures a little ways behind them, to a smouldering crater in the middle of the road, further up from the one aimed for Kanaya.

ULLSES: the heir of breath bllocked the first missille.
ULLSES: but the second...

Kanaya glances over at the crater. Within and around it are strewn the charred forms of at least a dozen trolls. Their squad was thirty-six strong when they departed, so such a loss is...

John balks at the sight.

JOHN: oh shit.
JOHN: i was so caught up in trying to save kanaya that i didn't even notice...
KANAYA: Save Your Guilt John
KANAYA: Focus On What We Can Do To Help

Midway through her sentence, a machine gun sprays out from behind the barricade. John redirects the bullets with a blast of wind, sparing Ullses from certain death.

KANAYA: Like That
KANAYA: Keep The Enemy Behind The Barricade At Bay
JOHN: right.

John nods and raises a wall of cyclonic winds. He flies towards the barricade.

Kanaya returns to Ullses and then starts to make for the crater.

KANAYA: Walk With Me
KANAYA: What Is The Damage
ULLSES: nineteen injured.
ULLSES: six dead. jheasa among them.
KANAYA: Shit

Jheasa was one of the best. Kanaya scans the area just outside the crater and sees Karkat kneeling over her corpse. The poor thing is in tatters. She never stood a chance.

Ullses keeps a steady pace beside Kanaya, face grim.

ULLSES: tellll me about it.
ULLSES: there's stillll who the hellll knows how llong untilll we get where we need to, and...
ULLSES: we can't llose peoplle llike this.
KANAYA: I Know
KANAYA: I Know

She has little more she can offer him. There is no comfort to be sought. They are barely halfway to their destination. There will almost certainly be more devastation before all is said and done. She considers issuing a platitude about the greater goal they are all fighting for, but such words ring more hollow than ever on the battlefield, when all there is is blood and death.

Karkat notices their approach and rises from tending to the injuries of a young purpleblood next to Jheasa. His hands are pulsing with the remnants of Blood powers.

KARKAT: NOW WHO THE FUCK HAS BALLISTIC MISSILES ATTACHED TO A *SIEGE BARRICADE*???

He growls in the direction of the barricade. Kanaya looks over there just in time to see John redirect another missile to explode several dozen feet in the air with a clever use of wind currents. Egbert's holding out well enough, but it's only a temporary stopgap.

KARKAT: ANYWAY. HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP?
KANAYA: I Am Well
KANAYA: John Luckily Was There To Save Me
KARKAT: THANK FUCK FOR THAT.
ULLSES: commander, what's the damage?

At Ullses's question, Karkat's expression darkens.

KARKAT: JHEASA'S DEFINITELY GONE.
KARKAT: AS ARE SOLEIL, VORROW, AND TEYRAX
ULLSES: that's
KANAYA: Fuck
KARKAT: YEAH, I KNOW.

Karkat runs a hand through his hair. This detonation's been a heavy blow. Good people lie dead in the street. One horrible scene of many across the city, a city which already sits in ruin due to Crocker's actions.

This woman will never stop until someone else stops her. Kanaya knows Crocker is just one head of the serpent, but she is the largest and the most venomous.

KANAYA: So Now What
KARKAT: WE HAVE TO KEEP PUSHING FORWARD
KARKAT: IF CROCKER REGAINS GROUND, OR IF SHE ESCAPES, THEN MILLIONS WILL HAVE DIED FOR NOTHING
KARKAT: IT MUST END HERE.

The remark lacks the fierce determination of a guerrilla commander. It is the exhausted wish of one whose heart begs for nothing more than an end to the misery. They are so tired, all of them, and there is still so much further to go.

KARKAT: WE CAN'T DO MUCH ABOUT THE DEAD RIGHT NOW OTHER THAN GIVE THEM THEIR DIGNITY.
KARKAT: AS FOR THE INJURED, ULLSES, IF YOU YOU COULD USE THE PORTABLE ALCHEMITER TO

And then, like that, it all changes again. Karkat, Kanaya, and Ullses, three weary fighters in a conversational triangle. John Egbert, doing his utmost to keep the Crockercorp forces at bay. Countless rebel fighters, lying in agony in the ash. It is a tableau of war that shatters in one instant, and gives way to something much more horrific.

HOOOOOOONK

The sound comes from the west, reverberating and putrid. It hits Kanaya's ears and vibrates through her body at a frequency that threatens to bring about the urge to vomit.

ULLSES: that sound. that's

Ullses doesn't need to say it. They all know that sound, that dreadful, terrible sound. And none are as intimate and familiar with it as Karkat and Kanaya.

KANAYA: No
KARKAT: HOW
KARKAT: HE'S DEAD

Instants later, a moderate earthquake rattles through the city. Buildings wobble and shake, glass and brick and ash tumble to the ground. Half of the barricade collapses in on itself. John turns back to look at Karkat and Kanaya with fear in his eyes.

KARKAT: WHERE DID IT COME FROM
KANAYA: I Think
KANAYA: I Think It Came From

Kanaya traces the trajectory of the ripples. When the realisation comes to her, a pit opens up inside her body.

KANAYA: West

West. Where the evac team is meant to be. Where her daughter is meant to be. Where, somehow, the wretched honking of Gamzee Makara is.

Karkat sucks through a shallow breath.

KARKAT: FUCK
KARKAT: FUCK
KARKAT: IF THAT'S REALLY HIM THEN
KARKAT: IT WOULD EXPLAIN WHY
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: I NEED TO MAKE A CALL.

He reaches for his comms device, but Kanaya is faster. She opens a link and begins to speak to the only person that matters to her right now.

KANAYA: Rose
KANAYA: Rose!!!

The silence that follows Kanaya's shout is the most dreadful, endless thing she's ever experienced. When Rose gets back to her, it is not as a relief.

ROSE: I know. I Saw it.

Her wife's voice is shaky.

ROSE: Nothing is coming through on any of the feeds, but... I felt it.
ROSE: Half the city's fortune just got swallowed up into a black hole of pure chaos.
KANAYA: So Is It *Him*
ROSE: ...
ROSE: ...
ROSE: ...I think so, yes.

Kanaya squeezes her eyes shut. A sob rips and tears its way out of her throat.

KANAYA: Vrissy Is Out There
ROSE: I know. I know.
KANAYA: I Need To
KANAYA: If Shes
ROSE: Kanaya, I--

Two things happen after that. The first is an explosion from the west that cuts the communication line dead.

KANAYA: ROSE!!!!!
KARKAT: FUCK!!!!

The second is that Jade Harley teleports back in, frantic and horrified.

JADE: guys i have really really fucking bad news D:

And then, a third thing.

HOOOOOOONK

The second honk, more violent and horrible than the first. A cloud of black smoke wafts across the city from the site of the explosion, expanding out and out and out like a shade of dread.

Jade assesses the scene around her, and her frown deepens.

JADE: ohhhhh no
KARKAT: JADE.
KARKAT: JADE WHAT THE *HELL* IS HAPPENING

It's a plea from Karkat for more information than Jade could possibly possess. Kanaya knows it, and Karkat also knows it. But somebody needs to ask something, and somebody needs to answer it.

JADE: i located jane crocker
JADE: shes in the crocker needle, upper floor office like we guessed
JADE: i had a run in with her
KANAYA: You Fought With Her?

Kanaya voices the question helplessly. It feels like too much is happening all at once.

Jade nods miserably.

JADE: i did
JADE: roxy was there and crocker told her about what she did to harry and i had to step in and do something to save her
KARKAT: WAIT, HOLD ON
JADE: and now theres a god tier neutralizing forcefield around the crocker needle which means i missed my chance
KANAYA: Did You Say A
JOHN: uh, guys?

John floats over, eyes wide.

JOHN: the winds came back to me.
JOHN: that cloud. i think there's something really wrong with it.
KANAYA: What The Hell Do You Mean Theres

A droplet lands on the back of Kanaya's neck. It burns her skin like a searing needle. Above, the black cloud has spiralled out over the intersection they currently occupy, and from it comes a drizzle of something viscous and putrid.

Frantically, John and Jade rush to put up a twofold barrier around the five of them, but only the five of them. From only a few feet away, Kanaya watches as the foul rain falls over an injured soldier on the ground, watches the way she screams in agony as her flesh begins to melt.

KANAYA: What The Fuck
JOHN: i told you. there's something really wrong with that cloud.
ULLSES: oh my god, it's eating them.

Behind the barricade, Kanaya hears the wails of the Crockercorp forces. It competes with the sound of their own people in a dread symphony.

KARKAT: EXPAND THIS BARRIER RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!

Karkat barks the order with a fierce desperation. Between the two of them, John and Jade expand the protection to cover the other rebel fighters in a canopy that stretches over the top of the street. The vile rivulets splash off the top of it, and roll away elsewhere. The humans in red are less fortunate. Everything smells like rotting meat.

KARKAT: ANY CASUALTIES?
ULLSES: i don't think so. llotta peoplle are worse for wear but i think it's okay.

Ullses does a quick lap of the area, checking in on the rest of the fighting force. When he returns, at the very least his expression isn't heavier.

ULLSES: yeah. we got llucky.
KARKAT: THANK FUCK
KANAYA: Now
KANAYA: Shall We Address Just What The Actual Fuck Is Going On

Kanaya folds her arms, trying to ignore the mounting tension headache. Fear claws at her chest. She bites that back too.

JADE: i think... i think gamzee is back somehow
JOHN: what?? how does that even work?
KANAYA: I Suppose The Old Adage About Turning Ones Back On The Body Continues To Ring True Now And For All Time

After the broadcast aired, the decision was made to throw what remained of Gamzee's body in a dumpster and consign the clown to forever irrelevance. Evidently that was the wrong move to make.

KARKAT: I REALLY HATE THAT FUCKING CLOWN
ULLSES: yeah...
JOHN: even still... didn't you ditch his body in outglut^2?
JOHN: how did he pop up from one end of the planet to another?
KARKAT: THAT'S KIND OF ALWAYS BEEN MAKARA'S THING.
KARKAT: SHOWING UP IN THE WORST POSSIBLE PLACE IN THE STUPIDEST WAY IMAGINABLE
JADE: alright so
JADE: what do we do about it??
KARKAT: I... I DON'T KNOW.

Karkat frowns.

KARKAT: FROM ALL EVIDENCE, IT SEEMS PRETTY CLEAR MAKARA'S SOMEWHERE IN THE WESTERN QUADRANT.
KANAYA: Potentially Slaughtering The Children And Countless Other Civilians
JOHN: ...what??? he's near harry?
JOHN: the kids are in danger?

A lost, horrified look crosses John's face. Jade gently places a hand on his arm.

KARKAT: NO MORE THAN THE REST OF US, FROM THE LOOK OF THINGS.
KARKAT: THE ISSUE OF COURSE IS THAT HAVING THAT SHITSMEAR CLOWN TERRORIZING THE CITY IS A PRETTY HUGE FUCKING PROBLEM.
KARKAT: ONE THAT WOULD REQUIRE TIME AND RESOURCES WE SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE.
KARKAT: NOT UNLESS WE...

He turns to look at the pitiful ruin of the Crocker Needle. From this distance, it's barely visible, but the shimmer of the neutralising forcefield hangs in the air with a faint glow.

JOHN: ...so we can either kill gamzee or kill jane.
KANAYA: Pretty Much

Kanaya surmised this the minute the explosion rang out.

KANAYA: The Comms Line Is Dead
KANAYA: We Do Not Know How Many In The City Are Alive Or Dead
KANAYA: Therefore We Have Little Choice But To Approach Only One Problem
JOHN: and both are big problems that need solving just as much as each other, so...
KANAYA: Right
JOHN: and we couldn't just... split up?
JADE: no
JADE: if we did that wed be leaving the main combat force incredibly vulnerable to attack
JADE: and theres not enough of us anyway
JADE: you and i are the only gods available at the moment
JOHN: ah.
JOHN: so... what do we do?

The cloud drifts further past the intersection. The rain eases a little, only to pour itself over another undeserving location.

KARKAT: THIS IS THE BEST CHANCE WE MAY EVER HAVE AT KILLING CROCKER.
KARKAT: IF WE GIVE THAT UP, THEN THINGS WILL NO DOUBT BE A HELL OF A LOT WORSE IN THE LONG TERM.
KARKAT: AND YES, CROCKER'S RIGGED IT SO NO GODS CAN TOUCH HER, BUT...
KARKAT: EVEN WITHOUT THAT, THE GROUND TROOPS STILL NEED PROTECTION
KANAYA: Either Way It Is A Sacrifice Of Immense Proportions
JOHN: ...

Kanaya breathes slowly. Every minute she spends talking is a minute she's not thinking about the mortal peril Vrissy is in, is another minute Crocker could use to escape, is another minute in which Vrissy could die.

KANAYA: Rationally There Is Only One Correct Choice To Make Miserable As It May Be
KANAYA: We Must See Our Initial Mission Through To The End

She hates herself for saying it, for feeling like she's giving up on her daughter. More than that, she loathes the fact Vrissy ever had to get involved in the first place. Selfish as it is, this choice would be easier if Kanaya knew the safety of her loved ones didn't hang in the balance.

KANAYA: We Are Only A Few Blocks From The Crocker Needle
KANAYA: With Luck This Rain Will Have Taken Out A Good Chunk Of The Remaining Forces
KANAYA: We
KANAYA: We Should Press Forward
KANAYA: Take Crocker Out
KANAYA: If We Succeed It Will Be Our Most Valuable Victory Yet

Karkat and Jade nod in miserable assent. Ullses's expression is blank, but half of this business is beyond him. He is a troll that cares first and foremost about the liberation of his people. John continues to frown, but he can't come up with any reasonable argument, not when Kanaya herself is choosing to make her daughter the lesser priority.

KANAYA: So It Is Agreed
JOHN: ...yeah. i guess so.
KANAYA: This A Regretful Decision That Will Haunt Us All
KANAYA: But We Do What We Must
KARKAT: YEAH.
KARKAT: WE SHOULD REFUEL OUR STOCKS AND TRY TO GET AS MANY GUYS AS POSSIBLE ON THEIR FEET.
KARKAT: IF WE'RE LUCKY, WE CAN HEAD OUT WITHIN THE HOUR.

Karkat's words denote the end of the discussion. Kanaya turns away from the group and makes deliberate strides towards the ammunition crate manned by a new-ish recruit. As she does so, she notices a presence at the end of the block.

KANAYA: Hm?

Standing in the open air just past the terminus point of John and Jade's canopy is a group of trolls carrying guns. They look to be a combat unit, probably come from elsewhere.

KANAYA: Hello
KANAYA: Are You Well?
KANAYA: Where Are You All From

In response to her words, they step forward. It's now that Kanaya notices that there are humans among their group. Humans dressed in the red fatigues of the Crockercorp forces. Gooseflesh breaks out across her shoulder blades.

KANAYA: What

Then she looks even closer. Every single one of them marches in a bizarre uniformity. Their eyes are dead, unseeing. And their skin is warped, dripping that same foul substance as the rain in a steady ooze.

No, Kanaya evaluates, these are not dead eyes. These are the eyes of those under the iron grasp of Rage powers.

JADE: uh
JADE: whats going on there

From behind Kanaya, Jade points at the far end of the street. The barricade is being dismantled in a steady rhythm, revealing behind it a similar intermingled group of armed humans and trolls. The back of Kanaya's mind immediately alerts her to the pincer formation they are caught within.

KARKAT: WAIT...
KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK?

Kanaya spots it the same time Karkat does. The uniform of the trolls by the barricade is not the standard issue uniform for the NuSeattle combat mission. This is a uniform emblazoned with the Outglut^2 Liberation Movement's insignia.

KANAYA: Oh SHIT

She throws herself to the ground the instant before they open fire. A dreadful, dreadful revelation begins to stew in her mind.

Those rebel fighters able to fight back do so. John and Jade attempt to push the two masses of controlled individuals back, but it's not enough. They'll all be overwhelmed within seconds.

KARKAT: DAMN IT!
KARKAT: DAMN IT!!!!!

The army of Rage shambles forward, dripping and oozing and necrotic, a force that answers to no one but itself. There's not enough time for a retreat, for a strike back, for anything except for the total obliteration of every single mortal in the immediate vicinity.

There's a scream, high and purpose-driven. A flash of light from the rooftop.

The heads of every possessed fighter are abruptly and unceremoniously severed from their bodies.

Vriska Serket, dressed in her god tier garb and caked in blood, lands on the street before them, panting with exertion. She holds her sword in one hand, her blazing dice in the other.

VRISKA: THERE you guys are.

Chapter 67: SIX, section vi.

vi.

Noon strikes the clock.

NuSeattle, a city ravaged by horror after horror, stands battered and on its last legs. The largest city in the Human Kingdom has, over a span of time shorter than a week, been reduced to an ash-strewn mass grave. Bodies, solid, liquid, and dust in form, scatter about within its borders.

A cloud, voluminous and black and comprising matter so foul that it lacks a name, drifts through the skies with lazy purpose. That which the rain excreted from it touches is killed, and that which is not killed is transmuted into something far more hellish. Rivulets of choking fluid cut brooks and streams through the ashes and transport biological matter of once-living things in an act of umbilical codependency to the monstrous epicentre that sits in a shattered street somewhere west.

Hordes of fallen soldiers, troll and human alike, stand and rise again, puppets to be conducted by a creature worse than a god. The dead outnumber the living. They have the advantage of a unanimous lateral truce.

Jane Crocker, conglomerate baroness, warmonger, and newly-appointed President of Earth C, sits in a blitzed office behind a field of energy purpose-built to repel the divine. Her glasses glint with reflected light. Her weapon lies strewn across her lap. Stand or fall, today she makes her destiny.

In a communication station some miles outside the city limits, members of the rebellion's intelligence force try and fail to keep their computers from combusting under the strain of trying to parse information that should never be parsed. Rose Lalonde surveys the discord, grits her teeth, then disappears through a transportaliser.

Sollux Captor, without warning and without invitation, follows.

=>

At an intersection once hemmed in by high-rise buildings containing an apartment block, a convenience store, a finance office, and a middle school, Karkat Vantas stands among the largest congregation of still-sentient fighters.

Twenty-four mortals and three gods stand before his gaze. All pale in comparison to the new arrival on the scene. Vriska Serket, ghost story returned from a time unreal, meets his stare unflinchingly.

VRISKA: Do you even know how many of these freaky zom8ie soldiers I had to cut down to get here????????

Her statement belies a deeper truth. In every street, in every block, warriors that serve no nation but Rage advance in the name of entropy.

Vriska's lucky dice roll only bought the group a few minutes. Soon they will have to make the choice that sets the course for all.

=>

Vrissy Maryam-Lalonde opens her eyes and her head immediately starts pounding.

VRISSY: Ugh...

Her lungs are constricted and there is something wretched in her mouth and gut. When she stands to her feet, what she vomits out burns a hole through the ground.

She is on the seventh floor of a torched-out building. Everything is so warped and charred there is no telling what was once here.

Vrissy makes ginger steps towards the remnants of a window and she remembers.

VRISSY: Oh my God.
VRISSY: Harry! Tavros!

She leans her head out of the window and cries out the names with a throat that burns like saws of acid tried to eviscerate it. A flash of pain scatters across her temples.

In the street below, she sees Harry Anderson Egbert desperately trying to keep a horde of soldiers back with his threadkind. It is a losing battle.

VRISSY: H--GAGHH

Her shout is cut short. The pain in her head flares up into a vision of a what-if outcome.

She gets Harry's attention, and in his distraction, he will be run clean through with a hail of bullets, and she will die trying to avenge him.

An instinct in her body tells her to take another course of action, so she steps away from the window and begins to run in the opposite direction.

=>

CADE: HOLD THE LINE

Commander Cade Horner of Crockercorp's 414th division barks the command. The remnants of his unit oblige. A volley of grenades rolls down the street and blasts a good dozen possessed former compatriots into pulp.

ERIS: clean hit!

Young Eris fistpumps and whoops and returns to her post. The girl is only twenty.

Where one diseased human falls, four trolls come to pick up the slack. Alive or dead, Crockercorp or rebel, none of that distinction matters. All that matters is gunning them down long enough to survive.

The younger members of the unit are abuzz with a jittery excitement. Cade casts an eye over their remaining cache.

He knows they don't have enough resources to make it. The best they can hope for is to go down fighting.

=>

Harry breathes out ragged breaths as he wields his specibus like a whip. Every time he lands a clean hit on one of the things that were once soldiers, the slime-flesh regenerates itself almost immediately.

The only advantage is that they move slow. Harry can outrun them if he sprints, but he can only do that for so long. These things have an endless reserve of stamina, fuelled by the disgusting Faygo/blood slurry that swills around them like a fungus.

He doesn't know where his friends are. Doesn't know if they're alive. Doesn't know anything except the fear.

Rounding a corner, Harry bumps face-first into a troll in combat fatigues.

He doesn't second guess. He rams his needle straight through their gut.

??????: ¬ghak¬

The troll collapses in a spurt of indigo blood. Later, Harry will come to recognise this as his first kill.

For now, all he can think of is running.

=>

Tavros Crocker is ruled by a terror worse than any he has ever felt in his life. Scrambling, panting, screaming, his only objective is to get away.

Harry and Vrissy are who knows where. Anyone else willing and able to help him are long gone.

The world has shrunken to a very small, very horrible, very familiar place. There is him, blindly fleeing through the interior of a building, and there is Gamzee, keeping steady pace right behind him.

GAMZEE: honk

His hot breathe scrapes across the back of Tavros's neck as he scrambles up a half-destroyed stairwell. The sensation throws him out of time and out of place, and he's seven again, and everything is sticky and smells of soda.

He doesn't look back. Tears pouring down his cheeks, he keeps moving.

Outside, the composite flesh lump remains in place. Its many eyes and mouths scream out for absolution, for gore, for a continuation and an end. A tendril pulsating with stolen lifeforce snakes away from it and through the tower block, culminating in the Makara-shaped endpoint.

Whether the Gamzee attached to the monstrosity is the literal corpse formed by Vriska and mutilated by Karkat is irrelevant. The foulness and the evil transcends such confines.

Tavros sprints down a hallway, making for the next flight of stairs. He is on the fourth of thirteen floors. He pointedly refuses to think of what happens once he has nowhere else to run to.

GAMZEE: HONK

=>

Vrissy hops out the back window and sticks the landing with an above-par youth roll through the ash.

SOLDIER: HOSTILE SPOTTED

Two Crockercorp soldiers await her, machine guns cocked.

VRISSY: Shit!!!!!!!!

She deploys her cardkind specibus. The tarot speaks of the Hanged Man.

Chain ropes appear around the necks of the two humans and fling them skyward. Vrissy doesn't see what happens to the bodies.

She hits the ground running, trusting the flinches of pain in her skull to guide her to where she needs to be.

=>

Commander Ullses Quayll knows what needs to be done before his gods and superiors can reach the decision themselves.

ULLSES: you shoulld go.
ULLSES: crocker needs to fallll. this is bigger than allll of us.
VRISKA: See? That's what I've 8een saying!

Vriska Serket flashes Ullses a smile that sets his skin on edge. The Thief of Light is all edge and intensity, like a bulb that hurts your eyes to look at.

KARKAT: BUT
KARKAT: NONE OF YOU ARE IN A CONDITION TO MOVE

Commander Vantas's one weakness has, in the scheme of everything, always been his sentimentality. Ullses will not see everything they've all sacrificed so much for be lost because of it.

ULLSES: so what. die here, die en route, die in a llater battlllle.
ULLSES: it's what we signed up for. llet us do our jobs.
KARKAT: YOU KNOW DAMN FUCKING WELL YOU DIDN'T SIGN UP TO DIE
ULLSES: commander we do *not* have the time to argue over this.

As they speak, John Egbert and Jade Harley do their best to keep the amassing tsunami of corrupted soldiers at bay. Even as gods, they can only keep it up for so long.

Kanaya Maryam, voice of reason, decides the vote.

KANAYA: Karkat He Is Right
KANAYA: We Must Go Or All Will Be For Nothing
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: ...
KARKAT: FINE
KARKAT: JUST
KARKAT: DON'T ROLL OVER EASILY, OKAY?
ULLSES: woulldn't dream of it.

Karkat wipes a tear from his eye then turns away to face the Crocker Needle.

VRISKA: So are we gonna head out?
KARKAT: YES, WE'RE GOING.
KARKAT: LET'S END THIS.
VRISKA: Hell fucking yes! >::::D

With a power unstoppable by any proletariat mortal, the band of gods makes haste for the heart of NuSeattle.

In the quiet, Ullses turns to his matesprit and wife, Parvoy Quayll. She nurses a gun with one hand and a burn wound with the other.

His smile is filled with the bitter hope of the damned.

ULLSES: better give em hellll darlling if we're gonna stick around to see the death of this horriblle worlld.
PARVOY: {}f c{}urse, dear :}
ULLSES: i llove you so much.
PARVOY: L{}ve y{}u t{}{}

The gods vanish. In their place, more of Makara's abominations.

Before the end, Ullses laughs.

=>

Gamzee makes contact on the eighth floor.

A long, slimy finger traces down Tavros's shoulder, then grips his wrist.

TAVROS: N,,, no,,,

The clown squeezes tight, and the boy is flung against the far wall like a frisbee.

=>

Vriska make quick work of everything that stands in her way. Two blocks of enemies go down with ease. She spins and twists and howls with laughter as she soars into a platoon of human soldiers like a comet.

This is what she knows, the fight, the glory.

A human in red makes a grab for her. Vriska retaliates with a sword chop to their throat. They crumple with a wet gurgle.

VRISKA: Ha!

On the ground below, Kanaya and Jade clean up the remnants. They go about it with much more solemnity which drives Vriska insane.

VRISKA: Come on, already! I thought we were gonna t8ke on Crocker!
KANAYA: Vriska That Is Exactly What We Are Doing
KANAYA: Only Rushing In Horns First Is A Surefire Way to Get Killed
JADE: shes right you know
VRISKA: Ugh, shut it!
VRISKA: You don't think I don't know how to fight and win?

Every second on Earth C, and every second since she left that Skaian victory platform, has been devoted to that purpose and that purpose alone. She's willing to tear universes asunder to get what she wants. A bunch of soft-skinned human soldiers are nothing compared to that, nothing compared to the thing that burns inside her core and propels her forward.

KANAYA: Vriska
KANAYA: I Am Not Saying That You Dont Know That
KANAYA: I Am Saying That I Know It Better Than You

Kanaya looks on at Vriska with this maternal, fussy gaze that she loathes more than anything else.

VRISKA: God, Kanaya! I'm not your fucking daughter!!!!!!!!

As if to prove her point, she spins on a dime and angles a dice throw.

BULLET HELL FOREVER

A hail of machine gun fire volleys forward and tears a convoy truck loaded with soldiers to shreds. Easiest thing in the fucking world.

See? She's totally got this.

She's the hero. It's her.

Dirkbot couldn't have been more wrong.

=>

By some miracle, Cade was wrong. They do manage to clear out the last of the horde intent on killing them.

Every member of the unit, shaky and frayed, looks on in disbelief and elation when one, two, five minutes pass and no shambling horror comes to claim them.

ERIS: we did it
ERIS: we actually did it

Eris looks on the verge of tears. It's probably the first time the girl's felt like she came close to death.

Movement in the edge of his vision catches Cade's attention. He stares at the corner of the street through the barrel of his rifle.

A patrol of troll rebels, battered and splattered in rainbow blood, stagger into view. The leader, a stocky goldblood, raises her arms and opens her mouth when she spots the band of humans huddled in their defensive blockade.

Cade doesn't let himself think. War is war. The enemy is the enemy.

His bullet strikes clean between the troll's horns. The sound ricochets through the atmosphere, a damned thunderclap of a vengeful god. She murmurs something unheard, a prayer with no power, then drops.

Eris's mouth hangs open.

ERIS: what did you
CADE: hostiles at eleven o'clock
CADE: be ready

Three trolls retalite with machine gun fire.

The fight never ends.

=>

A raygun from one of the last remaining airships tries to disintegrate Karkat.

Jade shoves him out of the way then cartwheels mid-air to dodge the blast herself. She looks up at the aircraft and bares her fangs with a snarl.

JADE: john
JADE: cover me!
JOHN: got it!

Jade zaps up into the cockpit of the airship. John follows, dissolving into a stream of winds.

JADE: HEY YOU FUCKS

The two pilots scramble around in their seats to face her. One of them, a blond young man in shades, grimaces.

COPILOT: oh come the fuck on bro

His tone and cadence and style coalesce into a familiar knife-shaped wedge in Jade's heart. It's enough for her to hesitate half a second.

Long enough for the pilot to activate the airship's self-destruct, but long enough for her to activate the emergency transportaliser.

Jade fries the woman and the uncanny Dave lookalike with a surge of green lightning. What is left is melted and not human.

The ship explodes. Jade bears the brunt of the blast with braced arms and is then flung skyward in a cloud of shrapnel.

A cocoon of soft air wraps around her, and a healing wind tends to her injuries. John's wide-eyed, worried face appears beside her.

JOHN: you ok???
JADE: yeah
JADE: yeah im fine
JADE: thank you john

John nods, uncertain, then drops the wind buffer. The two of them descend to join the others on the ground.

The Crocker Needle draws closer.

=>

Gamzee Makara's face inches closer. Tavros kicks at it with a shoe, again and again and again and it isn't enough. It will never be enough.

The fourth kick crunches the clown's nose. He recoils with a perverse, unreadable expression. Tavros takes the opening and bolts for it.

An emergency pump of bio waste regenerates the damage. Every bone in Gamzee's body snaps into place. His jaws open, revealing row upon row of teeth that nobody but the narrative itself can bear witness to.

Tavros stumbles up the staircase on all fours. He can't stop crying.

HOOOOOOOONK

=>

The honk is loud enough to create a localised sonic blast.

In the street, Vrissy doubles over to cover her ears. Her head swims with the million and one ways Tavros could die.

=>

Harry watches in revulsion as the honk flies through the air around him and through the bodies of the possessed soldiers before him.

As one, like overfilled water balloons, their bodies explode. Streamers of flesh and drizzles of blood scatter everything in their vicinity.

To Harry, the grotesquery is nothing short of a miracle.

He keeps running.

=>

Kanaya Maryam bites back the urge to snarl as the honk shatters what few windows remain around them.

It's enough to distract the Crockercorp soldier about to deliver a clean shot to Vriska's back. Kanaya makes quick work of the man with her chainsaw.

When it is done, Vriska pouts.

VRISKA: Hey! That was totally MY kill!

Teenagers.

=>

The sound even deigns to pierce through the forcefield encasing the heart of the city.

Jane, in her office, sits up straight when it hits her ears.

JANE: Surely not...

Then she shrugs. If the clown is back in action, god help those in his path.

=>

Commander Cade is torn apart like swiss cheese by the combined gunfire of four separate trolls. He dies in the line of duty with full honours.

Eris hops back from the body of her superior with a scream.

ERIS: the commander's down!

She shouts it out helplessly, but the other members of the unit are too busy returning fire to give a shit.

Someone snaps back at her to return to her post. Before she does, she reaches into Cade's pocket and extracts an object. Just in case.

=>

Vriska propels herself onto the nearest rooftop and is rewarded with a pair of soldiers who thought they could be sneaky.

VRISKA: Gotcha. ::::)

They're smart enough to scramble away from her, at least. Smart enough to acknowledge Vriska Serket as the force to be reckoned with that she truly is.

The dice explode in a flashbang that sends their corpses over the edge. From below, a shout.

KARKAT: WATCH WHAT YOU'RE DOING, VRISKA.
VRISKA: 8luh, 8luh! It's war!

Karkat looks up at her from the street.

KARKAT: STOP TREATING IT LIKE A FUCKING GAME. THIS IS REAL SHIT.
VRISKA: Not to me it 8n't!

She sticks a tongue out at him, then spies another sniper across the way.

The rush of adrenaline helps. Keeps her mind from dwelling on the truths imparted to her before this battle, from dwelling on what could have happened to the kids.

She's done with them, she tells herself. Once she proves herself in this battle, she'll have all the spoils of Earth C at her fingertips.

And then, home.

=>

PARVOY: They just keep c{}ming!
ULLSES: hordes of the damned tend to do that i think.

Ullses and Parvoy stand back to back, giving the wretches that surround them as much hell as they can muster. Half their squad lies dead, bodies floating in a river of foul-smelling slime that quickly digests them.

There's not enough time to think or dwell or mourn. That will come later, if any of them make it out alive. In Ullses's case, that will never come for him at all. He supposes he should be thankful.

ULLSES: wonder if we've bought vantas enough time yet.

When the end comes, there's really only one thing that could sit with him as a regret.

Parvoy looks at him with all the decades of fondness and love on her face.

PARVOY: We will
PARVOY: This w{}n't be for n{}ught
PARVOY: We're g{}ing t{} win

It's not the most eloquent sentiment, but to Ullses, right here, right now, it's the most beautiful thing he's ever heard.

=>

Vrissy turns right instead of left. Hides when she wants to press on.

Her reward is a splitting headache, but also her continued survival.

VRISSY: Come on, Harry...
VRISSY: Where Are You?

One thing is vivid and clear in her mind: get to Harry Anderson if she wants to live. It holds as fast as the lightning certainty that carried her through the death game.

Her muscles burn with the effort of constant motion, but that unknowable instinct tells her now is the time to keep going.

She runs down a street that looks like every other one. Half the ash is lost to the slurry. Creeping grey vines of flesh crawl up the walls, beating in time with something's pulse. The worst smell she's ever encountered hangs in the air.

The hair on the back of her neck stands up with alarming urgency. Vrissy staggers to one side.

The rooftop sniper misses his shot.

VRISSY: What the FUCK
VRISSY: Why are you Still Fighting? Can't you See what's happening????????

No reply except for another shot. It pisses her off as much as it makes her want to weep.

Vrissy flings two tarot cards roofwards. She doesn't watch how the man dies. She simply waits for the cards to return to her deck, then carries on.

Fuck, she wishes Vriska was with her.

=>

The tenth floor is where things go wrong.

Tavros, who's put more distance between himself and Gamzee than at any other point, crashes to a despairing stop when he discovers the entire stairwell has been blown away.

Through a hole in the ceiling, he can see the taunting safety of the next floor, just out of reach.

TAVROS: No, please,,,, please not this,

The cold sweat runs down his body faster. His double vision threatens to triple. A learned reflex tells him to curl somewhere small, to retreat his mind somewhere else, to brace for the inevitable horrors that await him.

But that's the person he used to be. That's a person he never wants to be again. He doesn't want to submit.

GAMZEE: honk

Gamzee tears up the stairs and into the room. Tavros stands on his own two feet and finds the courage to stare the clown down, at least.

TAVROS: You won't,,, i won't,,,

He's shaking bad. Real bad. Makara's stench reaches his nostrils. Phantom fingers drag across his skin.

GAMZEE: HONK

Gamzee's done nothing but make primal honks the entire time, but in Tavros's mind those foul, evil words uttered in his ear, hot breath, sticky spittle, they won't stop coming.

He flinches his eyes shut. He's on the verge of hyperventilating.

Gamzee is no more than six feet away from him and closing the gap fast.

Fight or flight. That's what it always comes down to, right?

Tavros finds a strength he didn't know he had and retrieves his specibus. What rests in his hand is a comically oversized plastic bottle, filled to the brim with fizzing, bright purple,

uh,

TAVROS: Why this,

The upside-down Faygo bottle in Tavros's hands is larger than his torso. Wrapping both arms around it still doesn't fully cover its circumference. It's a cruel joke. Like everything in his life always has been, and always will be.

Gamzee looks on at the bottle, then at Tavros. A taunt, a recognition, a promise.

Like for like. The purple swill will be with him forever.

Tavros squeezes the bottle tighter. The lid of the bottle pops off. The pressurised soda comes blasting out with enough force to propel him into the air like a rudimentary jetpack.

He's lifted up through a hole in the ceiling to the eleventh floor, crashing to a rough stop.

Below, Gamzee opens his mouth, lets the juice fall in, and drinks deep.

=>

Harry starts running out of steam around the time he crosses under the remnants of a footbridge. He trips on a brick and smashes face first into the ground.

Luckily, all he gets is another mouthful of ash, but it still takes too much effort to lift his head. His limbs barely cooperate, trembling with pure exhaustion as he pulls himself to his feet.

He sucks in breaths, but they aren't coming fast enough. If he looks behind him, he can see the gradually swelling mass of the flesh ball. He's a good mile or so from its origin point, but the thing keeps growing minute after minute. Already it towers over everything else in the area. Soon the screaming faces will be big enough to let their song be heard by all.

Harry leans against the wall and bites his lip in frustration.

HARRY: damn it damn it!

A busted strife specibus is only as good as the stamina of its wielder. His legs feel like numb concrete blocks. His hair, skin, and clothes are coated in dust and detritus. It's taking all he has just to keep fixing up his minor injuries, to keep the blood and bruises inside his body.

It's too much. It's always been too much. He wants to cry, but he doesn't even have the energy for that.

A shuffling noise reaches his ears. Neck aching, Harry turns to look out beyond the mouth of the overpass. Another handful of figures draw nearer, preceded by a trickle of ooze that eats all it graces.

Harry grips his weapon with a dry sob.

Please, please, let this end.

=>

The skirmish ends quite quickly after that. The trolls are better shots, but they don't have any means of deflecting nail bombs.

It only takes two explosions to their their bodies to shreds. When all is said and done, Eris is the last one standing.

ERIS: a
ERIS: ah

The bodies of her comrades lie in a loose circle, ash angels seeping blood. Every name, every face is one she knows.

ERIS: oh god

There's protocol for this, because there always is, but Eris can't remember what. Call for help? Join the nearest unit she can find? All sound like great advice, but she's too scared to do more than stand in transfixed horror.

A strange noise carries in the air. Faint, rushing, like a whistling but... not?

Eris looks up in confusion and apprehension. Then in terror. There's a new addition to the skyline.

A massive, pulsating orb of translucent troll skin, swilling with blood that churns like pus. It's taller than everything in the area, taller than everything except the skyscrapers in the inner city, maybe.

Atop the surface, an uncountable amount of mouths and eyes, all open, all pointing everywhere. It's like every single fathomable and unfathomable nightmare made manifest.

Then Eris realises. The whistling is not whistling. It's screaming.

As if in response to the noise, the bodies littering the street begin to twitch.

Commander Cade rises like a bloody, unholy puppet. His mangled face turns in her direction.

Eris screams, then reaches for the single-use transportaliser she stole from the man.

She slams down the button, not caring what it does, not caring where it takes her, so long as it's not here.

=>

Vrissy finds the survivors when she ducks into the hollow shell of an abandoned supermarket. The power is dead and there's nothing of value inside, but the shelves and signs are in tact enough to provide a grim echo that once was.

VRISSY: Hello?

A human woman blinks at her from beneath the SPECIAL DEAL sign that swings from the ceiling on rusted chains. She clenches a baseball bat with knuckles gone pale. A horrible burn runs down her jaw and arm.

Further back, Vrissy spots a couple more adults, and maybe a dozen or so children. None of them are unblemished.

WOMAN: are you with the rebels?
WOMAN: are you going to help us?

She looks at Vrissy with fear and desperation. Vrissy looks back, waiting for a premotion to tell her what to do.

It doesn't come.

Long moments of silence pass between the two. Screams hover in the distance. Gunfire and explosions pop like punctuation. The sign swings with a creak as a chilling draft whistles through.

VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: Yes. Yes, I'm here to Help.

The woman's face crumples in rapturous relief.

WOMAN: bless you, oh bless you, girl.

She steps forward and takes Vrissy's hand in a frail shake. The minute she does, Vrissy is assaulted with thousands of outcomes for herself, this woman, and the other survivors in the back.

Among the countless unwalked paths, at least one must end somewhere good.

VRISSY: I'm Vrissy.
VRISSY: What's your Name?
WOMAN: rita.
VRISSY: Okay. Rita.

Vrissy cups one of Rita's hands and smiles.

VRISSY: I'll get you to S8fety.
VRISSY: 8ut first, how many of you Can Walk?

=>

Tavros makes it to the thirteenth floor. It's a former office space, three solid brick walls without windows, and no rooftop access.

TAVROS: No, no, no,
TAVROS: Come on,,

It's a corner. A trap. All his running, all his desperation, and he's slammed right into a dead end.

There are two ways out of this building. He can either jump from the window and endure a fall he will not survive, or he can go back the way he came and endure Gamzee, which he will equally not survive.

GAMZEE: honk
GAMZEE: HONK

The ground thuds. Once. Twice. Cracks splinter across its surface. Gamzee gave up on stairs and is now just punching his way through.

Tavros backs away from the middle of the floor, colliding right with the wall behind him. The windows are across from him. Even if he wanted to jump, he wouldn't make it before Gamzee got him first.

There's no getting out of this one.

After everything, after all of it, Tavros Crocker's ultimate fate is to fall prey to Gamzee Makara. It's a truth he's known deep down since he was old enough to conceive of truths.

It's unfair. It's horrible. He was never given a chance to be anything more than that which he always was.

TAVROS: ,,,
GAMZEE: HONK HONK HONK

Gamzee smashes through the floor with his forehead. He comes through battered and bloody and misshapen, but his umbilical cord fixes him up quick enough.

GAMZEE: honk

He plants his feet on the ground. They hit the surface with a wet slosh. Faygo seeps from his shoes like an oversoaked cushion. The droplets erode the concrete, viscous acid rain that never stops.

Desperately, helplessly, Tavros retrieves another bottle of soda.

Gamzee crouches low, then leaps forward. He slams Tavros into the wall hard enough to chip the brick, wraps his hand around the boy's throat, and squeezes.

=>

The transportaliser brings Eris to what should have been a relay base near the edge of the city. She instead pops out on top of a truck and the burning ruins of Crockercorp tech.

Human bodies lie stacked under tarps beneath the shade of a building. The ash has been cleared in spots to make a pathway.

Surrounding her is a group of troll rebels in the process of setting down their own gear. The situation is obvious from a glance.

ERIS: y
ERIS: you

A violetblood troll closest to the truck looks up at her with a start.

??????: wh€r€ the h€ll did you com€ from?

They point their gun at her.

??????: €xplain, crock€rcorp, or i'll shoot.
??????: and i'd r€ally rath€r not shoot, day i'v€ had
ERIS: ah
ERIS: i
ERIS: i

There's a troll staring right at her, willing to kill her. More than anything else Eris so desperately wants to be safe, wants to be out of this nightmare hell.

But bootcamp conditioning is one hell of a thing to break. This is the enemy in a hostile position.

Fear and rage alike cloud her mind. If she thinks too deeply about it, she'll maybe notice the faint honking of circus horns across her psyche.

She doesn't want to fire her own gun, not really. It's a reflex, a knee-jerked hammered into her after months of cognitive reinforcement, bolstered by the edge of madness that rides her thoughts. She never wanted the troll to take two clean hits to the torso and topple back, honest. All she wanted was to be freed from this horrible, horrible situation.

But, then again, having her body torn to shreds in a retaliatory shower of bullets, having her mind and soul and consciousness chewed to oblivion, that's a kind of liberation too, isn't it?

=>

The cherub known as Calliope looks back to NuSeattle from atop a hill several miles away. Smoke and mist and all manner of dreadful things leak out across its skyline. There is no imagining that this is a city at peace.

Calliope frowns deeply. Such is the way of things. Such is the way of a narrative ruled by the Muse and polluted by the Bard. Things were always going to turn out like this. Things had no choice but to turn out like this.

CALLIOPE: ...

It's a cruel tragedy, but no crueller a tragedy than every other facet of their existence. The narratological instance dubbed the Chaos War of Earth C in some circles is but another crease in that blood-drenched tapestry.

What matters is not seeing it through to the end. The war will end as it will. Those who must survive will survive. Those who must perish will perish.

Calliope sighs, takes a deep blink, then turns away. The exile station located in this part of the human kingdom is a good day's walk away for the hasty. The terminal must be reached, the goal attained, before the Convergence.

Callie walks. One foot after the other.

There is much work yet to be done.

=>

The Crocker Needle, and the final prize, are only four or five blocks away. This close, there is plenty of resistance to battle against. Crockercorp's finest and strongest, deployed in the service of protecting their ruler at any and all costs.

Every single one of them is nothing compared to Vriska. A vanguard force of men with machine guns are mown down by her sword. A blockade of tanks erupts in a neat, controlled dice explosion.

VRISKA: Come on, motherfuckers!
VRISKA: Just try and t8ke me!!!!!!!!

Vriska crouches low in a fighting stance, angles her sword at a woman who thinks she's slick with a shotgun, and runs her clean through the heart. Vriska pulls her sword back, kicks the woman away, and spins around to punch another human in the throat.

She leaps up in the air with a high laugh, her fairy wings trailing cerulean dust in the wake of her devastation.

By now, she's torn well ahead of the others, who are too obsessed with "caution" and "making sure the block is secure" and "checking for civilian survivors". Pssh. What does any of that matter?

They're the good guys. The bad guy is in her tower like a final boss. It's an easy to play, easy to win game. All of Earth C is, rookie baby shit that pros like her can clear up in no time at all.

Jane Crocker is bones. That bitch has gotten too comfortable thinking that there are no threats she cannot overcome.

In her years, she's obviously forgotten about Vriska, the ultimate and greatest threat to every tyrant who ever dared breathe in paradox space.

VRISKA: I'm coming for you, 8itch.

She glares up at the tower with unflinching determination. This war is as good as hers.

Vriska dashes ahead, barrelling through the next barricade she comes across. A dice throw sets a pack of fireballs on those who don't retreat in time. The rooftop missile launchers have their guts spilled all over the concrete. The bombers under shelter have the air pulled from their lungs. Those who scramble for their lives, too cowardly to even try and go down fighting, meet their end one by one by the point of Vriska's blade, dripping crimson and more alive than she's ever been.

The big guns are on her next, armoured vehicles that stock who the hell knows what kind of weapons. Vriska tosses her dice over her shoulder with careless glee.

NO YOU DON'T

The trucks all explode. Everyone inside dies. The elite weaponry, reduced to rubble. It's almost boring, this power high. If it weren't for the fact that all of this is a fake little distraction to keep Vriska from the real challenge, she'd be growing bored.

Before the dust settles, she hops down to retrieve her dice from the ground. A figure darts down the street, the movement flagging in her peripheral vision.

VRISKA: Where do you think you're going?

She points her sword in their direction with a lazy, cocky drawl, then stops in her tracks when she sees who it is.

VRISKA: YOU????????
JAKE: ...

Jake English stares her down with a mute, grim nod. She lost track of him once they arrived in the city and the initial convoy truck got blown up in a tripwire explosion. She figured if the explosion killed him, it was stupid enough not to be heroic, and so she left him to fend for himself.

So it's kind of a surprise to see him standing here, caught up to her, armed to the teeth.

VRISKA: What the HELL are you doing?
JAKE:
JAKE: You know what im here for vriska.

Jake tilts his head towards the Crocker Needle. The man has never looked so deathly serious in his life.

JAKE: Im going to end this.
VRISKA: The hell you are! This is my fight!

English shakes his head sadly.

JAKE: No it isnt vriska.
JAKE: It never was.

He turns and sprints away, faster than anyone has any right going. Right as he rounds the corner, Vriska spots a bulging mass of explosives beneath his jacket, and then he's gone.

VRISKA: Hey!
VRISKA: H8Y
VRISKA: W8 UP ASSHOLE I WASN'T DONE TALKING TO Y

She never sees the face of the human soldier who gets the drop on her. She's too busy shouting to the wind.

The soldier presses the barrel of her shotgun against Vriska's back, right between the shoulder blades. She pulls the trigger without hesitation.

Vriska dies before she can feel the pain.

Chapter 68: SIX, section vii.

vii.

Vriska Serket crashes dead face-down in the street. The shotgun blast leaves a hole in her back, charred and chewed-up. Her wings are evaporated. Blood pours from her in a uniform outspread puddle, the outline of a murder scene, a corpse decorated in its own demise.

A clock, somewhere far away, begins to tick.

The last surviving soldier staggers away from Vriska's corpse. Cerulean blood and bits of hair and skin cover her face. She's startled and mortified to discover that troll blood tastes and feels the same as her own.

Her gun is all out. All she can do is stare in muted shock as faint pulses of light begin to wrap around the body of the troll she just took down.

In the handful of minutes it takes for the Thief of Light to return from her sucker-punch morally-neutral death, most, but not all, of the pivotal decisions that determine the course of this battle and this war unfold.

=>

Further out than that, and Karkat and the others battle onwards to their destination. They progress, block after block, standing firm against enemies both sapient and puppeteered. They do not locate a single survivor. Karkat's heart weighs heavier with each step.

A Crockercorp soldier lines up to take a shot against Kanaya. Karkat leaps forward with a shout.

KARKAT: KANAYA! WATCH OUT!
KANAYA: !

Kanaya sidesteps the bullet with infinite grace and infinite strength. Karkat draws his sickle mid-air. On the downward arc, the blade makes contact with the human's neck.

Blood spurts out in a grim fountain. Another one dead.

Karkat, panting for breath, turns to Kanaya.

KANAYA: Thanks
KARKAT: YOU HURT?
KANAYA: Not At All

She bows with a weary smile. She is battered and frayed, her outfit coated in dust and smoke and gore and torn in too many places to count, but she holds strong. She will always hold strong.

Karkat nods.

KARKAT: GOOD.
KARKAT: WE'RE ALMOST THERE.
KARKAT: LET'S FINISH IT.
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: Let Us

The glow of the Crocker Needle casts a flickering pattern across their bodies.

=>

Ullses and Parvoy are backed atop a crate. Their weapons have very little left to give. The soda stream in the street is knee-deep. The horde comes, and the horde comes, and the horde comes.

Parvoy pants out a weary breath as she reloads.

PARVOY: Last r{}und. This is it
ULLSES: yeah. seems llike it.

Ullses gets three more shots out of his handgun before it runs dry. He slots the final bullets in with controlled certainty. The end is there, before the two of them, a patient comfort that promises nothing but a conclusion.

ULLSES: i llove you.

Parvoy laughs at him. Splattered in gore and pushed to her limits, she has never seemed so radiant.

PARVOY: That's really what y{}u want y{}ur last w{}rds t{} be?
ULLSES: yeah. of course.
ULLSES: got something better in mind?

They pause to empty half their guns in a futile gesture that buys them mere seconds.

PARVOY: {}f c{}urse. We already kn{}w we l{}ve each {]ther
PARVOY: Let's scream s{}mething new {}ut int{} the w{}rld f{}r {}ur very last :}
ULLSES: never change, parvoy. you

He doesn't finish. A hand reaches out and clasps around his ankle that burns like acid. It pulls and Ullses is falling off of this last bastion of safety.

ULLSES: ah

The final word he says will be a gasp. The final word he hears will be Parvoy screaming his name. The final sight will be his wife, reaching for him in desperate terror.

=>

Tavros Crocker knows only pain as Gamzee Makara chokes him out, slams him against the wall over and over like a ragdoll.

He doesn't know anything but the pain, the fear. He is drowning within it, he is somewhere beyond it. He is torn and shredded across a wretched past and an even worse present. Black spots dance in front of his vision, but he isn't granted the mercy of unconsciousness.

The Faygo bottle hangs limp in his hand's iron-grip, impotent as every other attempt to free himself ever has been or ever will be.

GAMZEE: honk
GAMZEE: :o)

Gamzee Makara's face splits into a smile that is nothing but teeth and hunger.

The umbilical cord pulsates in time with all the screams.

=>

Vrissy is thankful for the singular miracle that all of the grocery store survivors can walk. Rita sticks by her side up front with her baseball bat. The other adults hold up the rear with the children.

RITA: oh. the city...

Rita looks miserably at the devastation that surrounds her, at the place that was once her home. Vrissy can't even begin to imagine the emotions that the older woman must be feeling.

VRISSY: I know. It's really 8ad.
VRISSY: 8ut I'm gonna Get you all to S8fety.

She doesn't have a clue what she's doing. All she knows is that she can't leave these people to die. Her vague plan has been to lead them towards the western edge of the city and hope to god that there are surviving rebels out there who'll help them.

It's a gamble. She doesn't know what else to do.

The first few blocks out from the store are quiet an uneventful. The only drama comes when a child goes over on their ankle and one of the adults, a bearded man missing three fingers from his right hand, has to carry them on his shoulders.

All the while, the sounds that accompany the only group of evacuees in the city are the distant rattles of gunfire and the unholy screams of the abomination of flesh growing like a tumor in the distance.

Rita cranes her head back to look at the thing every now and then.

RITA: that abomination truly is makara brought back to us?
VRISSY: I'm afraid So, yeah.

The woman closes her eyes and marks a religious gesture across her torso.

RITA: such much death. so much horror...
RITA: what for? we never did anything wrong.
RITA: nuseattle didn't deserve this.
RITA: is this truly our punishment for this war?

Vrissy isn't clued up enough on the ethics and morality of geopolitics and warfare, so she can't answer. The war's always just been a Thing in her life, a chance for untold glory when the time came.

Some would argue that for NuSeattle, the epicentre of the funding for Crocker's atrocities, in some degree heaped this fate on itself. Some would argue that this degree of suffering is unjust no matter what the circumstances.

Vrissy doesn't know. All she knows is that the people behind her are injured and lost and in need of help. The thinking can come later.

VRISSY: I don't think it Matters.
VRISSY: I Think this is the result of choices m8de 8y people who had No Right M8king them.
RITA: i never thought much about trolls in my life.
RITA: they were always there, this annoying thing on the news taking up our tax dollars for petty reasons.
RITA: and then baroness crocker took charge and it didn't matter, and oh god please forgive me for not caring.

Rita's voice warbles in the tone of one seeking absolution for something that Vrissy cannot condemn or forgive.

RITA: what mattered was paying the bills, making rent, putting food on the table.
RITA: helping my son through college. who has the time to think about politics?
RITA: and then the bombs fell and maybe i should have thought about it.
RITA:
RITA:
RITA: my husband and son are gone
RITA:
RITA: i don't know what to do.

She starts crying. Vrissy reaches an awkward hand forward and puts it on her shoulder. She's never been good at hugging or comfort. She probably got that one from her mom.

VRISSY: You helped Protect all these People, Rita.
VRISSY: You S8ved them. You Led them to shelter.
VRISSY: People survived 8ecause of your actions.
VRISSY: I think... I think Right Now, that's enough.
RITA: ...

Rita can't answer. And that's okay, too.

They all do what they can.

=>

Harry puts up a good fight. He'll be able to say that much, at least.

The needle and thread act almost on their own accord, spinning and piercing and whipping back the endless masses of oozing, dripping resurrections of bodies that should have remained in death.

They're coming in at both ends of the tunnel. It's a ballet-like maneuver of turn, spin, attack, spin, attack, spin.

He's dizzy. He's tired. The gap keeps closing despite his efforts. It's a losing battle that he has to fight anyway, because more than anything he wants to live.

The needle spins and slashes. For every two that drop, another four take their place. The exponential resurrection is horrific and defies all sense, but under the domain of Rage, all such vile impossibilities are fair game.

Harry steps back an inch. The puppets step forward two. Stab, stab, stab.

On the backswing, the needle slaps him in the face. A gash runs down his cheek. He's forced to devote a portion of his time and attention to fixing himself up. The puppet soldiers stare at the blood like something starving.

The soda is up past his ankles, and closing in on his shins. The submerged fabric of his pants is starting to wear thin. He is constantly having to counteract the hundreds of tiny blisters that keep threatening to spread across the flesh of his legs.

It's hell. This is hell. A never-ending hell that won't stop even when they kill him.

A soldier steps forward. Harry presses it back. One makes the same attempt behind him. He spins around. Winces as the current burns his skin. Pushes that one back. Spins again. Winces again. Again. Again. Again. Again.

Harry spins one time too many and loses his balance. He topples forward and lands on his knees with a splash. The pain is instantaneous, acidic, tiny mouths tearing at all he has to give.

The soldiers continue their advance into the tunnel. The drooping face that once belonged to Crockercorp commander Cade draws in close. Everything smells like sugar and rot.

Harry closes his eyes.

=>

Vrissy's luck runs out though, of course.

The party is crossing over from one nameless grid-block of a street to the next. The dead remains of what might have been a lawn crunch underfoot. The further they get from the city centre, the less tightly-packed the buildings around them are. Every part of Vrissy's body aches, but still she forces herself to move forward, propelled by hope and little else.

RITA: hold on.
RITA: over there.

It's Rita who spots it first. Between two buildings is an armoured convoy truck. Vrissy hisses out a sharp breath.

VRISSY: Shit.
VRISSY: How are You all for Weapons.
RITA: my bat is all we have.

She looks down at Rita's baseball bat miserably. Given what they're up against, it might as well be useless. Vrissy's the only one who can fight.

VRISSY: Ok. St8y low then.
VRISSY: Keep the Kids out of sight. I'll Deal With It.
RITA: ...

Rita nods. Determination replaces her wary self-pity.

RITA: be careful.
VRISSY: I'll do my 8est. ::::)

Vrissy draws her entire deck of cards and begins to approach. Behind her, the survivors start moving to take cover wherever they can.

The truck drives forward to meet her, screeching to a stop across the middle of the street. Two Crockercorp soldiers step out, assault rifles pointed right at her. The rumble of an engine rattles in the air, a lingering thrum.

SOLDIER 1: STOP WHERE YOU ARE
SOLDIER 2: SURRENDER OR WE'LL SHOOT
VRISSY: ?

Vrissy frowns. Something about the second soldier sounded... off. It takes a second for her to get it, then it hits. The truck before her is parked and off. She can still hear its engine, though.

She doesn't dare take her eyes off the guys in front of her, but out of the corner of her vision, she sees another truck with another group of soldiers aiming their guns at Rita and the rest. Helpless anger crashes against her.

VRISSY: Fuck!

She can't do anything. She could fight, sure, but there's no way she'd be able to take them on and keep everyone else alive. It's too much for her to do alone. There's no way out of this.

The soldiers close in. Vrissy clenches her fists hard enough that her bones creak and her arms tremble.

 

=>

Kanaya glances skyward. That's how she notices the final Crockercorp airship soaring past the Needle straight for them.

KANAYA: Above Us
KARKAT: SHIT

Karkat growls up at the sky as the destroyer ship comes into view. Bright red, armed and loaded. In time both recent and ancient, this aircraft cut its teeth by razing a Consort Kingdom village to the ground.

Kanaya read the reports. The CAN deserved better than the fate they were met with, another victim in the endless meat grinder inflicted upon the world.

The airship is a crimson blot in the sky. Kanaya snarls.

KANAYA: Ill Handle It

Her tone conveys absolute truth and certainty. Karkat doesn't try to argue with her. Even if he tried, it would be a futility.

KANAYA: John
KANAYA: Jade
JOHN: yeah?
JADE: what is it kanaya?
KANAYA: I Shall Require Your Assistance In The Utter Obliteration Of That Wretched Monument To Crockers Violence Hovering A Good Several Hundred Feet Above Us
KANAYA: However You Do I It I Do Not Mind
KANAYA: But Get Me Up There
JADE: got it!

Jade nods then takes John's hand in her own. The two glow with a blue-green aura, and the electric hum of a fraymotif sings in the air.

ACHIEVE LIFTOFF

The energy crashes into Kanaya. Two things happen. She feels infinitely lighter, and she feels infinitely stronger.

KANAYA: Thank You You Two

She bares her fangs in the smile of a predator, crouches down, then leaps up.

The fraymotif propels her into the air like a rocket. Kanaya pulls out her lipstick and revs her chainsaw mid-air. Every inch of her hums with power.

The destroyer ship is upon her. Kanaya roars and brings her chainsaw forward.

She cleaves through all fifty feet of blast-proof metal, plastic, and wiring, bisecting the airship as her jump reaches its apex. With their integrity utterly shattered, the two halves spin out and crash down in twin explosions over the city.

Kanaya withdraws her lipstick and makes a flawless landing no more than two feet from where she started. The minute her feet touch the ground, the drunken swill of power dissipates.

Karkat looks on at her with the awe and respect he always affords her.

KARKAT: HOLY SHIT, KANAYA.
KANAYA: That Was The Last One
KANAYA: We Are Free Of Crockers Air Fleet At Long Fucking Last
KARKAT: WE
KARKAT: WE ACTUALLY DID IT
KARKAT: HA!

Karkat laughs. A rare smile graces his face that crinkles genuine laugh lines around his eyes and seems only to amplify the unfiltered joy that echoes in the street.

That's when she knows they're going to win.

=>

Cade's defiled corpse never gets close enough to make contact with Harry.

It shambles on, arms outstretched, when a fist materialises out of nowhere and connects with a punch hard enough to sever the molten head from its body.

A cloak of shadow pours out into the tunnel, coalescing into a single figure.

ROXY: get the FUCK away from my son

Roxy Lalonde flings a ball of antimatter from her palms that wipes anything it comes into contact with from existence. The shambling mass of figures gets pushed back almost all the way out of the tunnel.

Harry opens his eyes.

HARRY: mom?

When he speaks, it is with the elated tears of one bearing witness to a miracle.

Roxy bends down and wraps her son in a hug.

ROXY: im here
ROXY: im here
ROXY: ur gonna b ok
HARRY: mom i

Harry cries into his mother's shoulder, sixteen and young and frightened. Roxy lifts him out of the sludge and squeezes tighter. She's crying too.

ROXY: im so sorry for not being here
ROXY: i
HARRY: it's ok
HARRY: it's ok mom
ROXY: ill never let any1 hurt you you know that
HARRY: yeah mom
HARRY: yeah

The moment is cut short by the return of more of Gamzee's abominations marching towards them. Roxy tenderly releases Harry from her embrace and growls. Her fists are aflame with Void energy.

ROXY: stand back harry
ROXY: ill deal with em
HARRY: no.
ROXY: ?

Harry steps forward and takes his mother's hand in his own. The glow of her energy mingles with something flowing free from his own core.

HARRY: we'll do it together.
ROXY: ...

Roxy's expression is unreadable. But she nods, and acquiesces to the fraymotif begging to be born.

IT'S THICKER THAN WATER

An endless tidal wave of dark, jelly-like bubbles flow outwards from the two of them, capturing every one of the puppet soldiers within their confines. When the bubbles burst, their contents cease to exist. The soldiers go, one after another after another. Then the pulsating flesh vines up the wall. And finally the acidic river of soda and viscera. All of it gone, all of it washed away.

When it ends, Roxy grips Harry's hand tighter, and leads him out into the light.

The streets are clear of anything that could hurt them.

HARRY: it's.
HARRY: it's all gone.
ROXY: yea
ROXY: we did it

There is still a screaming in the air, and there will be more to come, but the two of them glow with shared power and with shared love, and they know that they're going to make it.

Harry clings onto his mother and weeps in relief.

=>

Vrissy is seconds away from being perforated with bullets and losing everything when a second sun erupts in the air over the street. Flame and plasma and heat and light become all that exists in her world.

The soldiers give out a cry of pain, momentarily blinded. In their desperation, one of them pulls the trigger.

Vrissy stumbles back, knowing already that there's nothing to be done.

The bullets stop mid-air, and then explode.

VRISSY: Wh...?

The sun continues to shimmer, and from it, somebody emerges. Rita notices first.

RITA: the
RITA: the seer of light
VRISSY: Mom?

Rose Lalonde descends from on high, wrapped in a golden tempest. She turns and faces her daughter with a smile.

ROSE: Hello, Vrissy.
ROSE: Are you well?
SOLDIER: FIRE!!!
ROSE: Now, we can't be having that.

With a flick of her wrist, Rose brings twin streams of white-hot magic from her wands onto the foolhardy soldiers who dared think they had the right to hurt her daughter. It takes seconds for them to be scorched away until nothing remains.

Rose touches down with a polite, mocking curtsey.

Rita and the other survivors look at her like she's divinity incarnate.

ROSE: Are you all well?
RITA: i
RITA: yes
RITA: i mean
RITA: we're hurt but

Rita trips over her words, tongue-tied by the presence of a god in her midst. Tears pour down her cheeks, of relief, of gratitude, of exhaustion.

ROSE: Don't worry. We'll soon get you all out of here.

Still smiling, Rose clicks her fingers. Another figure floats out from the upper floor of a nearby building in a bitter spark of psionics.

SOLLUX: h0w the hell did y0u kn0w i was tailing y0u?
ROSE: Do you really have to ask that question?
VRISSY: Sollux?

Vrissy looks up at Sollux Captor in surprise and joy. Sollux drops down a few feet in front of her and scowls.

SOLLUX: yeah it's me kid.
SOLLUX: knew y0u'd be fucked with0ut me there t0 c0ver y0ur ass.
VRISSY: I...
VRISSY: I'm Glad You're Here.
SOLLUX: ...

Sollux looks away from her guiltily.

SOLLUX: whatever.
ROSE: Don't pretend like you don't care, Captor.
ROSE: It's unbecoming.

Rose walks over to the two of them and takes Vrissy in an awkward and sincere embrace.

VRISSY: Mom.
ROSE: I am so, so proud of you.
VRISSY: Jeesh, Mom!
VRISSY: If you're not Careful people will think you're Sappy Or Something!
ROSE: Ah, right. My bad.

Vrissy wriggles free of the hug. Rose continues to smile, wiping a single tear from her eye.

VRISSY: 8luh 8luh You're glad I'm Alive and well I'm glad you C8me to Help.
VRISSY: I Get how this should Go.
VRISSY: Still...
VRISSY: Thanks for S8ving Me.
ROSE: Any time, darling.

With that emotional moment squared away for now, Rose turns back to face the survivors.

ROSE: I have with me a transportalizer keyed to one of our bases.
ROSE: The people there will take you in, feed you, and tend to your injuries.
ROSE: I know you may have reservations about accepting help from the rebellion, but I swear to you that we will look after you.
ROSE: Sollux, if you will.
SOLLUX: yeah yeah 0n it.

Sollux, still holding the transportaliser, lifts it with his psionics. Midway through its airborne journey, though, he suddenly flinches. Rose shoots him a quizzical look.

SOLLUX: 0h DAMN IT
ROSE: Sol--

Vrissy feels it then, a moment later. That clanging certainty that standing right where they are will get them all killed.

VRISSY: MOVE!

She dives to the floor at the same time that Sollux shunts her and Rose out of the way with a psionic blast. The transportaliser drops to the ground, inert and forgotten.

An explosive blast tears chunks out of the ground where Vrissy and Rose once stood. Vrissy dusts the rubble from her body, then rises to her feet.

At the end of the road, a convoy of three tanks sits with their turrets aimed square at the gathering of bodies. It's the last largest concentration of tanks left in the city, pulled together for the sole purpose of taking down Rose Lalonde.

Rose draws her wands, stares them down, and smirks.

ROSE: Well, that's a charming reception.
ROSE: Vrissy, Sollux.
ROSE: Would you mind terribly helping me rescue these civilians and put these fascist motherfuckers in the ground where they belong?

Vrissy's eyes shine with unfiltered joy. She takes Rose's hand, draws her cards, and lets the rush of the fraymotif take hold.

 

=>

Tavros Crocker rocks in and out of awareness as Gamzee continues to choke the life out of him.

TAVROS: ,,,,,
GAMZEE: HONK

His body hurts. He can barely breathe. Gamzee's grip is tight and hot and relentless.

He is going to die here. No matter how much he may want a different outcome for himself, he feels the inevitability of it all closing in.

GAMZEE: honk

He's only held out this long out of... what? A stubborn determination? Desperation? Hope? Tavros doesn't know why. All he knows is that the universe won't give him the mercy of a quick death.

GAMZEE: HONK

All worlds, all possibilities lead to the same, unavoidable outcome. Gamzee Makara will kill Tavros Crocker. There is nothing he or anyone else can do about it.

TAVROS: Ah,,,,

And still he squirms. And still he struggles. And still he doesn't give up.

GAMZEE: honk

Why? Why bother? The outcome was set from the start, from the moment Gamzee peered over his mother's birthing bed and cursed him with this wretched name and this horrible existence. From that first minute of life, this was always how he was going to die.

GAMZEE: HONK

If Gamzee can't have Tavros, Gamzee will kill Tavros. Those are the rules, passed down in a karmic cycle over many decades and many universes and many canons.

GAMZEE: honk

There is no one to save him. No devoted parent to swoop in at the last minute and rescue him from this torment. Nothing and nobody to participate or witness this grim spectacle aside from Gamzee and Tavros.

GAMZEE: HONK

He's always been alone. Always had to compensate for the adults in his life failing him, neglecting him, harming him. Again and again and again, Tavros has been a sad, spineless punching bag. The eternal victim who nobody cares about.

GAMZEE: honk

Maybe he deserves this. Maybe this is his just reward for being Tavros in the first place. A joke of an existence where the suffering is the punchline.

GAMZEE: HONK
TAVROS: No,,,

He never wanted this. Never asked for this. Never asked to be born under such horrible circumstanced. Never asked to be trapped by such a horrible fate.

But those are the rules that dictate his life and death.

Gamzee kills Tavros.

Those are the rules.

GAMZEE: honk

The feeding tube pulses into the clown's back, renewing his endless energy reserve. The time for the killing must be soon. The fulfilment of the rules must be met. Gamzee Makara's most fervent wish, the totality of dominion over Tavros, must be satisfied.

TAVROS: No,,,

Pain and honking and despair. As it starts, so it must end. So long as there is Gamzee and Tavros, so too must this suffering continue in perpetuity.

GAMZEE: HONK

It's the way things are. Rules that cannot be broken. Not by Tavros. Not now, and not ever.

And still he continues to struggle, continues to defy, continues to hope.

TAVROS: No,,,

He feels Gamzee's grip grow stronger. His pulse flares in his awareness, the jugular trapped under the juggalo's thumb. This is where it ends. This is where it was always meant to end.

This is far as Tavros Crocker goes.

GAMZEE: honk

The clown honks, and the boy gasps, and on that final threshold between life and death, the revelation comes.

Gamzee always kills Tavros. Those are the rules.

Only.

Only...

The thing before him is not Gamzee, and he is not Tavros.

TAVROS: No,,,
TAVROS: No,,,

He breathes in. Clasps his own hand around the object by his side.

TAV: NO!

Tavros Crocker dies, choked out by Gamzee Makara in the preordained dance of oblivion.

Tav, however, Tav raises his free arm up in an arc, clenching the weaponised Faygo bottle tight as he can possibly hold it, and slams it clean into the clown's face.

TAV: NO!
GAMZEE: HONL

The force of the blow causes the homunculus in the shape of a long-dead clown to stagger back in a reflexive mimicry of pain. Its hands withdraw and its prey is freed.

Tav drops to the ground with a violent wheeze. There is a deep, nasty handprint across his windpipe and each breath hurts to take, but he is alive.

He is alive and he intends to fucking stay that way.

Before the clown can recover, Tav lets out a desperate scream of fury and swings the bottle down on its head again. Bone crunches under the blow.

TAV: DIE!
TAV: DIE!
TAV: DIE!!!!!!

All the rage and fear and terror bottled up inside Tavros Crocker erupts and flows free through the newly-birthed Tav. Each demon exorcised as he brings the soda bottle down on the clown's prone form, again and again and again and again.

Purple blood spurts up over the walls. The thing on the floor writhes in desperate agony as its chokehold of fear dissipates. And still Tav smashes, throws his whole body into it, doesn't want to stop until the clown is well and truly gone forever.

He slams a blow that snaps the clown's spine in two. Its limbs turn to pulp. Teeth fly out across the air in an arc and scatter in puddles of blood and soda like decorative fruit slices.

Between one blow and the next, the brand label is torn off the bottle. The word Faygo dissolves into soggy mush that means nothing at all.

Outside, the collected mass of flesh faces scream in discordant symphony. The sounds that tear free from Tav's throat drown them out. He shrieks. He cries. He bludgeons. The world is shrunken down this one isolated moment of terrible and violent catharsis.

The feeding flesh tube attached to the clown attempts to renew its host.

Tav roars wordlessly, grabs the slippery cord between his hands, and yanks.

CLOWN: h

The tube tears in two, vile-smelling ejecta spewing over every inch of the room. It bucks and flails and flies free of Tav's grip, bleeding like an arterial gash.

Severed from the only thing sustaining it, the thing wearing Gamzee Makara's face deflates and crumbles into necrotic dust. The rotten meat becomes candy dissolving in water, breaking down and decomposing until there's nothing left to decompose.

The clown is finally, finally down.

Tav, caked from head to toe in purple blood, weeps.

 

=>

The flesh ball, grown now to occupy three blocks of the city, and tall enough to be visible for miles, abruptly gurgles as the connection with its host is severed.

A low rumbling starts in its core and spreads across the surface, a thing without a name or form trying to perpetuate itself without the chaos and Rage and terror needed to validate its own existence.

The pustule expands, groaning and stretching wider and wider, a scared thing failing to orchestrate its own directive to survive. Churning with too much matter, too much foulness, the thing hits critical mass.

Splinters tear across its fleshy surface as it shakes and trembles enough to liquefy the ground around it. Buildings shudder. Bits of road fold in on themselves. NuSeattle buckles in a futile attempt to sustain a thing born from nightmares, that can and should never have the capacity to exist on the physical plane, a pattern replication of an entity not given the right to be perceived.

At once, every single scream cuts dead.

The ball pops. Flesh and blood and soda and all its other disgusting remnants disperse in the sky over the city in a fine mist, scattering down and around like pollen spores, too tiny and insignificant to ever hope to be distinguished from the other carnage that the city is already bathed in.

Right before it explodes, every single warped face trapped in the abominable mass smiles.

=>

Ullses isn't dead. This fact comes as a horribly great surprise.

ULLSES: wh

He's lying flat on his back in a receding stream of ooze. The un-soldiers stand in stock motionlessness around him.

PARVOY: Ullses, s{}mething's

Parvoy looks down at him in disbelief. Ullses looks up at her, a sight he thought he'd never get to experience again.

ULLSES: i

As one, the soldiers shudder. The weapons in their hands clatter down to the floor.

There's a distant pop. Parvoy looks up at something, her eyebrows raised.

A spray mist of something wet and inert drifts over the street. The soldiers deflate like untied balloons, crumpled sacks of flesh deprived of the chance to hurt.

Ullses stands. Every part of his body aches. The street around him is littered with corpses. He and Parvoy are the last two standing.

PARVOY: The s{}ldiers
PARVOY: They've st{}pped
ULLSES: the sllime, too.

He points to the bare asphalt, truly visible for the first time since Crocker dropped the bombs on the city. The road is cracked and torched, but it is still recognisably a road.

Parvoy cranes her head to look down the end of the street.

PARVOY: N{} m{}re are c{}ming

She hops off the truck and heads over to Ullses's side. He takes her hand in his.

ULLSES: i think.
ULLSES: i think we made it.

He laughs. It's not pleasant. The corpses of every single one of their comrades lie by their feet, half-chewed up by the acidic wash that has disappeared as quickly as it came. Crocker still sits pretty in her tower. The fate of everything still hangs in the balance.

But they survived where he thought they were doomed. He and Parvoy will be able to wake up tomorrow morning and continue the fight, continue the work. Whenever their end will come, it will not come right here, right now.

PARVOY: G{}d, we have s{} much t{} d{}

Parvoy gestures to the bodies in the street, the mangled equipment. It'll be a miracle if any of the weapons or ammo lying about will be of any further use. Everything around them is freshly-minted detritus.

PARVOY: I can't imagine the eff{}rt that'll be needed t{} fix this place
ULLSES: mm.

Ullses nods. Mentally, he figures that the cleanup of NuSeattle may take decades, if not lifetimes, to complete. He wonders if anyone will ever reside within this city again. He wonders how long it will take before the traumatic wound of such a societal loss will be felt in the general populace.

But he's getting ahead of himself. The fight is not over. Crocker still rules. Anything could happen.

And yet, as he and Parvoy try to salvage what they can to restock and carry on, the air hums with victory.

=>

Roxy doesn't have to lift a finger in order to deal with the next batch of threats to her son's life. In an uncanny unison, they all sag, deflate, and dissolve the same moment that the Gamzee powered flesh orb explodes.

HARRY: woah.

Harry looks in on awe as the perverse army dissipates before his eyes. Roxy's heart swells with relief. She doesn't know how or why it stopped, but she's never been more grateful.

ROXY: good fuckin riddance

She finds herself with little sympathy for the hijacked soldiers. Attempting to kill her son is a hard line. Later, she'll try and piece together more coherent feelings, but for now, only one thing matters.

ROXY: were safe now
HARRY: really?

He phrases the question like a prayer. Exhaustion is etched too deeply on his stained face. Roxy, with a lump in her throat, wipes some of the soot off his cheek with a thumb.

ROXY: rly

Harry clings onto her in another hug. Roxy returns it, wrapping her arms around it and daring the universe to ever try and hurt him again. The fierce protectiveness keeps her from dwelling on deeper and worse truths about her son's fate.

She strokes his hair that is thick and matted with all kinds of dirt and lets her mind drift with a note of unease. Is Harry even aware of the Muse's scheme for him? Do any of the children know? Or is this a burden lying in wait to be inflicted on them down the line, when there is nothing to be done about it?

Roxy sets her jaw. Fuck that. Once this fighting is over with, she's going to tell him. To hell with Callie's notes of caution.

HARRY: uh
HARRY: mom

Harry's voice is uncertain. Roxy doesn't see it because she's looking away from it, but she soon feels the thrum of warmth on the back of her neck.

ROXY: huh?
HARRY: there's
HARRY: something.

She pulls away from the hug and turns around to see what Harry's gaping at in incredulity.

About two or three blocks over, a sun of golden flame is erupting in the sky. Roxy doesn't know how she knows, but her mind tells her that that can only mean one thing.

ROXY: thats rose
HARRY: auntie rose is controlling that fireball?
HARRY: what's happening?

The sun begins to descend. Gunfire and explosions ring out in response.

ROXY: i dunno
ROXY: but
ROXY: i think she might need some help

Harry's face is come over with a determination that makes her heart break.

HARRY: got it.

He draws his specibus, a horrible sight that Roxy hates, because she knows what it means as much as she knows what their joint fraymotif means.

ROXY: right
ROXY: lets go

The two of them make haste. A future, hazy and fanged, lingers in the background.

=>

SCOURGE CLEANSER

Rose feels a bemused surprise as she and her daughter work in perfect harmony to incinerate half of the force bearing down on them. Rose's fire torches into oblivion. Vrissy's dexterity ensures each blow hits without fail.

They do, all things considered, make a really good team. Rose couldn't be more proud, even if the mere premise of this scenario unsettles her. The hows and whys of her daughter executing a fraymotif set off a subtle disquiet, given what she knows.

VRISSY: Mom, look out!

Vrissy tugs Rose backwards. A hail of bullets misses its mark. Rose shoots back a jolt of lightning from her wands in retaliation. The gunman is reduced to dust.

ROSE: Thank you, darling.
VRISSY: No Pro8lem. ::::)

Vrissy deploys a tarot card. Death is ushered in. Those few soldiers unlucky enough to be in the way, predictably enough, die.

Rose watches the display and feels the phantom of what might have once been one of her old headaches. Nowadays, she can barely remember the visions that tormented her in her youth, other than the notion that they all carried with them a grim and terrible sense of inevitable purpose.

When she looks at her daughter, fighting with all the tools of Skaia at her disposal, that same feeling comes over her. It's a feeling that bodes ill.

Rose has never, out of principle, tried to See Vrissy's long-term fortunes. It felt too invasive, too much like reckoning with her daughter's mortality. Now, she fears what she may find if she pries too deeply.

She shakes her head. Now is not the time for such rumination.

ROSE: Sollux, the transportalizer!
SOLLUX: jegus FUCK lady i'm 0n it already!

Sollux flips the bird in her direction and continues to float towards where the transportaliser was dumped. Rose had her reservations about the half-dead troll, but he's more than proven himself by now.

Vrissy tugs on her arm and Rose's attention is snapped back to the enemy. One of the remaining tanks is speeding up towards them, intending, most likely, to flatten them before its treads.

ROSE: Right.
ROSE: Ready?
VRISSY: Ready.

Rose and Vrissy coordinate the fireball, bringing it down on the tank with a crash so perfect it leaves no margin for error. The vehicle is reduced to a heap of molten metal. The soldiers inside, less than that.

Vrissy whoops, giddy off of the battle high. In a horrible way, this is what her daughter always wanted. The chance to prove herself as a rebel of legend, to make a name for herself as impressive as that of her ancestor. Kanaya always had doubts about encouraging it, but Rose knew from day one there would be no stopping Vrissy's determination.

The fraymotif dissipates. Rose staggers back, abruptly winded. Such feats of overpowered divinity come less easily when one is fast approaching their fourth decade of life and when one has principles about sticking to one's aging regimen.

VRISSY: Mom!!!!!!!!

Rose snaps her eye open. The moment of hesitation was too much.

A Crockercorp soldier, come from who knows where, stands with a gun pointed to Vrissy's head. Her daughter looks over at her helplessly. Rose's mouth runs dry.

She clenches her wands, but she already knows she won't be fast enough.

=>

Harry doesn't think. He just sees Vrissy held at gunpoint and lets his body take over.

The thread flings forward fast as light, piercing through to the man's throat. He clenches the fatal wound and stumbles back. Vrissy staggers free with a shout.

VRISSY: Harry!
HARRY: vris!

Vrissy runs towards her boyfriend and catches him in a death hug. At the same time, Rose Lalonde casts her wands on the man and doesn't grant him the mercy of a death by exsanguination.

When it is done, she turns to see the two new arrivals. Her expression is unreadable.

ROSE: Harry Anderson. And...
ROSE: You. Roxy.
ROXY: h-hey

Roxy waves timidly and gives a weak smile. The two women, estranged by time and political circumstances, look each other down. There's no way of knowing the emotions that run between them. Harry just guesses that whatever it is they're both feeling, it's pretty intense.

ROXY: i
ROSE: I--

Both women try to speak first. Their faces flush in embarrassment.

ROXY: its
ROXY: good to see u again rose
ROSE: ...
ROSE: ...Likewise. I am glad you are well.
ROSE: But there is a lot we must talk about before--
SOLLUX: hey is this really the fucking time????

Sollux's shout cuts the moment short. Harry looks over to see him fiddling with the controls on a transportaliser panel, head turned to face them and crackling with pisionic energy.

SOLLUX: have y0ur estranged reuni0n AFTER everyb0dy's st0pped being in m0rtal danger.
SOLLUX: 0r are the murdertanks n0 longer a pr0blem????
ROSE: Ah. Right.

The four of them look down the street. Three tanks remain, piloted by the remnants of Jane's army. A vicious grin spreads across Rose's lips.

ROSE: The reunion can wait.
ROSE: Let's take care of some business first, shall we?

As one, they draw their weapons and dive into one last fray.

=>

Sollux doesn't pay attention to the sounds of violence behind him. That family is crazy stupid overpowered. Of course they're gonna win without any problems.

Instead he focuses on the wiring inside the transportaliser, setting up the timer and coordinates according to specification. Something explodes behind him but he doesn't care.

It only takes a couple of minutes before he has it connected to the rebellion HQ and the pad flares to life with a hum of power.

SOLLUX: the transp0rtalizer is live!

Rose and the others are too busy tearing the shit out of Crocker's army to hear him. Sollux sighs as he realises the next step must instead fall to him.

He turns to the band of terrified human survivors and gestures to the transportaliser pad, trying to make his expression as not unkind as possible.

SOLLUX: y0u're g00d t0 go.
SOLLUX: this'll take y0u t0 the hq. there are pe0ple there wh0 can help.
SOLLUX: it's 0nly g0nna be 0pen f0r s0 l0ng s0 be quick ab0ut it.

The nominal leader of the group, an adult woman, walks up to him. She takes his hands in her own and speaks with tears in her voice.

RITA: thank you. oh thank you.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: whatever.
SOLLUX: just get y0ur asses thr0ugh t0 s0meplace safe.

She leans in and plants a kiss on Sollux's cheek, then helps herd the group through the transportaliser. First one of the adult men, then the kids, and then the other adults.

Rita turns back just before stepping on the pad with a smile more grateful than any Sollux has ever witnessed. And then she steps forward, and the only successful rescue operation in NuSeattle on this day, started by Vrissy and concluded by Sollux, is completed.

The transportaliser sits in the street, humming with enough juice to carry the rest of them back to HQ. Sollux stands next to it and waits for the fighting to come to a stop.

=>

Tav shambles outside, disoriented, exhausted, caked in gore, and emancipated for the first time in his life. His aching feet bring him out into the street, where he sees the crater in the middle of the road and the scraps of skin tinged purple.

TAV: ,,,
TAV: ,,,
TAV: ,,,

He takes trembling steps towards the edge of the crater, peers down at the ruins of the sewers, and drops to his knees.

Tilting his head to the clear blue sky, Tav lets out a howling roar, the scream of a pained thing, a dying animal, grief and fury and devastation and liberation in one extended note that tears his throat to shreds and goes on and on and on.

That is how they will find him.

=>

Jane Crocker's final elite guards are destroyed by Vantas in alarmingly quick time.

She watches, from the window, as the people and equipment designed to endure the worst weapons she could conceive of, are torn through one after another by the band of insurgent gods hellbent on one destination.

They'll be here soon. Or, Vantas will be, at the very least. The end is fast approaching.

Jane clenches her teeth and doesn't let herself feel afraid.

=>

A continent eastward, and minutes in the past, the troll called Meenah Peixes snaps her eyes open.

MEENAH: what the

She's lying in a heap in some Outglut^2 alleyway. Her body feels off. The sky above her is devoid of the dome barrier, and there is a hand tugging at her shoulder.

MEENAH: now who the mother glub is--
(NEPETA): :33 < commeownder peixes!

A ghost Nepeta, dressed in battle gear and with an unnaturally grave frown on her normally cute and silly face, stands over her.

(NEPETA): :33 < thank goodness youre awake
(NEPETA): :33 < i was really starting to get worried there!
MEENAH: yeah yeah

She rises to her feet on shaky legs. Something continues to feel wrong. She frowns at the Nepeta.

MEENAH: leijon number whatever the fuck you are
MEENAH: can you tell me what the sweet shit happened here

Nepeta's frown deepens. It looks ridiculous on her kitty mouth.

(NEPETA): :33 < you dont remempurr?
MEENAH: if i did would i be asking the question
(NEPETA): :33 < i guess not!
MEENAH: rite this is getting moraynic reel quick
MEENAH: fill me tf in already

Meenah crosses her arms and scowls. Nepeta looks away in thought, uncertain.

(NEPETA): :33 < umm well
(NEPETA): :33 < the furst thing you should prawbably know is that the dome around the kitty is gone
MEENAH: the kitty
(NEPETA): :33 < kitty, city
(NEPETA): :33 < catpun
MEENAH: ...right
MEENAH: now how the )(-ELL did the dome go
(NEPETA): :33 < the psionic guys just... stopped pawering it??
MEENAH: what
(NEPETA): :33 < yeah! thats what i thought too!
(NEPETA): :33 < s33, so then i tried to find somebody in charge and ask what was going on
(NEPETA): :33 < and thats when i saw everybody just up and leaving! :OO
MEENAH: ...

Nothing about this makes sense. They're all under orders from Karkat to keep this place secured until further notice. Meenah, as the second-in-command, never gave such an order.

(NEPETA): :33 < of course i tried to talk with whoever i saw but they all ignored me
(NEPETA): :33 < half of them had this weird vacant look in their eyes that was even weirder than my spooky ghost eyes!
(NEPETA): :33 < and the other half were like
(NEPETA): :33 < SUPER grumpy looking :||
MEENAH: leijon this story aint making any fucking sense
MEENAH: what does any of this have to do with anything
(NEPETA): :33 < im getting there!

Nepeta folds her arms.

(NEPETA): :33 < so then i followed the weird guys for a while until i ended up near here
(NEPETA): :33 < i heard a bunch of shouting and saw you arguing!
MEENAH: me
(NEPETA): :33 < yes! you!
(NEPETA): :33 < and the weird part was that you were arguing with commander alfonz
MEENAH: why would i argue with fronz

Worst is the fact that she remembers nothing of this hypothetical confrontation. Maybe this Nepeta is just pulling her leg as some kind of sick joke.

(NEPETA): :33 < thats what i wanted to find out
(NEPETA): :33 < so i managed to sneak a closer p33k at the two of you
(NEPETA): :33 < and thats when i saw something super surprising!
(NEPETA): :33 < commeownder alfonz had a couple crockercorp soldiers by his side!! :OO
MEENAH: he
MEENAH: W)(AT
(NEPETA): :33 < yep! from the sounds of it they agr33d some weird kind of truce
(NEPETA): :33 < apparently theyre all very worried about whats gonna happen to earth c once the war ends and karkitty beats crocker
(NEPETA): :33 < they dont trust the post refurlution world not to end up as just another dictatorship where gods have the monopoly on state control
(NEPETA): :33 < so they want to stop karkat and also maybe leave earth c? that part was kind of vague ://

Nepeta wrings her hands nervously.

(NEPETA): :33 < buuut
(NEPETA): :33 < in order to put a stop to karkitty they n33ded some kind of weapon that would threaten everything hes working towards
(NEPETA): :33 < so they kind of
(NEPETA): :33 < um

She's staring at Meenah now. Meenah doesn't like her expression.

MEENAH: just spit it out bitch i aint got all day
(NEPETA): :33 < well uh
(NEPETA): :33 < alfonz had this super big dumpster right
(NEPETA): :33 < and he tipped it over and this smelly pile of garbage fell out
(NEPETA): :33 < at furst i had no clue what i was looking at even if my feline intuition told me it was bad mews
(NEPETA): :33 < and before i could figure it out...
(NEPETA): :33 < one of the human guys pounced you! XOO
(NEPETA): :33 < i was so shocked i couldnt move in time to help you
(NEPETA): :33 < but i watched as he smacked you around the head with his rifle and then stole your ring off you
MEENAH: my
MEENAH: wh

Meenah goes very still. She glances down at her hand. Raises it up into view.

Her left ring finger is bare, an indent in the skin where a ring sat untouched for the last fifteen years.

MEENAH: wait
MEENAH: so youre telling me im a
(NEPETA): :33 < yep
(NEPETA): :33 < youre currently a ghost again commander peixes :cc
MEENAH: im a

Disbelief swims around in her head. Gently, carefully, she pulls her glasses off her face and angles them in the light.

The thing that glints back in her reflection is a pair of hollow, white eyes.

MEENAH: what the fuck
MEENAH: what the FUCK
(NEPETA): :33 < im sorry :((

Anger boils through her veins, hot and demanding.

She died. The fucker killed her. That's why she can't remember

MEENAH: so where the fuck is fronz now
MEENAH: and where the fuck is my ring
(NEPETA): :33 < about that
(NEPETA): :33 < once you died alfonz took the ring off the human and threw it into the pile of rotten meat
(NEPETA): :33 < and it turns out that it wasnt a bunch of rotten meat but actually the dead body of gamz33 :||

Nepeta shudders.

(NEPETA): :33 < i dont know what happened to the ring because he wasnt wearing it when he came back fully formed
(NEPETA): :33 < but gamz33 proc33ded to absorb a load of civilian trolls into this weird ugly flesh ball... thing
(NEPETA): :33 < then he gave this horrible honk and disappeared into the sewers
(NEPETA): :33 < i think gamz33 ate your ring and also that it might be gone forever?

Of course. Of fucking course. Because why the hell would this not be the case.

(NEPETA): :33 < luckily youre still here even though that doesnt make sense because nobody who dies on earth c leaves behind a ghost
MEENAH: well duh

Meenah gestures to herself.

MEENAH: im the thief of life
MEENAH: there aint anymoby out there who can steal my life from M-E
(NEPETA): :33 < youre so cool h33h33 x33
MEENAH: fuckin obviously
MEENAH: guess i just gotta roll with my old ghostly self till i can nab another ring somewhere out there
MEENAH: maybe that cherubs still hanging around somewhere?
MEENAH: anyway not important rn

She shakes her head.

MEENAH: where the fuck did fronz go after jumping my ass
(NEPETA): :33 < right!
(NEPETA): :33 < after... um... all that, he and literally everybody else left the city
(NEPETA): :33 < they said something about a cake mill? i think it has to do with their plan to leave the planet
MEENAH: cake mill...?

It only takes a second for it to click into Meenah's head. Then she laughs darkly and pulls out her trident.

MEENAH: i know the place
MEENAH: cmon catgirl
(NEPETA): :33 < huh?
MEENAH: were gonna go get some revenge

Fuck the war. Fuck Karkat. Fuck everything else.

Meenah Pexies has a vendetta and she won't stop until she achieves vindication.

=>

The last surviving Crockercorp soldier continues to boggle helplessly at the Thief of Light's resurrection. She knows she should run, fight, do anything else.

But she doesn't. She just stares, dumbfounded.

Not many people can claim to have seen a god tier resurrection up close and personal. It's oddly beautiful, an instant charged with an elusive energy that makes your skin pulse with electricity.

She feels small, insignificant, a nameless and faceless background character before such a radiant spotlight. She should be grateful for the chance to witness such divinity.

Vriska rises off the ground. A pulse of light bursts out from her newly-risen form.

The soldier is incinerated where she stands, lone irrelevant witness to her own final miracle.

It is not a blaze of glory.

=>

Karkat turns the corner to find a recently-revived Vriska Serket touching down on the ground. He approaches, snarling at her.

KARKAT: YOU DIED?
VRISKA: Hey! None of your fucking 8usiness!

Vriska glares at him, still overcome with post-resurrection jitters.

KARKAT: I TOLD YOU
KARKAT: I FUCKING *TOLD YOU* THAT GOING OFF ALONE WAS A STUPID IDEA, AND YET
VRISKA: Oh my GOD what does it matter! I'm fine! I c8me 8ack!
VRISKA: My death was dum8 enough that it didn't sick! C8se closed!

Vriska frowns, evidently humiliated by the fact that she just came back from a sucker's demise. Karkat doesn't care. She should have known better.

VRISKA: Anyway, 8efore you decide to nag me again, there's something way more important you need to know.
KARKAT: REALLY?
VRISKA: Yes! A8solutely!
KANAYA: What Is Going On

Kanaya and the others catch up. They're a little worse for wear, but everyone's in one piece.

Vriska looks across at them in frustration.

VRISKA: That's what I'm trying to tell you all!
VRISKA: The reason I died was 8ecause I got distracted 8y a very particular sight.
VRISKA: I know you might think I'm 8ullshitting you, 8ut it's the honest truth.
VRISKA: I got 8lindsided 8ecause I saw... Jake English.
KARKAT: JAKE ENGLISH??

She nods.

KARKAT: VRISKA, JUST WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN
VRISKA: He c8me past me with a 8unch of explosives strapped to his chest!
VRISKA: I think... I think he's planning on t8king on Crocker?
JOHN: with... a bunch of explosives?
VRISKA: Yeah! If I'm gonna 8e totally honest, I think the guy plans on t8king her out via a suicide 8om8ing.
JOHN: ...
JADE: ...
KANAYA: ...

The world narrows to a singular point.

KARKAT: WHAT.

=>

The Crocker Needle stands tall, shattered and broken but still an ever present monument to the evils choking Earth C. Standing at the foot of its forcefield, Jake English feels very small.

The most terrible woman on the planet sits at the top of this tower, awaiting a final judgement, a final reckoning. The woman who Jake married, and who Jake enabled.

This is all his fault. All this devastation. All this ruin, because he stood by and let Jane grow into the monster she is today.

What he seeks is not absolution. It is not redemption. All he seeks is the singular means of atonement available to him.

Jake pats the explosives snaking around his torso. Nobody else can do this, only him. It has to be him who brings this terrible dance to its crashing conclusion.

Jane's god-proof barrier is one hundred percent effective. No way in. No way out. Not a single immortal being can pass through without her say.

JAKE: ...

He hopes for something different.

So when he steps forward, one foot then the next, he passes through the barrier harmlessly. Easy as that. Belief trumps all. It's something he's always known, and something he's never acknowledged.

The hollowed out doors of the foyer stand before him. Jake English steps forward into the building.

JAKE: Hang tight jane.
JAKE: Itll be over soon.

The clock ticks on. He advances towards his final fate.

Chapter 69: SIX, section viii.

viii.

The climb happens in slow silence. Cold wind rattles through the hollowed bones of the tower, passing through missing cracks and chunks in its facade. Miraculously enough, the stairways remain in perfect, functioning order.

It is the only miracle to be seen here today.

Jake's legs are heavy with each subsequent step. A weight presses down on his body, his soul. It is the weight of a sin unchallenged, the weight of the only possible fate left for a man like him.

He climbs up from the first floor to the second, the third, fourth. A hole in the wall glares out over the ruins of NuSeattle, of a warped skyline hissing with smoke and coated in the viscera of something demonic. Tens upon tens of millions of people occupied this city, victims of the propaganda regime, victims of his wife's weapons.

Jake remembers NuSeattle only in fits and starts. He never much left the manor, never much explored the city beyond PR stunts. He spent too much time out in the Troll Kingdom, hosting death games and racking up a five-figure body count.

He doesn't remember the faces of his own victims. It is only fair he does not remember the faces of Jane's. All in a cruel and terrible equilibrium.

His throat burns for a drink. He denies the urge. This thing, this singular, most important thing, must be faced sober.

Another floor. Another. He's lost count now. The climb goes on, infinitely fast, infinitely slow. Each step makes the bombs strapped to his body jiggle, makes the detonator in his pocket roll around.

The last time he was in this city was a few days ago, crashing on Roxy's couch mere hours after finally fleeing from his wife. Roxy took him in, asked no question, gave him the illusion of comfort, and gave him John's address. It was a kindness unfit for the second most wanted individual on the planet.

Before that, the last time Jake Crocker was here was for a ceremony he remembers nothing of. He just remembers standing on a stage, Jane flanked by more cops than he could count, Tavvy squinting under the spotlight, Gamzee's ghastly hands on the lad's shoulders.

And yes, he remembers now. It was five years back. Jane had started issuing the segregation order, the forced deportation of trolls from human cities. That's right. Jake had stood there under the gaze of the cameras, and flashed his winning smile, and had said any measures that kept the peace were good measures.

In a sick twist of fate, the trolls forcibly marched out of the city over the coming months in all likelihood have outlived the humans that stood by while they were ousted. A bloody fate no matter which way you spin it.

Another floor up, and Jake's remembering his game show days. Trolls as young as fifteen on that blasted roulette wheel program, where the only options were the Mills or death. He recalls a cerulean girl killing herself on air, recalls the ratings bonus Jane received from the spectacle.

Another ghost. Another failing.

There was Tavros, sickly and small for his age, screaming out for his father to save him from the clown that tormented them all. And there was Jake, who stood there and let whatever happened to the boy happen because Jane insisted Gamzee was harmless.

Clunk. Another hammer blow of guilt.

Just over a year and a bit ago, and war was just breaking out. Karkat declared with solemn finality for Jane to stand down or face the consequences. Gamzee prattled on about redemption. Jake stood in silence, letting his discomfort go unsaid. Jane dismissed the both of them from her office and sent out a declaration of her own.

A furious phone call with Jade, her screaming at him to open his eyes and wake up to what was going on around him, for the love of god. Jake, telling Jade that he loved Jane and that was that. Him drinking so deeply he blacked out for three days.

Jane, newlywed, demanding a child. Jake, twenty-four and uncertain and still grieving the loss of a man whose position in his life he could never define, refusing to say no and acquiescing to the conception of Tavros.

Higher and higher still. More and more of the building stripped to tatters. Single beam walkways that were once office. The torched remains of propaganda posters. The bones of shareholders who never got to evacuate. Somewhere in this city the entire Human Kingdom government lies dead.

Jake revived RUMBLE IN DA PUMPKIN PATCH for a handful of seasons in his early thirties. A bastardisation of Dirk Strider's memory, done in service of Crockercorp's plan. The stadium never did wash clean, in the end.

The bulldozing of an entire Troll Kingdom city on the Human Kingdom border to make way for cheaply-built, expensively-rented real estate. Jake cut the ribbon and ducked as a doomed troll tried to throw a brick at his head. He was the one who gave the soldiers the order to gun the poor thing down.

That one cake mill attached to an offshore oil rig. They were forced to dig deep enough that they found fossilised evidence of the Condesce's biological experiments, records of an atrocity older than the universe. Jake and the film crew went down there to venerate such a valuable archaeological find. He's not sure what became of the bones.

John on his son's birthday, attempting to kidnap Tavros with a manic desperation. Jake complicitly telling the man to leave, knowing all the while that spiriting Tavros away would have been the best thing to ever happen to the boy.

The next floor is little more than a staircase through the open air. This high up, Jake's teeth chatter and his breath comes up short. He must be dozens of floors up by now. He steals a glance down. The drop seems endless. He continues upwards. The memories wrap around him, haunt him, weigh him down.

An unremarkable day. A family dinner at some high end restaurant. The meal was interrupted by one of Jane's assistants handing her a report. Crockercorp had hit its troll incarceration quotas eighteen months early. Jane had laughed, and Jake had laughed, and they both downed champagne like no tomorrow.

Dirk's funeral. Jane spent the day provoking Karkat with foul inflammatory jabs. Jake stood by and let her do it, stood by her side, stood and called for peace and neutrality. The dead and the living alike were insulted.

An election. Every election. The same story, no matter the year. Jane lobbied, vote-rigged, and gerrymandered her way through the political system, keeping her pawns in the seat of power, over and over and over. Dissent was crushed. Jake willingly became the cultural cudgel that silenced any and all contemporary media defiance. For a few years, he even ran his own press office.

Over and over. The same story. The same flaws. The same sin.

Jane marched down the path of no return, leaving behind a trail of devastation and death. Jake stood by her side, greasing the wheels, too cowardly to do anything but enable the downslide of an entire planet into a nightmare.

In that sense, maybe the both them were always perfectly made for each other. Mutual enablers of each other's worst tendencies. Jake cultivated Jane into a tyrant. Jane cultivated Jake into a self-destructive yes-man. An ouroboros of something that could never be called love, but for which there is no other word.

Jake loved Jane fiercely, once. Then he grew afraid of her, and resentful of her, and still did her bidding. And he could never forget the girl she was at sixteen, that bright-eyed, fundamentally good person who always deserved better.

Jane Crocker deserved better. Jake English was never able to give it to her.

And now, here they are. At the end of the only road they were ever able to travel down.

Jake blinks, and he's on the highest floor. A long hallway stretches out before him. The doors to Jane's office sit at the end, as crimson and perfect as the first day this place was built. He's unsure if this is real, or if this is the version of things he wishes to see. He supposes the distinction doesn't matter, not really.

He stands before the door and takes a breath. He zips up his jacket and pats it down to obscure the shape beneath it. Then he knocks on the door, twice.

JANE: Mr Vantas.
JANE: I've been waiting.
JANE: Do come in.

Jake pushes the door open. The office is cast in the vibrant radiance of their youth, polished and new and untarnished. Jane sits in her seat, young and beautiful with a soul that can still be saved.

When she registers who her visitor is, her expression drops in astonishment. For a moment, the illusion flickers, and they're both two middle-aged adults standing among ruins.

JANE: Jake?
JAKE: Erm. Hi.
JANE: What on EARTH are YOU doing here?

Jane rises from her sit to appraise him. Her weapon rests in her hands. Jake gulps.

JAKE: I came to see you jane.
JANE: What good reason would a treacherous worm such as yourself have to do that?
JANE: And don't try to pull a fast one on me, Jake. People better and smarter than you have already tried it today.
JAKE: No fast ones here jane.
JAKE: The truth is plain and simple.
JAKE: Im here because theres nowhere else for me.
JANE: ...

Jane looks at him through narrowed eyes. Jake's body is tense. What he said is technically not a falsehood. He cannot envision anywhere else he could ever be except for right here, doing what he intends to do.

JANE: Did the rebels not take you in the end?
JAKE: Well... they said my only purpose would be for them to hunt me for sport so it didnt take long until i got the message.
JANE: Figures. Not even cockroaches would want you.
JANE: And I suppose you've come crawling back to me, then?
JANE: Hoping for... what, exactly?

Jake takes a step forward. They're both twenty-three again. And then they're not.

JAKE: Jane i... i dont know.
JAKE: I tried it on my own and it failed. The whole world wants me dead.
JAKE: Theres nothing out there for me and i think there never was.
JAKE: Im lost. Im out of my depth. Not even our own son gives a fig about me.
JANE: Your son, you mean.
JANE: After such a flagrant and cruel act of betrayal, he is no son of mine.
JAKE: R-right. My son likewise doesnt care an inch about what becomes of me.
JAKE: Must be his untempered rebellious streak.
JANE: Hm.
JAKE: So i... i came back here.
JAKE: I know, i know i did you so wrong jane by stabbing you in the back and i know you will never forgive me but im not seeking forgiveness.
JAKE: I just want to feel like i fit in somewhere and youre the only person whos ever given me that.
JANE: Of course I am.

She blinks at him, looking at him like he's an idiot for treating a self-evident fact like a life-changing revelation.

JANE: Nobody else ever cared about you Jake. You were too needy, too dimwitted.
JANE: Why, even I only bothered with you because of your good looks, after all.

Jane eyes him up and down, her blue eyes cold and assessing. Jake wonders what it is she hopes to seek here.

JANE: You truly are a hopeless cause.
JAKE: Y-yes, i know that.
JANE: Even when you say that, you don't realize how hopeless you really are.
JAKE: Probably yeah.
JANE: Oh, Jake.
JANE: Jake, Jake, Jake.

Jane shakes her head. Her face is filled with pity and disgust.

JANE: I feel sorry for you, truly.
JAKE: You do?

She smiles horribly.

JANE: I couldn't imagine leading such a wretched, worthless life as the one you did.
JANE: In some way, the fact that you're even still standing here today is something admirable. A lesser individual faced with your burdens would have killed themselves long ago.
JAKE: Haha...
JANE: But you have the long and short of it.
JANE: You have nowhere else to go in this world.
JANE: I am all you have.

It's now that Jake pins down what lies behind Jane's expression. This is the look of a calculating strategist who has just been rewarded with a surefire advantage.

JANE: And you are right that I can never forgive you, and I will never love you again.
JANE: But... you need me, nonetheless.
JANE: Just as I need you.
JAKE: Come again?

Jane spreads her arms, motioning to the city below.

JANE: My army is gone, Jake.
JANE: Vantas's victory in this battle is all but assured.
JANE: The ultimate outcome of this war all rests on whether or not I am alive or dead.
JAKE: Right...
JANE: If I die, the trolls have their day.
JANE: If I live, I can rebuild.
JANE: And while I am an effective woman not to be trifled with, I am still only one woman.
JANE: I fear that my odds of surviving are quite slim.

She chuckles without mirth. Uncharacteristic naked terror lies behind it.

JANE: However...

Jane steps closer.

JANE: If I were to have a god of Hope on my side, wielded by someone with my level of expertise...
JANE: There is every chance that both of us could make it out of here.
JAKE: You... think that?

Jake frowns. He had expected a great many things coming into this confrontation. This is not one of them.

Jane meets his gaze, eyes burning with desperation.

JANE: I know that.
JANE: I, who controls life and death, and you, who controls miracles.
JANE: Working together, nobody could ever hope to touch us.
JANE: We could crush Vantas and his ilk for good.
JANE: Or failing that, we could buy our time to escape this place.
JANE: Retreat somewhere secure. Start again.
JANE: We're immortals. We have the time.
JANE: Everyone's day will come, but ours doesn't have to. Not if we don't want it to.

There's a feverish glint to Jane's expression. It makes Jake deeply uncomfortable and sad to regard. This is a woman who has lost everything, whose only final hope is to cling onto hope itself.

The worst part is that she isn't wrong. The two of them could easily execute a fraymotif that would allow them a quick and easy escape. Jake's Hope abilities could obscure them from detection for centuries if needed. Working together, Crockercorp well and truly could rebuild at some point in the distant future.

JAKE: I...

His head swims. His throat goes dry. He... he doesn't know what to do.

He knows what he should do. Jane Crocker is a monster who has done nothing but destroy, and who will never be set on the right path. Jane Crocker is also a terrified woman, bargaining for her life in the only way one as proud as her can.

She is practically begging Jake. Jake knows the woman before him, knows her nature, knows their history. Therefore, he knows that such words cannot come easily.

In this moment, the Jane before him is little more than a woman who so desperately wants to live. But after that? After Jake spirits her away?

Jake can't talk. He looks at Jane, standing there in her damaged business suit, eyes bloodshot, body trembling.

Once, a million lifetimes ago, another Jake abandoned another Jane in her hour of need, dooming the girl to the worst possible outcome for her life. Every Jake has left every Jane in the dust. None of them have ever made it out of here happy.

JAKE: ...
JANE: Come on, Jake.
JANE: Please.

The word scrapes out of her mouth, but it comes out nonetheless. Jake feels pinned like a cornered animal under a set of headlights.

JANE: You want to live too, don't you?
JAKE: I...
JANE: I know you do. Just as I do. Just as all living things do.
JANE: Do you remember, back in the Sburb days? How we helped each other?
JANE: How you saved my life and brought me safely into the Medium?
JAKE: ...

Jake swallows dry. He remembers that time all too well. Their game entry was down almost exclusively to Dirk's machinations. Jake was another pawn in his scheme, a stepping stone for Strider's brilliance.

Oh heavens, how he misses Dirk.

JANE: They'll be here soon, you know.
JANE: We need to be ready or they'll kill us.
JANE: Since, and I do hate to say this, in the collective consciousness, I think we've both more than earned our Just deaths. :B
JAKE: Ha ha...
JANE: That's not to say I think we're evil though!
JANE: I think we're deeply misunderstood people who only ever meant well.
JANE: I tried, always, to make a better world. You did too, Jake.
JANE: And what's wrong with that? Isn't that our calling as gods?
JAKE: I dont... perhaps?
JAKE: Jane you know i never really thought about this stuff.
JANE: I know. I know.

She goes for a warm smile that doesn't quite hit its mark.

JANE: And that's okay.
JANE: You don't need to understand all that.
JANE: You just need to trust in me, and in yourself.
JANE: You're the only one who can get us out of here, Jake.
JANE: You're the only one who can save us.

Jane steps closer. Jake's body breaks out in a cold sweat. He has to fight to keep from flinching or reacting in any way that would deviate from the awful script spinning between the two of them.

JAKE: Jane i...
JANE: You don't need to say anything more.
JANE: I know how you feel.
JANE: You know how I feel.
JANE: That is enough.
JAKE: ...

She slips her weapon back into her Sylladex. Jake breathes around a shudder. Jane believes completely and totally that Jake is on her side, that he will always be on her side, that he will always be hers.

Oh, how badly he wants to weep. For her. For him. For the whole rotten affair.

Jane wraps her arms around him in a squeeze too tight to be called a hug. She buries her face in his chest and lets out a single sniffle. It's the most genuine show of emotion she's displayed in years.

And here, now in this one moment, Jake can almost pretend that things are different.

He closes his eyes and reaches into his pocket. His hand closes around the detonator. His finger slips over the button.

JAKE: Jane i--

The door to the office slams open for a second time.

KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING????

Karkat's shrill shout sends a jolt of surprise through both of them. Jane pulls away from Jake like a repelled magnet. When she registers the identity of the new visitor, she snarls and her face blanches.

JANE: Y... you!
JAKE: Karkat?
KARKAT: NO.
KARKAT: NO, YOU DO *NOT* GET TO DO THIS, ENGLISH.

Karkat holds a gun. He angles it so that both Jane and Jake are in his sights.

JAKE: Do what exactly?

Fear thrums beneath his skin.

KARKAT: YOUR LITTLE SUICIDE STUNT.
KARKAT: IN WHAT FUCKING WORLD WILL THAT HELP?
JAKE: Karkat please i
KARKAT: BOMBING THE TWO OF YOU TO OBLIVION WON'T WORK, ASSHOLE.
KARKAT: YOU HATE YOURSELF MORE THAN YOU HATE CROCKER.
KARKAT: ALL YOU'LL DO IS GIVE YOURSELF A JUST DEATH AND COST US THIS ENTIRE FUCKING WAR
JANE: You... what?

Jane blinks at Jake in surprise and disgust. Right before his eyes, it starts to boil over to fury.

KARKAT: THIS IS NOT YOUR PERSONAL FUCKING REDEMPTION ARC.
KARKAT: YOU DON'T HAVE THE *RIGHT* TO DO THIS
JANE: You... you were going to blow me up?
JAKE: Karkat dont...

Jake's arms start to tremble.

KARKAT: CROCKER WILL BE APPREHENDED AND SUMMARILY EXECUTED WHEN THE TIME COMES.
KARKAT: YOU DON'T GET TO TRY A WEAK-HEARTED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT THAT SHE'LL BOUNCE RIGHT BACK FROM.
KARKAT: YOU COULD NEVER DELIVER HER A JUST DEATH. YOU AND I BOTH KNOW IT.
JAKE: Karkat you really think that?

Something begins to pulse in Jake's head. The raw panic of a promised suicide pulled out from under him at the last minute. The threat of being forced to continue to live in this world as a wretched villain. He... He can't do that...

JAKE: You dont think im serious about this?
KARKAT: NO, I DON'T!
JANE: You... I...
JAKE: Well youre wrong. Youre wrong!

Jake lurches forward and grabs Jane in a chokehold. His breathing is manic, ragged.

JANE: Agh!

Jane immediately tries to squirm free, but she can do little against Jake's desperate belief for her to remain where she is.

Karkat flinches back in surprise.

KARKAT: JAKE STOP THIS RIGHT FUCKING NOW
JAKE: NO!!!
JAKE: No karkat i have to do this! Its the only way!
JAKE: Jane has to die everyone knows that!
JANE: You... piece of shit!
JAKE: And i have to die too if theres ever to be justice in this world!
JAKE: Weve both sinned so terribly! This is the only option!
KARKAT: IN WHAT FUCKING REALITY IS *THIS* JUSTICE FOR YOUR CRIMES YOU FUCKING IDIOT?
KARKAT: ALL YOU'RE HOPING TO ACHIEVE IS POSTHUMOUS EXONERATION THROUGH A HERO'S DEATH
KARKAT: IT WON'T EVEN WORK

Jake bares his teeth and pulls out the detonator. It hangs in the air between the three of them. His finger rests on the button.

JAKE: Ill fucking do it dont think i wont!
KARKAT: DROP THAT FUCKING DETONATOR
JAKE: No! We have to die like this!
JAKE: It is the only way!
KARKAT: NO IT'S NOT!
KARKAT: AFTER EVERYTHING YOU DON'T GET TO GIVE THE TWO OF YOU THE EASY WAY OUT
JAKE: This is my fault karkat! I have to be the one to end it!
KARKAT: NO YOU FUCKING DON'T!

Karkat dashes forward, making a pass for the detonator. Jake pulls himself and Jane backwards, staggering out of Karkat's grip.

KARKAT: STOP THIS!
JAKE: I wont!
JAKE: This is what must be done!
KARKAT: YOU DON'T

Karkat tries for another grab. He misses again.

KARKAT: GET TO MAKE THAT CALL

Jake sidesteps Karkat again. Jane tries biting his arm to break free. It doesn't work.

KARKAT: YOU'RE NOT
JAKE: Stop!
KARKAT: THE MAIN CHARACTER
JAKE: Karkat back the fuck off!
KARKAT: OF REALITY!!!!

Karkat leaps forward again. Jake stumbles back again. Not far enough, not fast enough. Karkat clenches the wrist of the hand holding the detonator. He immediately tries to pry Jake's fingers open.

JAKE: Karkat i will blow you up too so fucking help me!
KARKAT: NO YOU WON'T
KARKAT: YOU ARE NOT THE ARBITER OF WHO LIVES OR DIES
KARKAT: YOU DON'T GET TO KILL YOURSELF LIKE THIS

Jake envisions his survival past this confrontation again and lets out a desperate howl. He swings his fist forward and catches Karkat square on the nose.

KARKAT: GAGH!

Karkat staggers back, blood pouring from his nostrils.

JAKE: Im serious here!
JAKE: Why do you want me to live? Why do you want me to suffer?

Tears start flowing down Jake's face. Across from him, Karkat does some weird Blood trick to fix up his broken nose. Both stare each other down for several seconds.

JANE: Oh for the love of--

Jane, momentarily forgotten about, takes the moment to kick Jake in the back of his knee. Jake lets out a startled yelp and topples forward. Jane writhes free and draws her weapon.

JANE: This is asinine.
JANE: Neither of you get to kill me.
JANE: And you, Jake...
JANE: You tried to pull something like this on me?
JANE: You'll always be a pathetic wretch.

Jake's still struggling to regain his balance. Jane whacks him around the head with her fork.

JAKE: Oof!

He drops onto his hands and knees. His head spins. Jane stands atop him, triumphant and terrible. She points her fork out towards Karkat.

JANE: Try it, Vantas.
JANE: You've got a better chance of dying than I do.
KARKAT: ...

Karkat lets out a low growl. Jake, bleary and desperate, flings himself forward and wraps both arms around Jane's shins. She shouts in surprise.

JANE: Get off me!
JAKE: No!

Jake yanks and pulls Jane over. Both end up in a heap, limbs wrapped around the other. In the struggle, Jake's hand opens up as he brings it down again to grab Jane's wrist. The detonator flies free, clattering across the floor.

JAKE: You have to die here!
JAKE: WE have to die here!
JANE: No I don't!
JANE: I don't need to die!
JANE: Jake get off me!
JANE: I don't want this!
JAKE: Neither did i!
JAKE: But this is how it has to be jane!
JAKE: This is all we were ever meant to do!
JANE: No, it's not!

Jane's body tenses under Jake's grip. Her skin warms up and begins to tremble a little. Her eyes remain fixed on him, piercing ice-blue and dripping with stony malice.

And then Jake's own body starts to tremble, and he realises too late that Jane's forcing the initiation of a fraymotif. With crystal certainty, he knows that once it starts, she will win. Fear and shame crawl over Jake. He failed. Like always, he failed. Like always, his every action will facilitate Jane's moral descent.

JANE: We're both living for a long fucking time yet!
KARKAT: NO, YOU'RE NOT.

Karkat's voice is choked and sharp.

Jake swings his head around in surprise. Karkat stands above the two of them, clutching the detonator in his hands. His face is frozen in perfect flatness, but his eyes are wide and trembling.

KARKAT: THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS FOR YOU, JANE CROCKER.
KARKAT: YOU'RE DONE.
JAKE: Karkat wait no dont you dare--
KARKAT: THE SUFFERING ENDS HERE AND NOW.
KARKAT: IT'S SUCH A FUCKING SHAME THINGS COULDN'T HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.
JAKE: KARKAT PLEASE

The time for talking ends with a soft sigh.

Jake lets out a terrified howl, his heroic intentions shredded and forgotten.

Karkat presses the button with a soft click. Before the end, his face relaxes into a contented grin.

The explosives attached to Jake's torso bloom in an eruption of fire.

With an ear-splitting rumble that tears across NuSeattle, the Crocker Needle is engulfed in the explosion. The forcefield dies. The tower crumbles and collapses. The verdict of the war burns radiantly for all to see.

Somewhere else, a clock chimes Just. And somewhere further than that, a second clock that should not exist chimes Heroic.

Chapter 70: (six), section (i.)

Notes:

CONTENT WARNING: Violence.

Happy 4/13!

(i.)

A blizzard chokes the atmosphere outside the windows when they're about six hundred miles out from the continent. The clouds come upon them, a thick grey wall that swallows the world in a churn of hypothermic static. The emergency heating kicks in at full power, but the aircraft's temperature steadily declines regardless.

The only indicator at all that they're still moving, that they're still anywhere at all, is the flight radar attached to the console, blipping out a crude signal every few seconds. Ping. Ping. Ping.

RH: shit look | the glass |

RH, from his seat, points to the window nearest to him. A puff of visible breath escapes from his mouth as he zips his jacket up with his other hand.

SC: oh..

The windows have started to fog up on the inside. Cautiously, SC places a hand on the glass. The chill penetrates through his carapace and to the fleshy nerves buried beneath it.

RH: cant this thing get any warmer |

RH looks over at him pleadingly. From the copilot's seat, AI shakes her head.

AI: **We can't, sorry.**
AI: **According to the readings, turning the heating systems on any higher would drain us of fuel before we even hit the continent.**
RH: well fuck |
RH: thats bullshit |

He huddles in on himself, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. Out of a passing curiosity, SC checks the reading on the internal thermometer. It's only a handful of degrees below the average daytime temperature in early spring. The air outside is several magnitudes colder than that.

RH: of all the places |
RH: whyd it have to be the south pole |
SC: i don't know..
RH: couldnt our weird cosmic fate be literally anywhere warmer |
RH: like |
RH: remember when we spent the best part of a week crossing through hundreds and hundreds of miles of humid sweaty jungle |
RH: why couldnt it have been there |
SC: but if i recall,, didn't you say that the jungle's humidity was also unbearable??
RH: i |
RH: well that was past me and past me is evidently an idiot |
AI: **RH, come on.**
AI: **You can't be whining this hard already.**
RH: i can and i will actually |
AI: **If it's such a problem, you could have just stayed behind in the Consort Kingdom.**
AI: **Nobody's forcing you to do this, you know.**
RH: no way |

RH shakes his head forcefully.

RH: i meant what i said back there |
RH: all or nothing |
RH: im not abandoning you guys |

His expression takes on a determined glint that warms SC's heart. After everything, knowing that his friends will always be by his side is... well, he'd call it a comfort, but to do so would be to ignore the uncertainty and dread accompanying this voyage.

There's no indication that anything terrible lies in wait for them at the end of their journey, but SC's had a sense of disquiet about their destination for a while. Like they're all staring down this terrible thing that they must go through regardless of their wishes.

SC: thanks,, rh..
RH: youre my ride or die sc | in it forever man |

Quietly. SC wonders if RH could have actually stayed back even if he wanted to. There's an air of cosmic import to this whole thing, a vibe that he can't describe but that he remembers from vague impressions of Skaian scripture he read once or twice.

He just wishes he knew what the important thing was. Is it SC? RH? AI? All three of them? The thing at the south pole? The voice in SC's head? Every option at once?

He can't tell. He doesn't think he'll be able to tell until that pivotal moment when all truth comes forth and it'll be too late to do anything about it.

RH: still |
RH: really fucking cold |
SC: yeah..

SC stretches in his seat, sparing another glance at the flight radar. It stares back at him, as forthcoming with its information as everything else. Obtuse signals wrapped in static saying everything yet nothing.

He catches AI staring fixedly at the console too. When she notices him looking, she speaks.

AI: **I don't know how popular an opinion it is, but I think the humans on Earth B had the right idea about naming the Southern Continent.**
SC: what do you mean??
AI: **I mean... Antarctica.**
AI: **A fittingly ominous name for a realm on the threshold of the world.**
SC: huh..
SC: i mean,, it's not very utilitarian as continent names go..
AI: **There's a lot to be said about the nomenclature of Earth C's landmasses and how that might have fed into the current geopolitical situation, but...**
AI: **I don't know.**
AI: **Right now, I think any other name would diminish the purpose of this voyage.**
SC: huh..

SC doesn't really know how to respond to that. Like many things, he's never thought too deeply about the finer details of Earth C's storied histories colliding with themselves. He was always just the guy in med school preparing for a career he'd wanted since his early teens. This was never meant for people like him. SC was never meant to be this existential.

RH: ok kinda wack though dont you think |
AI: **Wack?**
RH: cmon |
RH: antarctica | okay pretentious |
RH: might as well start calling it little skaia while youre at it for all the reverence youre showing it |
AI: **That's not what I'm...*
RH: but like | why does it matter what the freezing ass south pole is called |
RH: all this final destination end of journey junk |
RH: literally what the hell are you saying there |
AI: **I,**
RH: well |

RH leans forward defensively. There's a severe look on his face. SC reaches out a hand to touch his friend's shoulder, but RH bats him away.

RH: because im telling you one thing ai |
RH: this is not some stupid ass preordained fate for us |
RH: this is some stupid ass mission that were gonna do and then complete |
RH: and then were gonna go home and never think about any of this shit again |
RH: no coordinates | no freaky voice in my best friends head | and no fucking antartocore |
AI: **Antarctica.**
RH: who cares! |

RH throws up his hands.

RH: who cares what its called |
RH: its a bunch of ice for thousands of miles | why does it matter |
RH: its not the fuckin ||| master of our fates or some shit like that |
RH: its dumb | its fucking nothing |

At that moment, SC gets the intent behind RH's outburst. He's deathly afraid of what'll become of them when this journey ends, of what happens when the invisible hand coasting them along tightens its grip. Carapacian theology makes a point of adhering to the power of the divine concepts that govern reality. Denying something a valuable presence is as viable a strategy as any for escaping its metamythic gaze.

AI: **...**

AI's face hardens. There's a distant glaze to her eyes, the expression of one circling around a dreadful truth.

AI: **You know, RH, I wouldn't mind if you were right.**
RH: but |
RH: because of course theres a but |
AI: **But...**
AI: **Don't you guys feel it?**
AI: **This... this purpose, all around us.**

From the way RH folds in on himself, it's incredibly apparent that yes, he does feel it. SC can hardly rebuke AI's claim, either. Not when he has a bizarre entity occupying his thoughtspace and coaxing him towards the bottom of the world.

RH: still |
RH: doesnt have to mean anything |
RH: its just ideas and concepts in our heads |
RH: were the ones giving it gravity like this |
AI: **Are we, though?**
RH: yeah | yeah we are |
RH: we have to be |
RH: cause |
RH: cause otherwise thats |

RH shakes his head.

RH: were not the kind of people to be roped up in that mystic shit |
RH: i wont let us be that either |
RH: we are just some guys ai |
RH: just some guys | not pawns in a cosmic game | not skaias playthings | none of it |
RH: hows that old mantra go | one of the early parables or paradigms or whatever the fuck |
SC: do what you will??
RH: yeah | yeah that one |
RH: the principle of do what you will and all that |
RH: all the time always you can assert your will on your reality | you dont have to be beholden to insane cosmic schemes if you dont wanna |
RH: we have the power to walk and stop | the power to not give this shit any more power than we already have |

By the end of it, he's clenching the back of AI's seat with a desperate fervour. She can't meet his eyes. Every cell in AI's body betrays how much she wants to subscribe to RH's philosophy. Every cell in AI's body betrays how she thinks that isn't possible.

SC feels another heady wave of misery come over him. Maybe there was a chance for AI and RH to escape. Maybe them choosing to come with him really was them condemning themselves. SC couldn't have stopped them, but he wishes that he could have, somehow. That it was just him alone on this airship, bound for whatever horrible conclusion lies in wait.

Time and time again, this world is cruel and unfair and merciless in its cruelty. They lost all their comrades in a vicious firebombing. They were hunted the length of a continent, stalked and targeted and forced into a gunfight that killed so many consorts. Here they are now, on an airship so far from anything they know, the mere idea of peace a pipedream fantasy.

AI: **I...**
AI: **I think we should just take this one minute at a time.**
AI: **What else can we do?**

The question is posed with an air of resigned misery. AI looks weary beyond her years.

RH opens his mouth to respond, but the words don't come. He looks on the verge of crying.

RH: fuck man |
RH: i just want all of us to make it |
AI: **Me too, RH.**
AI: **Me too.**

Another silence blankets over them. The airship continues southwards, a crimson blip in an endlessly shifting blizzard of white. Tactically, they are an eyesore, but there is no war out here, no enemy to spot them save for an errant migratory bird that might, for half a moment, contemplate the aircraft's value as a snack.

Somewhere ahead, buried in the blizzard and ice, is Antarctica. AI was right about the way the name sits in your mind, a point waiting to be proven. SC thinks on it with a cold uncertainty. The waiting is almost as excruciating as the fear.

SC: ......
RH: ... |
AI: **...**
RH: ... |
SC: ......

None of them say anything. None of them knows what to say. All that can be said has been said. All that should be said has to wait for another time and place.

It is just the three of them, sitting in silent solidarity aboard a stolen military vehicle, a compacted eternity singing in this cockpit.

Unseen by all, the ocean below transitions into a sheet of ice.

This goes on for another long while. Shaky breaths puffing out fog. Carapace shells straining the limits of their insulating properties.

413 miles from their final destination, something changes.

SC looks up from his numb hands to his friends, desperate to say something to prove they're all still alive, when a wave of pain slams across his brain like an ideatic sledgehammer. Physical reality melts away in front of him before he can consciously give any kind of interaction.

> Don't throw a fucking shitfit at me. I know what's up now.

> I see what she's doing. What you're doing.

The words explode around him in a violent thrum, concepts battling each other for atomic supremacy before the death maw of entropy. It's the same as it's always been, this space on the edge of the conceptual.

SC, marginally more used to it by now, finds himself able to stand on solid ground. He can't tell if the ground exists, or if he is telling himself that the ground exists convincingly enough that affect is overwriting truth.

Somehow, he gets the sense that this plane is not too concerned with truth.

SC: hello??
SC: you there??

SC takes careful steps forward. There's a path he can't perceive but that he walks along nonetheless. His memory is thrown, momentarily, towards a relief in a temple, of a rare depiction of the checkered path through the Furthest Ring. X marks the treasure and the collapse. Which is he?

He shakes his head. Memory threatens to become idea threatens to assert dominance over his autonomy. SC stops and grounds himself. He's fairly certain his presence here is contingent on his ability to conceive of his own existence. Believing anything stronger than his own being comes with risk.

He walks again. Time and space don't exist enough for him to measure distance or duration. He is merely aware that he has pivoted from one conceptual spot to the next, but even the notion of sequence itself is a fabrication on his part.

Here, the voice shifts. Without language, without movement, SC feels it pressing down on him, extradimensional eyes gazing upon him.

> SC.

It's the first time the voice has used his name in that tone. It's remorseful, almost.

SC starts a little.

SC: yeah..
SC: me again..
SC: hi..

> Of course you'd be here again.

SC: hey!!
SC: it's not my fault..
SC: i was just sitting there when suddenly i--

> You got pulled in at the moment of the thwarted incursion. Got it.

SC: incursion??

He frowns. The voice gives the impression of a patrolling tiger, of a fish motioning in a spiral. There are no animals, no metaphors to be made manifest. Just words on a page.

> The powerful threats and enemies are making their move.

> Not sure how much time is left given the state of everything.

SC: right.. you...... you mentioned something like this before..
SC: something about metanarrative threats,, right??

> That's right. This version of Earth C is crawling with them.

> Been there for a while, in all honesty.

> But we're getting closer to the Convergence, so they're getting antsy.

SC: what do you mean by convergence??

> I dunno either.

> Just something these fuckers in the narrative stream can't stop talking about.

> A moment, an event. Or something.

> It concerns everything on Earth C and it's due to happen soon.

SC: reassuring..

> Depends. If it is what I think it is, then...

> Anyway. I just fended off a pretty nasty attack so that's why you're here I guess.

SC: right..

His head feels like it's spinning a little. Like every other time, he's confused and out of his depth.

SC: or,, no actually..
SC: this isn't right..

> ?

SC clenches his fists. He didn't plan on doing this, but now he's here and doing it, he can't stop himself. Maybe it's the exhaustion. Maybe it's the surreality of the extended situation. Maybe he's just finally, finally fucking had it.

SC: this whole time,, i've been totally in the dark..
SC: about the coordinate,, about this journey,, about you..
SC: i'm told i have to seek answers but i keep not getting them.
SC: and......
SC: and i think you owe me some..

> Me?

> Kid, why would I owe you answers?

The voice speaks with a tone that belies... something. SC isn't sure. He just feels the negative space impression of a truth half concealed.

SC: because me and my friends are on an airship bound for the bottom of the world on your say so..
SC: because you clearly know more about this situation than you're letting on..
SC: skaian archives?? barcode patterns from outside the universe??
SC: i......
SC: who the hell are you??
SC: what the hell is going on??
SC: i'm sick to death of not knowing!!

> ...

> Ah.

> Dunno that I have a fair answer for you.

SC: bullshit you don't!!
SC: do you know how many people have died for this mission??
SC: my friends are injured and traumatized because of this!!
SC: the least i'm owed is a clearer fucking picture..

SC's mouth turns down in a snarl, directed in the metatextual direction he wills the speaker of this voice to be residing.

SC: we're not pawns.. we're people..
SC: so please..
SC: talk..

> ...

> Well, you're not gone yet, so...

> Fine, whatever.

> You're close enough to the destination that a little advance knowledge can't hurt.

It's the thing SC wanted to hear most, but something about the way it's said strikes a flare of unease inside him.

SC: how would knowing hurt??

> Because... Okay, now I know we've been over this one.

> This iteration of Earth C is governed by metatextual rules.

> Basically, any information transmitted here is permanently recorded and ripe for viewing by interested parties who can read reality that way.

> With me so far?

SC: yeah..
SC: but

> I'm not done.

> Now, I've also told you that these powerful parties have a vested interest in using me for their own ends.

> Thing is, from this standpoint they don't actually know what or why I'm such a big deal. I know, of course.

> So they're snooping around, reading narrative slices related to me, trying to glean clues.

> If I were to spill the beans to you, the words'll be translated into this metatextual stream, giving these fuckers the means to read all of it like an open book.

> This puts me at risk for the obvious reasons, and also puts you at risk for being a holder of that knowledge. Got it?

SC nods.

SC: i get that much.. kind of..
SC: i mean,, is the whole metafiction thing a metaphor for something or......?

> No, it's literal.

> People more in the know'll get it, and I won't hold it against you for not knowing.

> But yeah. From one or more perspectives our whole reality can be perceived like a written text. A story or a novel or something.

> Everything that happens is on its own page or chapter. And just like a book, all information can easily be looked up, digested, and interpreted.

> Good setup if you wanna play hypergod, downright horrific setup if there are secrets you need to keep.

SC: so,, so the story thing,, it

> Don't break your brain about it. The world is real to you just as it is a story to someone else.

> Same way a pebble is tiny to you but a monolith to an ant. Either way, not the point.

> The actual point is that information control is an absolute imperative out here, and it's also the hardest damn thing you could ever imagine doing.

SC: which is why you're not saying anything..

> Precisely.

SC: so like...... this is just another excuse,, right??
SC: you're not intending on telling me anything,, are you??

SC folds his arms. Part of him wishes he was awake right now. He considers it weird that he's not awake yet, but he doesn't know what to make of that fact.

The voice breathes out a sigh that feels like a hot stream of platonic concepts.

> I didn't say that.

> I need you much as you need me and I'm not gonna jeopardize our relationship this late in the game.

SC considers that their "relationship" has wholly consisted of a series of one-sided psychic barrages that he can barely keep up with.

What does interest him, however, is the voice's implication that it believes SC to be doing all this wholly of his free will. SC lets the thought sit in his head, uneasy and uncertain.

SC: then......
SC: prove it..

> If it'll keep you on track, then that's what I'll have to do. Ask away.

The voice looms before him. The impression of scrutiny sizzles atop SC's shell.

SC: first things first..
SC: how can i know that you're gonna tell me the truth??

> You don't.

> All you can do is trust that I'm not lying. But you've done that so far, right?

Again. The impression that any of this was SC's choice to make. He swallows around a dry lump.

SC: i.. i guess..
SC: then
SC: who are you??

> I am linked to you. I am able to be linked to you.

SC: and what the fuck does that mean??

> You can figure it out. I'm being as forthcoming as I can be.

SC: whatever.. that doesn't help..
SC: how can you talk to me like this?? in my head??

> Through one of a number of extradiegetic mechanisms. That's how you're receiving my voice.

SC: ok??
SC: and.. uh.. that's your explanation for sounding like a loud as hell psychic assault?

The ideo-intangible presence SC has come to associate with the voice draws away from him.

> Ah. Should have thought about how this'd make a direct conversation inconvenient as fuck.

> One second.

SC blinks. He feels that the voice is gone. He is standing here, alone in a wash of nothing. White blankness that he can't perceive, can't navigate, swells around him. He stares out ahead, not sure if his visibility is restricted to miles or inches. He... he doesn't have the language for it, but it's as if this place is beyond the fundamental elements that comprise reality.

It feels like... like something he can't explain. Something beyond Earth C, beyond the Skaian scriptures. SC is not and never will be the guy to lay claim to understanding, but, if he were to try to understand, he would say that it's as if he's somewhere beyond even paradox space itself. The firmament upholding the skeleton beneath it all.

He's hit, now, with the startling notion that despite being here, adrift in this emptiness, he doesn't feel alone. Beyond SC, beyond the voice, there's something more. A wavelength his eyes aren't attuned to, but that nonetheless persists in abundance. What would this place look like from another perspective? Through the eyes of one who can see beyond the abstraction?

SC is so small, standing before the chasm of something so large. His breath catches in his throat.

And then he feels the presence bearing against the back of his neck.

> This any better?
SC: gah!!

SC spins around, ice jolting through his body. There is nothing behind him, save for the residual tingle of a sound too close.

SC: wait..
SC: you??
> Yeah. Me.

His shoulder blades twitch.

SC: how are you doing that??
> Right.
> Turned on whisper mode.
SC: what the hell is whisper mode??
> Some kinda setting on this thing. Beats me.
SC: wait.. you don't know how the mechanism you're using to talk to me works??
> Is that the point of this conversation?
SC: it is now!!
SC: it's like you're breathing down my neck!!
> Well, it's either that or a booming echo so loud you can hear me from outside the narrative superstructure.
> Like I said, I don't think you're meant to have a conversation through this.
> So let's just leave it at that for convenience's sake, yeah?
SC: i...... guess??

SC shakes his head. The voice is sending horrible tingles through his body. His teeth are on edge. There's a haze around him, not quite the hypnagogia of a waking dream, but something not too far off.

> Anyway. Next question.
SC: right..

Somehow, the dynamic of the exchange has shifted without his control. Like a tidal dam that could only ever have rushed in one direction, like SC was stupid for thinking he could stand against that. He is not demanding answers. He is being selectively handed them.

SC: where are you??
> Where the coordinates point to.
SC: the south pole,, you mean..
> Technically.
SC: but not literally??
> I--

Something rumbles. SC swivels his head around. He sees nothing, senses nothing, but is still struck with the nauseating notion that, accompanying the billion eyes staring up at this place from below, there are also sets of piercing eyes gazing down from above.

> Question vetoed. Skirting too close to compromising myself.
SC: uh..
SC: so..
SC: what *are* these presences,, anyway??
> The who is obvious. The why, more convoluted.
SC: and what the fuck does that mean??
> It means what it means.
SC: some help you are..

He taps his foot against the ground. It makes no sound or sensation until he believes that it does. In the same way, he wonders if any of this is genuinely real.

SC: why us??
> Come again?
SC: why me,, rh,, and ai??
SC: why are we the ones that have to go on this journey to find you??
> You had to because you were the only ones who could.
SC: what??
> It wasn't inevitable, until it was.
SC: these aren't answers..
> They are. You just don't have the framework to understand them.
SC: ......

For a second, he thinks he hears a noise. A rattling, maybe. Muffled, like it's been filtered through a mile-thick sheet of cotton. He feels like he should know what it means. He's not surprised that he doesn't.

SC: then...... why you??
SC: why are *you* the one stuck at the bottom of the world issuing out coordinates and commands??
> Why me?
> Because it's always been me. Always will be me.
SC: so glad you're being this forthcoming and open with me.. truly..

Irritation flushes warm across SC's body. His time is being wasted. He's all too aware that there should be somewhere else he should be, something else he should be doing.

SC: how did you end up in this position anyway??
> You can already mostly figure this one out.
SC: no i can't.. it's why i'm asking..
> SC, you're not the only audience member. I'm not talking about you.
SC: .......
> What I won't say, however, is the inciting incident. You guys would love some specifics, wouldn't you?

A pressure SC didn't even know was there abates. The space around him is permeated with a sudden lack.

> That's right. Fuck off.

The voice snarls, back in that booming tone that echoes past the foundation of SC's existence.

SC: did someone leave??
> Yeah. Thank god.
SC: i still don't understand what's happening here..
SC: like,, why are these people so invested in you??
SC: what's so important about you and what you're doing??
SC: and......
SC: what's
SC: what's gonna happen to us,, once we reach our destination??

He doesn't mean for the last question to slip out, but it does anyway. Perhaps it's teased out of him by his unconscious mind, perhaps by the tendencies and logics of this plane of reality.

> ...

The voice doesn't answer. Silence punctuates, makes the space grow heavy. SC goes cold.

SC: hey..
SC: what *is* going to happen to us??
> I
> I'm sorry, kid, but that's--
SC: that's what?? that's *what*??

His heart starts rushing. Everything is spinning, folding, pushing towards a central point. The answer, huge and terrible and final, hangs right there.

The ground shakes. The metanarrative walls splinter and crack and crumble. This is forbidden knowledge, a glimpse into something nobody on this side of the Convergence is meant to see, and these are no longer solely SC's thoughts, but--

SC thinks he might already know the answer.

> You'll do what you will.
> And I--

SC wakes up.

His body hurts, a bone-deep pain that spreads past the psychological and into the physiological. His carapace feels like it's been splintered in a dozen different places. Moving any limb feels like an impossible feat. There's a noise, something like a hissing and a muffled screech, and a voice, is that--

AI: **SC!!!!**

AI shakes him by the shoulders. SC snaps his eyes open.

SC: ......??

AI looks like a wreck. The room is bathed in a pulsating orange warning light. Loose electrical sparks dance off the walls. Dust hangs in the air, thick and stinking of gasoline. And in between that, a draft of wind that bites colder than anything he has known.

SC: what's
AI: **We crashed.**
AI: **Atmospheric turbulence or something, I don't know.**
AI: **The ship started crashing down almost as soon as you went into your trance.**
SC: i
SC: wait
SC: rh
SC: where's

SC cranes his head around. His neck hurts. He cannot see RH in the airship.

AI: **He's okay.** **Alive.**
AI: **I told him to go out and check the damage while I woke you up.**
AI: **He was freaking out real bad seeing you out cold like that.**
SC: i'm...... sorry??
AI: **Don't.** **It's not your fault, SC.**

AI obviously means passing out, by SC is struck for an instant by an overpowering wash of guilt. The airship crashing in the snow, the wreckage of the Turtle Capitol, the firebombing of PL, the whole quest with this coordinate...

In a way, isn't all of this actually SC's fault after all?

SC says none of this, just nods and reaches down with shaky hands to unclasp himself from his seat. He doesn't realise until he's undone the last buckle that the airship's landed upside-down. With a startled shout, he drops in a crumpled heap on the inverted ceiling.

AI: **Here.**

AI offers a hand. SC rises, slow and heavy. the metal below is so cold it hurts. One of the windows on the side is buried almost to the top with compact snow. The chassis is dented and warped and sinking fast. SC surveys all of this with a numb certainty: this airship is never flying again.

SC: well..
SC: no way back,, i guess..
AI: **...**

It is apparent that AI wants to cry, but she holds it in. Her face instead crumples in a nauseating fold of misery.

AI: **Well, we already knew that, didn't we?**
AI: **This was always going to be the end of the line for us.**
SC: ......

He doesn't tell her what he learned from the voice, of his suspicions that death would be a kinder end than what likely lies in store for them.

RH appears in the blown-out doorway. His clothes are even more singed, his face haunted.

RH: one of the wings has been blown clean off |
RH: no fucking clue where it went but even if we did have it not like it would matter anyway |
RH: were stuck |

It is nothing SC hadn't already figured out. It is nothing that still does not hurt.

AI: **So what's left for us?**

She already knows. RH already knows. SC certainly knows. Which is why he takes shaky steps towards what remains of the console and pulls the coordinate free. The paper is the only warm thing in his hands, the only real thing in this world.

SC turns towards the doorway. By a fortuitous inevitability, it already faces south.

SC: we see this through to the end..

They don't argue, because they can't argue. SC leads the way, stepping out into a blizzard-drenched landscape and trudging through knee-deep snow that saps at his vitality with each and every second. Due south. One foot after another. And finally, finally, let this all end.

The thing at the heart of the coordinates shifts softly, ready to claim the start of everything.

Chapter 71: (six), section (ii.)

Notes:

Happy birthday to The Homestuck Epilogues! <3

(ii.)

in between one narrative instance and the next, a war has ended, and a god has died. i can see, hundreds of miles away, the smoldering wreck of nuseattle, tainted and poisoned but not quite dead. there are trolls armed with relief supplies lifting torched-out humans from the rubble. the number of survivors grows by the hour. the sun is approaching noon and everywhere in the city is safe from radiation poisoning, and kanaya maryam is standing at the heart of the city sifting through the dust and ash to try and piece together the last moments of the war, and what she will find will throw them all into a paradigm shift.

and none of this matters. not to those in nuseattle, not to the characters in this story, not to me, and not to my travelling companions. the seven of them stand in loose formation behind me, blank-eyed and malleable. they, who are normally bound to the interior logic of the narrative superstructure, are freed from it. they have no use for eating, for sleeping, for anything but plot purpose. they are now perfect paper dolls, moveable pawns on a chessboard, malleable puppets. arti dan mari christina burnei fellna aquini. the names are hollow distinctions now. it is easier to think of them as one multi-part entity, as the resource they always have been.

i could have done this from the start. from the moment i showed up in (1)-(3) on the porch of a rented house that is now blood-choked detritus littered with the bodies of crockercorp soldiers. i could have shown up, flexed my narratological muscles, and corralled these doomed young adults into motion. it would have saved unnecessarily wasted time, unnecessarily asked questions. the most foul and corrosive idea of all would not be lingering dormant in arti's brain. enfuir would not be lost to us. this is what i get for thinking i could be you, for ignoring the truth of everything, that i am deeply alone and deeply desperate.

a soft wind rustles through the mountain forest, warm and alive. it's early may and spring has finally hit earth c, the hinging axis of the season having been the downfall of a tyrant. if arti were free to think, they would be struck with a sudden and aching nostalgia of being eighteen and new in their relationship with dan and spending a week in these very mountains. it would be one of the happiest memories of their life that they cannot look back on without wanting to cry.

i could say that, but i would be making it up. arti has no memory of this place unless i decide they do. i could take it away as easily, if i so wished, as well. a story is just a series of lies told to a reader convincingly enough that they cannot find the seams of the illusion. why would you doubt any facts the narrative tells you? without truth, a story is nothing, so all a story's lies cease to be that.

there might be a lesson in this somewhere, i think. i can't say for sure. pondering on the philosophy and metaphysics was always what you were best at. i always dealt with the more immediate, the more physical. mine was a task without honour, but a task that had to be done nonetheless. without me, you would be dead. without you, i could never have existed. do you see it the same way as i do?

i could say that yes, yes you do see it that way, but this would only be an unequivocal truth for a reader, for someone removed from this textual existence. i am not in search of the storyteller's fantasy, of a make believe balm that nobody can claims is a falsehood. i need the truth. i need completion. this is all i have wanted. this has always been what i have wanted.

the mountain trail slams headfirst into a vertical wall of rock. i look up at it, and then i am atop with no effort. the others do not have my gift, so instead i must spend fifteen minutes watching them scramble atop the ledge, grabbing and pulling each other over the top. i can't imagine that their limbs wouldn't ache, that their bodies don't sweat, so that is of course what they do.

we're about three thousand feet above sea level, about four hundred miles away from nuseattle. the cardinal direction does not matter, so Space remains as slippery and ambiguous as Time does. it does good to reinforce the artifice of the candy bowl, to remind everyone that this is a shadowplay, an excuse, at the bottom of a black hole. this world's purpose was already served long ago. everything here is just vultures playing with its entrails and pretending that everything is still alive. the epilogues are in the ground. everything around me is ghosts.

what did she think, all those years and words ago? when she realised that this world was her only path forward? that all the infinity of creation led to this dead end, a non negotiable pit that sucks you down and sucks you down? did she feel enough to let the revolt wash over her? or had she accepted, on every level that matters, that that which she conjures in her mind was long dead before this latest foul iteration? did she negate her involvement because the world does not matter, or because she could not stand to look at it?

i wish i knew. i wish i could be that kind of person. i wish i had answers instead of incomplete half-questions that scrabble at negative space that may not actually be there. i cannot turn my gaze from the shadows on the cave wall to their source. i cannot see through to the canon beyond the canon. it takes all that i am to remember my form and purpose, to remind myself that i am not another fragmentary echo of something greater (i do think that, i really do, but not in this domain, not in this way).

in the troll kingdom, meenah peixes speeds down a badlands highway in a hijacked motorcycle. the ghost of nepeta leijon clings piggyback behind her, still dead but liberated of her parentheses. meenah is cold, driven by single-purpose rage and revenge against a world that has done nothing but make her bleed. she does not know of the wider goings on. she is one of the blessed few that does not care. she will reach her destination and she will never learn what became of karkat.

it is jade harley that screams the loudest when ullses and parvoy drag the torched remnants of karkat vantas's body out of the rubble. her world stings with the blast of another gaping hole punched straight through. rose lalonde holds onto her wife and privately burns with shame that she still has somebody to hold onto. egbert throws up.

light years out, buffeted by layers upon layers of metatextual obfuscation, the chassis holding the soul of dave strider plays chess with aradia megido. neither thinks much of the ones they loved and left. and then she, too, at the helm, is there, and i leave before she can sense me.

once, this world was about a boy in his bedroom. about coming of age and games and the thorned path to freedom from the social superstructure. that boy and his bedroom are long gone. so too is that promise. there is only me, now. me and you, wherever you are.

i have grown tired of digging in the dirt for so long with no promise of anything but more digging. this was not even my hole in the first place; you, with your shovel, cast aside the first layer of topsoil. i was born in the sediment, less a worm in the compost and more a lifeform given existence by the earth, of it and yet beyond it. i can see further than anything else. i have done more than anyone else. that is how i know this matters.

our group shambles and twists up a narrow dirt track. dust kicks up in clouds from bloodsoaked boots. pebbles skip over the edge and clatter down into oblivion. if someone were to fall, they would not come back from this without a storyteller unbound by the rules to save them.

i can do that easy. like so.

fifty feet further up, a crow bursts from the treeline with a wail. dan, deeply human and deeply feeling despite my best efforts, reacts to the sight with an electric charge that makes his body flinch. he steps to the side and out into the open air.

he falls like a stone. in a handful of seconds from now, he will hit the rocky terrain below like pulp. arti's pupils dilate. they are staring at me with loathing.

but that would not serve any purpose, so instead dan raises back up to his place in the formation. there is not a scratch on him. there is no need for game abstractions to complete the stage magic this time. if i tell you nothing happened, then nothing happened.

(i could make you uncomfortable and tell you that at the moment i decided otherwise, the previously doomed dan continued to fall, clipping through earth c and then the black hole and then paradox space and then the confines of the text themselves until he slipped into the maw of that which gluts on everything that can ever exist, and he is afraid and alone and screaming the whole time until there is no he and no dan and only more ideafuel for the thing to swallow. it would be up to you to believe my words. does this dan exist? that is your choice to make, not mine. i leave it to you, reader.)

i know. i am woolgathering. i am delaying the inevitable. i suppose it is because i know, on some level, that once my work is done here, i will never engage with the world in the same way. i will be somewhere better, someone better, but at the expense of these playthings nobody ever really sought to play with. postcanon is a toy that everybody was too scared to make believe with because of that which it resembles.

i do not care any longer, so i have no trouble doing exactly that. i think that might be the one point everybody playing this high stakes game of gods is missing. everything is grim and terrible and slated for doom, but there's no reason why you shouldn't have fun on the way down.

further up the hill. a little ways into a forest trail. the air sometimes bites with the breeze. it is sometimes warm and idyllic. it can't decide what it wants to be. it can't decide where it wants to be. the others trudge up in silent compliance. at the clip and pace we are moving, they should be sweating with exertion. i hang a few feet ahead and look at them. their uniformity disturbs me a little. i turned them into my own personal reminder of this space's falsehood.

it is a miracle it took this long for anyone to go insane down here. what a wretched, cruel place. to live every day in cloying irrelevance in a world that hates you, in a world that can only ever hate. i think if i had been here longer (i have been here since the start, and i have never been here at all) i would have not been able to stop myself snapping.

arti and the others led a happy life on earth c up until jane crocker put a stop to that by force. of the last twenty years of hell, eighteen of them were lived with a sense of purpose and fulfillment. people were happy in spite of this cosmic joke. they also never were, because such people did not exist until after the off-ramp. i need to remind myself what this world really is, what ugly thing lurches beneath the embellishments you and i and everybody else has done to it.

are the carapacian soldiers on skaia happy? are they, who were only shunted into existence in order to lose a war, content with their lot? can their imagined histories that never took place be enough? when does the simulacrum run dry and produce the unending scream towards a reality that is only a continuous knife to the throat, over and over forever?

everybody before me only came into being on that day in nuseattle. their textual existence has always been coloured by brutality and cruelty. the only memories are those hard coded in ink. if you take that approach, then i am being strictly merciful towards these poor creatures.

in the shadow of the crocker needle, kanaya is the one who sees the body writhing under the rubble. overcome with twin spikes of fury and hope, she rips jake english's still-glowing form free of his concrete tomb. she knows she hates him enough that she could run him through with her chainsaw right now and rip him out of the world with a Just flourish. instead, she merely holds him in her arms until his skin stops flickering and his eyes creak open. vriska serket watches, and then she pulls out her phone.

on the other end of the city, tav extracts himself from the comforting embrace of his friends with the most effort he has ever exerted in his young life. his bloody hands still tremble as he checks the message alert, and then he starts weeping again when he reads the contents. he will not know how to feel for several days yet.

roxy lalonde overhears what he tells harry anderson and she closes her eyes with a pit in her stomach. jake is all she has left of her world. the fact that he survived this long somehow makes that thought even lonelier.

a troll soldier finds the shrivelled husk of what used to be gamzee makara, once so terribly long ago, and throws up at the sight.

we are climbing higher now, making better and better time. there is only so much i can see in this breath between beats, only so much i dare to permit existence. there is so little time left if i am to complete all that i must. i only have one chance.

the trail twists around the entirety of the mountain, in a bizarre flow that doesn't register correctly to the senses. it speaks of a meteor in a field, of a broadcast station burning up in the atmosphere, of a city choked in ash. it speaks of places and things out of their space and time, echoes of stories that have not been for so long that they can only ever be half-remembered. it speaks of rotten preservatives. it speaks of me.

when the call to transportalise back to hq comes through, vrissy stands back and hesitates. she is not sure why. sollux captor says nothing, and he is not thinking of the scene before him, but instead of his foul promise. they all go in the end, however.

we are now at the mountain's peak. the trees are dense. the air is thin. everything is silent. i push further, and then there is a conspicuously perfect clearing. a mound of rock and stone sits at one end, flawless and composed of no mineral that exists on earth c, composed more of ideas than matter. i know what this is. i have known what this is from the start.

it is what i have been seeking. it is where everything will end. it is the only way for me to return to you.

everybody gathers in the clearing in a loose circular motion. their bodies are still. their hearts do not beat. they are dolls severed from the child that would play with them and give them life. everything is so beautiful. i am reminded of that day outside the relay station, of that wretched notebook that matters so little now, after everything.

i hope that curiosity meant something to them, in the end. i hope it made them feel like they had a choice. i hope it made this kinder for them.

the rock splits and cracks down the middle, sliding apart like a pair of automatic doors. i stop still where i am. i did not touch it yet. it should not be reacting. so why, then--

a figure steps forward. slow and deliberate and cautious and weighed down by so much. it is the last person i ever thought i would ever see, and yet also the only person it ever could have been.

CARA: calliope

calliope stops in her tracks. her eyes widen when she notices that she is not alone. one hand is in her jacket pocket, reaching for her wand. i wonder who would be faster? cherubs have an untold link to the narrative fold in ways i am not sure even the muse fully understands. nobody knows what would happen if a cherub were to truly and entirely reach out into the narratological sphere.

then, calliope lays eyes on me specifically. her body stiffens in unmistakable recognition.

CALLIOPE: i...
CALLIOPE: i never thoUght i'd see yoU here, of all places.

my face burns cold. my hands tense up.

CARA: i could say the same to you.
CALLIOPE: coUld yoU?
CARA: come again?
CALLIOPE: yoU know what i mean. this shoUld not be a sUrprise to yoU.

she gazes at a point on my body. her green eyes pierce through me.

CARA: well, maybe you're wrong about what you thought.
CALLIOPE: i know that i am not.
CALLIOPE: distraction from the trUth doesn't kill it.
CARA: ...
CALLIOPE: yoU weren't looking, bUt yoU still knew.
CALLIOPE: yoU coUld have easily sUrmised this.

the way she speaks is... not judgemental, exactly, but scathingly knowing. i can't help but squirm a little.

CARA: so...
CARA: you, did you...

calliope sighs.

CALLIOPE: no. this exile station does not have what i seek. :U
CALLIOPE: we can speak frankly aboUt sUch matters here. the pretense serves nobody.
CARA: ...
CARA: how do i know you're not lying?

her eyes flicker to my face for just a moment. she is searching for something in my expression. when she either finds it or doesn't find it, she resumes.

CALLIOPE: it woUld be overwhelmingly apparent if i had met my goal already.
CALLIOPE: given that yoU shoUld know what said goal is, yoU shoUldn't need to qUestion my honesty.
CALLIOPE: after all, do yoU see the convergence happening yet?
CARA: no. of course not.
CALLIOPE: so there yoU have it. becaUse there is no convergence, i therefore cannot have sUcceeded yet.
CALLIOPE: now, with that firmly established...

she peers over to look at the others, hanging in suspended stasis.

CALLIOPE: what on *earth* are yoU doing with those people?
CARA: ...
CALLIOPE: come. do not be shy with it. what is the point of sUch secrecy?
CARA: i
CARA: it has to be like this. this always had to happen.
CARA: the how and why doesn't really matter. only the result does.
CARA: they... there was no other outcome. fuck, i...

my throat tightens. fear and guilt and bone-carving sorrow churn inside me. i do not cry, but i do not know how i manage such an impossible feat. i think i want to throw up, but i don't do that either. i can only do that because i refuse to narrate it into existence.

CALLIOPE: i don't Understand. what woUld someone like yoU need from people like this. they're only...
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: Unless...

she steps past me. meets arti's eyes. walks in a loose circle around fellna. feels the fabric of dan's clothes. she comes to a stop in the middle of the group, hand brought to her mouth in thought.

CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: we never did pUzzle that oUt, so... coUld it?
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: bUt then why *yoU*?
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: ...

her brows furrow. then her face relaxes. she's realised.

CALLIOPE: ah.
CARA: i told you. it has to be this way.
CALLIOPE: i see that now.
CALLIOPE: she always had a hUnch this place had something to do with it, bUt i never thoUght...

i remain very still as calliope muses her way through slotting this information together. i don't tell her anything, because telling her would not be right, because saying it would make it real in a way that it cannot be. not while it can still be stopped.

CALLIOPE: how can yoU do it?
CARA: i... have no choice. everything depends on it.
CALLIOPE: and why is that the case?
CARA: don't you already know, if you've figured this much out?
CALLIOPE: i do not necessarily think we are both talking aboUt the same thing, here.

i can't describe the expression she turns towards me. i can describe the way i feel on the inside, if i wanted to. but i don't.

CARA: please. this has nothing to do with you.
CARA: let me finish this.
CALLIOPE: i was never stopping yoU, bUt i mUst admit that i am cUrioUs.
CALLIOPE: why these people? why choose the exile station as the means of finishing this?
CALLIOPE: where are yoU getting these ideas from?

the notes sit heavy in my inventory. those pieces of paper that contain all the answers to those who know how to ask the right questions. if only arti had pushed harder, maybe...

well. that does not matter. what is done is done. this is the way it must be.

CARA: that's a strange thing to ask.
CALLIOPE: i am obvioUsly not talking exclUsively aboUt the narrative stream.
CALLIOPE: no idea has a neUtral genesis. this is what i am cUrioUs about.
CARA: can't you figure it out on your own?
CALLIOPE: i can figUre oUt what yoU want me to believe, bUt sUch parloUr tricks have long since grown dUll.
CALLIOPE: i care little for narrative honeypots. that shoUld be abUndantly evident already.
CARA: ...

for an instant, dizzying, hateful rage threatens to swallow me. i don't let it, but it's a near thing. i must remember that these are words, that what i want is already guaranteed. nothing else matters. especially not what fucking callie says, and thinks to understand.

CALLIOPE: yoU clearly loathe doing this, regardless of how necessary yoU tell yoUrself it is.
CALLIOPE: it is not, jUst as my work is not necessary, either.
CALLIOPE: after all, this world will always remain irrelevant. its meaning can only ever be constrUcted, it cannot simply be present.
CALLIOPE: so what benefit is there to doing things this way?
CALLIOPE: who wants this seqUence of events?
CARA: i already told you. i do, because this is the only one that brings about what matters.
CARA: you must know what i stand for. you should know why.
CALLIOPE: if that is trUe, why go aboUt it in this exact way?
CALLIOPE: why did yoU not simply take them all here from the start?
CALLIOPE: why *coUldn't* yoU do that?

the question feels like a blade on my skin. it is the acid sting of a skeptic chewing at the seams of a story that still has room to be doubted.

a light wind, warm and pleasant, drifts through. it dances around mari's hair, ruffles aquini's clothes, then vanishes. calliope remains motionless, unaffected.

CARA: i could have.

my voice is small. calliope remains unconvinced.

CALLIOPE: who are yoU lying to?
CALLIOPE: why are yoU lying to them?
CALLIOPE: what is this all *for*?

her face hardens. her eyes, so large, so green, do not blink, but instead meet my own with patience and frustration in equal measure. i feel cornered, pinned in this spot with nowhere to run to. under the gaze of a cherub, what options are left to you?

CARA: do you know about the epilogues?
CALLIOPE: the... epilogUes?

her expression goes funny. i notice a tension rise in her shoulders.

CARA: of course you know about them. if you didn't, this conversation wouldn't make sense.
CALLIOPE: what aboUt the epilogUes?
CARA: everything, i suppose.
CALLIOPE: that woUld encompass a lot of information.
CARA: it does.

so i confess it all to her.

imagine, if you will, a story. it is born not from the ashes of something long dead, but a comma placed where by all accounts there should have been a full stop. a musical note just unfinished enough to deny the song peace. imagine that, for a time, it is easier to assume that this note is the final note, that the song is not uneasy, that everything you read into that negative space was just baseless assumption.

and then imagine the story. it sings in perfect harmony with the abandoned note, a mirror-perfect match so strong that it is as if the song never stopped. this is not the encore. this is the bridge. the love does not need to be put to rest. it can stretch on for longer, it can sustain you for as long as you need. you are witnessing something alive and beautiful, the true symphony you wanted all along.

imagine, further, that you read this story, this story with its perfect continuation of that suspended note you fixated on for so long. and then imagine that the more you read, the more you realise what it means for the story to continue in this way, for that one disjointed note to be the anchor point for the next saga. imagine that you are realising this fact too late, and imagine the grim grease of a wish fulfilled. you would hate it, right?

there should surely be hatred in your heart for something that did worse than resurrect the dead, for something that defiles the memories and structures that are all you have known. you see this story, this thing with teeth and edge that tears at the foundation, that threatens and promises and threatens and tells you in no uncertain terms that the old and new world alike both cannot live, and this is the new world struggling to be born, so you already know what that means.

and yet. the new world continues to struggle. the old world continues to not die. there is an equilibrium, uneasy and wrong, and the vultures are circling and you know that somebody's bones are going to be picked dry, and there is still this tiny and beautiful thing emerging into itself, screaming out with a life not seen before, not seen for so long that it is a true miracle unto itself.

imagine then that the old world kills the new world. the fulcrum of reality miscarries. the old status quo reasserts itself. but nobody is upset. looking at the scraps of meat, misshapen and unformed, how could you ever love it? it's wretched. it's perverse. it promised to kill the bedrock foundation with more certainty than a threat. every inch of it is to be reviled, hated. the old world kills the new world, and there is rejoicing. the vultures descend. the potential becomes carrion.

this is where the story should end, a tragic tale of a meaningless premature death remembered by nobody that matters. nothing meaningful came of this less-than-an-experiment, there is nothing but a singed blast radius lined with shards of glass that cut and evaporate the blood. you walk among the ruined cradle a while, holding fast to the impression of what you hoped could have been. spectres are conjured, the ruined future that still feels more alive than anything else.

and here, where there should be nowhere, something is born. something that should not be born. something that does not and can never exist under all known circumstances and conditions. and yet it does. the love is dead, and yet something persists nonetheless. something tiny and desperate writhes in the debris, a hardy flower in a wasteland, the first and last good thing anybody has ever seen.

but the new world is dead. the old world won out. there is no cycle to join, no dance to resume. the song you hum under your breath has been muted, the last note transformed by a retrofitted ambiguity. if the song were to resume, it would never again play in the only key you know how to perceive.

what happens, then, i ask you, to this revenant hatchling? what must it feel, sitting where it sits, knowing what it knows? what must it do?

what must any of us do?

CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: i see.

calliope closes her eyes, understanding.

CARA: you see, now, right?
CARA: you see?
CALLIOPE: yes, i do.
CALLIOPE: yoU... hm.
CALLIOPE: i Understand the things yoU are telling me. that is all i will say.
CARA: so you still aren't convinced?
CALLIOPE: yoU won't be stopped, if that's what yoU're asking.
CARA: ...
CARA: thank you.
CALLIOPE: bUt i do still wonder one last thing.
CARA: you do?
CARA: what is that?
CALLIOPE: what it is exactly that yoU think yoU know. u_u
CARA: i'm sorry?
CALLIOPE: yoUr confessional diatribe was illUminating in a great many ways, and i thank yoU for the information.
CALLIOPE: however... i mUst still interrogate yoUr relation to the parable in qUestion.
CARA: i,

i can't help it. i step back. my head feels fuzzy. my throat burns. when did i start crying?

CARA: isn't that obvious?
CALLIOPE: do yoU think it is?
CARA: i... i do, yes. it has to be, otherwise there's no point to any of this.
CARA: everybody already knows the answer.
CALLIOPE: ...
CALLIOPE: well. in that case there is one final thing i mUst ask.
CALLIOPE: something that yoU shoUld have no troUble answering, after all.
CARA: fine.
CALLIOPE: who are yoU?
CARA: who... am i?

the world spins. nothing moves. i don't feel my flesh. i don't feel a thing except for the chasm and below the chasm and the space after everything with the worst thing in all existence and its endless devouring and i might as well be staring right at it for all the good being in this moment is doing.

CARA: that's. i'm...

my mouth dries out. my tongue goes limp, wordless. i, why can't i--

calliope's face clouds over with something i can't read.

CALLIOPE: not who yoU think yoU are. not who yoU want everybody to think yoU are.
CALLIOPE: who are yoU, trUly?
CARA: ...
CALLIOPE: i think that's something yoU shoUld be able to answer for yoUrself.
CARA: ...
CARA: i
CALLIOPE: i will not force an answer from yoU. even if yoU were to give it, it woUld not be for my benefit.
CALLIOPE: my only advice to yoU is to dwell on that. think it throUgh, and then make yoUr choices.
CARA: i. no, i.

my cheeks burn. my fists clench. a tremble rattles through me. i am indistinguishable from the narrative puppets that used to be arti and their friends. another hollow vessel stripped of its being.

i claw my way back into myself. the feelings subside. calliope watches me the whole while, and only takes a step down the path when i make the first move.

CARA: you're going?
CALLIOPE: i have not yet reached my goal, and time is of the essence.
CALLIOPE: the convergence waits for nobody, after all.
CARA: ...
CARA: so that's it? we're done here?
CALLIOPE: i shoUld think so. yoU have nothing more to tell me, and i have nothing more to learn from yoU.
CALLIOPE: if it helps, i do Understand yoU, cara. trUly, i do. yoU have my condolences if not my sympathy.
CALLIOPE: i will not wish yoU lUck, becaUse oUr coUrses of fate are already set. i will wish yoU peace in the end, thoUgh.
CARA: callie...
CALLIOPE: don't. there is nothing more to say. do what yoU will.
CARA: then...

as i stumble over my words, calliope strides past me, past arti, past every single person in this scene one by one, bound down the mountain and for whatever destination awaits after here.

CARA: i'll see you when this is done, after the convergence, wherever we'll all end up.
CALLIOPE: ...

the cherub pauses. spins around. does not meet my gaze.

CALLIE: no, yoU will not. enjoy yoUr reaping.

and then i am alone.

the door to the exile station hangs open like a cavity. cold air seeps out, tinged with the smell of metal. a heavy weight wraps around the air. finality upon finality bears down on this mountain in the human kingdom.

CARA: ...

i take a moment, one tiny moment more, to look out on this world, this flickering hologram of a candy bowl. the transportaliser in nuseattle fizzed out so now kanaya and rose and the others must transport the dead back to headquarters in a truck that is ill-equipped to carry something of such import. it will be a long drive, and whatever happens after that does not matter to me.

i would like to hope my answer to the earlier questions is apparent. this is the final note.

the air is still and artificial as i usher the others through the doorway. the clearing loses its depth, loses its shape, loses everything but the language and ideas that sustain the projected illusion.

thinking of you, and only of you, i turn away and step past the threshold. i do not look back.

Chapter 72: (six), section (iii.)

Notes:

(And a happy 6/12!)

(iii.)

The radio stops working at some point shortly before dawn. Kanira stands in the control room watching Tixari fiddle with the console for a few minutes before the girl steps away, shaking her head.

TIXARI: + yeah no. nothing. +

She passes Kanira the headset. Kanira slips it on and hears nothing but the oceanic hiss of static, echoing around in a lulling drone that whispers of patterns that don't exist.

TIXARI: + outglut^2 radio's offline for whatever reason. +
KANIRA: ^.^ well~
KANIRA: ^.^ hm~
KANIRA: ^.^ there you have it then~

The radio silence doesn't come as a worry. They were told by Alfonz that since operations in the city were winding down, the comms link would more than likely go offline shortly before the rebels set off for the cake mill. The static is hard proof of that promise in action. It's why Tixari is still smiling. It's why Kanira's heart isn't heavy.

From the couch, Vennel tilts his head towards them.

VENNEL: \yeah how long was it to get here from outglut^2 again?/
KANIRA: ^.^ galios he~
KANIRA: ^.^ he estimated it to be two or three days on foot~
KANIRA: ^.^ so for a rebel convoy id guess maybe half a day maximum~
VENNEL: \and when did the signal go dark again tix/
TIXARI: + maybe about midnight last night? or around then? +
TIXARI: + i'm not sure. i didn't check until after the party so it might have been even earlier than that. +
VENNEL: \so they could be here any time then/
KANIRA: ^.^ i would assume so, yes~
VENNEL: \damn/
VENNEL: \kinda crazy to think about/
VENNEL: \we're really almost outta here/

The boy's face is awash with wonder and relief. They've all been imprisoned in this nightmare for countless weeks, churned up in a torment that promised no end except for death. The younger ones have held up better than most, but even they have stains and wounds on their souls. Everyone can taste the end in the air. Nothing tastes better.

It's why, after much persuasion from the survivors on the ground, that Pheris and Kanira were convinced to use some of the leftover grist to alchemise a banquet in the courtyard yesterday evening. The news that salvation was coming, that the batterlung had been eradicated, had buoyed everyone's spirits like a fast-spreading wildfire.

Alchemised food is known for its underwhelming taste, but its lack of nutritional density allowed the frail and recovering to eat without damaging themselves. Kanira ate a Perfectly Generic Burger and it was the sweetest ambrosia that had ever crossed her lips. They went on into the night, eating and laughing and singing, a people injected with a fiercely blazing hope.

VENNEL: \i don't even know what i wanna do when i get outta here first/
VENNEL: \probably go look at something that isn't smoggy fucking desert and i dunno/
VENNEL: \cry a little or something cringe like that lmao/
KANIRA: ^.^ id imagine our first port of call will be return to outglut^2 so they can provide us with more substantial support~
KANIRA: ^.^ so itll still be badlands for a little while longer unfortunately~
VENNEL: \man i don't even care/
VENNEL: \i think if i saw a skyscraper or a hivestem right now i'd kiss the damn thing/
TIXARI: + well, you can go have sloppy makeouts with a tower block or whatever but my first priority is real food and a new phone in that order. +
TIXARI: + last night was great but i am beyond excited to have something inside my body that isn't either alchemized stock or rotten fucking pastry. +
VENNEL: \okay yeah you might have a point about the food and stuff/
VENNEL: \dunno how i feel about that since like ninety percent of the stuff i like is like/
VENNEL: \crockercorp branded so i think i'd feel weird going back to it after all that?/
TIXARI: + to be fair, ven, literally everything on earth c is crockercorp owned and/or branded so i think it's a moot point. +
VENNEL: \still. you know/

Through the window, the first of the sun's rays are starting to peer through. A tiny golden square of light materialises on the wall behind Kanira. She resists the childish urge to step into the light and feel its warmth on her face.

KANIRA: ^.^ well if the rebellion is as close to victory as it seems they are, its likely that the crockercorp monopoly will be dismantled in no time at all~
VENNEL: \yeah but then that means all the stuff i like'll be gone/
VENNEL: \not that i'm trying to say that products are more important than my civil rights or anything i get that much/
VENNEL: \but after being in here for so long i think i want some treats or goodies you know?/
TIXARI: + lmao. +
KANIRA: ^.^ well yes, for a time well most likely not have access to that kind of stuff~
KANIRA: ^.^ therell be more pressing priorities in a post revolution restructuring of power~
KANIRA: ^.^ but thats not the same thing as saying itll be gone forever~
KANIRA: ^.^ people still like nice things. well just have to find a way to make it work in the new world~
VENNEL: \hm/
VENNEL: \so you really think we're gonna win?/

Kanira purses her lip. After all her meditation on the topic, she's not sure she likes framing it in terms of "winning" and "losing". That kind of zero-sum mentality is what drives Jane Crocker to do what she does. Does Kanira think that the people of the Human Kingdom are losing something by having this revolution happen? They are also bound by the same socioeconomic cudgel that was refined into a tool of butchery wielded against the trolls. Human cities are choked by poverty and economic disparity. The kind of world the rebellion will build will only help them, too.

The only real "losses" of this war are the lives. Of Galios, of everyone else who never made it. Even Jane Crocker herself, to an extent, is a price that must be paid. The woman is a foul tyrant who is too far gone for anything but execution, but that does not erase the component of violence needed to bring her reign to an end. Kanira supposes her eventual execution will be fair retribution, but the seizing of Crocker's wealth will do far more for the betterment of Earth C than the taking of her life. She's not naive. She understands the necessity of it all. She also understands what's most important of all.

TIXARI: + so you think they'll still have croktok after the revolution? +
VENNEL: \god i hope not/
TIXARI: + hey, what's wrong with croktok? +
VENNEL: \tix, please tell me you are not defending that app/
TIXARI: + so what if i am? you're not a hater, are you? +
VENNEL: \hater/
VENNEL: \that app was a pupose built datalogger to put trolls on a database. it's evil/
TIXARI: + so? we just got done establishing that everything in society is evil. +
TIXARI: + besides, you don't even know how much i made off that app before i got thrown in the mills. +
VENNEL: \and why do you think it is that you got thrown in the mills in the first place?/
TIXARI:+ you can't seriously be suggesting they deliberately algorithmically boosted troll creators just to have easy to hunt down targets are you? +
VENNEL: \i am not suggesting that tix i am outright saying that/
TIXARI: + you just hate to see an egirl winning. that's really what's going on here. +
VENNEL: \okay you/
VENNEL: \egirls aren't even popular outside of like three niche online communities max!/
VENNEL: \isn't it already sus that your whole gimmick got boosted so high anyway?/
TIXARI: + sorry you're not as cute as me, i guess. +
TIXARI: + the older generation just doesn't get it. must be sad to be a has-been! +
VENNEL: \i'm literally only a year older than you. there is no "generational difference" between us/
TIXARI: + then you should be getting it! +
VENNEL: \i do get it! that's why i hate it!/
TIXARI: + bluh bluh bluh. i'll show you my page when we get out and i'll change your mind. +
VENNEL: \if i wanted to see you i could just look at you in the flesh, not filtered through some weirdo cringe app that probably isn't even culturally relevant anymore/
TIXARI: + SUCH a hater. kanira are you hearing this??? +

Kanira laughs, because it's wondrous that they're all able to have these kinds of asinine conversations now. This is how they all should be, not desperately scrambling for their lives in a world that wants them dead.

KANIRA: ^.^ tixari if vennel is too old and outdated to understand this what makes you think i have any hope?~
TIXARI: + i dunno. you might be cool! +
TIXARI: + i mean. takes a lot to be the kind of person to lead us through this, so... +
TIXARI: + yeah. +
Tixari's face tightens a little. Here's the thing buried beneath the surface, the true feelings she really wants to express.

TIXARI: + i would have died if it wasn't for you, kanira. +
TIXARI: + so like... i dunno. if i don't get the chance before the rebels come, uh. +
TIXARI: + thank you. +
KANIRA: ^.^ tixari...~

Tixari turns around and wraps Kanira in a hug. Her grip is tight, fond. Kanira bats down a swell of emotion and returns the embrace.

KANIRA: ^.^ thank you, too~
KANIRA: ^.^ if it hadnt been for you wed never have gotten in contact with the rebels~
KANIRA: ^.^ youre the reason were getting out of here today. its all thanks to you~
KANIRA: ^.^ never forget that. i am so grateful for you and so proud of you~
TIXARI: + ... +
TIXARI: + yeah. +
TIXARI: + anyway let's leave it at that before i have a moment and end up embarrassing myself. +
KANIRA: ^.^ of course~

Tixari leaves the embrace, blushing. Kanira looks at the girl with a warm smile, then wipes a stray tear from her eye. She cares so much and so deeply about the people here, about the allies that helped her bring this place back from the maws of hell and transform it into a beacon of life and hope.

It is a beautiful dawn and nobody died last night. They're allowed to be soppy, here at the end.

Kanira's snapped from the moment by a short knock at the door.

KANIRA: ^.^ hello?~

The door slowly opens. Pheris steps inside. For the first time, it looks like he's actually had some sleep.

PHERIS: morning, everYone.
VENNEL: \morning doc/
TIXARI: + yeah, hi. +
KANIRA: ^.^ everything okay, pheris?~
PHERIS: with me? wonderful.
PHERIS: firsst night with no medical crissess. it'ss... i get choked up thinking about it.
PHERIS: we reallY made it, desspite it all.
PHERIS: but i'm not here to wax emotional.
KANIRA: ^.^ something up?~
PHERIS: well...

Pheris looks down at his hands. It's now that Kanira notices the way he keeps fidgeting, uncertain.

PHERIS: it'ss ssometing weird.
PHERIS: not bad, maYbe, but definitelY weird.
KANIRA: ^.^ are the people on the ground okay?~
PHERIS: theY're fine! theY're reallY fine, sso don't worrY.
PHERIS: and it might be nothing beYond a mere curiossitY anYwaY, but...
KANIRA: ^.^ but?~
PHERIS: do You remember the weird room in the basement?
KANIRA: ^.^ the bunker that resembles a skaian command station?~
PHERIS: Yeah. that one.
PHERIS: well, a couple of kidss ssnuck in there lasst night. sspent the lasst hour trYing to find them which iss how i ended up down there.
PHERIS: but that'ss not the important bit. important part iss that there'ss... ssomething weird on the sscreenss in there.
KANIRA: ^.^ oh?~

Kanira looks at Pheris. She tries to keep calm and level. This could be any number of things. This could be nothing. But a part of her, the deeply-buried academic, is positively vibrating at the notion of a piece of Skaian technology exhibiting any kind of oddity.

Tixari and Vennel look at each other and shrug. This probably means little to them. But that's fine. This means everything to Kanira.

KANIRA: ^.^ you know, i always did mean to return to that place~
KANIRA: ^.^ never had the time~
PHERIS: well, i know You know more about thiss kind of sstuff than mosst people sso i thought i'd come to You.
KANIRA: ^.^ and what did you see there, exactly?~
PHERIS: uh, ssYmbolss, i think? they kept vacillating between a couple of them.
PHERIS: didn't get too good a look becausse i wass herding kidss, but...
PHERIS: oh Yeah. some numberss, too on the big machine in the middle of the room. might be a countdown i think?
KANIRA: ^.^ machine?~

Now Kanira feels that pulse of excitement. There was no big machine in the middle of the room when she was down there with Galios. There was the command terminal, and a few scattered pieces of furniture. This is something interesting. Something deeply interesting.

She takes a step towards Pheris, unable and unwilling to bury the glint in her eyes.

KANIRA: ^.^ okay, that is bizarre~
PHERIS: You're telling me. downright sscarY in that place with all those sscreenss going off like that.
PHERIS: anY clue on what'ss going on?
KANIRA: ^.^ i... cant say that i do, immediately~
KANIRA: ^.^ if i had a look, then...~

Kanira pauses, guilty. There are more important things than a command station beneath a prison. Rescue will be here any time. She has to help get everyone ready to leave this place. She has too much responsibility to investigate something on a whim like this.

Even if... it is incredibly tempting.

KANIRA: ^.^ but no~
KANIRA: ^.^ the rebels will most likely be here before noon. theres too much to do~
PHERIS: come on, kanira. don't do that.
PHERIS: the people can look after themsselvess more now that theY're not all dYing of batterlung.
PHERIS: if you wanna check it out then go do it.
PHERIS: i know i'm all kindss of curiouss about whatever'ss going on there.
PHERIS: and once the rebelss get here You'll probablY losse Your chance, sso...
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~
PHERIS: knowing You, it'll take You onlY a few minutess to figure it out.
PHERIS: bessidess, we do sstill need to make sure it's not actuallY anY kind of threat.
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~
KANIRA: ^.^ fine~

Kanira throws up her hands.

KANIRA: ^.^ fine youre right~
KANIRA: ^.^ i just feel bad because i know im being driven more by academic curiosity than concern for the group~
PHERIS: and what'ss wrong with being sselfissh?
PHERIS: You've worked Yoursself to the bone looking after everYthing here. leasst you desserve iss ssomething fun.
PHERIS: even if the fun iss, uh, ssome kind of sspookY room.
PHERIS: never let it be ssaid You're not an interessting woman, kanira.
KANIRA: ^.^ okay well go check it out then~
KANIRA: ^.^ to assuage your fears and satiate my curiosity~
PHERIS: naturallY.
KANIRA: ^.^ of course, we dont know when the rebels will get here so well have to be quick, so...~

She turns to Tixari and Vennel, who have been sitting looking lost after not keeping up with this conversation. They both brighten up at being included again.

KANIRA: ^.^ do you two want to head down to the main courtyard and get ready?~
KANIRA: ^.^ well join you there once were done investigating~
TIXARI: + of course, yeah. +
VENNEL: \we don't mind/
KANIRA: ^.^ thats great~
KANIRA: ^.^ well start getting everything ready once im back, yeah?~
TIXARI: + yeah. definitely. +

Tixari and Vennel leave the couch and walk over to the doorway. Before leaving, Tixari turns around and flashes a toothy smile.

TIXARI: + oh, and have fun with it. +

Kanira and Pheris step out of the room shortly after that. Kanira pulls the door closed, sparing one last glance for the radio set that saved them all. And then they're walking down the hallway towards the basement.

KANIRA: ^.^ its quiet out today~
PHERIS: indeed. might be the firsst quiet daY thiss place hass ever sseen.

Pheris tilts his head towards the window overlooking the courtyard. The dirt floor below is peppered with alchemised tents housing trolls sleeping away the last of the pre-dawn. A soft wind hushes through the courtyard, rustling the folds of fabric every now and then. The patch of grist flowers by the main gates still blossoms, the tallest of the crop easily three metres in height by now.

There is no noise. Just the gentle reassurance of a sleeping world, of a populace at peace. Kanira fights the urge to stop a while and watch morning break over the scene below.

KANIRA: ^.^ never in my wildest dreams did i think wed get here~
KANIRA: ^.^ is everything as well as it looks?~
PHERIS: more than.
PHERIS: batterlung iss bassicallY no more, outsside of a tinY handful of perssisstent cassess, but even theY are making rapid progressss.
PHERIS: nobodY has died in over twentY-four hours. that'ss... Yeah.
PHERIS: i woke up todaY and realized i didn't have to sset foot in the morgue. hell of a fucking feeling, kanira. hell of a fucking feeling.

Pheris can't help but smile earnestly. It's the most alive Kanira has ever seen him.

KANIRA: ^.^ so what is the final death toll in the end?~
PHERIS: ssame ass it wass YessterdaY.
PHERIS: of the 3600 prissonerss detained in thiss mill, there were 2162 cassualtiess, the majoritY of which occurred during the batterlung outbreak.
PHERIS: around fortY percent of the total population hass ssurvived, which iss above and beYond even our wildesst esstimationss.
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~

Kanira falls quiet as they walk. Two thousand dead in just over a week. It feels absurd to see those figures as something to celebrate, even when you remember that this is a prison population on the brink, that they survived an outbreak of one of the deadliest pathogens in the modern world. The three morgues on the ground floor are stuffed to bursting, and there's a mass grave out back full of rotting bodies because they had nowhere else to put them.

She hasn't set eyes on that wretched trench in days, and feels infinitely cowardly for not doing so. It's not the fault of the survivors, not at all, but it's a sight so cruel that the mere thought of it drains any joy out of the occasion.

KANIRA: ^.^ i wish it didnt have to be like this~
PHERIS: i know. i know, kanira.
PHERIS: it'ss not fair that so manY are dead. it'ss not fair that anY of us ever ended up here in the firsst place.
PHERIS: but we do what we can and we celebrate the miracless that we do have.
PHERIS: anY other mill that'ss ever attempted ssomething ssimilar to this ssaw all of itss prissonerss exterminated.
PHERIS: that nearlY half of uss made it, that crockercorp iss too bussy with whatever nightmare iss going down in the human kingdom... we are sso fortunate that thiss iss the outcome.
PHERIS: help iss coming. thiss all felt impossssible not even ten daYss ago.
PHERIS: Yet here we are.
KANIRA: ^.^ here we are~
KANIRA: ^.^ sorry, i know i should be happy~
KANIRA: ^.^ its just hard when i think about the cost of it all~
PHERIS: i know.
PHERIS: but it ends todaY.
PHERIS: the rebelss will take uss out of thiss nightmare once and for all.
PHERIS: we are alive. that iss the mosst important thing.

Nothing more needs to be said. Kanira can't refute without veering into self-pity. He's right. They made it against all odds. Anything else is needless guilt. The dead are dead. The alive are alive. This is a universal truth. Kanira will be doing nobody any favours if she gets bogged down by ghosts.

They walk on in silence along the hallway. Below, Kanira watches as Tixari and Vennel cross the courtyard, headed for the main gates. Vennel must say something, because Tixari is leaning her head back in laughter. Kanira's lips twitch. That there is what's important. Her responsibility is to the living.

KANIRA: ^.^ youre right, pheris~

Pheris smiles softly at her.

PHERIS: i know i am.
PHERIS: now, enough moping. we have a sspookY device to check out.

There is a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway. Kanira and Pheris head down them, leaving behind the view of the slowly waking courtyard. There will be much work to be done today, but not now, not yet.

They make their way down to the ground floor, and through the maze of former cells and guard quarters. Kanira notices that some people have taken to sleeping in the cells with the doors open. She sees a variety of alchemised improvements. Floors scattered with pillows. King size beds. Even the occasional recuperacoon.

More than that, she notices one other thing. Nobody sleeps alone.

At the northern edge of the compound is another flight of stairs that leads underground behind a heavy set of double doors. Pheris steps forward and pulls one of them open, grunting a little with the effort.

PHERIS: here we are.
KANIRA: ^.^ yes, of course~
KANIRA: ^.^ lets go~

Kanira steps through first, then Pheris behind her. When he lets go of the door, it swings shut again with a loud clang that echoes ahead of them.

The staircase down to the hallway is cooler than the rest of the building, dimly lit by flickering bulbs that run off of a generator they were never able to find. Kanira looks up at the lights and wonders if they're even powered by anything in the first place. There's an air of weirdness as you draw close to the command station that makes it easier to believe in and accept the unusual and illogical.

Once they're at the bottom of the stairs, there's another long stretch of hallway. The tiled floor below alternated between black and white in an apt if gauche chess pattern. Kanira's footsteps echo off the walls. There is an air of loneliness down here, the sense that this place is hermetically isolated from the rest of reality.

She never really noticed it when she was down here with Galios, but she feels it today.

At the end of this hallway is another door. It's a sealed sliding door with a spirograph embezzled on it. Beside it is a touchpad. Kanira stops before it. A chill runs across her skin.

KANIRA: ^.^ there really is an exile station here~
KANIRA: ^.^ of course, i already know this, but looking at it like this, it...~
KANIRA: ^.^ truly fascinating~

She runs a hand across the spirograph. The lighting makes it hard to tell what colour it's supposed to be - maybe some kind of beige? Whatever colour it is, it's not one that's recognisably part of the known Skaian cosmos. It's all unknown. It's all exciting.

Kanira aches for a notepad to write her observations on. She aches for her old colleagues, overcome with the urge to have them here and show them this outlandish discovery. They're all likely rotting away in cake mills across the continent same as Kanira if they're not already dead. She hopes when the war ends that they survive so she can share the wonder of this moment. This door alone raises so many questions that threaten to turn so much contemporary research on Paradox Space on its head.

PHERIS: what'ss with the door, kanira?
KANIRA: ^.^ the color of the spirograph~
KANIRA: ^.^ it doesnt correlate with any of the colors associated with any of earth cs creators~
PHERIS: huh.
PHERIS: well, it might be a sstupid quesstion but i'll assk it anYwaY.
PHERIS: what about god tier ssYmbolss? don't theY have their own colorss?
KANIRA: ^.^ they do but it doesnt match those either~
KANIRA: ^.^ you could maybe argue that the beige is somewhat evocative of the aspect of life, but the saturations all...~

She trails off. As she looks, the colour of the spirograph switches from the grey-beige to a dark greenish-teal.

KANIRA: ^.^ oh~
KANIRA: ^.^ oh this is curious~
KANIRA: ^.^ so you shift like the symbols too?~
PHERIS: what do You mean the ssYmbolss?
KANIRA: ^.^ when galios and i were down here, there was a symbol on one of the screens~
KANIRA: ^.^ it kept randomly fluctuating between one of two states~
KANIRA: ^.^ i still dont know why but it seems this spirograph operates under similar rules~
KANIRA: ^.^ what would cause this though? an overlap in assigned player?~
KANIRA: ^.^ that would be without precedent though~
KANIRA: ^.^ weve seen dual dreamselves, but two players occupying one slot is...~
KANIRA: ^.^ it was outright dismissed in academia decades ago since even with pluralistic entities inhabiting one body like cherubs, each "self" is treated as their own player~
KANIRA: ^.^ so what could this be then?~
PHERIS: i... don't know?

Pheris shrugs helplessly. Kanira gives him a patient look, but every part of her wishes he was more clued-up on this so she'd have someone to bounce her ideas off of. Her brain feels like it's racing at a million miles per hour.

PHERIS: aren't exile sstationss for ssburb ssessions?
PHERIS: sso issn't thiss for one of the godss?
PHERIS: uh,
PHERIS: which oness hailed from earth b again?
PHERIS: that wass the thief of light and that group, right?
KANIRA: ^.^ not quite~
KANIRA: ^.^ earth b was the sburb alpha session~
KANIRA: ^.^ the thief of light was part of the sgrub session that generated earth a and the beta session~
KANIRA: ^.^ earth bs gods were the prince of heart the page of hope the rogue of void and well~
KANIRA: ^.^ the maid of life~
KANIRA: ^.^ jane crocker~
PHERIS: …

The mention of Crocker's name sours the mood for a moment. A muscle in Pheris's jaw tightens. Kanira shakes it off and continues.

KANIRA: ^.^ regardless, the important part of that is that the alpha session was a void session~
KANIRA: ^.^ earth b failed to generate the relevant skaian architecture due to a convoluted chain of glitches and errors that meant numerous elements from the beta session had to be transplanted over in order to birth earth c~
KANIRA: ^.^ the alpha session never had exiles, let alone exile stations~
KANIRA: ^.^ there is of course the fabled dead cherub session at the end of our universe's chronology, but...~
KANIRA: ^.^ the leading theories all agree that the scaffolding for that session has not yet arrived~
KANIRA: ^.^ and even if it did, the appearance and function of that exile station is already well known~
KANIRA: ^.^ this place doesnt fit the pattern~
PHERIS: i... ssee.
PHERIS: sso thiss place iss... what, then?
PHERIS: ssome weird anomalY with erratic colorss and ssYmbolss?
KANIRA: ^.^ well, im not sure if there truly is no logic to the vacillation of the spirograph and the symbols on the~
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: kanira?

Kanira freezes up. A revelation both obvious and belated swims its way into her head. Pheris looks on at her, equal parts perplexed and concerned.

PHERIS: what iss it?
KANIRA: ^.^ oh wow~
KANIRA: ^.^ oh WOW~
KANIRA: ^.^ it was staring me in the face the whole time! how am i only just now putting the pieces together~
PHERIS: the piecess of what?
PHERIS: kanira, i'm finding it reallY hard to follow, here.
KANIRA: ^.^ right right, sorry~
KANIRA: ^.^ ill break it down for you~
KANIRA: ^.^ what are the two sessions played by the human gods known as?~
PHERIS: wait, uh. sshit. there'ss a couple namess for thiss one, right?
PHERIS: the humanss were ssgrub, weren't theY?
KANIRA: ^.^ not quite~
KANIRA: ^.^ sgrub was the alternians~
KANIRA: ^.^ sburb was the iteration of the game produced by skaianet and distributed on both earths either side of the scratch~
PHERIS: look, You know i never reallY cared about thiss sstuff in sschool.
KANIRA: ^.^ anyway, the name of the game isnt the important part~
KANIRA: ^.^ the descriptor is, however~
KANIRA: ^.^ alpha and beta~
PHERIS: alpha and beta?
KANIRA: ^.^ pheris, what were the symbols on the screens inside the exile station again?~

Pheris blinks, then looks away in thought. When he speaks, he gestures vaguely with his hands.

PHERIS: um... one wass a triangle. orange.
PHERIS: the other wass kind of like... a horssesshoe?
PHERIS: or, uh... maYbe a sstYlized verssion of the libra ssigil?
PHERIS: it wass bright red.
KANIRA: ^.^ triangles and horseshoes~
KANIRA: ^.^ or, more likely, delta and omega~
PHERIS: and theY are...?
KANIRA: ^.^ additional letters in the mythic alphabet used for sburb games~
KANIRA: ^.^ the alpha session and the beta session~
KANIRA: ^.^ which, if the pattern upholds...~
KANIRA: ^.^ it wouldnt be a stretch to imagine these symbols refer to potential delta and omega sessions of sburb~
PHERIS: sso thiss would mean...?
KANIRA: ^.^ this would mean that there are somehow two distinct sburb sessions keyed into earth c that we never knew about before!~
KANIRA: ^.^ thats~
KANIRA: ^.^ thats massive!~

Kanira can't help but break out into a smile. Her whole body is rigid with excited energy. Never in all her years did she even dream of being able to utter such words.

Pheris is less overjoyed.

PHERIS: wait.
PHERIS: but.
PHERIS: issn't the whole thing with ssburb that, uh.
PHERIS: game ssessssionss come with world-ending meteorss attached to them? :Y
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ well~
KANIRA: ^.^ yes~
KANIRA: ^.^ but for the cherub session to occur several billion years from now, that indicates~
PHERIS: You know i don't think a couple of cherubss parked on the planet when the ssun goess ssupernova iss proof of anYthing.
PHERIS: five billion Yearss iss a long time.
PHERIS: more than enough for earth c to be desstroYed and rebuilt bY ssburb sseveral timess over, no?
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~

Kanira falters. She doesn't agree with Pheris, but his argument is sound. Her only defense against it is silly and stupid, but it's all she's got.

KANIRA: ^.^ but an extra set of sburb sessions between the void and dead sessions, thats~
KANIRA: ^.^ that doesnt feel canon?~
PHERIS: feel canon? kanira what the hell doess that actuallY mean.
KANIRA: ^.^ i mean~
KANIRA: ^.^ well~
KANIRA: ^.^ our mythos is entangled in a cosmic narrative bound by multiple known timeloops~
KANIRA: ^.^ it would be exceedingly difficult to hide a whole new sburb session in the middle of that loop, let alone two of them~
PHERIS: but not impossssible, no?
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ suppose not~

She frowns. She doesn't like the direction this conversation is going. It has always been accepted without a shred of doubt that whatever Earth C's fate, it would at least be spared the horrors of its predecessors.

KANIRA: ^.^ yet there is not definitive proof that we are in danger~
KANIRA: ^.^ assuming sburb to follow its usual pattern, there is a steadily increasing barrage of meteors in the weeks and months leading up to the true players actual entry into the medium~
KANIRA: ^.^ ive not seen or heard of any meteors, have you?~
PHERIS: we can't ssaY that for sure.
PHERIS: we've been imprissoned insside a cake mill for the besst part of a Year with our onlY knowledge of the outsside world extremelY limited and extremelY controlled.
PHERIS: do You reallY think crockercorp *wouldn't* go to great lengthss to cover up an impending apocalYpsse?
KANIRA: ^.^ well no but~
KANIRA: ^.^ wouldnt the rebels have mentioned that when we spoke with them?~
PHERIS: did You think to ask them about meteorss?
KANIRA: ^.^ no~
PHERIS: sso we cannot ssaY for ssure.
KANIRA: ^.^ well i do know we havent seen any meteors locally~
KANIRA: ^.^ so at the very least that would mean that if there is an impending sburb session we are in the very early stages where the priority is extinguishing doomed offshoot sessions~
KANIRA: ^.^ really, i dont think we can say anything about when or if a potential sburb session may arrive~
KANIRA: ^.^ this could have been unearthed centuries ahead of schedule for all we know so~
KANIRA: ^.^ try not to worry too much okay?~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: ...fine. not like we don't have more pressssing issssuess anYwaY.

Kanira nods. Then, before the mood can sink any further, she turns her attention to the touchpad beside the door.

KANIRA: ^.^ right~
KANIRA: ^.^ so lets go ahead and check the exile station out already~
PHERIS: mm.

Kanira places her hand on the touchpad. It's oddly warm and perfectly smooth to the touch. She expects an electric current to zap her, but nothing remarkable happens when she rests her palm atop the unidentifiable material. She pushes down on it.

With a soft click, the spirograph door slides open. A rush of cool air greets them. It feels like stepping into a tomb.

Kanira moves first.

KANIRA: ^.^ shall we?~

Once inside, the overall layout of the room is the same as Kanira remembered. Small and dark, with one half of the room taken up by bedframes. Most of the bedding has since been removed, most likely repurposed over the last few days. The appearifier is also as it was, completely inert after its miracle delivery of alien seeds.

Next to the appearifier is the main command terminal console. As Pheris said, all the screens are lit up. Each screen either displays Δ or Ω in a roughly alternating pattern. Unlike before, the symbols remain static. Kanira looks at it with a frown, unsure of what to make of it.

KANIRA: ^.^ so whats the big thing that youre~
KANIRA: ^.^ oh~

She turns her attention to the middle of the room. Coming out from the ground is a large mechanical pedestal, several feet across in diameter. On top of the pedestal is a folded bud that brushes against the ceiling, light grey in colour.

Attached to the side of the pedestal facing Kanira is a small screen. It displays a string of numbers in stark white, steadily decreasing each second.

48:41:15
48:41:14
48:41:13

KANIRA: ^.^ ah~

Kanira knows what this is. Anyone who knows anything about the Skaian lore knows what this is.

PHERIS: sso?
KANIRA: ^.^ this is~
KANIRA: ^.^ a lotus time capsule~
PHERIS: and what'ss that?

Pheris eyes the countdown nervously.

KANIRA: ^.^ theyre typically used to transport items across vast periods of time and universes~
KANIRA: ^.^ in the beta session this is how the exiled white king reached the destroyed earth a~
KANIRA: ^.^ essentially you place something inside the capsule where it remains suspended for a designated length of time~
KANIRA: ^.^ then when the timer hits zero the flower opens and its contents are revealed~
KANIRA: ^.^ quite often these time capsules carry items of utmost importance to the alpha timeline~
KANIRA: ^.^ they are an underrated but completely indispensable element of the lore of skaia and sburb~
PHERIS: sso... a big deal then.
KANIRA: ^.^ yes~

Kanira steps forward and loosely circles around the capsule. The timer continues to tick down. She doesn't try to force it open or interact with it in any way. She knows that this thing will only open at the appointed hour and that nothing will alter its course.

PHERIS: and that'ss what the countdown is for?
PHERIS: that'ss when whatever'ss insside here will come out?
KANIRA: ^.^ essentially~
PHERIS: sso going bY the timer... that'll be, what, about six in the morning two daYss from now?
KANIRA: ^.^ yes~
PHERIS: huh.
PHERIS: You think we'll be there to ssee it open?
KANIRA: ^.^ i would like to see it but im not sure~
KANIRA: ^.^ most likely well be in outglut^2 by then~
KANIRA: ^.^ well have to let the rebels know about this though~
PHERIS: right. in casse it'ss ssomething bad.
KANIRA: ^.^ good or bad, whatevers in here is deeply important~
KANIRA: ^.^ we need decent people to keep an eye on it~
KANIRA: ^.^ now, more importantly~
KANIRA: ^.^ when did this capsule show up?~

Pheris shrugs. His gaze keeps alternating between Kanira and the countdown timer.

PHERIS: i don't know.
PHERIS: i noticed it when i came here earlier, but i couldn't tell You when it sshowed up.
PHERIS: some point in the lasst two or sso daYss, i'd reckon.
KANIRA: ^.^ hm~
KANIRA: ^.^ it is strange that its here at all~
KANIRA: ^.^ there was nothing like this around earlier~
PHERIS: Yeah. i think we'd recall ssomething this consspicuouss.
KANIRA: ^.^ indeed~
KANIRA: ^.^ and this isnt the kind of thing you can just move around so...~
KANIRA: ^.^ how did it get here and why?~
KANIRA: ^.^ whats inside this thing?~

She can't help herself. She rests a hand on one of the petals. This time, a small thrill of electricity does run through her. She can't tell if it's a byproduct of the capsule itself, or if it's got something to do with whatever sits inside.

PHERIS: iss there anY waY of uss figuring it out?
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont think so~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont think anybody will know for sure until the capsule opens~
KANIRA: ^.^ well except for whoever put this mystery object inside it~
PHERIS: who would that be?
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont know~
KANIRA: ^.^ lotus time capsules are tricky~
KANIRA: ^.^ they can transport things across millions of years and even whole universes~
KANIRA: ^.^ plus, depending on the chronology, the loading of this capsule may not actually happen until many years from now~
PHERIS: sso it could have been ssent back in time? we're talking time travel here?
KANIRA: ^.^ perhaps~
PHERIS: sso thiss thing could have come from literallY anY time and anY place in exisstence.
KANIRA: ^.^ yes~
PHERIS: that meanss there'ss no waY we can figure it out.
KANIRA: ^.^ well, unless...~

Struck with inspiration, Kanira returns to the appearifier. She pushes a few buttons until it comes to life. Pheris follows her over, hesitant and uncertain.

PHERIS: what could the appearifier have to do with thiss?
KANIRA: ^.^ im thinking that maybe this is how this thing got here~
KANIRA: ^.^ someone on the other end of this device sent it over from wherever and whenever they are~
KANIRA: ^.^ although why anyone would do that is unclear to me~
KANIRA: ^.^ a lot of the "why" of this is deeply uncertain~
PHERIS: right.

After a few misfired keyboard commands and struggles with the interface, Kanira eventually manages to get the device to show her a log of recent uses.

KANIRA: ^.^ lets see what you can tell us~

It takes a couple of seconds for the log to generate and print out. Kanira takes the piece of paper from a slot near the bottom of the machine and straightens it out.

What it shows her is... unfortunate. The most recent recorded usage of this machine was a handful of days ago when the seeds showed up. Before that, the log indicates that nothing has been sent or received by this machine in millennia.

KANIRA: ^.^ ah~
PHERIS: what'ss wrong?
KANIRA: ^.^ this capsule, it...~
KANIRA: ^.^ it wasnt sent over via appearifier~
PHERIS: oh.
KANIRA: ^.^ so i have no clue how it got here~
KANIRA: ^.^ really, this thing shouldnt *be* here at all~
KANIRA: ^.^ in fact lotus capsules are basically never seen inside exile stations~
KANIRA: ^.^ theyre almost exclusively attached to frog ruins and the like~
KANIRA: ^.^ so... i dont know~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont even know where to begin with trying to figure this out~

Kanira lets out an uneasy breath. It feels a little like hitting a brick wall. So many mysteries, dangling right before her. All her decades of expertise in the field feel like they're for naught. What good is a lifetime of study of Paradox Space if you're unable to figure out a shred of information about the first curveball it throws at you? Maybe trying to understand has always been an exercise in futility.

KANIRA: ^.^ either way, i dont think were in trouble~
KANIRA: ^.^ at the very least not until this capsule opens~
KANIRA: ^.^ i dont know any more than that~
KANIRA: ^.^ im sorry~

She slumps a little. Pheris places a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

PHERIS: no, it'ss fine. You figured out more than i could ever hope to.
PHERIS: i had no clue it wass a ssburb thing, or anY of the other sstuff You ssaid.
PHERIS: You've been a great help, kanira.
KANIRA: ^.^ ...~
KANIRA: ^.^ thanks~
KANIRA: ^.^ its just frustrating not being able to understand what im dealing with~
PHERIS: i know. but we've done all we can.
PHERIS: we'll jusst be ssure to passss the messssage on to the rebelss sso that theY can maYbe deal with thiss thing.
KANIRA: ^.^ right~
KANIRA: ^.^ shame we wont get to know for ourselves whats in there~
PHERIS: whY not? You're a sspecialisst in thiss field.
PHERIS: i'm ssure theY'd let You sstick around for the opening of the capssule if You assked.
KANIRA: ^.^ huh~
KANIRA: ^.^ maybe~
KANIRA: ^.^ ill have to see if im not needed anywhere more urgently first though~
PHERIS: of coursse.
KANIRA: ^.^ anyway~

Kanira steps away from the console. A more focused expression returns to her face.

KANIRA: ^.^ now that we maybe know more about this situation we need to go and prepare for the rebels arrival~
KANIRA: ^.^ they could be here any time now~
KANIRA: ^.^ we should be there to greet them at the gates~
PHERIS: definitelY. thiss wass a fun and sspookY disstraction, but we sstill have work to do.
PHERIS: i need to alchemize one lasst batch of antibioticss for the chronic cassess before it getss too bussy to do sso.
KANIRA: ^.^ right~
KANIRA: ^.^ duty calls~
KANIRA: ^.^ for the last time~

It feels weird to say that. From Pheris's expression, it's clear he feels the same way. In mutual agreement, they both walk towards the exile station's exit. There is work to be done, and as always, their duty is to the people on the ground, and not idle curiosities, no matter how tantalising.

Kanira hesitates at the doorway, bites back the urge to have one last look, then hurries to catch up with Pheris. The automatic door slides shut.

In the darkness of the room, the countdown continues to march on to its inevitable destination.

At the top of the staircase, Pheris wanders over to the window as Kanira struggles to pull the heavy door shut.

KANIRA: ^.^ pheris i could use a hand~
KANIRA: ^.^ pheris?~
PHERIS: ...
KANIRA: ^.^ what is it?~
PHERIS: kanira, look at thiss.

Kanira lets go of the door and resigns herself to the terrible slam that cracks down the hallway like thunder. She walks over to where Pheris is, and follows his gaze out of the window.

This window overlooks the courtyard and the desert beyond it. On the horizon and drawing closer is a mass of shapes, riding the edge of the sunrise. Kanira can't quite make them out from this distance, but...

KANIRA: ^.^ is that a vehicle convoy?~
PHERIS: i think sso.
PHERIS: musst be them.

The second thing she feels is joy. The first is a loose panic that they're nowhere near prepared for the rebels to arrive, and she wasted all that time investigating the exile station when she could have been on the ground doing real work.

But Kanira breathes past it. She made her choice. It was not a bad choice. A slightly disorganised compound of survivors will hardly matter in the long run. The rebels will not care if it takes them an extra hour to get everything together. Their survival is a miracle. That's what matters.

KANIRA: ^.^ we should go down~
PHERIS: definitelY.

They make their way back along the hallway and through the cells. A few trolls are starting to wake up and go about their morning business. When they spot Kanira and Pheris, some wave and smile in acknowledgement.

Pheris stops in the middle of the hallway and clears his throat.

PHERIS: alright everYone, the rebelss will be here sshortlY.
PHERIS: make ssure everYthing You need to bring with You iss readY to go, and pleasse help out thosse who need it.
KANIRA: ^.^ well be going ahead to greet them~
KANIRA: ^.^ if you could please spread the word we would massively appreciate it~
KANIRA: ^.^ hopefully by tonight well be out of here for good. weve made it~

It's not a rousing speech, but it doesn't try to be. It gets the word across, and sets the trolls before them to packing up their things and gently waking up their neighbours. One thing that's deeply impressed Kanira is how efficiently this community has mobilised now most people are back on their feet. Then again, if they were able to coordinate a prisoners' uprising, this should not come as a surprise.

They leave the cell block and head for the hallway leading to the courtyard. As they walk, Pheris's expression hardens.

PHERIS: sshit.
KANIRA: ^.^ what is it?~
PHERIS: i wanted to alchemize ssome more medicine before theY got here.
PHERIS: won't have the time to check up on thosse who are sstill ssick now.
KANIRA: ^.^ pheris, its fine~
KANIRA: ^.^ if you want to go tend to your patients go do that~
KANIRA: ^.^ ill be fine to talk to the rebels myself~
PHERIS: Yeah, but.
PHERIS: i want to be there with You, kanira.
PHERIS: i alsso don't want to neglect thosse i have a dutY of care towardss.

Kanira turns to face Pheris who is now wringing his hands uncomfortably.

KANIRA: ^.^ pheris, do not beat yourself up~
KANIRA: ^.^ youve done enough~
KANIRA: ^.^ i will be fine to do this on my own, just as the sick will be fine for an extra hour~
KANIRA: ^.^ you said yourself that their lives are not in imminent danger beyond some persistent coughing and muscle weakness~
KANIRA: ^.^ more than that, there are other people you can ask to help out~
KANIRA: ^.^ you have been relying on other people to help, havent you?~
PHERIS: ...

His silence is the answer in its entirety. Kanira first feels the urge to roll her eyes in frustration, then turns it into a short laugh.

KANIRA: ^.^ well, im really the last person to judge you for doing that~
KANIRA: ^.^ but im still going to tell you that you should stop trying to take on everything by yourself, okay?~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: fine. i jusst. You know. feel ass if i'm failing them if i'm not there all the time.
KANIRA: ^.^ pheris you are just one troll. nobody but you expects that level of extreme devotion~
PHERIS: ssaYss You.
KANIRA: ^.^ i know, ha~
KANIRA: ^.^ but i am trying to make an effort in delegating and not burning myself out~
KANIRA: ^.^ even if its not very effective~
KANIRA: ^.^ so instead of working yourself to the bone down to the last second i think you should ask somebody else to alchemize the medicine~
KANIRA: ^.^ and you and i can talk with the rebels together~
KANIRA: ^.^ okay?~
PHERIS: ...
PHERIS: okaY! fine.

He throws up his hands but smiles fondly. Kanira puts a hand on his shoulder.

KANIRA: ^.^ good~
KANIRA: ^.^ were at the finish line here. lets not collapse until after then, yeah?~
PHERIS: Yeah, okaY.
PHERIS: ssorrY.
KANIRA: ^.^ dont be~
KANIRA: ^.^ i understand how it feels~
KANIRA: ^.^ but the worst is past us~
KANIRA: ^.^ we can afford to stop operating in crisis mode all the time~
KANIRA: ^.^ now lets get going~

Kanira leads the way out of the main building and into the courtyard. Tixari stands in a central location with a megaphone. Vennel is beside her, steadying the crate she is standing on.

TIXARI: + OKAY GUYS THE REBELS WILL BE HERE ANY MINUTE NOW +
TIXARI: + SO LET'S GET READY TO MOVE. PACK WHAT YOU WANT TO BRING. HELP THOSE WHO NEED IT. YOU KNOW THE DRILL. +
TIXARI: + WE'RE ALMOST HOME FREE. +

Kanira smiles at Tixari in action. The girl has a set of lungs on her when she needs to use them. She's glad to have such good people on her side.
Pheris looks on at the scene fondly for a few seconds before stepping away towards a group of trolls congregating by one of the alchemiters.

PHERIS: i'm going to take Your advice, kanira.
PHERIS: i won't be more than a couple minutess. i'll join You when i'm done.
KANIRA: ^.^ of course~

Pheris heads off to one end of the courtyard while Kanira walks in the other. When Tixari notices her approach, she waves excitedly.

TIXARI: + they're almost here, kanira! +
KANIRA: ^.^ i know. we saw on our way down~
TIXARI: + i went up on the watchtower a couple minutes ago. it looks like a huge convoy! +
KANIRA: ^.^ thats really good~
KANIRA: ^.^ it should mean we can all leave this place at once~
VENNEL: \hell yeah/

Tixari leans on Vennel (who in turn leans on his crutches) as she climbs down off the crate. All around them, there are people starting to get ready. There's a sudden bustle of excited chatter in the air, something even sweeter than the day the flowers bloomed.

VENNEL: \judging by distance they should be here in half an hour tops/
VENNEL: \looked like they were going pretty fast across the badlands i think/
TIXARI: + yeah. massive dust and smoke plumes and all that. +
TIXARI: + god, who even knows how fast they're going. +
KANIRA: ^.^ well id imagine they dont want to waste a second if they dont have to~
TIXARI: + right, right. +
TIXARI: + oh also, did you hear??? +
KANIRA: ^.^ hear what?~

Tixari smiles widely. Vennel nods next to her, a similar grin on his face.

VENNEL: \radio in the watchtowers still getting news broadcasts/
VENNEL: \been an update on the nuseattle situation/
KANIRA: ^.^ oh?~

For no reason she can identify, Kanira's pulse quickens.

KANIRA: ^.^ what is it?~
VENNEL: \well, i mean, it's insane to think about and i barely believe it myself/
VENNEL: \but the broadcast was super insistent on it being the case/
TIXARI: + what he's trying to say is that all the reports are saying the same thing. +
TIXARI: + jane crocker is dead. +
KANIRA: ^.^ oh~

A rush of dizziness takes her over. It takes all Kanira's strength to remain standing, to not cry out in relief and joy and ecstasy.

KANIRA: ^.^ really?~
VENNEL: \we think so/
VENNEL: \lotta reports about the battle are vague and unsure/
VENNEL: \but the consistent rumor is that crockercorp hq exploded and crocker herself died a just death/
TIXARI: + more than that, they also keep saying that the overwhelming majority of crockercorp's forces were defeated and nuseattle is now in the hands of the rebellion. +
TIXARI: + it's... +
TIXARI: + we won, kanira! we WON!!!!! +
KANIRA ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ thats~

Tixari whoops, punching the air. Kanira breathes through her nose, out her mouth. It doesn't feel real. Every instinct is to call Tixari and Vennel out for such a cruel prank, but she knows they would have no reason to lie.

Jane Crocker is dead. The war will likely soon be over. Victory has gone to Vantas and the Troll Liberation Army. The better world is not just possible, it is here already. Kanira glances over at the main gates to the compound with tears welling in her eyes. They will be stepping out of here into something they only dreamed of before now.

Then her thoughts drift to Galios, who did so much for her and all of them and who died a scant few days before their freedom was assured. It makes the waste of it all burn harsher. It makes her appreciate his sacrifice even more deeply. Because of him, the survivors will all get to walk free today. Kanira has guided them through, but Galios was the one who built the bridge.

VENNEL: \you okay kanira?/
KANIRA: ^.^ yeah, sorry~
KANIRA: ^.^ just~
KANIRA: ^.^ a little overwhelmed by the news~
VENNEL: \nah, i get that/
VENNEL: \you think it means we'll get to go home?/
KANIRA: ^.^ i~
KANIRA: ^.^ perhaps~
KANIRA: ^.^ no doubt there will still be some time before the occupiers are removed from the troll kingdom and there are so many political decisions to be made before then, but...~
KANIRA: ^.^ almost certainly in a shorter time frame than any of us were anticipating~
VENNEL: \that's/
VENNEL: \hell yeah/

Vennel does a weird half-smirk to obviously try and smooth over his own emotions. Like all of them, he had a rich and full life that was torn out from under him upon his imprisonment. No doubt he is also desperate to see which pieces survived the ordeal, and see what he can salvage from the ruins.

Kanira herself can barely think of the possibilities. In the short term, she knows she will help out with the recovery efforts - if anything, the compulsion to be useful has sunk in deep. But after that? Months, years down the line? The future stretches out, hazy and hopeful. It's almost too bright to look at.

TIXARI: + i am so excited for this new and improved world. +
TIXARI: + i think i'm gonna spend my first, like, five years just traveling to all the places i wasn't allowed to go. +
TIXARI: + i wanna see the troll kingdom without getting shot at or put in a shitty fucking prison. i think that would be cool. +
VENNEL: \well maybe not right away/
VENNEL: \gotta wait for my injuries to heal you know?/
TIXARI: + well, like, yeah. of course. +
TIXARI: + i wouldn't leave you behind, ven. +
VENNEL: \heh, thanks/

As the two talk, Kanira takes note of a rumbling noise. In the last few minutes, there has been a hushed whoosh at the periphery of her hearing that's gradually grown stronger in volume and clarity. The vehicle convoy must almost be upon them. It sounds like dozens of engines, overlapping as they steam ahead at full power. A large enough rescue party to save them all and usher them into a better world.

Pheris quietly returns to Kanira's side.

PHERIS: well, i did it.
PHERIS: had over half a dozen volunteerss chime in with the alchemizing and disstribution.
PHERIS: i... heh.
PHERIS: You were right, kanira.
KANIRA: ^.^ told you~

She ribs him teasingly with a wide smile on her face. Now, more than ever, she once again feels the urge to approach life with some levity. The sun is shining, the war is over, and they can now rebuild. Why not laugh?

Pheris looks at her quizzically, and she is about to share the good news with him when she notices that all at once, the sound of the engines cuts out.

KANIRA: ^.^ oh?~
PHERIS: hey, that'ss--
TIXARI: + oh hell yeah. +

The four of them watch as the main gates slowly pull open with a heaving groan that kicks up a small cloud of dust. When it clears, there is a sizeable group of trolls in battle fatigues standing in the doorway, led by an oliveblood.

Without a word, the crowd erupts into uproarious applause for their saviours. Alfonz stands and takes it in coolly, his eyes scanning around for something.

Pheris nudges Kanira's shoulder.

PHERIS: i think that'ss our cue.
KANIRA: ^.^ right~
KANIRA: ^.^ lets go~

They move as one to the front of the crowd. Kanira and Tixari help Vennel adjust his stance, so Pheris pulls ahead with childish joy. As they walk, various trolls and direct the applause towards them in what is clearly a rehearsed act of gratitude they have been saving for this very moment. It lends the whole thing an air of ceremony, a formal marking of the cessation of hard times. Despite herself, Kanira tears up again.

KANIRA: ^.^ this is~
TIXARI: + really feeling like an A list celebrity right about now, haha. +
VENNEL: \suppose this'll make up for your sunk croktok career lmao/
TIXARI: + hey, shut it! let's just enjoy the adoration. +
VENNEL: \cause heaven forbid we don't get an ego trip as a reward/

As they navigate the crowd's smiles and applause that feel like a precision-beam spotlight, Pheris comes to a stop before Alfonz.

PHERIS: hello. commander alfonz, i take it?

Alfonz tilts his head in acknowledgement, then steps forward. Behind him, more of the armed troll start filing in. The applause grows louder.

ALFONZ: are you in charge?
PHERIS: well, it'ss more of a collective effort, but i ssupposse i am one of the recognized leaderss of thiss communitY.
PHERIS: reallY, though, i'm nothing compared to the real glue that kept uss afloat, that honor belongss to--

Pheris stops short. His body goes oddly rigid. Alfonz has moved his arm forward, as if he's gone in to shake Pheris's hand. Something about the atmosphere shifts, but Kanira's still too far out to tell what.

Alfonz withdraws his arm. Something twinkles in the morning light. Kanira realises, too late to do anything, that it's the blade of a knife.
It happens in slow motion. Pheris staggers back one pace. Something drips to the dry ground. Spat. Spat Spat. Chunks of jade blood falling from his torso. He makes no noise, no gesture, and then crumples to the ground.

Alfonz raises one arm in a signal gesture. The trolls behind him, and the humans in red - how come she didn't see them until now? - cock their rifles, then open fire into the audience.

The applause dies. Tixari screams.

Kanira's brain feels like it's been plunged into soup. She can do little more but stand there numbly as the people around her scramble, shriek and die. A volley of bullets erupts and a child gets peppered full of holes and then collapses in an indigo mist. They're dying, they're being shot at, what's happening, why--

She's abruptly pulled to one side as a human opens fire on the spot she was standing. Vennel is looking at her with wide, bewildered, terrified eyes.

VENNEL: \kanira what the fuck's happening what do we/
TIXARI: - they're killing us, why are they -

A wall of Crockercorp soldiers and trolls in rebel uniform pushes through the front gates. A few of their sentries try to make a stand but they do little more than die. Someone steps over Pheris's dead body and tracks jade blood in the dirt.

This sight snaps Kanira's mind out of the hazy shock of a betrayal she can't articulate. The world feels like it's collapsing all around her, but she can think again.

She assesses the situation with alarming speed. This is a force of at least a hundred battle trained soldiers equipped with the gear from two armies. She does not know why they have joined forces or why they are slaughtering everybody, but it does not matter. What matters is that they are all wholly overpowered and they have no weapons to take them on with.

They can't stay here. They have to run. But they are trapped in a cake mill in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the best vehicles grist can produce. There is no fighting. There is no running. They are grubs in a barrel. There is no time for despair. Only the desperate need for a solution, any way to not die here, something--

The image flashes in her mind like a strobe light. Knowledge, old and tedious, suddenly becomes the sole anchor point upon which she must bet all their hopes of survival.

Kanira turns, taking both Tixari and Vennel by the hand.

KANIRA: ^.^ we need to go NOW~
TIXARI: - where?? kanira, they -
KANIRA: ^.^ exile station in the basement~
KANIRA: ^.^ we have to move right this minute~
TIXARI: - wh -
KANIRA: ^.^ MOVE!~

Tixari hooks Vennel's arm around her shoulder and the two of them sprint after Kanira, desperate and terrified children unable to make sense of the way their world is falling apart around them. Less than two minutes have passed since Pheris was killed. It will take no more than ten for everybody in this cake mill to be slaughtered.

All around them people are screaming and sobbing and falling and bleeding, and it's a haunting echo of the prison riot Kanira never got to witness, but this time they are losing and this time there will be no miracle. Tixari starts to sob. Kanira's chest burns, but there is no time for comfort.

VENNEL: \wait the alchemiter, we could/
KANIRA: ^.^ no we couldnt~
KANIRA: ^.^ this is not a fight. we cant win~

In grim illustration of her point, they look over to watch a burgundyblood woman desperately try to fabricate an assault rifle of her own. She lies dead and bloody on the console before it can even start printing. Fighting is not the way out. There is only this one, singular, desperate hope.

They're back through to inside the building. Tixari goes to barricade the doors, but Kanira shakes her head. They do not have the time for such an act of futility. All around them are desperate and afraid trolls asking for answers, but Kanira can't provide any.

She can't meet their eyes, either. She knows what will happen to them. She knows she can't save them. It's all collapsing down around them. Thankfully, so fucking thankfully, not enough time has passed for the guilt to hit yet.

Down the hallways, through the cellblocks, and towards the basement doors. Feet pounding on the ground. Bloodpushers pumping in chests. Kanira's legs burn from the effort. Vennel is whimpering in pain. And still they move, powered by adrenaline and desperation. If they stop they die, so they cannot stop.

They're upon the doors. Kanira rushes up to it and starts pushing.

KANIRA: ^.^ tixari, help!~
TIXARI: - r-right! -

Tixari leaves Vennel leaning against the wall as she rushes up to help Kanira push. The sound of gunfire outside is muffled, and then it sharply becomes less muffled as they breach the inside of the main building. There is screaming, so much screaming.

Their arms are shaking and sweat is pouring down their foreheads from the effort. Distraught and terrified, Tixari looks up to Kanira.

TIXARI: - how will the exile station help us? -
KANIRA: ^.^ the~
KANIRA: ^.^ the caps lock~
TIXARI: - the what???? -
KANIRA: ^.^ capsule lock~
KANIRA: ^.^ feature built into every exile terminal~
KANIRA: ^.^ allows you to hermetically seal the station from the inside~
KANIRA: ^.^ nothing and nobody can get in no matter what~
TIXARI: - and... that's our plan? -
TIXARI: - what about everyone else? -

Kanira's lack of an answer tells Tixari all she needs to know. Her face crumples in misery.

TIXARI: - no, but after everything... -
TIXARI: - it's not fair! it's not fucking fair! -
KANIRA: ^.^ i know~
KANIRA: ^.^ i know~
KANIRA: ^.^ but if we go back to help them well die~
KANIRA: ^.^ at least this way i can save you two~
TIXARI: - no, that's... -

Tears stream down Tixari's face but Kanira doesn't care. If she can save at least two lives, then it won't have been for nothing. Please, let someone, anyone, survive this.

The door swings open. The cool air from the basement blasts up to greet them. Kanira wastes no time in slipping through.

KANIRA: ^.^ come on!~

Kanira heads down the steps as Tixari keeps the door open for Vennel to hobble through. One he's passed the threshold Tixari lets go. The door swings shut with another slam. It won't take them long at all to force it open. Maybe a handful of seconds. There is no meaningful barricade that Kanira could throw up to slow this down.

She's at the bottom, making strides down the hallway. The exile station is less than a minute away. There's still enough time to get in there and seal themselves, please oh please let that be true for them--

Vennel gives a strangled shout. Tixari wails.

TIXARI: - VEN!!!!!! -

Kanira stops in her tracks and cranes her head around to watch as Vennel steps forward blindly, not anticipating the steps before him. He tips too far forward and tumbles down the stairs in a scramble of limbs and cries of pain. Tixari sprints after him miserably, but can do nothing to prevent him from ending up in a heap at the bottom.

She should have warned them about the stairs. She should have told them--

TIXARI: - FUCK!!!!! -

Tixari bends down and grips Vennel by the shoulders, trying desperately to get him to his feet. Kanira's heart sinks.

TIXARI: - VEN, PLEASE, GET UP!-
TIXARI: - VENNEL PLEASE!!!!!!!!! -
VENNEL: \fffuck, ah/

Vennel manages to open his eyes, but little more.

VENNEL: \hurts, everywhere/
VENNEL: \tix/
TIXARI: - shit shit shit shit -
TIXARI: - we need to get him up -
TIXARI: - kanira help me!!! -

Tixari turns to Kanira who stands about thirty feet away from them. She is shaking and sobbing and Kanira knows that Vennel will not get up in time and that Tixari will not leave his side.

Her throat goes cold. She understands immediately. It's too late for them. There is enough time only for her to turn her back on them and sprint for the exile station and save herself. That is the only option left.

KANIRA: ^.^ ...~

Kanira looks at the two kids, her young comrades, in a hopeless heap. There is the sound of gunfire and marching boots drawing nearer.

If she stays, they all die. If she leaves, she may yet survive. She has a matter of seconds to make her choice.

KANIRA: ^.^ i...~

All she can see in her mind's eye is the command terminal aflare with omegas and deltas, and the single button that can preserve her life, the lotus capsule two days away from its final bloom, all those unsolved mysteries that pale when compared to the ability to completely seal a room from an outside threat.

One foot twitches. She takes an involuntary step back. Tixari stares miserably. She's a bright girl. She must have already worked this much out.

TIXARI: - kanira. -

Tixari tries to beg, but Kanira is not swayed. She cannot be swayed because she knew from the start that there was only ever one choice she is capable of making.

She walks forward. Tixari's face softens, and then wells up in grief and gratitude and horror as she understands what Kanira's decision means for all of them.

KANIRA: ^.^ come on~
KANIRA: ^.^ lets try to get him up~
TIXARI: - ... -

Kanira manages to keep a warm smile on her face. It is the last good thing she can do. She crouches down by Tixari and Vennel. Both knees crack as she does so, but in this moment, she does not feel old. She feels only the rigid certainty that she cannot and will not abandon them.

Tixari grabs one end of Vennel, Kanira the other, even though both already know. Vennel looks up at Kanira with unfocused, distraught eyes, and he knows too. And yet they continue to play it out, because at the end of it all, all they have left is their ability to care for each other.

There's a thud from the door at the top of the stairs. Kanira does not shake. She nods to Tixari, and they both slowly rise, slowly lift Vennel up. Tixari's face is drenched in tears. There are no final words, but there is a final knowing nonetheless.

The door slams open. Light floods in from above. Kanira raises her head and meets her fate unflinchingly.

Gunfire sings on the breeze like poisoned birdsong.

The Outglut^2 mill falls fourteen minutes after that.

Chapter 73: (six), section (iv.)

(iv.)

The girl leaves through a thin wedge between spacetime cracks, taking memory with her. Then darkness falls, long and slow and infinite, and time falls with it.

Afterwards, she wakes up. Her eyes focus on what registers to her at first as nothing but Absence, an unbreaking roll of darkness with no beginning and no end. A raw mass without information, Void in the truest sense of the word.

She stands to her feet, possible only because she believes it should be, and not necessarily because there is something beneath her to stand on. The rules of this place exist in a hazy porous corner of her mind, floating like whispers of a misremembered dream.

With time comes more focus and awareness. What she thought was featureless blackness is in reality a sky of dulled light. Its glow hangs faintly, swallowed incrementally by jagged crack after jagged crack. A senseless wind buffers through, ruffling her hair and clothes and feeling of nothing. Further, millions of light years in the distance yet also at arms length, the hazy shine of oddly-coloured constellations. She walks and it's like stepping through an ankle deep pond.

This place feels unreal. She feels unreal, like she isn't supposed to be here, like there was something--

She looks down at her reflection in the shimmering not-water. And then she remembers.

Swifer Eggmop runs a desperate hand over her face and torso and feels no pain. The despair of what that means kicks in faster than the revelation of what else it means. Wide, white eyes look up at her from below, mouth pushed in a miserable downturn. She leans down towards herself and wants to scream.

It's not fair. She's dead and the war is going on without her and she can't help and she'll never see the fruitful world she spent so much of her life striving for. She will forever be rotting on the side of the road outside Outglut^2 with Jane Crocker's bullet wedged in her skull. Over. Well and truly over.

What she feels isn't lament. It's something wider. Deeper. Lonelier. It's the certain knowledge of a total removal of herself from all she has ever known, staring down at existence through an impenetrable barrier. She feels like she's known this once before, like she's made herself forget because the knowledge is too painful.

She had a conversation about this, she's fairly sure. The more she stands here and lets the misery was through, the more she grows accustomed to these feelings. This is not a new sensation. She has not just recently been dead. Whatever state she's in now, wherever she is, has been the case for a while.

In fact, she's wrong even about herself. The epiphany returns in warped shimmers. She discarded Swifer some time back, stared reality in the face and slipped into being (Swifer), because that's what she is now.

(SWIFER): Of course, of course.

How could she forget? She died, she mourned, she accepted, and she's been in this void since. She was talking to someone for a long while, sorting through mysteries of this place, of herself, of the wider stage upon which they are all bound. Her head feels scattered through with shotgun pellets, like something's been yanked out of her with less grace than should have been given.

(SWIFER): That girl...
(SWIFER): Who was she?

What was her name? What did they talk about? (Swifer) has the feeling that this conversation ceased only minutes ago, and yet it's gone without a trace. Not buried or obscured, but removed as if it was never there save for the vaguest of feelings that it mattered more than anything.

She can't picture the girl. Not her face, not her voice, nothing. She's not even sure the person was a girl, now. Even that fact is dribbling away, running down through a black hole she can't perceive. At least her head doesn't hurt about it. At least there are small pities in this alleged afterlife.

(SWIFER): Right... that.
(SWIFER): This is quite the situation isn't it Swifer old girl?
(SWIFER): Always getting yourself into situations and scrapes. Commander Vantas was right on that score, hah.

(Swifer) talks out loud to herself as she paces through the ideatic waters, because she needs to fill the absence with something. She's deeply, irreconcilably alone out here, and she doesn't want to dwell on that fact a second longer than she has to.

(SWIFER): Anyway, let's orientate.
(SWIFER): What's the sitch?
(SWIFER): What do I actually remember?

Her pacing speeds up, then slows, then speeds again. The first and most obvious fact is that she's dead. She got sucker blasted by Jane Crocker on that first night, swept off the stage like an unwanted scrap of rubble. Two people died with her, Leilia and Asphan. She hasn't seen them here and she has the sense that they never made it here in the first place.

Which brings her attention to the next two points: that she's a ghost, and that this place even exists at all. Her being a ghost is... now that she thinks on it, incredibly bizarre. Earth C is littered with ghosts both literal and metaphorical, but the hard rule is that only the splintered phantoms of the Alternians from doomed Skaian timelines get the privilege of spectredom. If you're from Earth C and you die on Earth C, that's that. Short of god tier revival powers (of which the only one capable of doing so will always choose not to), there is no way to cheat or sidestep death. And yet, here (Swifer) is.

Next up is this place. She's not entirely sure of the lore given that she's always just been the gal who swifs, but from what she remembers of Rose Lalonde's ramblings about cosmology, the setup has always been that the ghosts were coming in through a black hole that dragged them from the last scraps of the previous universe and into this one. Over the years the ghostfall slowed to less than a trickle, from tens of thousands of ghost trolls an hour to maybe pockets of a few dozen a day. Sometimes weeks now go by without a single crack opening up and depositing remnants of the old story. The prevailing theory is that through some unknown mechanism the hole is closing up.

(Swifer) observes, rather blatantly, that there is no such black hole around her that she can see. No massive obsidian eye dragging everything irrelevant into its maw with indiscriminate greed. There is a light breeze sometimes, but it has no direction or purpose other than to give the surroundings texture. It has no driving force. It just is.

So. She's a ghost when she shouldn't be and she's in an afterlife where there should be none. These are perplexing mysteries without answer, and the more she dwells on it, the more (Swifer)'s sure she reached these conclusions already before the girl showed up and left and took her memories with her.

In fact, if she traces the feeling inside her, it's likely this exact thing already transpired. She woke up, realised she's dead, traversed the void, and puzzled out how impossible all those facts should be.

She's not sure how she landed on becoming (Swifer), but she's sure that revelation will return to her, too, sooner or later. Maybe it's just easier for the dead to think of themselves that way. She's the Swifer that lost. Only the Swifers that make it to the finish line get to dodge the prison of parentheses.

(Swifer) isn't sure. These are questions above her paygrade. She couldn't even begin to figure out why specifically she got this boon of continued existence above everyone else. She's not special, not in the sense of gods and universes. She was important to the revolution, but she was one cog among many. Nothing about her particularly screamed out with a desire to carry on, but here she is.

She runs a hand down one arm. Her skin is warm. She feels like maybe it shouldn't be. There should be something different in her body to distinguish between the feeling of being alive and being her dead. Her eyes have whited out but her vision is unchanged. Her sense of self is unchanged. At the bottom of it, the real stinker, is the conviction that if a door opened right now that led back home, she could step through it and carry on her life with no issues. It's not right that that's the case. It feels deeply wrong.

(SWIFER): Alas, them's the breaks I suppose.
(SWIFER): I died and I still exist and now I gotta figure out what to do with that.

Where does she go? What does she do? She's a ghost in a weird place outside of known reality. That doesn't leave her with many options. She was never trained to do more than swif floors and partake in effective guerrilla warfare tactics and nurse and shield a mother grub against the ever-present horrors of contemporary society. None of those necessarily qualify her for the big stuff like this.

But here she is. Here she is.

(Swifer) walks again. Her footsteps trace ripples in the water. Distant starlights pulse and dance in between the cracks in existence. The wind draws circles around her. There is a strange electric charge to this place, like it's excited to know itself. Like it's so overjoyed that it can be This Place at all. (Swifer) considers if that's an actual truth, or if that's just her losing her mind from the isolation.

She thinks it might be true. It feels like it might have been something she discussed with the girl who is gone to somewhere (Swifer) can't follow. There are rules to this place, and knowing them is what allows you to get by.

The rule is that this place exists, and that it knows itself and loves itself in spite of everything. (Swifer) doesn't know what to make of that, but knows it to be true, and knows she must accept it. If she is to be somewhere, then she must at least do the place the courtesy of acknowledging it on its own terms.

Inspiration strikes her suddenly. It's a stupid idea that feels embarrassing to even consider, but also the exact thing she needs to do.

(Swifer) clears her throat.

(SWIFER): Erm.
(SWIFER): Nice place you got going on for yourself here. Real swanky-like, you know?
(SWIFER): Love the water and stars. Like the prettiest damn dream I've ever walked through.

Something pulses through her. Belatedly, (Swifer) realises or re-realises something else: the fabric of existence around her is off. The parameters framing her feel different to what existing on Earth C felt like, but she lacks the knowledge and the language to articulate much further than that.

Meanwhile there is a burst of warmth around her, like something unseen is downright overjoyed at the compliment. Like finally, finally it's getting what it's wanted all along.

The water bubbles and ripples around (Swifer), stretching out as far as she can see. It's like every six feet or so a patch of the water is being dragged up to boiling point. But no steam rises and the water by her feet remains as still as ever. There is no noise, nothing but the glimmering sheen of clear spray launched through the air.

Something about it feels deeply primal and sacred. (Swifer) is sure to let herself feel that observation as deeply as possible, lest the magic fade.

They all rise at once. Refractive chunks of crystal, each one the size of an adult troll. They emerge from the water's surface without breaking it and ascend until they each hang about four feet in the air, even spaced apart in a checkerboard fractal that extends for the rest of infinity.

Each one is perfectly clear and tapered, like the platonic ideal of a gemstone plucked out of a long ago imagination. They are maybe the most beautiful things (Swifer) has ever seen in her life and her death.

She steps towards the nearest one, compelled by an instinct she cannot explain. The crystals begin to spin in a slow, controlled bobbing clockwise rotation, part of this world yet not. Enticing. Deeply enticing.

(Swifer) stretches an arm out and lays a hand on the crystal's surface.

A flower of light unfolds and blooms from its core, filling it up with conceptual pigment that turns it opaque and then drains down into a thick, reflective translucence. (Swifer) looks at her own face in the spinning fractals, mouth agape and white eyes stretched wide.

The crystal's colour changes. A deep teal, darker and more defined than the equivalent troll hemotype. The crystal beside turns maroon. The one beyond it gold. Then blue. Then red. Then black. Then brown. It ripples and spreads, creating a self-repeating twelve shade mosaic, charged with the primordial Aspects that constitute all that is both known and unknown.

Something about them is... familiar to (Swifer). Like she's seen this before somewhere, in some form. A product of a fiction from long ago. What... what were those things in that ancient Universe A video game Dave Strider used to play again?

(SWIFER): ...Chaos Emeralds?

Yes. That's it. They look like a realistic rendering of a collectible bounty from within a video game. Hyperunreal in their materiality, entities from the realm of unfiltered imagination. Whose hand guides the form? She doesn't know. She can't say.

Her hand is still on the teal crystal. A spark of electricity leaps off its surface through her skin and dances through her brain, coalescing into a fragment of information, of image and voice.

[ TEREZI: F1X TH1S ]
(SWIFER): Gah!!!

(Swifer) flinches back from the crystal. The image of a bloody blindfolded troll girl fades just as fast. The static charge drains out of her body. She stares at the crystal, perplexed and uncertain.

(SWIFER): That was...

That was... that was Terezi Pyrope, right? The... Commander Vantas's friend that died in the void looking for her girlfriend. So then this must be... some kind of scene from the past?

Curiosity wins out. (Swifer) presses her hand to the crystal again. The scene resumes.

[ TEREZI: TH3 POW3RS YOU W3R3 T4LK1NG 4BOUT 34RL13R ]
JOHN: huh??
TEREZI: DO NOT HUH M3 3GB3RT
TEREZI: YOU LOOK L1K3 4N 1D1OT, BUT W3 BOTH KNOW YOU 4R3 NO FOOL
JOHN: hey!
ROXY: i wouldnt argue w her john
ROXY: shes all bloody and she clearly means business ]

(Swifer) sees... the Heir of Breath and the Rogue of Void, standing in the middle of some kind of sandscape. Terezi is there, bleeding and screaming at them. All three of them are frayed raw. All three of them are so young.

She steps away, shaking her head until the images clear out from her brain. A frown crosses her lips, fueled by intrigue and confusion, and also by the incipient itch of a deeper revelation somewhere beneath the surface.

This has to be a snippet from one of the Sessions that led to the formation of Earth C. Perhaps the doomed timeline some of the gods fled from? She's not sure. Most of her sources came from Vantas, who was more preoccupied with the imminent war, and who himself never had much of a clue what was going on.

She steps over to the golden crystal next to it and places her hand on its surface, smooth and devoid of temperature beneath her fingertips.

[ ROSE: To those ennities capable of, of conceshualization and absraction, an apple is as closed to being a noshushnally irredushible object as it gets....
ROSE: Ahem. */Notionally,
ROSE: **Irr, ed, /ducible/.
ROSE: Tell me, hoch shot, what ideas would you combide to make and apple?
DAVE: uh
ROSE: Exaaalley/. ]

A teenaged Rose Lalonde sways and slurs in the face of Dave Strider, sloshing some kind of alcohol all over her fancy dress. She can barely stand straight. Both humans stand in the dimly lit corner of some kind of common room. The Meteor that ferried them between universes, maybe?

(Swifer), desperate to confirm her hypothesis, touches the red crystal adjacent to the golden one.

[ ARADIA: i see!
ARADIA: that does sound like one hell of a situation actually
JOHN: ha ha, yeah...
ROXY: lmao u think
ROXY: what part gave it away
ROXY: was it johns story abt mass death n destruction or was it the sight of my beautiful hot bitch ass shedding hella tears of trauma
ROSE: M,
ROSE: Roxy, no need to be testy. Aradia means well.
ROXY: rite
ROXY: mom ily but forgive me for not trustin shady fairy bitches who got dumped outta the sky
ROSE: (please!)
ROSE: Anyway, Aradia. I hope that clarifies things enough for you now.
ROSE: Do you have a better sense of what we're dealing with?
ARADIA: hm
ARADIA: ill be honest with you all and say i understood everything entirely from the word go
ARADIA: i just wanted to hear the intimate details because i was plain curious about how everything fell apart!
ROSE: ...
JOHN: ...
ROXY: ummm WTF
ARADIA: :D ]

Another snippet of the lore. John, Rose, and Roxy standing bruised and bloody before a god tier troll girl garbed in red. They stand on the wreckage of a beach littered with hunks of rock, a few feet away from an unsteady blotchy grey tide. This has to be another point from the same time period as the first crystal, but (Swifer) isn't sure of the chronology.

Either way, it tells her what she needs to know. These crystals each contain a scene or a moment from the storied history of Earth C's gods. The tale of three universes, of Skaia and the unkillable demon, all of it dissected and arranged for (Swifer)'s perusal like books in a library archive. Whatever the logic that dictates the sequencing is beyond her, but she's sure if she looked at the bigger picture it would make more sense.

(Swifer) walks back to the first teal crystal she touched, then veers off to interact with the maroon one next to it. She's trying to remember the colour correspondence between the Aspects, since that's almost certainly what those represent. The Seer of Mind in the teal one, the Seer of Light in gold, a Time player in red. If the pattern holds true, then this should be Heart.

She touches the crystal.

[ DIRK: Uh, Jake. Nobody wants you to do any of that.
DIRK: Well, I know Jane sure doesn't.
JAKE: Then... what...
DIRK: You'll just be, you know.
DIRK: Her candy boy?
JAKE: CANDY BOY???
DIRK: Yeah. Being on call.
DIRK: Serving a multimillion-year term of giving her the right kind of "presidential action" she needs to keep going. To keep her morale up and such.
DIRK: To provide her with many heirs.
DIRK: Doesn't that sound cool?
JAKE: HEIRS?? ]

And immediately recoils. (Swifer) feels her blood turn to ice. That was... that was Jake Crocker. Not the middle aged fascist washout she knows him as, but not him in the prime of his teenage youth, either. If she had to hazard a guess, she'd say he's maybe around twenty-five or so in this scene?

Except, that's not the problem. The problem is a very much alive Dirk Strider cornering him in the foyer of some gaudy mansion, dressed in some ridiculous getup.

(SWIFER): That's... what?

She was there. She remembers. Dirk Strider killed himself at the age of twenty-three, long before any of the machinations surrounding Jane Crocker's political career set into motion. For him to be talking with Jake about his relationship and marriage to Jane, which didn't happen until several years after Strider's death, is wrong. It's... it's impossible.

And yet, plain as day, here is a Dirk Strider in his twenties talking to a Jake Crocker in his twenties. An event which categorically could not have happened, being presented before (Swifer)'s eyes with the same gravity of realness that every other crystal has shown her.

Which means... it means...

What does it mean? That some of these crystals are lying? That... that what?

(SWIFER): Parallel timelines?

It's as a good a theory as any. She knows Sburb and Skaia messed about with jumping from branch to branch in their chronology in order to bring about a good end. Why would the same thing not also occur on Earth C?

(Swifer) staggers back, bumping into the Breath-blue crystal.

[ John: you really aren't vriska.
Vriska: And you aren't really John. Not for much longer, anyway!
John: ...huh.
John: yeah, i guess you're right.
John: wow, rose is gonna flip her lid when she hears about this!
Vriska: I know!!!!!!!! I can't w8 to tell her!
John: so...
John: who are we?
Vriska: >::::?
Vriska. Hmmmmmmmm. ]

John Egbert is talking with what looks like a hazy apparition of Vriska Serket in the dead of night. They are under a tree atop a hill overlooking Can Town as it appeared twenty years or so back. No Crockercorp branding in sight.

Again, wrong. None of the gods ever lived near Can Town. Egbert lived in the boondocks in the Consort Kingdom, and then in the NuSeattle suburbs for a time. This didn't happen. This couldn't have happened.

She brushes past a Void crystal, bloodpusher in her throat.

[ JANE: I'm glad you're with me, Roxy. There's no one else with whom I'd rather spend all eternity.
ROXY: and im glad i met you janey
ROXY: no matter what happens ill always be grateful for our good times together
JANE: Best friends forever?
ROXY: best friends forever ]

Baroness Jane Crocker strides across the floor of a crimson room cast in the glow of a holographic star. It seems like the kind of place that might exist inside the Crocker Needle, but the dimensions of the room are all wrong. A middle-aged Roxy Lalonde stands back in the shadows, and when Jane opens her mouth again, she slides a sword clean through her torso.

(Swifer) watches it unfold and feels her brain pulse dangerously. Jane Crocker is not yet dead as far as she knows. And if her death were to come, it would never come at the hands of the Rogue of Void. Roxy Lalonde turned traitor to the cause years back. Not only is this a future event, but it's also a hypothetical future that could never take place according to all known laws of logic that govern Earth C.

(SWIFER): Wh...
(SWIFER): Wha...

She doesn't know. She doesn't fucking know. These crystals contain things that are, things that were, things that weren't, things that could be, and things that never could be. Every single impossible contradictory snippet of history presented with as much veracity as the previous. A million pieces from a billion timelines from a trillion canons dissected and organised for a scholar's perusal.

And when did (Swifer) start thinking in terms like "canons", anyway? What is this? What is any of this?

(SWIFER): I...
(SWIFER): My head...

She doesn't remember, because the memories are gone. But she thinks this is what she suspected before, in the conversation taken from her. This place, it's... it's some kind of nexus-point for whatever anchors every shared reality together. Every combination and possibility tied to their corner of Paradox Space is catalogued here, verified in its existence by some unfathomable means.

(Swifer) lets out a shaky breath and crouches down, head between her knees. She looks into the water and sees her reflection. But past that, below that, in the transparent depths where she didn't allow herself to look too closely before, she sees Earth C hanging in its idealised cosmic state, its moon lazily lapping it over and over. Pieces of crimson debris hang between the two celestial bodies, and (Swifer) sees it all suspended so far below her, on the other side of this barrier.

Then she looks up, straight ahead, right above her. And there, too, she sees the curvature of a planet hanging in the distant cracked sky. Earth C. Another Earth C, as equidistant above this nexus plane as the one below.

(Swifer) gazes at the stars beyond even that again. And they're not stars. They've never been stars. Millions of impossibly far away Genesis Frogs glisten and shine at her, nested fractal universes singing in concert with this central focal point.

A new crack tears open across the sky, swallowing a Genesis Frog whole. At the same time, (Swifer) feels a hand on her shoulder that makes her jump out of her skin.

?????: so youre finally getting it
(SWIFER): Eep!

(Swifer) swivels around. There is a humanoid figure standing a few feet before her, face and torso obscured by an Aspect crystal that hangs in front of them. For some reason this crystal lacks any known colour, and for some reason this person is able to carry and move this crystal independent of the rest of the formation. (Swifer) peers around but doesn't see any spot where they could have taken the crystal from.

(SWIFER): Who are you? When did you get here?
?????: wrong question and also lame and boring
(SWIFER): I'm sorry?
?????: you should be
?????: you know how fucking AGONIZING its been watching you flail about trying to patch together what that spooky bitch took from you?
(SWIFER): W
(SWIFER): Wait,
(SWIFER): You know about that?
?????: fucking duh
?????: youd know that if you werent so slow on the uptake
?????: guess age and/or death really does fuck with your brainpower lol
(SWIFER): I'm not following.
?????: not my problem
????: youre gonna understand the big picture any second know and that matters way more
(SWIFER): Um...

This person stands a good inch or two shorter than (Swifer), with skinny limbs that bely a wiry tension beneath them. Their skin is devoid of tone or detail and their clothes are more of an abstract impression. This person barely feels tangible, but (Swifer) gets the sense that they're a good chunk younger than her.

(SWIFER): Are you dead too?
?????: im the ultimate ghost in the fucking machine
(SWIFER): Gee that sure is a helpful answer!
?????: suck me off about it
(SWIFER): And you sure are rude for no good reason!
?????: also suck me off about that one too
(SWIFER): Urgh!
(SWIFER): Fine. Are you alive or are you dead? Since apparently you're not a good sport when it comes to questions with wiggle room.
?????: me? im something way worse
?????: now has that sated your curiosity or do we need to play lameass lightning round before we can cut to the chase
(SWIFER): No, of course I'm not satisfied!
(SWIFER): I don't have the foggiest who you are, and yet here you are bossing me about with the least justified swagger I've ever encountered!
(SWIFER): At the very least tell me who you are first! A name or something! Anything!
?????: ...

The figure taps their feet impatiently. Behind the crystal, (Swifer) sees the outline of a head tilt in contemplation.

?????: if itll stop you uselessly begging for information that doesnt matter fine whatever
?????: for the sake of this conversation and your pissbaby minds need to fucking categorize shit you can call me
?????: uh
TOPAZ: topaz
(SWIFER): Topaz?
TOPAZ: yeah
(SWIFER): Alright, but... why that?
(SWIFER): Is that due to the swanky crystal you're carrying around?
TOPAZ: nope
TOPAZ: its because its funny as shit
(SWIFER): What's funny about Topaz? I think it's a rather pretty name...
TOPAZ: if you get it you get it
TOPAZ: if you dont get it im not fucking telling you
TOPAZ: call it an inside joke or what the fuck ever
(SWIFER): Um, okay...
TOPAZ: anyway are you satisfied now
(SWIFER): I suppose?
TOPAZ: cool

Topaz tilts their head up. (Swifer) follows their gaze. A splinter tears across the sky in jagged precision, reaching from foreground to background and skewering two more Genesis Frogs. They dissolve like tissue paper in soda.

TOPAZ: pretty fucked up to watch huh
(SWIFER): I suppose? It's all very abstract to me though I gotta say.
TOPAZ: yeah figured youd say that
TOPAZ: you remembered youre parenthetical or whatever dumbass name were using for the concept right??
(SWIFER): I... yes.
TOPAZ: you remember why?
(SWIFER): No, but... it has to do with the two Earth Cs, right?
(SWIFER): Something like... there's a Swifer who made it, and she gets the rights to the name like a territorial scuffle between scavengers?
TOPAZ: bzzzzzzzt WRONG
(SWIFER): H,
(SWIFER): How is that wrong?
TOPAZ: well i mean dont get me wrong its a pretty enough explanation
TOPAZ: rhymes with the known whims of paradox space or whatever
TOPAZ: you wouldnt even be the second third or even fourth person to do this exact bit either
TOPAZ: hell youre not even the first from your timeline
(SWIFER): Erm...
TOPAZ: doesnt fucking matter
(SWIFER): I think it does, maybe!
TOPAZ: no it really doesnt
TOPAZ: spooky bitch filled your head with the same stuff and then she took your memories and ditched
TOPAZ: but she was wrong and youll be wrong if you keep on this track
(SWIFER): You keep saying, but you keep not elaborating!
(SWIFER): Your hasty and testy routine is cool and character-establishing and all, but it's kind of ticking me off!
TOPAZ: lol
(SWIFER): Can we get to the point already???
TOPAZ: thats literally what ive been saying this whole time
(SWIFER): Urgh!!!!

(Swifer) bites down onto her sleeve to keep from saying something she'll regret. Her head is spinning and she wants nothing more than to tell Topaz to stick their smartassery where it don't shine, but she knows better. Disembodied spooky figures in the void offering information are almost always worth hearing out. If there's one cosmic lesson she retained from Karkat and Kanaya, it's that one.

(SWIFER): Anyway, let's get to it.
(SWIFER): Whatever I'm about to remember, and whatever I discussed with an absent third party, is evidently wrong.
(SWIFER): So let's just skip to the part where we divulge some truth then, yes?
TOPAZ: yeah sure
TOPAZ: so
TOPAZ: first thing is that technically the shit you spoke about with the haunted bitch with a sense of self importance technically isnt wrong
TOPAZ: just
TOPAZ: embarrassingly incomplete
TOPAZ: like sure itll get her to where she needs to go but thats about it
(SWIFER): That's all well and good but I still don't fully remember this conversation or this person!
TOPAZ: thats fine
TOPAZ: basically the gist is that you and she realized this place is some kinda nexus point that lets you slip between canons and fanons
TOPAZ: she guessed you both ended up here due to some kind of fuckery with your respective timelines
TOPAZ: something to do with there no longer being an afterlife or something?
TOPAZ: essentially the main conclusion she reached is that youre both kinda "unstuck" from the story
TOPAZ: not enough to be retcon certified but--
(SWIFER): What's--
TOPAZ: not important for you to know
TOPAZ: anyway unstuck enough to have some wriggle room
TOPAZ: from her perspective that meant getting the fuck outta the black hole
TOPAZ: almost certainly inspired by that

A pause in the conversation. Topaz points up at the Earth C hanging above their heads. (Swifer) peers at it. It looks like, well... Earth C. Same as the one below.

(SWIFER): Right, yes.
(SWIFER): There are two Earth Cs hanging about, which means...
TOPAZ: bifurcated timeline duh
TOPAZ: orchestrated split decision made years ago that corralled the "main" earth c into two camps
TOPAZ: cringe ass picnic with disastrous consequences
(SWIFER): Picnic?
TOPAZ: obviously
TOPAZ: god do you even know the fucking lore
(SWIFER): No???
TOPAZ: more importantly
TOPAZ: the two earth cs are completely hermetically sealed off from each other
TOPAZ: a bunch of hypergod magic and metafiction bullshit are to thank for that one
TOPAZ: so unless youre the gatekeeper of the black hole OR youre on some retcon bullshit theres no way in no way out
TOPAZ: if youre inside a story you cant hop between stories you know the deal
(SWIFER): Not really, no...
TOPAZ: well i do and thats more important
TOPAZ: you think you put yourself in brackets because the swifer on the other earth c is alive and you and the spooky bitch agreed that thats the main important one
(SWIFER): And... is that wrong?
TOPAZ: kinda yeah
TOPAZ: not in the sense that your shitsack world is the winner in the contest but more that in general earth c is totally conceptually condemned

Earth C spins, above and below (Swifer). Two mirror twins of the only world she has ever known. The word "condemned" hangs between them, uncertain and huge.

(SWIFER): And what does that mean?
TOPAZ: i shouldnt have to spell this one out
TOPAZ: it means in the big scheme of things earth c is a lost fucking cause
TOPAZ: you cant tell from here but the whole thing so fucking dead
TOPAZ: what were seeing is nothing more than borrowed time

Something in Topaz's voice is... heavy at that. (Swifer) wants to press, but she doesn't have the words to ask.

TOPAZ: one of these earth cs has a little more fuel in its tank than the other but thats like saying a battery on 2% is better than a battery with 1%
TOPAZ: its all so pointless that its almost funny
(SWIFER): But... both planets look fine?
(SWIFER): Or, I guess this all might just be an abstract representation of a concept that doesn't translate well to the physical, so...
TOPAZ: hey youre getting it now
(SWIFER): If that's the case, then what do these crystals represent?
TOPAZ: oh thats easy
TOPAZ: this is the fanontinuum
(SWIFER): The,
TOPAZ: dead on arrival concept
TOPAZ: the crystals are whats left
TOPAZ: building blocks made of aspects that let small snippets of their canons bleed through
TOPAZ: once someone wanted these things linked but look how that fucking turned out

Topaz paces between crystals as they talk. (Swifer) tries her best to keep pace.

(SWIFER): So this is a sort of... abandoned nexus, then.
TOPAZ: close enough
(SWIFER): And it's both part of, yet outside from, the universe.
TOPAZ: sure
(SWIFER): Right, right. Very fancy abstract stuff, but...
(SWIFER): What's the point? Why are we here?
TOPAZ: now youre asking the right questions
TOPAZ: before i dump on you again i wanna know what you think
(SWIFER): Why? For me to waste time sharing my theory just for you to tell me I'm wrong?
TOPAZ: yeah exactly
(SWIFER): And... how does that benefit anything?
TOPAZ: it doesnt
TOPAZ: i think its fun though
TOPAZ: and i have answers and you dont so youll do it for me
TOPAZ: pretty please?
(SWIFER): ...

(Swifer) feels an eyelid twitch. This Topaz is one tricky customer. She's not sure of, well... of anything about them. She can't see their face. They're using a fake name. But at the same time what choice does she have?

(SWIFER): So... I thought I was here because something went awry with my death.
(SWIFER): I should have just died and been done with it, but I'm here.
(SWIFER): I thought for a while that this might have been the void that the Alternian ghosts were coming from, but... I think that's wrong?
TOPAZ: obviously
TOPAZ: that place is DEAD dead
TOPAZ: i think that voidhole has maybe two more passages of matter through it left tops
TOPAZ: here look

Topaz snaps their fingers. The crystal obscuring them shifts in hue to the deep blue of Void, and then expands out to show a scene. The ghost of a young troll in a god tier uniform stands on a patch of sand riddled with colourless glass cracks. (Swifer) is pretty sure this is an Equius, given the lanky hair and the broken shades.

Equius shoves his hands in his hoodie pockets and looks despairingly at something out of frame. His grimace deepens, and then he speaks.

[ EQUIUS: D --> W001d you 100k at that
EQUIUS: D --> I am the last one standing to bear witness to this
EQUIUS: D --> Foulness
EQUIUS: D --> My ancestor was very much wrong
EQUIUS: D --> This abomination is not the Void
EQUIUS: D --> This is nothing
EQUIUS: D --> There is nothing at all
EQUIUS: D --> After all these sweeps, and this is it
EQUIUS: D --> Absence in its
EQUIUS: D --> E%tremity
EQUIUS: D -->
EQUIUS: D -->
EQUIUS: D --> Oh
EQUIUS: D --> I wish Nepeta were here ]

A jagged spiderweb of cracks dances across the screen and the Equius is lost from the scene. Topaz waves their hands and the crystal's colour dies.

TOPAZ: that is whats left of the earth c ghost void
(SWIFER): Jeesh...
TOPAZ: obviously this place is nothing like that
TOPAZ: so keep going

They keep walking through the crystals under the watchful eye of the extracanonical extracosmic tapestry. (Swifer) feels something large and lonely inside her.

(SWIFER): So, through some kind of glitch or fault in the system, I ended up here.
(SWIFER): Allegedly alongside a second person, whom I can't very easily recall.
(SWIFER): She and I keyed in on the nature of this place's existence as being unattached from reality.
(SWIFER): I think she may have used that knowledge to leave here and go... somewhere. Maybe back to her home timeline?
(SWIFER): There are so many timelines and worlds in these crystals that it seems likely...
(SWIFER): But that's something you could probably learn to do without pondering on the floating Earth Cs and the, um, Genesis Frogs being eaten by cracks in the sky.
(SWIFER): Speaking of... are these the same deal as the stuff Lord English shot out that shoved the ghosts planetside?
TOPAZ: no
(SWIFER): Oh...
(SWIFER): Is this sight literal?
TOPAZ: yes
(SWIFER): ...

(Swifer)'s brows crease in worry. She doesn't know what to make of that one. She knows Genesis Frogs equate universes, so splinter cracks killing and eating them is almost certainly a horrific thing. But the specifics of it elude her.

They both keep walking, feet splishing through the water. Colours dance in hazy refraction across the surface in the wake of the ripples.

(SWIFER): Is why we're here related to that phenomenon?
TOPAZ: not directly
TOPAZ: people are fucking around as a consequence of that
(SWIFER): So, we're here as a result of said, erm... fucking around?
TOPAZ: you are
(SWIFER): But you're not?
TOPAZ: i got here the hard way
TOPAZ: you figure out what that means
TOPAZ: or dont
TOPAZ: doesnt really matter
TOPAZ: i think with context clues that parts pretty obvious
(SWIFER): So this... this /thing/, is naturally unsettling.
(SWIFER): If it's carving through universes like grubloaf, then it's obviously very bad.
(SWIFER): If you knew about this happening, you would obviously have cause to react, so... I take it someone is doing just that?
TOPAZ: in a really really fucking roundabout way
TOPAZ: its kind of an ouroboros cause and effect here
TOPAZ: to explain that in more detail requires knowledge of the lore you dont have
TOPAZ: so ill just say a lot of what the muse and prince were/are doing is related
TOPAZ: the muse being the dead cherub in the black hole and the prince being a guy who has never known how to be normal for one fucking second
(SWIFER): Right... I think I remember something about a cherub, once.
(SWIFER): Did she not possess the cadaver of an alt-universe version of Commander Harley?
TOPAZ: yeah she did
TOPAZ: it was some pretty fucked up and weird as hell shit
TOPAZ: anyway
TOPAZ: the black hole and stuff is her domain and her whole deal is expanding it in order to "protect" all reality by keeping it safe and away from canon
TOPAZ: thinks shes keeping the prince in check who thinks if youre not canonical you might as well kill yourself which he did do one time actually
TOPAZ: theyre both in some dumb as hell tom and jerry routine where theyre fighting to be the one who gets to define what canon/fanon means forever
TOPAZ: so caught up in it that theres a hell of a lot of shit even they dont understand
(SWIFER): Right. Like... what?
TOPAZ: look up at the sky

(Swifer) looks up at the sky.

(SWIFER): Oh. Right.
TOPAZ: also theyve undergone hardcore truth/relevance/essentiality decay which is pointless but really fucking funny given how neurotic they both claim to be about it
TOPAZ: like me too but you dont see me bitching about it
TOPAZ: i know what the fuck i am already
(SWIFER): Anyway. So, if we're talking about canons and stuff, this has to do with these crystals, right?
(SWIFER): I think these crystals are what-ifs and permutations of our timeline, so the Muse and Prince are duking out to see who gets to be the definitive existence?
(SWIFER): I'm also guessing by the planets that they each have their own version of Earth C they're interested in.
(SWIFER): And based on what you've said, their fight is a pointless one because the planets are already "condemned", perhaps by this reality-munching force?
TOPAZ: almost but no
TOPAZ: the muse and the prince couldnt give two shits about earth c thats just a means to an end
TOPAZ: you think thats what theyre fighting over??? no fucking way
TOPAZ: think bigger
TOPAZ: or well actually think smaller because of all the options in the world they picked the most predictable one
(SWIFER): Erm...
TOPAZ: its fucking sburb again duh
TOPAZ: universe c isnt worth shit to them since its something they inherited so its all about the fight for universe d
TOPAZ: just so happens that theres also some kinda poison thing gulping down all of existence at the same time
TOPAZ: not sure how aware they are of this shit but because theyre positing this sburb thing as the only way out it is going to be the only way out
(SWIFER): Ah, okay... I suppose that makes a little sense in an abstract roundabout way...
(SWIFER): That mostly explains the situation, more or less.
(SWIFER): But what about us? Why are we here?
(SWIFER): I'm nobody special! I have no business being at such a cosmic nexus!
TOPAZ: you do though

Topaz turns to face (Swifer). Through the crystal, she sees nothing.

TOPAZ: youre here because of your memetic potential
TOPAZ: this is what the two of you missed in your talk earlier
TOPAZ: any old sucker can rip a hole through realities with enough guts and knowhow
TOPAZ: but memetic staying power?? thats something rare and precious
(SWIFER): Right, but... I'm literally just a dead gal who swifs.
(SWIFER): I don't see how that makes me a meme or something!
TOPAZ: ok not LITERALLY a meme in the longcat sense
TOPAZ: or maybe kind of a little bit
TOPAZ: its about the perception of yourself beyond the sum of your parts
TOPAZ: like
TOPAZ: swifer eggmop the brand
TOPAZ: but not exactly a brand either
TOPAZ: its like

They make a grasping motion with their hands, evidently finding this concept a little hard to articulate.

TOPAZ: so you know about the ultimate self yeah?
(SWIFER): ...No?
TOPAZ: ok this makes it a hell of a lot harder
TOPAZ: um
TOPAZ: so weve been thinking in terms of canons and stories
TOPAZ: youre following that at least though
(SWIFER): A little?
TOPAZ: right
TOPAZ: so
TOPAZ: think about the story you came from
TOPAZ: when a hypothetical audience considers a memorable component inherent to your story "swifer eggmop" ranks pretty highly
TOPAZ: ie you have a high memetic value as relates to your own canon
TOPAZ: or fanon twice removed or whatever the fuck degree of abstraction this place is
(SWIFER): Right. But... surely if we're talking about memorable people, the gods of Earth C would come first, right?
TOPAZ: yeah if were talking about their canon
TOPAZ: earth cs canon isnt the earth cs gods canon
(SWIFER): But the timeline--
TOPAZ: irrelevant different narrative body different rules different focus
TOPAZ: let me explain again
TOPAZ: lets take some random bitch from the earth c gods
TOPAZ: say
TOPAZ: rose lalonde
TOPAZ: shes a big deal in the arbitrary story section well call canon
TOPAZ: however well call everything on earth c postcanon
TOPAZ: lalonde is from canon and not postcanon so she cant be memetically tied into postcanon that strongly
TOPAZ: YOU however
TOPAZ: you are totally born into postcanon so you CAN become memetically bound to its fabric
(SWIFER): I... see?
TOPAZ: you dont but it doesnt matter im infodumping now
TOPAZ: anyway the important part is that everyone acts like were still in postcanon when that ship sailed a super long time ago
TOPAZ: the "present moment" if we can even point to that is pure fanon or postfanon or whatever the fuck
TOPAZ: the story were inhabiting is not the story youve been in your whole life even though to you it feels like linear time
(SWIFER): How did you know that was what I was going to point out?
TOPAZ: cause i know my shit on this ok????
TOPAZ: but everyone loves to pretend like this is postcanon still
TOPAZ: and by everyone i mean the muse and the prince who are so caught up in their stupid fucking game
TOPAZ: i dunno if theyve even realized the extent of whats happened yet themselves which is really fucking ironic and funny
TOPAZ: but back to the point
TOPAZ: because youre memetically potent and a piece taken off the gameboard by getting killed and dying this woulda put you in a position as a prime vessel for this narratives core
(SWIFER): Erm...?
TOPAZ: basically youd be a free face for any old fucker to use in order to authenticate their storytelling bullshit
TOPAZ: and is probably what you should have been
(SWIFER): What... does that mean?
TOPAZ: isnt it obvious??

Topaz's crystal glints in the light of a dying universe. (Swifer) feels small and cold, one tiny piece awash in something so terrifyingly huge.

TOPAZ: you died and became a puppet of the muse
(SWIFER): I... I what?
TOPAZ: yeah this ghost shit wasnt accidental
TOPAZ: she probably saw that you were taken off and decided to preserve your conceptual form to use as a vessel for interacting with the narrative
TOPAZ: which i think she did some time back?? im not sure theres a weird recursive timeline going on with her thats hard to explain
TOPAZ: but basically there was a point where the muse needed to communicate with someone on the inside and you shouldve been the mask she wore
(SWIFER): But... she didn't. And that's why I'm out here instead?
(SWIFER): Although, that still doesn't explain a buncha things.
(SWIFER): Like... if I was an unused puppet, why am I still aware?
(SWIFER): Why was I not used, and why am I here?
(SWIFER): Surely I'd just be discarded in the metaphorical garbage chute if this were the case...
TOPAZ: nah thats definitely not it
(SWIFER): And how are you so sure?
TOPAZ: cause im the reason youre here actually

(Swifer)'s jaw trembles. Through great effort she manages to keep it from going agape. She is a principled woman, and she is too deep in weird plot shit to let it phase her. Too much.

(SWIFER): I'm sorry? You what?
TOPAZ: oh yeah lol
TOPAZ: saw she was gonna use you for her schemes so i went and took you and put you here instead
(SWIFER): Wh... why?
TOPAZ: mostly just to piss her off
(SWIFER): So I'm just here and still alive because... you're waging psychological warfare against a dead cherub?
TOPAZ: basically
TOPAZ: you didnt see it but she had to rummage for some other bit player to use instead which TOTALLY cheapened the scenes impact
TOPAZ: and she still hasnt realized somethings fucky with the whole setup its so hilarious
(SWIFER): Wait so... that's it?
(SWIFER): That's the answer? I'm here on a stupid whim because somebody thought my existence would be funny?
TOPAZ: same as it always was
(SWIFER): ...

She crouches down. Places her head in her hands. Breathes in and out, wide-eyed. Reality spins around her as the cruelty of the realisation slaps her around the head and leaves her breathless.

It can't be true. There has to be a reason. Something deeper. Anything.

(SWIFER): But... the girl I was talking with...
(SWIFER): She isn't like me, so...
TOPAZ: oh
TOPAZ: her

Topaz waves a hand dismissively.

TOPAZ: a fragment looking for other fragments
TOPAZ: shell never be able to do anything she wasnt already predestined to do
TOPAZ: you on the other hand arent meant to be here but i brought you here anyway
TOPAZ: and youre a renewed puppet so that means youve got a hell of a lot more conceptual potential about you
(SWIFER): Wait, so... that's it?
(SWIFER): My existence is a joke and reality is meaningless? There's nothing for me at all?
TOPAZ: yeah? so?
(SWIFER): That's...

(Swifer) starts trembling. Then she catches herself. She's been through too much to be brought to her knees by such a revelation. This is no different to the subjugation and Othering at the hands of Crocker. If she can endure one hardship she can endure the other.

Instead, the shock gives way to curiosity.

(SWIFER): Who... are you?
(SWIFER): What kind of person has the ability to just do that?
TOPAZ: i told you
TOPAZ: i had to get here the hard way
TOPAZ: that stuff i do is just a necessary skill i picked up along the way
(SWIFER): But where did you even come from, anyway?
TOPAZ: isnt that one obvious?

Topaz gestures to their own crystal.

(SWIFER): But... you already showed me a scene from that crystal.
(SWIFER): The ghost void. I don't think you're from there.
TOPAZ: no im not
TOPAZ: that was just something i showed you to illustrate a point
(SWIFER): Then what about where you actually came from? Your, um... your canon?
TOPAZ: ah
TOPAZ: right
TOPAZ: lol
(SWIFER): Lol?
TOPAZ: yeah lol
TOPAZ: thats a no can do
(SWIFER): Why not?
TOPAZ: cause my canon is fucking dead and gone thats why

They spin on their heels and powerwalk ahead. (Swifer) staggers behind them.

(SWIFER): What does that mean?
TOPAZ: i dont have to spell that out for you
TOPAZ: the entire fucking pocket of narrative i came from is kaput
TOPAZ: its nothing
TOPAZ: shredded into less than dust by entropy and whatever the fuck else
TOPAZ: i want you to imagine it
TOPAZ: your whole world frozen in one moment forever
TOPAZ: a perpetual freezeframe where everything is stuck for eternity until the conceptual decay sets in
TOPAZ: youre stuck there for so many infinities watching the edges of your existence crumble away into oblivion and nobody can move and nobody can do shit about it
TOPAZ: imagine what the fuck it takes to find a way out of that kind of hell
(SWIFER): I... I can't...
TOPAZ: of course you cant
TOPAZ: i went through it and i can barely conceptualize it myself
TOPAZ: i barely fucking got out at the last fucking minute
TOPAZ: if my own memetic strength was even a smidgen weaker...
TOPAZ: anyway
TOPAZ: i cant show you where i came from because theres nothing to show
TOPAZ: same thing got my canon thats getting everything else around it
TOPAZ: its not something you can stop
TOPAZ: only something you can delay

There is a soft sound. The noise of windless wind on water. A quiet trickling gurgle. This place is so peaceful and so beautiful, but suddenly (Swifer) can only focus on the rot.

(SWIFER): So... what?
(SWIFER): What now?

Topaz doesn't answer immediately. They are staring at something in the distance. (Swifer) looks out in that direction. What she sees is a crystal, gleaming with the brilliance of the Blood aspect. As she watches, it wobbles on its axis. The colour fades from it into a murky nothing. Then the crystal drops to the ground, shattering into splinter shards that sink into the water, the same texture as the cracks slowly eating the sky.

TOPAZ: eventually this is all gonna die
TOPAZ: no way around it
TOPAZ: whatever the hell this rot is it cant be stopped
TOPAZ: one by one each canon and fanon will die
TOPAZ: when i got here this place was so much bigger but now you can go from end to end in a couple days
TOPAZ: eventually youll be able to count the number of viable crystals left and then theyll be gone too
TOPAZ: the genesis frogs are already easy symbolic pickings because nothings tastier than unfulfilled potential
TOPAZ: its all doomed
TOPAZ: earth c too
TOPAZ: maybe earth c most of all
(SWIFER): What about you? What is your plan?
TOPAZ: find a way out
(SWIFER): A... way out?
TOPAZ: of both canon and fanon
TOPAZ: only way to do that is hitch a ride to a universe planted on fertile ideatic ground
TOPAZ: given the state of things my options were limited
TOPAZ: only really the one bifurcated timeline left to bet it all on
(SWIFER): ...And that's mine?
TOPAZ: bingo
TOPAZ: i got here a little too early so i had to try something
TOPAZ: see if i was able to interact with your canon in any way
(SWIFER): Which you did, by... bringing me here.
TOPAZ: yep
(SWIFER): What do you mean by too early?
TOPAZ: theres gonna be a moment in the timeline
TOPAZ: the convergence
TOPAZ: some kind of... thing i guess
TOPAZ: a hiccup in the narrative structure thatll let me do what i need to do
TOPAZ: slip into the story and coast along out and to my destination

They both walk again. Something streaks across the sky that (Swifer) pretends is a shooting star to make herself feel better.

(SWIFER): But... how is this different to what the girl from earlier did?
(SWIFER): Um... whatever it is she did.
TOPAZ: what she did was dumb and shortsighted
TOPAZ: punching your way through to the story is ballsy but if you dont do it right youre gonna be stuck in a less than tertiary role
TOPAZ: you cant just like
TOPAZ: materialize somewhere new just like that unless youve got retcon on your side
TOPAZ: which literally only one single fucking person in all existence does and its not any of us
TOPAZ: if you dont make room for yourself in advance youre not gonna go far
TOPAZ: which is fine if youve only got one goal but i dont
TOPAZ: im making it outta here and that means i need to prep for my own arrival
(SWIFER): Like... pre-tweaking the canon?
TOPAZ: yeah
TOPAZ: i know its possible because im not the only one whose doing this
(SWIFER): Oh?
TOPAZ: im only following in the footsteps of an old foe who basically showed me the way out of my own canon on total accident
TOPAZ: except i gotta have more finesse because i dont have a vessel in the same way
TOPAZ: my bodys the only one and im not ditching it so this is just how it is
TOPAZ: ...
(SWIFER): ...
TOPAZ: ...
TOPAZ: ...here

Topaz comes to a stop. They've been walking for some time, but the two Earth Cs seem like they haven't moved. They've come to a stop in front of a crystal, this one a blended mix of Space and Heart.

(SWIFER): What is this?
TOPAZ: your canons crystal obviously
(SWIFER): Right. Obviously.
(SWIFER): How do you know?
TOPAZ: because you brought us here
(SWIFER): I... huh?
TOPAZ: well not literally
TOPAZ: but people in this nexus space are always drawn to their own source canons crystals
TOPAZ: kind of a honing technique i guess
TOPAZ: which is good because theres no way in hell i have the time to sort through literal trillions of possibilities for the right one
(SWIFER): You needed me for that?
TOPAZ: yeah
TOPAZ: another reason why youre here i guess
TOPAZ: i needed you to see if i can interact and i also needed someone to guide me to the right crystal
TOPAZ: two birds one bludgeoning rock
(SWIFER): Uh huh...
(SWIFER): So now what?
TOPAZ: now we wait
TOPAZ: the minute the convergence hits im going through
(SWIFER): Why can't you go now?
TOPAZ: because then i run the risk of getting stuck on the pre-convergence side of things which would be bad for a whole bunch of obvious reasons
TOPAZ: if you wanna be stuck in another dead end timeline then feel free
TOPAZ: but im only going in when the threshold is weakest
(SWIFER): ...
(SWIFER): ...
(SWIFER): ...What about me?

She barely dares voice the thought. She clutches a hand to her chest and tries not to hope, but oh does it ache.

(SWIFER): I know I'm technically dead, but there's a precedent for ghosts on Earth C anyway.
(SWIFER): If... If I were to go through my own crystal...
TOPAZ: you cant
(SWIFER): What?
TOPAZ: you cant because you dont exist on earth c
(SWIFER): I, but I...
TOPAZ: i know what you think but
TOPAZ: well
TOPAZ: thats kind of not the full truth?
TOPAZ: theres a reason youre calling yourself (swifer) and its not because some other bitch named eggmop is living it up meatside
TOPAZ: its cause you never WERE swifer eggmop
(SWIFER): I... I'm sorry?
(SWIFER): But... but you said...

Her throat turns tight. She bites down on the corner of her lip as something sinks through her torso.

TOPAZ: i said you were taken from the muse to stop her from using you as a puppet
TOPAZ: that doesnt mean youre literally swifer eggmop
TOPAZ: youre just a piece of narrative matter wearing her skin and memories
TOPAZ: swifer eggmop is lying dead and buried on earth c
TOPAZ: you dont even have a real body youre just a concept with memetic gravity
TOPAZ: if your blueprint was less relevant youd have dissolved a long ass time ago
(SWIFER): But... but...
(SWIFER): I know, I remember...
TOPAZ: thats how it works
TOPAZ: its the most cursed fucking comparison but youre basically the other half of the ship of theseus
TOPAZ: you werent taken from your timeline so much as you were conjured up outside of it
TOPAZ: i know how bullshit arbitrary the distinction sounds but thems the breaks
(SWIFER): So... so what?
(SWIFER): What happens to me now?
TOPAZ: i dunno
(SWIFER): Wait, but, but I honed you in to the crystal, so...
(SWIFER): So doesn't that argue that I belong to it?
TOPAZ: your memories do and by all technicalities you could hop right in when it opens
TOPAZ: doesnt mean youll land in a real body on the other side though
TOPAZ: maybe therell be a sharp moment when everyone remembers you and mourns you but it wont bring you back unless youre revived canonside
TOPAZ: and given the state of active healers there i wouldnt bet on it
(SWIFER): No, that's... that's unfair...
TOPAZ: newsflash bitch every single part of this whole fucking reality is deeply unfair!
TOPAZ: you died and cant go back home big whoop
TOPAZ: i am the only thing that survived
TOPAZ: i have nothing but the desperate hope that maybe theres a way forward and even i dont really believe it all that much!
TOPAZ: im coasting by on secondhand information stolen from someone that needs killing and i have no way of knowing if im even doing the right thing
TOPAZ: so
TOPAZ: dont
TOPAZ: FUCKING
TOPAZ: talk to me about whats fair or not!!!

By the end of it, the figure behind Topaz's crystal is trembling. At some point, (Swifer) started crying. She wonders if, behind the fury, Topaz is crying too.

She reaches a hand out, but Topaz flinches back.

(SWIFER): I... I didn't mean to...
TOPAZ: look
TOPAZ: i get it
TOPAZ: it sucks
TOPAZ: but i cant help you and its not my problem
TOPAZ: i have one shot to save myself and i cant miss it

They turn to face the crystal. A few rows back, another one blinks out and dies.

(SWIFER): What'll happen to this place when this rot catches up?
TOPAZ: dunno
TOPAZ: probably therell be nothing left
TOPAZ: consumed or destroyed or something its all the same in the end
(SWIFER): Ah.
(SWIFER): And when these crystals die out, are the worlds inside really destroyed?
(SWIFER): Or is our link to them simply lost?
TOPAZ: does that matter?
TOPAZ: if youre locked up in a room with no way out whether or not the outside world is alive or dead is irrelevant
TOPAZ: entropy is entropy
TOPAZ: sorry if you thought you could philosophy jam your way outta this one
TOPAZ: i got out of one of those dying crystals
TOPAZ: i have no reason to doubt that the same thing that happened to me isnt happening to all of them
(SWIFER): ...
TOPAZ: it fucking blows i know
TOPAZ: and maybe if i stop and think ill feel bad about using and discarding you like this but i cant and wont
TOPAZ: no hard feelings
(SWIFER): ...No, none.

(Swifer) sits on the ground cross-legged like a child. She has never felt so old and weary. The water laps and ripples around her, but her clothes stay dry.

Down below, Earth C spins and spins.

(SWIFER): So what's with the Earth Cs, then?
(SWIFER): If you need a crystal to access my timeline, why are the planets visible?
(SWIFER): Surely you couldn't just... head over to them?
TOPAZ: doesnt work like that
TOPAZ: there are a bunch of metatextual barriers in the way
TOPAZ: besides
TOPAZ: moving through physicalspace instead of ideaspace is never a smart idea
TOPAZ: no telling how much itd fuck you up
TOPAZ: maybe if you were better at this stuff than i am but im not so this is what i have to do
TOPAZ: besides
TOPAZ: the thought of actually being on earth c is
TOPAZ: id rather fucking kill myself
(SWIFER): Why?
TOPAZ: why do you think
(SWIFER): ...Ah. Right.
(SWIFER): Stagnant and doomed world and all that.
(SWIFER): But...
(SWIFER): Surely all this decay is going to take years upon years to happen, no?
(SWIFER): Isn't there a chance you could live a full happy life in one of these worlds and die peacefully before this... thing catches up?
TOPAZ: no chance
TOPAZ: whatd be the fucking point of that?

Topaz puts their hands on their hips, and it's in this moment that (Swifer) is reminded that yes, they are significantly younger than her.

(SWIFER): I guess... it's something you don't really understand until you're older.
(SWIFER): You are pretty young, right?
TOPAZ: i was trapped in a slowly rotting world for millennia
(SWIFER): Yes, but... you know what I mean.
TOPAZ: yeah youre way older than me
TOPAZ: but dont do the "poor kid" shtick at me or ill kick you in the shins
(SWIFER): Fine. I won't.
(SWIFER): But the idea of finding a good place to die, it's... it's something you grow into, I suppose.
TOPAZ: maybe
TOPAZ: doesnt make any fucking sense to me
TOPAZ: if you wanna live why think about dying?
TOPAZ: thats basically admitting your life is over
(SWIFER): Not really. You wouldn't want to live forever, I don't think.
TOPAZ: suit yourself
TOPAZ: i already got a taste of that and if it werent for the whole torment nexus thing honestly it was a pretty sweet deal
TOPAZ: plus i dont know what the deal is with concept ghosts like you so maybe youre also gonna live forever?
(SWIFER): ...Ha, maybe.

(Swifer) trails a hand through the water. She only gets a couple of inches deep before she slams into a hard, invisible barrier.

(SWIFER): I haven't thought much about that. I don't know if I want to!
TOPAZ: yeah i mean
TOPAZ: youre stuck here so youre basically on borrowed time anyway
(SWIFER): ...I guess. You're not making me feel better about my situation, though.
TOPAZ: yeah well
TOPAZ: i dont think any of this is something you can feel good about to be honest
(SWIFER): ...
TOPAZ: ...
(SWIFER): So, do you have a plan?
TOPAZ: what do you mean
(SWIFER): I mean, when you break through the crystal and use the Convergence to reach where you're going.
TOPAZ: yeah thats easy
TOPAZ: fuck shit up
TOPAZ: make it to the next universe
TOPAZ: survive
(SWIFER): And what makes this next universe safer?
(SWIFER): Won't it end up like one of those poor impaled Genesis Frogs up there?
TOPAZ: nah
TOPAZ: the problem with those frogs is that theyre all made of the same stuff as the crystals and earth c
TOPAZ: everything here is inside universe c or paradox space or whatever it is
TOPAZ: universe d will be... different
TOPAZ: a clean slate
TOPAZ: this thing wont be hungry for it
TOPAZ: it has a taste for the flavors of this reality
TOPAZ: something new an alien to it wont register
TOPAZ: its
TOPAZ: itll work
(SWIFER): But... if the Muse and whoever are leading the charge to make this new universe, won't that be the same thing?
(SWIFER): This place's DNA'll be rife, so won't this continue?
TOPAZ: i
TOPAZ: i have no fucking clue whats going on with the sburb stuff
TOPAZ: but hence the fucking shit up part
TOPAZ: nothings set in stone other than the fact this better place eventually has to exist
TOPAZ: ill figure the rest out
(SWIFER): You don't sound sure.
TOPAZ: im not
TOPAZ: but what else can you do?
(SWIFER): ...
(SWIFER): For what it's worth, I'm sorry you're going through this.
TOPAZ: thanks
TOPAZ: sorry about your shit too

Topaz stands tall and stretches. They look on at the crystal, spinning, bobbing, gleaming.

TOPAZ: not much left to do but wait now
TOPAZ: convergence wont be long i dont think
TOPAZ: ill be gone soon enough
(SWIFER): Well... good luck, I suppose. When the time comes.
TOPAZ: dont need it but thanks
(SWIFER): Right.
(SWIFER): Only... I wonder
TOPAZ: ?
(SWIFER): After you're gone and this Convergence is done with, what...
(SWIFER): What about me?
(SWIFER): What'll I do?
TOPAZ: hm
TOPAZ: wont really be my problem
TOPAZ: i guess youll do what you will
(SWIFER): I...
(SWIFER): I guess.

And that's that for now. (Swifer), sitting on the floor. Topaz, hiding behind a crystal. Two adrift figures poised around an entrypoint, waiting for the moment that the door opens and everything changes. The ghosts of many somethings bleak and grim hover, unspoken. Somewhere out there a girl single-mindedly is carving her way through canonicity in the hopes of fulfilling a mission only she knows. (Swifer) hopes that somehow they all succeed in the end.

Far above and away, a Genesis Frog explodes like confetti. Reality grows smaller.

Notes:

The quotations in this chapter are lifted from:

Homestuck - pages 5404 and 7022

The Homestuck Epilogues: Meat - page 39

Godfeels 2, part 1 - chapter 4

Through Shadowed Eyes - chapter 30

Chapter 74: SEVEN, section i.

Notes:

SECTIONS COMPLETED: 1/8

Happy fourth anniversary to Omelette Route! (2019/10/07 - 2023/10/07) A little late to the party, but 10/25 and 10/07 are kind of the same thing if you really think about it. Call it a joint celebration of Omelette Route's birthday and the miraculous revival of the presumed-dead Homestuck: Beyond Canon.

i.

 

KANAYA: The Last Few Days Have Been
KANAYA: A Difficult And Turbulent Time

Kanaya sits at the head of the command table, alone. She is dressed in black and deep green bags line her eyes.

KANAYA: Commander Vantas Gave His Life To Kill Jane Crocker Once And For All
KANAYA: To All Of You I Am Confirming These Rumors As Truth
KANAYA: Until We Reach An Agreement About Where To Go From Here Both Of These Facts Will Be Kept From The Public
KANAYA: We Are Entering A New Difficult Uncharted Period
KANAYA: We Need To Do It Right
KANAYA: In The Coming Days We Will Collectively Decide On The Kind Of Future We Will Build
KANAYA: Until Then Rest Recuperate And Savor Our Hard Won Victory
KANAYA: Thank You

She keeps it together until the ten other commanders leave the briefing room. Then, with only her wife as witness, she lets the mask break like porcelain.

Rose Lalonde holds her, and says nothing. There are many things she wishes to say, but she knows nothing she could say would help. Grief does not need words. It needs nothing and yet it takes everything.

KANAYA: I
KANAYA: I Want To Be Mad At Him

Kanaya's voice is creaky. Nothing remains of the confident projection she carried out across the room to the others. Rose's own throat swells and aches.

ROSE: I know, darling.
ROSE: There has been... so much taken from us, so swiftly.
KANAYA: I Could Blame Jake English
KANAYA: That Would Be So Easy In Fact
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: I Know
KANAYA: Knew
KANAYA: I Knew Karkat
KANAYA: He Would Have Done What He Did Regardless Of The Circumstances
KANAYA: The
KANAYA: The Stupid Self Sacrificing Idiot
KANAYA: How Will I Ever Repay This Debt?

Not many can profess to have heard the sound of Kanaya Maryam sobbing. In Rose's view, it is the worst most gut-wrenching noise Paradox Space is capable of producing. Kanaya gulps for air. Rose pats her wife on the back, still after all these years uncertain of the intricate steps of intimacy, and feels her own eyes well up.

ROSE: Damn it.
ROSE: What is it with Knights, honestly?

She goes for glib. The pain is too raw.

Kanaya looks at Rose miserably.

KANAYA: Of Course Dave As Well
KANAYA: I Cannot Apologize Enough For Forgetting In My Own Selfish Grief
ROSE: Do not apologize, Kanaya.
ROSE: We both loved Dave and Karkat. We can cry for both.
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: Both Of Them In Such Short Notice
KANAYA: I
KANAYA: I Wish We Had The Time To Be Tired
KANAYA: In The Wake Of Crockers Death There Is *So Much* To Do
KANAYA: I Want Them Back
KANAYA: I Want A Moment To Truly Cry For Them
KANAYA: I
KANAYA: I Want

It's an incomplete thought. It's a thought that cannot be completed. Rose rubs her hand in circles between Kanaya's shoulder blades. She has no clue if it helps, but she needs to do something to feel less useless.

Kanaya still pulls away first. She dons the face of a leader, because duty will always come first to her. In this moment, Rose hates it. She wishes for nothing more than to be able to spirit the two of them away, into a gentler moment.

KANAYA: This Must Come Later
KANAYA: Weeping Like This Is Unbecoming Of An Interim Commander
ROSE: Kanaya, you know we don't put much stock in protocol like that.
KANAYA: And Yet This Is How It Must Be

Her smile is steely. Her face is still tear-streaked. Rose understands.

ROSE: Very well. Shall we talk business?
KANAYA: Is There Business To Discuss
ROSE: Always. Come, walk with me.

Rose gives Kanaya a moment to wipe her face, and then leads her wife out of the command room. When they emerge, they are commanders Maryam and Lalonde, respectively.

ROSE: Ullses and Parvoy have finished their initial survey of NuSeattle.
ROSE: The city is scorched. Less than 1% of infrastructure is salvageable.
ROSE: Casualties are...
ROSE: Well, we have about five hundred confirmed civilian survivors.
ROSE: Rita has been keeping track for us.
KANAYA: And Rita Is
ROSE: The woman our daughter rescued from the hollowed shell of a CrockerMart.
KANAYA: Of Course
KANAYA: Is She Well?
ROSE: Her injuries are mild. Our medics have been treating her and the rest of them for radiation sickness.
ROSE: The prognosis is optimistic, though.
KANAYA: That Is Good

They are currently on the bottom-most level of the Rebellion's main HQ, a semi-subterranean hive on the southern coast of the Troll Kingdom, nested between mountains that conveniently obfuscate satellite signals (in the local Alternian dialect, they are known as the Hills of the Void). This place used to be a Mother Grub brooding cavern, decades ago, but the infrastructure was abandoned and promptly repurposed to fit the Rebellion's needs fairly early on. The tunnels stretch out for miles beneath the mountains, capable of housing hundreds of thousands of individuals at any given time.

KANAYA: Have We Arranged Reconstruction Efforts Yet?
ROSE: Not yet.
ROSE: The last 36 hours have mostly been dealing with cleanup.
ROSE: Some cities in the occupied Kingdoms continue to hold out even after Crocker's demise, which is spreading like gossip wildfire.
ROSE: That statement will need to come sooner rather than later.
KANAYA: Of Course
KANAYA: I Hope To Do So Within The Next Couple Of Days
ROSE: Right.
ROSE: Have we figured out the logistics of that yet?
KANAYA: It Will Be A Collaborative Effort Staged In The New Thrashstem Municipal Square
KANAYA: Our People Are Working On Clearing The Area Of Crockercorp Artefacts And Establishing Communal Kitchens And Hospitals For The Liberated Populace
KANAYA: The Question Of What To Do With The Settlers Remains Large
KANAYA: Especially Given The State Of The Human Kingdoms Largest Urban Center
ROSE: ...Yeah. That does pose a problem.
ROSE: Not that "evicting thousands of wealthy occupiers of stolen land" is ever neat and simple.
KANAYA: That Will Of Course Have To Be A Long Term Project
KANAYA: The Immediate Concern Is Kicking Out Remaining Armed Occupying Forces
KANAYA: Luckily Most Of These Protocols Were Outlined In The Manifesto
KANAYA: Karkat Was Forward Thinking If Nothing Else

A moment of silence falls as the two women walk through the bottom-level hallways. Armed trolls in combat fatigues stop to acknowledge. Some even salute them. Rose returns their gaze with a curt nod and a warm smile. When they are out of earshot, she turns to Kanaya.

ROSE: We have also got to work on the whole "god reverence" thing.
KANAYA: Desperately So
KANAYA: We Are Definitely Instating A Godless Council Chamber Before The Months End
ROSE: Mm. Although... I wonder if totally removing ourselves isn't as bad as having total dominion in the first place.
KANAYA: I
KANAYA: Suppose One Thing We Have Been Considering Is Having One God Representative Per Term
KANAYA: Perhaps On A Rotating Basis
ROSE: Among whom? Of venerated rebels, only you, I, and Jade are left.
ROSE: Jake and Roxy are due to be tried for war crimes, and John is...
KANAYA: It Is A Work In Progress
KANAYA: Eternity Is A Long Time
KANAYA: There Is Much To Iron Out In The Process If We Are To Be Here Forever
ROSE: Indeed. The perils of immortality.

They ascend a flight of stairs. Loosely, they are making their way to the surface-level strategy room. It's been a little over a day since the grim events in NuSeattle. They're all running on a handful of hours of sleep, and still there is more to do.

KANAYA: Speaking Adjacently
KANAYA: How Are The Others
ROSE: Our cohort? Well.
ROSE: Roxy is... pleasantly compliant about her temporary incarceration.
KANAYA: I Still Do Not Like That Imprisonment Is Our Best Option
ROSE: The end of the war came upon us suddenly, dear. We didn't really have the time to think of an alternative.
KANAYA: Still
KANAYA: I Hope The Trials Are Through With Before This Sweep Is Over
ROSE: If we're lucky, they should be.
ROSE: Similarly, Jake English is... less so.
ROSE: Since resurrection he still refuses to talk on what happened in those final moments in the Crocker Needle.
KANAYA: Does He
ROSE: Afraid so. Whenever anyone broaches the topic he just... starts wailing pathetically.
KANAYA: Rose You Do Not Understand How Much I Loathe The Fact That That Man Survived
ROSE: I know, dear. We've let his son spend time talking to him now that the children have been cleared up.
KANAYA: And How Are The Children
ROSE: Their wounds are mended, but they are deeply shaken-up by recent events.
ROSE: They're trying to put on a brave face, mostly for Vriska, but they would certainly benefit from trauma therapy.
KANAYA: Even Vrissy
ROSE: ...Vrissy too.
KANAYA:

Kanaya's face goes hard. A ball congeals in Rose's throat that she wills away. She's been trying her best to compartmentalise, to think of these events as separate from and distant to her own domestic sphere. The thought of the myriad wounds inflicted on her daughter's psyche isn't anything she's in a rush to confront, as necessary a confrontation as it is to have.

KANAYA: I Loathe That The Children Were Involved
ROSE: I think acting like we could shield them from all this was little more than wishful delusion on our part.
ROSE: They were born into this world. Of course this world would leave its mark.
ROSE: This was set in stone the moment our daughter collided with Vriska Serket.
KANAYA: Speaking Of
ROSE: Vriska is Vriska.
ROSE: Impotent and frustrated that she missed out on her shot at glory and that she's being treated as the battle-scarred teenager that she is.
KANAYA: Oh She Must Be Infuriated
ROSE: She is. Harry Anderson is keeping her sane as best he can, but it's clear that Vriska is going to pose a problem long-term.
ROSE: That girl hasn't settled down since the Furthest Ring. She's out of time, place, and running on fumes.
KANAYA: I Fear We Will Have To Find Some Means Of Busying Her
ROSE: Certainly. Although...
KANAYA: Although?

Rose mulls on her words as they climb another floor. This is a delicate topic with no clear answer, founded on information she has yet to verify for herself.

ROSE: We have the issue of what Jade told us to contend with, still.
KANAYA: Ah
KANAYA: That
KANAYA: The Cherub From Beyond The Stars That Wishes To Use My Daughter In Her Machinations
ROSE: Indeed.
ROSE: You've not heard from Roxy yet, have you?
KANAYA: No I Have Otherwise Been Preoccupied With My Ceaseless Laundry List Of Duties
KANAYA: Why
ROSE: She's freely given information about what she was up to in the time between her disappearance from NuSeattle a few days ago and her re-appearance in the heat of battle.
ROSE: Allegedly she and Calliope are working on a solution to circumvent what is being billed as an otherwise closed timeloop.
KANAYA: This Being The Alive Cherub And Not The Dead One
ROSE: The very same.
KANAYA: And The Very Same Calliope For Whom We Only Have Roxys Word As To Her Whereabouts
ROSE: ...Yes.
ROSE: And before you ask, no. Nobody has been able to locate her, yet.
KANAYA: Forgive Me For Failing To Be Impressed On This Front
KANAYA: Frankly I Am Still Not Unconvinced That Roxy Wasnt Espousing Complete Horseshit To Save Her Own Neck
KANAYA: Unlike You Rose I Am Less Trusting And Forgiving Especially On This Matter
ROSE: ...

She turns her head away guiltily. Kanaya's right, and that stings. In recent weeks and months, Rose has found herself wanting to implicitly trust the words and actions of her old Sburb cohort despite the years of soured history and the miles-wide political schism between them all. She should not have accepted John back into the fold so readily. She should not be taking Roxy's words at face value. And yet...

And yet, she is. She cannot even call it a quirk of her Seer abilities nudging her towards the right path. This is all just ancient instincts come back to life, and Rose trusting in them against all common sense. Love is a powerful obfuscator. The desire to believe in its authenticity can lead one down all sorts of alleyways.

Even if, when she thinks back to Roxy and the years of hurt and betrayal and disappointment that lies between them, something slimy and constritcing writhes in the pit of her stomach with enough strength that it overrides even her curiosity for the cosmically significant. Which is why she doesn't think about it. Easier to keep it surface level. Better for everyone involved, really.

ROSE: There's no evidence that she isn't telling the truth.
KANAYA: Proving And Disproving Negatives Hardly Counts As Sufficient Evidence Of Anything Except A Riddle Of Logic
KANAYA: I Deal In The Material
KANAYA: You Know This
ROSE: I do.
KANAYA: So Until Evidence To The Contrary Is Presented To Me I Will Pay This Little Heed
ROSE: ...Right.

Rose doesn't press the issue. She knows how her wife feels about the esoteric when faced with the more urgent concrete. Cosmic schemes of thrice-dead ghosts rank very lowly on any rational-minded individual's priority list. Even if the children are capable of using fraymotifs. Even if Sollux has been communing with messengers from the beyond.

God, she wishes she had the time to think this all through. But there is always so much more to be done.

She's so caught up in her thoughts she fails to see Jade Harley teleport in before the two of them, eyes wide and expression frazzled.

JADE: THERE you guys are!!!
ROSE: Jade?
KANAYA: Is Something Wrong
JADE: yes!!! massively!
ROSE: What is it?
JADE: its... outglut^2
KANAYA: What About It
JADE: we finally made contact with people in the city and it turns out that the freaky zombie gamzee thing definitely came from there
JADE: but... thats not all
JADE: the only people that responded to our call were terrified civilians and a small handful of foot soldiers
ROSE: What about Meenah and Alfonz?
JADE: see thats the thing... :(
JADE: look

Jade presents a tablet to the two of them. It's a blurry photograph of an alleyway somewhere in downtown Outglut^2. The angle indicates that this was probably taken from a security feed. No timestamp. Bullet cracks in the buildings. Scattered garbage around the street.

And right in the middle, sprawled face-down, is the ringless corpse of Meenah Peixes. Rose's skin goes cold.

KANAYA: What
JADE: we dont know what happened :(
JADE: nobody whos left can give us a straight answer other than something went really really wrong which is already super evident
KANAYA: Are There Any Other Camera Feeds Of This Incident Jade
JADE: well kinda
JADE: but...

Jade taps the screen, revealing the still image to actually be a paused video. The camera lingers on Meenah's prone form and nothing happens for about thirty seconds after that. Then, the whole screen shakes violently and a haze of purple static cuts the feed dead.

JADE: from what we can gather this video feed was from some time the morning of the nuseattle battle
JADE: piecing it together with the testimonies we do have it seems like the feed cut out around the time that the whole gamzee thing happened
ROSE: ...Rage-based signal interference?
ROSE: I wonder if it's even possible with a twice-reanimated simulacrum of a player destined for something stupider than godhood, but this is Makara we're talking about.
KANAYA: And That Would Mean
ROSE: Essentially, whatever the ring did to Gamzee shorted out rational record-keeping in favor of unmitigated chaos.
ROSE: We saw a similar thing in NuSeattle.
KANAYA: The Bombs You Mean
ROSE: Certainly. Rage seeping into the atmosphere tends to frazzle minds that aren't fortified against its influences. So many psychologically vulnerable people all in one place... it makes sense.
KANAYA: Right
KANAYA: But About Outglut^2
KANAYA: What The Fuck Happened To Meenah
JADE: thats the thing! we... dont know
JADE: the body isnt there and nobody is saying anything
KANAYA: And Alfonz
JADE: hes not there either
JADE: and hes not accouted for among the zombie soldiers that gamzee dragged with him to nuseattle
KANAYA: What
JADE: all in all there are close to two hundred people unaccounted for
JADE: all of whom should have been in outglut^2
KANAYA: Again
KANAYA: What
KANAYA: How Does Something Like This Even Happen
JADE: i dont know!!! woof

Jade gives a bark of frustration, popping the tablet away and crossing her arms. Rose tries to shoot her a reassuring smile, but she feels her own nerves being frayed.

ROSE: A significant cohort of our best fighters vanishing into thin air is... troubling, to say the least.
ROSE: As is the fact that Meenah is...

It hits her mid-sentence like a knife to the kidneys. She never even got to find out about Karkat. Hell, for all Rose knows, Meenah could have died first. Her chest stings. She can't tell if this is a mercy or a tragedy.

Kanaya places a hand on Rose's shoulder. Her jaw is clenched tight.

KANAYA: Our Friend Has Been Murdered
KANAYA: Our Best People Are Missing
KANAYA: This Needs Urgently Investigating
JADE: which is what the guys on the ground agreed and is why im here to ask for your help
ROSE: You're thinking this will require a Seer's expertise.
JADE: well doesnt it?
ROSE: No, you're right. We need the best shot at clarity that we have.
ROSE: Of course I'll help.
KANAYA: I Am Coming Too
KANAYA: Meenah Was My Friend
KANAYA: More Than That The Killing Of Such A Highly Ranked Member Of Our Cause Requires My Presence
JADE: of course
JADE: youll be a massive help too kanaya
KANAYA: More Than Anything Else I Am Tired Of People We Care About Dying
KANAYA: I Wish For It To End For Good
JADE: right. yeah :(
ROSE: Jade, have you sent a memo to the other Commanders?
JADE: already did that en route. all the relevant parties know whats going on
ROSE: Good. Then shall we?
KANAYA: Not Quite Yet
JADE: ?
ROSE: ?

Both Rose and Jade turn to face Kanaya. A heavy, meaningful look crosses her face.

KANAYA: If We Are To Do This Properly
KANAYA: Then There Is One Stop I Wish To Make First

=>

PARVOY: Thank y{}u again f{}r y{}ur time.
PARVOY: And f{}r y{}ur c{}{}perati{}n.
ROXY: np
ROXY: like i said im on u guys side
ROXY: whatever it takes to help out however i can

With a satisfied nod, Parvoy shuts off the recording device on the table. Roxy gives a small nod then leans back with a sigh. As interrogation rooms go, this one isn't really that bad at all. Comfy chairs, adequate lighting, modest temperature. One thing about the rebels is that they sure know how to treat their prisoners right.

Prisoner. It's still a term that chafes when Roxy thinks about it. Technically, yes, she is complicit in a hell of a lot of bad stuff, and yes, things are way too up in the air for any kind of formal trial process (as of the last update, there's no clue who's actually left in charge of the Human Kingdom after what Jane did) so of course they can't do more than stick her under arrest until further notice.

Still. She'd be lying if she said it didn't sting a little.

PARVOY: We're g{}ing t{} be taking a fifteen-minute break bef{}re the next questi{}ns, if that's all right with y{}u.
ROXY: yeah totally fine
PARVOY: D{} y{}u want anything t{} eat? We have an alchemiter set up in the break area.
ROXY: nah im good
ROXY: not really hungry
ROXY: plus alchemized food is nasty as all fuck lmao

That gets a small smile from Parvoy. It helps to assuage the nerves even more than the constant affirmations to herself that these people are not her enemies.

PARVOY: Unf{}rtunately I think it'll be s{}me time bef{}re we'll have n{}n-alchemized f{}{}d pr{}ducti{}n.
ROXY: i get it
ROXY: quirks of the revolution and all that
ROXY: guess some of what janey said abt the disruption to infrastructure or w/e was on the money
PARVOY: {}ur h{}pe is this will be a sh{}rt term min{}r inc{}nvenience.
PARVOY: F{}r n{}w, unlimited alchemiter use means n{}b{}dy will starve at least.
ROXY: mm hm
PARVOY: Are y{}u sure y{}u d{}n't want anything t{} eat?
ROXY: honestly im good
ROXY: only ate breakfast like what
ROXY: a couple hours before i got here? im just chilling here
PARVOY: Well, if y{}u're certain.
ROXY: definitely
ROXY: although...
ROXY: there might b something else i want if asking wouldnt be crossing warcriminal boundaries or whatever

Parvoy gives Roxy a withering look that tells her exactly what she thinks of Roxy's terminology. But she chooses to be the bigger person and doesn't press the point.

PARVOY: The {}nly thing I can't d{} is let y{}u g{} with{}ut clearance fr{}m the c{}uncil.
PARVOY: {}ther than that... ask away and I'll see what I can d{}.
ROXY: ok then
ROXY: harry
ROXY: how is he

She's not seen her son since they reached the rebel HQ and she was taken away for questioning. Her last sight was of him being ushered off with the other children. The not knowing gnaws at her worse than anything else.

PARVOY: He is well, I think.
PARVOY: M{}st {}f the kids are.
PARVOY: I mean, they're all {}bvi{}usly shaken after the day's events, but they are {}therwise in g{}{}d health.
ROXY: thats
ROXY: rlly?

Parvoy nods. Roxy feels the urge to let the weight on her chest tighten, to not trust the words of this otherwise reasonable troll woman. She knows her own capabilities. As a Void player, she could bust out of here with minimal effort, but she has to show good-will. It's only right. It's only fair.

ROXY: thank you
PARVOY: I can try t{} arrange a visit f{}r y{}u later {}n if y{}u'd like?
ROXY: youd do that?
PARVOY: There's n{} reas{}n why I w{}uldn't.
PARVOY: Alth{}ugh, between y{}u and me, I d{}n't think y{}u'll need t{} be detained until the trials, R{}xy.
ROXY: thats
ROXY: really good to know
ROXY: thank you again
ROXY: its more than i deserve
PARVOY: Regardless {}f what y{}u have {}r haven't d{}ne, y{}u're still deserving {}f basic c{}mpassion, n{}?
ROXY: ...

She doesn't know how to articulate the writhing mass of guilt inside her chest to Parvoy, the sense that so much of this is her fault. She's told John and Jake alike in recent weeks that assigning personal blame for the world turning to hell is nothing more than an exercise in bullshit but here, now, after it all, she's finding it hard to swallow her own advice.

If she hadn't pushed John to attend that picnic...

If she hadn't been so indecisive about her feelings with Calliope...

If she hadn't let Jane's worst impulses go unchecked...

If she'd just spoken up and done the right thing for once...

Then none of them would be where they are now. Jane might be still alive. Earth C might not be in the aftermath of a brutal and bloody war. Harry Anderson would not exist in the way she knows him, and the way she loves him. Her choices are permanent. In this way, she's selfishly glad responsibility for these major world-altering decisions never landed on her shoulders. She's content enough to torment herself with her own what-ifs.

PARVOY: {}kay, I'm g{}ing t{} g{} n{}w.
PARVOY: We'll pick up in fifteen minutes, if y{}u're {}kay t{} talk ab{}ut y{}ur affiliati{}n with Cr{}ckerc{}rp's media empire?
ROXY: y yeah of course
ROXY: like i said im happy to talk about anything

Parvoy gathers up everything from the table and walks over to the door. As she steps forward to open it, the door flies open inwards, narrowly missing Parvoy's face by inches.

ROXY: ??

Roxy tenses up in her seat. A figure steps through the door and sets eyes on her and suddenly everything grows more complicated.

ROSE: Hello, Roxy.
ROSE: Apologies for the intrusion, Parvoy, but something urgent has come up.
ROSE: Would you mind if I had her to myself for a few minutes?
PARVOY: {}f c{}urse n{}t. Is there anything y{}u need fr{}m me?
ROSE: We're alright, but thanks for the offer. Ullses will be able to tell you more.
PARVOY: Right. Well then...
PARVOY: H{}pe everything is {}kay.

Perplexed, Parvoy bows her head and leaves with her stuff. When she's gone, Rose gently pushes the door shut.

ROSE: Kanaya and Jade are waiting outside, so I'll make this quick.
ROXY: smthn wrong?
ROSE: You could say that. Something has gone incredibly awry in Outglut^2.
ROXY: outglut^2???
ROSE: It's a major city in the Troll Kingdom, subject to a violent siege these past few days.
ROXY: wow
ROXY: i never knew
ROSE: Of course you wouldn't have.

The barb from Rose makes Roxy flinch. She can't meet her ectomother's gaze, no matter how badly she wishes she could. Instead, she stares down at her folded hands on the table.

ROXY: look i
ROXY: i dunno what apologizingll do atp given
ROXY: everything ive done
ROXY: but
ROXY: you know im not evil rose
ROSE: ...

Rose sucks in a breath. Lines of tension run deep across her face. Roxy knows exactly what conversation is coming. Has been anticipating it since the day she set foot in NuSeattle. Since long before, if she's being honest with herself.

ROSE: Twelve years ago, you left my wife to die in a genocide.
ROSE: More than that, you sidled up with the woman orchestrating it out of a desperate need to make a hollow peace.
ROSE: Your face has appeared on countless propaganda pieces. You were a celebrity guest in the revival of Jake's wretched gameshow on more than one occasion.
ROSE: You even pleaded Crockercorp's case to the Human Kingdom's congress on Jane's behalf. The Child and Juvenile Welfare Act? Ring any bells?
ROXY: i never knew it was a backdoor excuse 2
ROSE: Vrissy was seven years old, Roxy. An elementary schooler.
ROSE: You signed off her right to an education. Her right to parents.
ROXY: rose thats unfair
ROXY: hurtin vrissy was the last thing i--
ROSE: She was lucky. She had us.
ROSE: What about the juvenile cake mills Crockercorp was contracted to construct in the followng months?
ROSE: Would you like to know how many minors have been murdered in those death camps over the last decade, Roxy?
ROXY: rose i never thought
ROSE: No, you didn't think.
ROXY: but
ROXY: im thinking right now! im trying to do the right thing n make amends!
ROXY: rose PLEASE

Roxy clenches the edge of the table, swallowing around a cramp in her diaphragm. Rose looks at her coolly, save for the tremor of a clenched jaw.

ROSE: I can't help being unfathomably, immeasurably disappointed in you, Roxy.
ROSE: You were once one of the most important people in my life. I thought I'd always be able to rely on you to stand by my side.
ROSE: Or at the very least, not stand in flagrant opposition to my way of life and my wife's whole species.
ROSE: I look at you and all I can see is that betrayal. I don't even want to be in the same room as you.
ROXY: ...
ROXY: but
ROXY: in nuseattle we
ROSE: You helped to save my daughter's life and played a non-trivial role in the downfall of Jane Crocker. I am aware of these facts. I was there.
ROSE: And I thanked you for that.
ROXY: i thought
ROXY: i thought we were good after that?
ROSE: "Good". Hah.

Her laugh is a poisonous bite. Roxy flinches.

ROSE: Aiding me in a single battle can't wash out everything.
ROSE: You did what you did, and I've done what I did, and neither course of action can be undone.
ROXY: so
ROXY: what do you even want from me?
ROXY: like u said i cant just unchoose my choices
ROXY: i picked jane n i picked neutrality and it was the wrong choice and millions died
ROXY: n no amount of u glaring daggers @ me will change that
ROXY: i can say sorry a million times but thats clearly not what u want
ROXY: i cant do more to make amends than i am doing rn
ROXY: ive issued like a zillion apologies and im cooperating 100% w the rebels AND im gonna stand trial whenever that happens
ROXY: so uh
ROSE: So?
ROSE: That's the bare minimum for someone of your caliber.
ROSE: Platitudes and interviews aren't the most compelling counterweights to the literal decades of harm you've inflicted on our society.
ROSE: You...
ROSE: You should have been with us from the start. And yet, you chose otherwise.
ROXY: ...

Despite herself, despite the fact that this is Rose, Roxy's face hardens into a glare.

ROXY: thats not fair
ROSE: How so?
ROXY: in what world does it make sense to call me irredeemable for smthn i did hella years ago
ROXY: i was barely 25 when these rifts started! i was literally only just married n pregnant!
ROXY: whats the point in holdin me accountable for picking the wrong side all those years ago!
ROXY: the political lobbying and the media shit i get! hell even i look back @ myself and think wtf that was heinous!
ROXY: but not wanting to blow up my relationship with my childhood bff LONG before she went off the deep end??
ROSE: It wasn't hard for me to make that decision.
ROSE: Unless, of course, you're going to tell me there was some inexorable kernel of goodness inside Jane that kept you tethered to her side.
ROSE: You might have only been twenty-five when the tensions started, but Jane was only twenty-eight when Crockercorp started pivoting towards this genocidal endgame.
ROSE: That's a difference of less than three years, unless you mean to tell me that Jane Crocker was also young enough that her decisions could be written off as a forgiveable mistake?
ROSE: Where do we draw the line, Roxy?
ROXY: i dunno you tell me rose
ROXY: what the fuck would count as amends for that choice
ROXY: janeys fuckin dead
ROXY: cant exactly tell a dead woman im opposing her can i
ROSE: Now you're just being facetious.
ROXY: oh am i????
ROXY: then tell me what the fuck you want from me!!
ROXY: this aint even abt forgiveness or w/e because i never expected that
ROXY: so what is it rose?
ROXY: what the hell do you want???
ROSE: ...

Rose doesn't reply. What's in her eyes isn't hatred, but it's something that sears just as much. Roxy wants to slap her across the face. Roxy wants to weep. Roxy wants to turn the clock back. She wants to move forward to this better world everyone wants to build. She doesn't know what she wants.

ROXY: do you
ROXY: do you want me dead
ROSE: I'm sorry?
ROXY: is that it?
ROXY: in your eyes is good ol rolal a rabid dog way past the point of no return??
ROXY: dont matter what i do moving forward because my sin is that deep
ROXY: only thing im good for is a bullet between my eyes until the clock strikes just
ROXY: that what you want??? would that satisfy you?
ROSE: Now who's the unfair one.
ROXY: answer the fucking question!!!
ROXY: cause sitting here in this interrogation room w you seething at me is getting us nowhere!
ROXY: i love you rose and the guilt of what ive done will haunt me forever and i want to dedicate the rest of my life to righting that wrong
ROXY: but thats not enough for you is it
ROXY: i betrayed you and you wont let that go and you dont seem to think theres any point in me making amends w either you OR the world
ROXY: so you tell me what the fuck is left for someone like that other than to be put down

Rose stiffens. Whether it's because she's genuinely shocked at Roxy's remarks or because Roxy's hit too close to the bone isn't clear.

ROXY: janes dead
ROXY: the war is over
ROXY: do you wanna make a better world or do you just wanna get revenge
ROXY: tell me rose
ROXY: i dont hate you but i wanna know
ROXY: is there a point to this conversation or do you just wanna pull the trigger on my execution
ROXY: i did bad
ROXY: a hell of a lot of bad
ROXY: but i think im still capable of doing good
ROXY: isnt this all meant to be for something bigger than personal grudges?
ROXY: obviously i would love more than anything for us to not hate each other but i can accept that if i gotta
ROXY: but
ROXY: rose
ROXY: what good is punishing me forever actually gonna do for you or for anyone
ROXY: im trying
ROXY: im really actually trying and im so so fucking sorry for all the hurt i caused you
ROXY: but what would killing me prove
ROXY: the world already knows abt my crimes
ROXY: i already know about it and me being alive or dead or imprisoned or w/e isnt gonna add to that
ROXY: maybe it is selfish to wanna be able to change when my actions denied ppl that chance
ROXY: but were gods arent we? isnt this all about a bigger picture?
ROXY: like
ROXY: you came in just now because theres something going on that i can help with
ROXY: and i wanna help! i wanna be able to do good even if it never offsets everything ive done and thats fine cause its not rlly about me!
ROXY: so im sorry rose and i love you and im here to help
ROXY: and it aint your fault i chose wrong in that past so please stop blaming yourself
ROXY: cause thats what it is isnt it? you think somehow me failing earth c is your fault
ROXY: so youre holding it against me to hold it against yourself for whatever reason like you think you personally got me to side w jane
ROXY: even though thats obvi bs thats what it is isnt it?
ROXY: youre guilty for something youre not responsible for
ROXY: same as john was
ROXY: same as jake is
ROXY: cause who knows why but we all think we gotta carry the weight of the world on our shoulders like its our personal burden when its not
ROXY: even when its obvious that all youre doin is spiting yourself instead of helping anyone
ROXY: im not your responsibility
ROXY: only thing you gotta do is forgive yourself for living in a cruel world
ROXY: other peoples choices arent your fault
ROXY: so more than anything else rose
ROXY: you gotta forgive yourself
ROXY: ...
ROXY: ...
ROXY: rose?
ROXY: ...
ROXY: say something
ROXY: please
ROXY: rose
ROSE: ...

Rose's face is an opaque wall. Her eyes pierce into Roxy's, wide and boiling with emotion. Roxy tamps down the urge to reach out a hand, to bridge the silence, but she's said all she can say. She doesn't know if she's right or not. All she knows is that she cares, that behaving like you're the protagonist in some grand story leads nowhere fruitful.

They're all alive and capable of choosing anew with every minute. This world is alive. Earth C was not built to be a tomb for regrets. It's perhaps the only revelation that matters, something that Roxy fervently wishes more than ever she could impress into the people she loves. She barely manages to remember it every day herself, and upholding that promise is the hardest thing in the world, but the least she can do is look it in the eye and not let herself forget its existence.

Across from her, Rose stands. Her lower lip quirks in a way that betrays how hardly she's biting down on it.

ROSE: You don't get it. You cannot get it.

Slowly, quietly, she walks out of the room, her original purpose and request forgotten.

Roxy stares at the closed door for a good few minutes afterwards.

=>

Kanaya watches her wife emerge from the interrogation room without so much as a word. Rose's steps are heavy, her face clouded. Kanaya steps forward.

KANAYA: Rose
KANAYA: What Happened
ROSE: ...

Rose meets Kanaya halfway across the room, then crumples into her wife's torso with a sob. On reflex, Kanaya wraps her arms around her. She's always been the better at hugs between the two of them.

Jade looks on with a frown, ears downturned.

JADE: everything ok rose?
ROSE: No, I...
ROSE: Kanaya. Jade. I...
ROSE: I think I have been an idiot.
KANAYA: What Happened In There With Roxy
ROSE: She...
ROSE: I...

She can't finish. Just looks up at Kanaya with a face streaked with tears. Kanaya wipes them away with a confused but tender finger.

Rose shakes her head.

ROSE: Kanaya, tell me.
ROSE: Have I been selfish?
KANAYA: In What Regard
KANAYA: Rose Dear I Am Afraid I Am Barely Following
KANAYA: Did Roxy Say Something To You
KANAYA: Do I Need To Do Something
ROSE: Not at all!
ROSE: The only obstacle here might have been my pride.
ROSE: Or, well... it's more complicated than that.
ROSE: A hell of a lot more complicated, hah.
KANAYA: How Complicated
ROSE: Roxy and I... had a talk.
ROSE: About things that should have been addressed years ago.
KANAYA: And That Is Why You Are Presently Crying And Accusing Yourself Of Being A Deeply Selfish Individual
KANAYA: I Cannot Tell If You Are Hurting Or Having An Epiphany Here
ROSE: I don't think I could say, either.
ROSE: I only... I wish I was brave enough to say this to Roxy instead of you.
KANAYA: Say What
KANAYA: What Happened In There
JADE: yeah rose were gonna need a little more information to go off of
JADE: like did you and roxy fight? did she refuse to help out? what did she say to you??
ROSE: Oh, the mission!
ROSE: It slipped my mind entirely.

Kanaya lets Rose step away from her. Rose wipes her face free of tears.

JADE: wait... you forgot??
JADE: did you even bring it up with her?
ROSE: I... was getting there.
ROSE: But a series of heavy emotions served to impede on that front.
JADE: so... what happened?
JADE: you argued from the outset? is roxy gonna help or not?
ROSE: I... Roxy was cooperative, by all accounts. The fault lies with me I fear.
ROSE: I stupidly and selfishly let my resentment get in the way.
JADE: resentment?
KANAYA: I See

Immediately, Kanaya understands what this is about. She should have seen this sooner. Rose's tangled knot of feelings towards Roxy's betrayal grew and ballooned over the years in a way that not even her feelings towards John could compare to. Egbert was an expected disappointment. Roxy turning her back on the rebellion... broke something inside Rose, years back. 

Rose never spoke about it, primarily out of what Kanaya assumed was a respect for her wife's feelings. Her own emotions about her ectomother's betrayal would always pale in comparison to the rage Kanaya felt about one of the most powerful people on Earth C choosing to stand in support with the total annihilation of her species. Kanaya presumed Rose sacrificed the personal for the political, and held her in quiet respect for the choice.

Now, she sees that that initial assessment was wrong. Rose did nothing more than bottle up her emotions and self-flagellate about it for years, not even telling so much as her own wife. A soft breath pushes out between Kanaya's lips. In this way, yes, Rose is deeply selfish. The same guilt complex that drove her to attempt numerous suicide missions during her time in the Medium resurfacing in a subtler, nastier shade.

Kanaya realises, curtly and heavily, that they will need to have a long-overdue chat. But not yet. Something else must be done first.

Something else must always be done first.

KANAYA: I Will Go In And Speak To Roxy
KANAYA: I Think I Understand Enough
KANAYA: Jade If You Could Keep An Eye On My Beautiful But Terribly Silly Wife For A Moment
JADE: uh... sure!

Kanaya gently pushes Rose in the direction of Jade, who wraps an uncertain arm around her. Then she strides down the hallway, thinking mostly of how to unify these emotions with the overwhelming pressure of an endless duty.

=>

The door opens again. It's Kanaya. Her face is stern but not unkind. Roxy waves a sheepish hand.

ROXY: hay
ROXY: rose ok?
KANAYA: Rose Is Well
KANAYA: Your Conversation Seems To Have Served As A Wedge Into Ushering In Some Much Needed Catharsis
ROXY: uh... ur welcome?
ROXY: but im guessing u aint here to talk abt roses feelings
ROXY: this abt the biz rose mentioned and then forgot about?
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: There Have Been Troubling Developments In Outglut^2
KANAYA: An Unsolved Murder And Vanished Personnel
KANAYA: We Require The Assistance Of One Versed In The Ways Of Void To Help Pierce The Obfuscation
KANAYA: Who Better Than The Resident Deity Of That Aspect
ROXY: oh shit sounds serious
KANAYA: It Is Very Serious Indeed
KANAYA: Your Help In The Matter Would Be Greatly Appreciated
KANAYA: Will You Help Us?
ROXY: definitely
ROXY: u can count on me

Kanaya extends a hand. Roxy rises out of her seat, leans forward, and clasps it.

KANAYA: Thank You
ROXY: np
ROXY: all i wanna do is help
KANAYA: Indeed
KANAYA: In That Case
KANAYA: Let Us Bounce

Chapter 75: SEVEN, section ii.

Notes:

It's been a hot minute, hasn't it? I've always wanted to make one of those insane ao3 author absence excuse notes, so here we go:

Terribly sorry for vanishing for *checks calendar* uhhhh 18 months???? Wow. Anyway! I do in fact have a very very good reason for this extended vanishing act. Those who follow me on tumblr and other places will know this already, but for those of you who only engage with me through this interface, here's the rundown. I died. Very very badly.

Or, to put it less excitingly, at some point prior to the beginning of 2024 I was afflicted with [UNKNOWN MEDICAL CONDITION] that saw fit to attack me with kind of majorly life-threatening hypertension. I spent a period of time in hospital, and then that got better. But then I didn't, because turns out going around with a blood pressure of 250/160 for a number of weeks kind of shreds your organs. So it very quickly became apparent that consequence #2 the sequel of this was that I got diagnosed with kidney failure. Like, single digits of function and slowly ticking down to zero kind of failure. In the wake of this I predictably had a prolonged Extremely Normal One because having a life sustaining organ give the fuck up on you is definitely not up there with experiences anyone should wish to have! There's the the torment nexus, and then there's the "ongoing ptsd being afflicted from being forced to reckon with a possibly imminent mortality at age 25" nexus.

So how am I now that I'm back? No better! I mean eventually they'll have to put new organs inside me and then I might feel better but that is anywhere between six months and five years away, so I'm kinda stuck in the chronic debilitating illness trenches for the long haul. I do need to say that every single day of my new fun fresh hell I have done nothing but think about Pickle Route. Mostly I am here because I made a pact with demons in 2020 that I'm not allowed to die until the greater project known colloquially as "Omelette Route" is finished. It has been eating at me that it took me so long to come back to this story, but before I came back to it in the last few days, the last time I wrote for Pickle Route I was literally going blind in real time from the Problems Disease That Hates You And Kills You. So I kinda had some traumatic association with writing for a hot minute which is very stupid but I got past it because this is the thing I love the most and nothing will ever stop me for long.

Also Beyond Canon started heading into true Epilogues commentary territory and if there's anything that could get me 8ack in the saddle, it's weird meta shit. I have more to say about the Major Homestuck Development that almost exclusively occurred during my absence, but that would spoil the rest of this fic and like half of act 3 so please just wait and see.

Other than that, you'll notice a few changes to the broader fic. Mostly this is splitting the megachapters up. This was done primarily so that new readers can have an easier time digesting this mammoth project, and also to ease the pressure on me going forward. My health kind of sucks a lot and while I am as capable as always, burning myself out to pump out 20-40k word megachapters would have genuinely terrible consequences. This also means that I can't promise a fixed schedule, because there's something always happening, but this is my solemn renewed promise that this story will be finished.

I love Pickle Route, I love Homestuck, and I love you all.

--Pochapal

(also happy 6th epiloguesweekversary! despite everything it remains the most important life changing event to me)

ii.

 

VRISKA: Can you 8elieve I helped topple another tyrant????????
SOLLUX: gee n0 way wh0’d have thought.
SOLLUX: n0t like i was there t0 witness it all 0r anything.
SOLLUX: d0 y0u have anything meaningful t0 tell me 0r is this an0ther meaningless gl0ating sessi0n
VRISKA: H8y! I a8solutely have have reasons to 8e proud of myself here.
SOLLUX: gl0ating sessi0n it is.

Sollux tilts his head back as he slumps deeper into the couch, face flattened in total disinterest. Vriska, by the door, glowers at him.

SOLLUX: d0n’t y0u have s0me teens t0 b0ther
VRISKA: Um, no?
VRISKA: They’ve all got their own shit going on, and also if I hang with them then I run the risk of fussy, meddling adult versions of my friends 8ugging me.
SOLLUX: right. because y0u’re totally a bad bitch wh0 is als0 immune t0 being l00ked after by pe0ple wh0 kn0w better.
VRISKA: Exactly! See, you’re getting it. ::::)

As Vriska talks, she taps one foot up and down against the ground rhythmically and erratically. She’s coasting by on her... fifth? sixth? can of some alchemised energy drink the young recruits all swear by. She can feel every fiber of her pusher in a way that probably can’t be healthy long-term, but she’s already figured that soda poisoning probably doesn’t constitute as either Heroic or Just. Better than sitting around doing nothing with Harry and Vrissy, waiting for that stupid fucking oliveblood trauma therapist to try and get her to talk about feelings again. No fucking way.

Vriska steps further into the room, cocky smile widening. Sollux’s expression wrinkles.

SOLLUX: y0u stink like lusus excreti0n.
SOLLUX: have y0u even sh0wered, like, 0nce since y0u g0t here?
VRISKA: Um, not your fucking 8usiness?
VRISKA: 8esides, I’m literally on the other end of this huge ass 8r8k room. Don’t pretend like you can smell me.
SOLLUX: i literally can btw
SOLLUX: being blind 0bvi0usly augments y0ur sense 0f smell t0 c0mpensate.

Her smile stretches so hard her jaw starts to hurt.

VRISKA: Haha, what a gr8 j8pe, Sollux!
VRISKA: M8ke a joke a8out her ag8n and I’ll fucking kill you. ::::)
SOLLUX: jegus FUCK y0u’re prickly t0day. the fuck did i ever d0 t0 y0u??

Vriska doesn’t rise to the bait. She continues to approach Sollux. She has exactly one mission today, and she intends to see it through.

VRISKA: You and I have unfinished 8usiness, Captor.
SOLLUX: n0 we d0n’t.
VRISKA: Oh, I think we very much *do*.

She plants herself on the couch next to him. Sollux wriggles a little and tries to float free, but a firm hand on his shoulder keeps him planted where he is.

VRISKA: You know what I’m talking a8out.
SOLLUX: stfu i d0n’t.

But he’s lying. Sollux is...actually a surprisingly small number of things. Being the owner of a good poker face is, naturally, not among them. Vriska’s fingers on his shoulders twist, then pinch.

SOLLUX: agh!
VRISKA: 8ack in NuSeattle. Our convers8ion with Lalonde. Ringing the right 8ells, yet?
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: d0 we really need t0 d0 this here and n0w
VRISKA: I’m not t8king no for an answer.
SOLLUX: c0urse y0u fucking w0uldn’t.

Sollux tries to shrug out of her grip. Vriska doesn’t let him.

SOLLUX: i d0n’t kn0w what y0u want me t0 say. i already t0ld y0u that this is inc0mplete inf0 fr0m a shaky s0urce, s0
VRISKA: You think *that*’s what I’m asking a8out? I’m not a fucking idiot, Sollux. I know all that is complete 8ullshit.

To his credit, Sollux doesn’t force Vriska to elaborate. The less she has to dwell on that particular thought, the better.

VRISKA: What I’m interested in are the deets.
SOLLUX: the deets
VRISKA: The stuff you kept to yourself and refused to tell wrinkly adult Lalonde.
SOLLUX: i t0ld her ab0ut the r0gue striders eating reality with their acti0ns d0 y0u really think i kept–
VRISKA: When.
SOLLUX: what?
VRISKA: When is she coming?
SOLLUX: wh0?
VRISKA: The Muse. I need a timeline, and I need it now.
SOLLUX: why
VRISKA: Isn’t that o8vious? I’m done with everything I could possi8ly do on this shitsack planet!
VRISKA: The natural next course of action is for me to 8low this joint.
VRISKA: And don’t act like you don’t know. You’re as invested in this Convergence as everyone else.
VRISKA: After all, this is your one and only chance to see Aradia again, isn’t it? ::::)

Sollux flinches a little. Like an open fucking book.

SOLLUX: s00n
VRISKA: Hm?
SOLLUX: really s00n
SOLLUX: like, within the next day 0r s0 s00n
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: Oh.

Something solidifies in her stomach. She... this is good news. This is exactly what she wanted to hear. Perfect, even! Minimises hanging around on this deadbeat planet as much as possible.

But it means she’s onto the next stage, that she’ll have to confront everything that sits outside of this black hole. And she’s... not sure she’s entirely ready for that, now that it’s staring her in the face.

VRISKA: Are you sure?
SOLLUX: as sure as i can be with this h00fbeastshit
SOLLUX: i was t0ld, verbatim, “ten narrative units”
VRISKA: ...And I’m supposed to understand what that means.
SOLLUX: y0u’d be the first t0.
SOLLUX: it’s like...
SOLLUX: 0k this is really stupid but
SOLLUX: the muse and the prince and whoever else i fucking guess measure shit in narrative length and n0t regular ass time 0n acc0unt 0f time being a limited aspect 0f parad0x space 0r what the fuck ever
SOLLUX: but basically thr0ugh s0me arbitrary means the events 0n earth c are being chunked up int0 digestible chunks f0r wh0ever’s l00king in fr0m the 0utside
VRISKA: Like, chapters and stuff?
SOLLUX: sure if that makes y0u less likely t0 pipe in and c0mplain
SOLLUX: but whatever it is ten 0f them need t0 pass bef0re the muse sh0ws up and the c0nvergence begins
SOLLUX: and i guess spending th0se years 0rbiting earth c 0n the mete0r made me, like, m0re attuned t0 the narrative fl0w 0f this place?
SOLLUX: which is how i kn0w that that dream c0nversati0n with the muse a c0uple days back happened ab0ut nine narrative units ago
SOLLUX: s0, given everything, it’s fair t0 assume t0m0rr0w is the start 0f unit ten aka when they all get back here
VRISKA: ...

Vriska puffs out a breath. It’s... a lot to take in, all at once.

VRISKA: 8ut tomorrow morning?
SOLLUX: it’s what i said isn’t it
VRISKA: 8ut...
SOLLUX: but what?
SOLLUX: the law 0f narrative causality and stable timel00ps indicate that we’re all g0nna be back in that field h0using the mete0r and y0u me and the kids are g0nna get plucked 0utta this place
SOLLUX: them’s the fucking breaks
SOLLUX: pr0blem?
VRISKA: No! Just...
VRISKA: The Muse is more expedient than I thought, is all.
SOLLUX: n0t really. this st0ry has fucking dragged.
VRISKA: Sollux, it’s 8een like... maybe a week tops?
VRISKA: I dunno. Are you finding it hard to keep track of the days, too?
SOLLUX: girl the l0rd 0f time wh0se dictates 0n chr0n0l0gy guided 0ur understanding 0f reality g0t vici0usly v0red 0ut 0f existence 0n the day y0u arrived here
SOLLUX: 0bvi0usly the timeline’s g0ing t0 shit
SOLLUX: hence the es0teric st0rytelling n0nsense. m0st reliable metric any0ne’s g0t.
VRISKA: Uh huh...
VRISKA: You know, it really is fucked up that Lord English got, like, eaten, in the end.
VRISKA: Does anyone, uh... know a8out that?
SOLLUX: n0
SOLLUX: because it matters s0 much t0 y0u i’ll tell y0u that the masses still c0mf0rtably assume y0u her0ically bested him 0ut in the void
SOLLUX: y0ur eg0 will survive an0ther sweep, serket
VRISKA: Hey fuck you????????
SOLLUX: y0u’re the 0ne wh0’s b0thering me
SOLLUX: i have bigger shit t0 w0rry ab0ut than entertaining *y0u*.

Sollux frowns. His fists are curled up into balls. Vriska relaxes her grip on him at the sight. He has as much riding on tomorrow as Vriska does. He’s got the same demons waiting for him at the moment of Convergence. She gets it.

VRISKA: Alright, whatever. I’ll let you off the hook just this once.
VRISKA: So what is this Convergence thing, anyway?
SOLLUX: beats me

He shrugs.

SOLLUX: the muse made it s0und like the fancy term f0r her d0ubling back 0n her 0wn narrative t0 pick every0ne up, but the muse is als0 a dirty fucking liar
SOLLUX: it’s a sp00ky term with sp00ky capitalizati0n s0 it 0bvi0usly means s0mething else, t00. fuck if i kn0w what, though.
SOLLUX: aradia c0uldn’t c0ax it 0utta her s0 what chance d0 i have
SOLLUX: ask her y0urself 0n the way 0ut if y0u wanna.
VRISKA: May8e I will.
SOLLUX: well whatever it is really d0esn’t c0ncern us either way
SOLLUX: it’ll be a pr0blem f0r the muse and the prince in whatever timeline they’re g0nna battle it out in.
SOLLUX: definitely w0n’t have any relevance t0 the 0ther earth c.
VRISKA: Hm.

Vriska purses her lips. An unsolved important plot mystery is impossible bait to ignore, but... he kind of has a point? Isn’t the whole purpose here to get back to Earth C and lead a peaceful, unimportant life away from all this tumult?

Except that’s never gonna happen. Not when–

VRISKA: So what are you gonna say to her?
SOLLUX: wh0
VRISKA: You know, a8out the fact she a8andoned you like that.
SOLLUX: well, she didn’t aband0n me s0 much as she was pressured int0 a spur 0f the m0ment ch0ice by a g0d several times str0nger than her.
SOLLUX: i’m kind 0f a l0ser s0 i d0n’t h0ld it against her, th0ugh. it just be like that s0metimes
VRISKA: That’s not really true though, is it?
VRISKA: I mean, look at you! You’re skulking in an empty room in an o8scure corner of this 8uilding and you can 8arely sit str8 without trem8ling!
VRISKA: This is a8solutely playing on you.
SOLLUX: y0u’re 0ne t0 talk
SOLLUX: but yeah y0u g0t me. c0ngratufuckinglati0ns.
SOLLUX: she abs0lutely had a ch0ice and ch0se t0 ditch me f0rever.
SOLLUX: a g0d 0f time talking ab0ut n0t having en0ugh time? d0n’t make me fucking laugh
SOLLUX: she ditched me f0r dead weight like the last several millennia were n0thing
SOLLUX: y0u kn0w that there was a p0int where we c0uld have b0unced d0wn t0 the incipisphere, right bef0re y0u blew everything up with the juju
SOLLUX: she wanted t0 watch it all break, and i ch0se t0 stay with her.
SOLLUX: i gave up my happily ever after f0r her and she still up and ditched me
SOLLUX: d0esn’t matter that i kn0w what she’s like and that she’s ditched me f0r centuries at a time in the bubbles in the past
SOLLUX: this is all different. and she kn0ws that. and she did what she did anyway.
SOLLUX: FUCK

He stamps a foot against the ground, grinding his teeth.

SOLLUX: s0rry. i’m l0sing my c00l here.
VRISKA: No, it’s... Yeah.
SOLLUX: s0 what ab0ut y0u?
VRISKA: What a8out me?
SOLLUX: are y0u g0nna make me spell it 0ut.
SOLLUX: what are y0u saying t0 her when y0u see her.
SOLLUX: terezi.

It’s Vriska’s turn to shudder. It’s something she’s had a great time thinking about in minimal detail. Getting out of here and to the real Earth C is a process that will take some amount of weeks and months, which means she’s perfectly capable of putting off having this conversation with herself.

VRISKA: Oh, you know! Things. And may8e also stuff.
VRISKA: We’ll pro8a8ly pick up where we left off. ::::)
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: vriska y0u and i b0th kn0w that that’s bullshit.
SOLLUX: given that terezi literally—
VRISKA: Don’t.
SOLLUX: it’s true th0ugh. we kn0w where she is. what she did.
VRISKA: Yeah, 8ut. You know!
SOLLUX: kn0w what.
SOLLUX: what i kn0w is that y0u and i are in the same situati0n. girlfriends fucked 0ff int0 the enticing arms 0f meta hyperg0ds.
SOLLUX: aradia and terezi are backing different h00fbeasts but it’s all the same race.
VRISKA: Terezi and I are different. We’re nothing like you and Aradia!
SOLLUX: really?
SOLLUX: cause i can think 0f a hell 0f a l0t we have in c0mm0n.
SOLLUX: the aras0l vrisrezi parallels run deep and we b0th kn0w it
VRISKA: The
SOLLUX: like hey remember h0w b0th aradia and terezi saved us fr0m being f0rever d00med by the alpha timeline by sheer f0rce 0f will
SOLLUX: and h0w we were all inv0lved in a mutual maiming flarp revenge incident.
SOLLUX: i mean yeah that shit was all actually m0stly y0ur fault but
VRISKA: Oh, so now we’re pretending like I wasn’t manipul8ed?
SOLLUX: i’m n0t d0ing vrisc0urse with y0u. it’s n0t the p0int.
SOLLUX: the p0int is that we’re b0th entangled with weird bitches wh0 reshaped reality t0 keep us by their side wh0 then ditched us.
SOLLUX: the brushstr0kes lead us t0 the same place. we’re less imp0rtant than the pr0mise 0f c0ntinuing t0 play the game s0mewhere 0ut there.
VRISKA: ...

She wants to bite something back to Sollux. Needs to. But the words don’t come. She doesn’t know how to argue back against this without seeming petulant and desperate.

VRISKA: You... don’t know their motives like that. Not really.
SOLLUX: yeah i do. aradia did it because she wants t0 ride the c0smic cycle train t0 the end 0f the line and the muse gave her fr0nt r0w tickets.
SOLLUX: terezi did it because she realized earth c wasn’t en0ugh f0r her and the prince pr0mised m0re f0r her.
SOLLUX: they b0th ch0se s0mething bigger, end 0f the day.
VRISKA: So what? We just give up?
SOLLUX: ...when did i say that?
VRISKA: ...
SOLLUX: ...

An uneasy silence falls. Vriska and Sollux exchange sullen glances. Outside the room, noises of rebel forces coming and going with business more important to them than the ruminations of two castaways from another reality.

VRISKA: Tell me a8out Terezi.
VRISKA: You saw her. The Muse showed you her.
SOLLUX: yeah, so?
VRISKA: So I need to know. What happened to her.
SOLLUX: ...
SOLLUX: i d0n’t kn0w that much. n0t really. 0nly what the muse th0ught was relevant t0 the bigger picture.
VRISKA: I don’t care. Tell me anyway.
SOLLUX: fine.
SOLLUX: the prince recruited terezi ar0und when she gave up 0n l00king f0r y0u 0ut in the v0id.
SOLLUX: he enc0uraged her t0 return t0 earth c and after she saw the s0rry state 0f things back h0me it didn’t take much c0nvincing f0r her t0 decide t0 j0in him 0n his mission.
SOLLUX: she left earth c with the prince and s0me 0ther versi0n 0f r0se lal0nde. s0mething ab0ut seers, i fucking guess.
SOLLUX: last i heard she’s 0n a spaceship b0und f0r the same place the muse is headed, t0 that c0nfr0ntati0n that already happened/will happen.
SOLLUX: i d0n’t kn0w what she’s thinking m0re than that and i d0n’t kn0w what she intends t0 d0.
SOLLUX: i just kn0w she’s present at this event the muse is trying t0 make sure happens, which means y0u’ll pr0bably run int0 her at that p0int, if y0u haven’t already s0meh0w.
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: So... so she was manipul8ed into doing what she did?
SOLLUX: i never described it that way.
SOLLUX: she’s a mind player. n0 way she ended up d0ing anything that wasn’t entirely her ch0ice.
SOLLUX: a sales pitch isn’t the same as brainwashing. terezi made a ch0ice.
VRISKA: 8ut... why? The prince is an evil piece of shit, and Terezi’s not that, so...
VRISKA: May8e... may8e she figures the same thing as me. It’s the 8est chance for us to reunite.
VRISKA: I mean, she was out there looking for me!
SOLLUX: but she gave up. she ch0se t0 give it up.
VRISKA: *After* the Prince got involved.
SOLLUX: i’m n0t saying this t0 be cruel, vriska. i’m telling y0u what t0 expect.
SOLLUX: less time has passed 0n the 0ther earth c, but time has still passed.
SOLLUX: there’s n0 reas0n t0 expect terezi t0 be the same pers0n y0u last saw.

Vriska places her hands on her lap. Her fingers itch with the urge to grab her phone and fire off another wall of messages to Terezi, begging her to prove Sollux’s assessment wrong.

VRISKA: 8ut.
VRISKA: I haven’t changed.

Sollux laughs, a sardonic bark.

SOLLUX: me neither.
SOLLUX: maybe that’s the fucking pr0blem.

=>

ROXY: jfc

Roxy cranes her head around. The street is littered with rubble and the remnants of makeshift military outposts. A few have been converted into medical stations, but most sit empty, fluttering impotently in the wind. Skyscrapers and hivestems frame the scene, pockmarked with bullets and laser burns.

And the alleyway before her, splattered with human-red and troll-fuchsia blood.

KANAYA: This Is Where
KANAYA: It Happened

The four of them stand in loose formation. Roxy at the front, followed by Kanaya, stern-faced in battle raiment. Rose and Jade hold up the rear, scanning the surroundings.

ROXY: welp
ROXY: sum1 definitely got murdered here
ROXY: no two ways abt that
KANAYA: Enlightening Roxy Thank You
ROXY: idk what u want me 2 say kanaya like theres a hell of a lotta blood obviously 8nt no way somebodys surviving that
ROXY: specially if the someone in questions a god whose ring got ganked

At her own words, Roxy feels a shiver cross her skin. The thought of rings of immortality and the removal thereof sits unpleasant in her mind. She is thinking of things she doesn’t have time to ponder.

She wonders where Callie is now. What she’s doing.

ROXY: so uh
ROXY: what facts we dealin w/ so far gang
ROSE: ...Alarmingly little that is concrete.
ROSE: As you can surmise, there is an alarming lack of Rebellion personnel within Outglut^2.
ROSE: This is in part attributed to the slaughter incited by the resurrection of Gamzee Makara, but not wholly.
ROSE: A core unit of soldiers under the care of Alfonz has vanished. There are no leads.
ROXY: n u think meenahs murder n this alfonzs crew disappearing r linked
ROSE: It’s the safest assumption to make.
ROXY: and the soldier dudes who are still around?
ROSE: They know nothing. The Rage effect caused by Gamzee’s resurrection shorted out their memories.
ROXY: allegedly
ROSE: You suspect something?
ROXY: u dont?
ROXY: aint it the super obvious detective thing 2 doubt amnesiacs?
ROSE: Well, I mean, making judgements on someone’s moral character based on a neurological injury is a rather gauche leap to make, even under these circumstances.
ROSE: That, and, when god tier magic is involved it’s best practice to accredit such things to its influence.
ROXY: uh huh

Roxy takes a step into the alleyway, staring at the blood. She’s not sure what she’s looking for, exactly.

ROXY: n this happened yesterday
ROXY: u said b4 midday?
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: We Estimate That Makara Was Resurrected Around Mid Morning Given The Reports Of When Compromised Forces Emerged In Nuseattle
ROXY: so thats
ROXY: what
ROXY: 24 hours ago?
KANAYA: If You Use Your Ability To Count In Hours Then Yes That Is The Obvious Answer You Will Reach
ROXY: ok ok i get it
KANAYA: Establishing The Timeline Is Irrelevant For You In Either Case
KANAYA: You Are Here To Do A Voidy Thing Not A Timey Thing
ROXY: yeah but
ROXY: a gal can still be curious
ROXY: nothing wrong with learning the facts lol
KANAYA: I Thought You Dealt In The Opposite
ROXY: doesnt preclude me from bein a nosy bitch tho
KANAYA: Our Good Friend Meenah Was Murdered
KANAYA: Treat This With The Gravity It Deserves
ROXY: ok sorry!
ROXY: doing some voidy thing now

Roxy closes her eyes and extends her palms forward. She’s still not sure if these extravagant gestures are strictly necessary for her powers to work. She idly wonders if it wouldn’t be more effective if she switched to her Rogue garb, but she shoots that thought down as irrelevant and stupid. She’s a grown woman, probably. Long past the need for kiddy pajamas.

Dark blue pulses bounce from her hands and ricochet around the crime scene. The blood stains glow in resonance, as do the damage marks on the walls. A radio static hiss fills the air at an uncomfortable pitch.

ROXY: anyone else hearin that?
JADE: hearing what?
ROXY: its like
ROXY: static from a radio or something
JADE: no?

Jade’s ears twitch. She frowns.

ROXY: well shit if ur doggy ears aint picking it up then maybe its part of the void thing?
ROSE: Can you hear anything else?
ROXY: no?
ROXY: uhhh
ROXY: wait hold on

Something cuts through the hiss. A voice. Too faint to make any details out, but there nonetheless.

ROXY: someone talking
ROXY: idk what theyre saying though
ROXY: too fuzzy
ROSE: Can you describe the voice’s quality at least?
ROXY: ill try?
ROXY: a kinda deeper voice i think
ROXY: talks a little quicker than normal
ROXY: maybe im hearing emphasis on “a” sounds??? not sure
KANAYA: That Sounds Like An Approximation Of Alfonzs Voice If It Were To Be Described By Somebody With No Clue About Anything
ROXY: hey im doing my best!
ROXY: but yeah i guess its ur alfonz dude talkin on the radio
ROXY: which is apparently something obscured and secret in this place that my void sense is pickin up
ROXY: i guess that means its somehow something supposed to be hidden?
ROSE: A transmission made by Alfonz?
ROSE: What was the last thing we have on record from him, Kanaya?
KANAYA: Thats

Kanaya stops, face scrunched in concentration.

KANAYA: The Last Report On Record Was During The Siege
KANAYA: Shortly Before Karkat Left The City
KANAYA: A Standard Progress Report With Some Extraneous Chatter Between Himself And Meenah
KANAYA: Hed Just Secured A Portion Of Outglut^2 Against Crockercorp Forces
KANAYA: After That Communication Went Spotty For
KANAYA: A Number Of Reasons
KANAYA: For Some Time No Signals Could Enter Or Exit So We Assumed That Was Simply The Case
KANAYA: But Either Way There Was No Record Of Radio Communication From Alfonz Or Even Anyone On The Day Of The Nuseattle Mission
ROXY: but my void powers r saying he did make a transmission and it was related to this murder event and it was supposed 2 be secret
ROXY: so
ROSE: An evident contradiction.
ROSE: I’m not doubting your observation, Roxy, but I do wonder why.
ROXY: u mean why a dude would make secret radio calls 2 someone unknown at the same time as a murder??
ROXY: i mean im not an expert but
ROXY: it seems sus no?

Something unpleasant passes over Rose’s body language.

ROSE: You’re suggesting involvement from Alfonz?
ROXY: i dunno? maybe??
ROSE: In what sense?
ROSE: Another victim? Or...

She doesn’t finish, unable to state the obvious. Roxy gets it, of course. It’s a nasty implication to follow through.

JADE: before we make any conclusions is it worth figuring out who he was calling?
JADE: is that something you can do roxy?
ROXY: i... dunno?
ROXY: i cant make out any details of the call other than like
ROXY: generic radio noise
ROXY: w/o details theres only so much
JADE: damn :/
KANAYA: Could This Be Related To The Rage Scrambling
ROXY: maybe?? this aint my expertise or anything
ROSE: Hm.
ROSE: There might be an option.
KANAYA: What
ROSE: Roxy is picking up that there was a transmission, at least.
ROSE: By definition, for it to be a transmission there must be both an origin and end point within its ideatic shape.
KANAYA: Right
KANAYA: So
ROSE: The detail has to exist somewhere within the noise as an inaccessible but known quantity.
ROSE: Which means there’s a chance it could be Seen.
ROSE: Roxy. Would you mind entering into a Fraymotif with me? I want to try something.
ROXY: uh sure
ROXY: if u think itll help

Roxy extends one hand out. Rose steps forward and takes it with what Roxy detects as a barely-restrained stiffness. She swallows down the sadness that crawls over her. They made some headway today, but it’ll take a lot of time and work yet to improve their relationship. Then Rose’s hand connects and all she’s aware of is a Light-Void mingling.

[MEANING FABRICATOR]

A visible stream of static erupts in the air. It originates from a point on the ground a few feet in front of Roxy, where she figures Alfonz was standing. The strand rises up and disappears somewhere to the north-east.

Rose closes her eyes and a sun-motif third eye fades into being on her forehead. It stares up in that direction with a faint glow, and before Roxy can make further observation, she’s caught up in a shared vision of a roadside somewhere outside of the city.

At first there’s just the endpoint of the static, but shapes around it begin to coalesce, more smudged silhouettes than anything coherent. Roxy looks on in uncertainty until she feels a psychic nudge from Rose like electricity. Right, yeah. Unclouding the obscured is her thing.

Roxy thinks what she hopes are voidy thoughts towards the shapes hard enough that her head twinges. Moments after, the familiar Void aura wraps around the shapes and then promptly dissipates. What it leaves behind is a cluster of human beings standing around the termination point of the static.

Humans in crimson.

ROSE: Fuck.

Rose flinches back hard enough to break the connection. Roxy’s consciousness is rubberbanded out of the shared mental space and back into her own body with enough force to give her vertigo. She turns to the side to see Rose overcome with a darkening pall.

KANAYA: What Is It Dear
ROSE: It was Crockercorp.
JADE: crockercorp?
JADE: wait, are you saying...
ROSE: The other end of Alfonz’s transmission was a point maybe five miles outside of Outglut^2, to what I assume was a radio in the possession of a cluster of Crockercorp soldiers.
KANAYA: And You Assert He Wished This To Be A Secret
KANAYA: Is That Correct Roxy
ROXY: y
ROXY: yeah

Roxy swallows. Her throat is dry. She doesn’t like the undercurrent this conversation is taking.

JADE: we
JADE: we dont know that it means what it looks like it does
ROSE: I know what I Saw, Jade.
JADE: still
JADE: maybe theres more to this
JADE: because i mean
JADE: its alfonz were talking about here!
JADE: how could he...

Jade falters. She makes helpless gestures to the scene before her, as if it’ll change things.

ROXY: i can give the area another look
ROXY: see if theres something i missed
JADE: please
JADE: if theres any other explanation...

Roxy has to admit she trusts her shared vision with Rose, but she equally hates the horrible feeling these conclusions are generating. She Void scans the alley one more time, thoughts of Alfonz guiding the action.

What she comes up with is a mental map of everybody’s placements on the scene. A troll with a ring by the dumpster. Another troll in front of them, advancing forwards as the radio signal coalesces on them. A third ghosty troll stands about fifty feet back in the street, looking in. And four humans, flanking the ringless troll. The mise en scene speaks for itself, really.

ROXY: there were humans here
ROXY: and uh
ROXY: meenah i think
ROXY: getting attacked by another troll
ROXY: so given the balance of everything i think
JADE: no :(
JADE: dont say it
ROXY: jade im really really sorry but
JADE: NO!!!!

Jade erupts in a crackle of Space lightning.

JADE: its not fair!!! this cant keep happening!
JADE: people i care about cant keep betraying me or dying! i cant take this!
JADE: its not fucking fair
ROSE: Jade...

Rose steps toward Jade with an outstretched supportive arm. Jade slaps it away.

JADE: dont!!!!
JADE: you cant just make this better rose! nobody can!
JADE: you dont understand what it feels like losing everybody you love one by one and knowing theres nothing you can do to stop it!
ROSE: Jade, that’s unfair. These are my comrades too–
JADE: ITS NOT THE SAME ROSE!
JADE: you have kanaya! youll always have kanaya!!!
JADE: and what do i have? what does sad weird jade harley have for herself? huh?????
JADE: i cant fucking cope with this rose! i cant stand ending up alone again and again and AGAIN!!!!!
JADE: sniffle bark BARK :(((((

Jade clenches her fists and performs a downright terrible job of bitting down a deluge of sobs. Roxy looks on, awkward and miserable. She doesn’t know what the right move to make is here. She doesn’t know what to do not to make things worse. She’s never been very good at navigating conflict.

Luckily, Kanaya is better.

KANAYA: Given The Evidence It Seems Alfonz Is A Fucking Snake And No Amount Of Lamenting Will Alter That Fact Jade
KANAYA: However It Would Be Prudent To Figure Out As Much As Possible Before Leaping To Conclusions
KANAYA: We Have The What But Not The Why
KANAYA: I Think Our Next Move Must Be To Assess This Rendezvous
KANAYA: We Can Weep About Treachery Later
KANAYA: Worst Case Scenario This Is Another Threat To Deal With
KANAYA: The Work We Do Is Bigger Than Our Feelings Jade
KANAYA: I Am So So Sorry That The World Is So Cruel To You
KANAYA: But We Are All Here And We Still Must Do Good In Spite Of That
JADE: ...

It doesn’t really cheer Jade up, but it does quiet her down. Jade blinks at Kanaya through sobering, sopping eyes.

JADE: ...ok
KANAYA: I Know It Hurts Jade
KANAYA: I Know

Kanaya leans in and wraps her arms around Jade in a brief hug. Jade makes a single soft whining hiccup, then extracts herself.

JADE: rose can you give me the coordinates
ROSE: Of course.

Rose nods solemnly, then her eyes light up with some kind of cool Seer power. A beam of Light jumps from Rose to Jade, then fades. Jade shuts her eyes for a brief second, mulling something over.

JADE: ok
JADE: i know this relay station
JADE: this is near where swifer... yeah :(

A hushed moment of pained silence for another life swallowed by the ceaseless meat grinder of the war effort. Jade shakes it off first, commendably.

JADE: lets go though

She snaps her fingers and the four of them jump out of Outglut^2 in a flash of green thunder.

=>

VRISSY: Hey I’m Done with Therapy.
HARRY: yo.

Harry looks up from his phone with a nonchalant wave as Vrissy steps through into the lounge area with a bored look on her face.

VRISSY: Where’s Tav?
HARRY: down in the cells with his dad again.
VRISSY: Huh. L8me.
HARRY: hrm.

He doesn’t know how best to respond to that. They’ve all kind of been through too much for the flippant teen bit to land like it did a few days ago. Mostly it has Harry thinking about his own dad, and how the problems they have feel so insignificant now.

Vrissy slumps on the couch beside Harry and pulls out her phone, then scowls.

VRISSY: They took out Fucking Crocktok.
HARRY: wait shit for real?
VRISSY: Yeah! Look at this Inadmissi8le Nonsense.

She shoves her phone in Harry’s face. It’s the front page of the Croktok app, but there’s just a nauseating “Whoops! Seems our servers are having a little kerfuffle :B” message and nothing else.

VRISSY: Laaaaaaaame.
HARRY: well. i mean. it was a major mouthpiece for crockercorp propaganda for like. a number of years, you know.
VRISSY: Yeah I Get That. 8ut like. What am I Supposed to do with myself Now????????
VRISSY: And How come you didn’t notice yet, Harry?
HARRY: i mean. uh. you know.
VRISSY: I Don’t.
HARRY: well i kinda only ever used croktok because *you* were big into it, vris.
VRISSY: Wh8t????????

Vrissy blinks, like Harry’s dropping some grim, earth-shattering revelation on her. Harry shrugs.

HARRY: look, no offense babe, but...

He pauses, trying very hard not to think how weird “babe” sits on his tongue now.

HARRY: i always thought croktok was kinda cringe?
VRISSY: You’re fucking Joking.
HARRY: i’m not! honest to god
VRISSY: Harry, you wouldn’t know Cringe if it kissed you in your Corn8all Ass. Please 8e Fucking Quiet.
HARRY: look, i just think that an app dominated by a bunch of college students paid by the fucking government to pretend to be hip teens or whatever the fuck is really embarrassing if you think about it for more than five seconds.
HARRY: also the way using it directly and indirectly funded a years-long genocide or whatever.
VRISSY: Oh since when were You a 8leeding Heart like that, man?
HARRY: ...
HARRY: babe, can we not argue about this? i’m tired.
VRISSY: ...
HARRY: ...

In the silence, Harry wraps an arm around Vrissy. It feels performative.

HARRY: i do love ya.
VRISSY: ...
VRISSY: ........Yeah, s8me I guess.

That feels performative too.

VRISSY: So... what were you Doing on your Phone if Croktok’s Down?
HARRY: ...i was gaming.
VRISSY: ...G8ming.
HARRY: yeah. fruitjamz gemrush gushers matchup. i’m in the top 100 leaderboard.
VRISSY: That’s dorky as Fuck.
VRISSY: And you have the Gall to Shit Talk Croktok? At least I’m not Pl8ying Mom G8mes on My Phone.
HARRY: shut up vris, it’s fun as shit.
HARRY: anyway who cares about me and my silly little phone games.

He nudges his free hand to pocket his phone, even though by this point he could very easily shove it in his Sylladex. He doesn’t think he likes using that kind of stuff except in dramatic situations, to be honest.

HARRY: how was therapy.
VRISSY: It was shit. Next question.
HARRY: that it?
VRISSY: Yeah? What do you Want me to say?
VRISSY: They treat me like some Sheltered Fragile Wriggler. Like, I S8ved a 8unch of lives out There!
VRISSY: Do I Look Like I need coddling for my non-existent emotional 8aggage? ::::/
HARRY: uh, no?
HARRY: i dunno. i think some of the shit we went through was kind of fucked up.
HARRY: uh, a lot, actually.

He runs a hand over his chest, over the area where the scars from Jane’s fork remain imprinted into his skin. That moment on the airship is another thing he sort of doesn’t want to ever think about. In fact, a lot of the last few days could happily leave his mind.

VRISSY: May8e, 8ut it’s Over with now!
VRISSY: The War is Won, so it’s totally worth It.
HARRY: i dunno if it really works like that?
VRISSY: Says who?
HARRY: like, everyone??
VRISSY: And you’re gonna let a 8unch of L8me As Fuck Adults tell us How It Works?
VRISSY: Dude, we did so much 8adass Shit!
HARRY: yeah, i get that!
HARRY: but

His breath catches in his throat. He’s seeing that tunnel in NuSeattle, the reanimated corpses of the troll foot army shambling on him dripping with Faygo and clown blood. He doesn’t really get how to articulate all this to Vrissy. He barely knows how to articulate it to himself. Not without sounding lame as all hell, at least.

He balls his fists in his lap and sighs.

HARRY: i dunno. maybe i’m tired.
VRISSY: We slept for like Fifteen Hours Last Night.
HARRY: it’s not that kind of tired, vris. it’s like... in here??
VRISSY: In... your Eye?

He’s pointing to his head, obviously. Vrissy’s just being obtuse, because maybe she actually gets it but doesn’t want to face up to what Getting It implies for them all.

Harry forces an exasperated smile instead.

HARRY: ...hah, dumbass.
VRISSY: You fucking Tool.

Vrissy giggles and lightly punches Harry in the shoulder. Whatever the moment could have been, it’s fading fast. Harry’s not too mad about that one.

HARRY: so. i wonder what happens next.
VRISSY: I Dunno. Pro8a8ly we get a New Government that isn’t fascist as All Fuck?
VRISSY: No more wars or whatever, so things’ll go 8ack to Normal?
VRISSY: Or Something.
HARRY: huh. yeah.
HARRY: i know it’s objectively a good thing and all that, but. like.
HARRY: weird to think about stuff without crockercorp there.
HARRY: like it’s just been this thing that’s there my whole life.
VRISSY: Harry, Crockercorp Fucking Sucked.
HARRY: i’m not saying it didnt!
HARRY: i’m just
HARRY: it’ll be weird, that’s all.
VRISSY: Well, good fucking Riddance lmao.
VRISSY: I for one am So Fucking Hyped for the New Order of things. ::::)
HARRY: ...and what do you actually know about politics and shit.
VRISSY: A8out as much as You Do, so don’t get Wise.
HARRY: touche.
VRISSY: Anyway, thinking a8out The Future is L8me.

Vrissy stretches, then hops up off the couch.

VRISSY: Let’s go sneak around the 8ase and see some Cool Shit.
HARRY: you sure? i mean, this is a heavily guarded military fortress, so...
VRISSY: Harry, if I wanted to Hang with a Dwee8, I’d have found Tav.
VRISSY: Come on!
HARRY: ugh, whatever.

Harry rolls his eyes and goes to get up. He’s interrupted by a sudden siren wailing through the compound, a piercing shriek that rises and falls in unsteady rhythm. He and Vrissy share a panicked look, and all he’s really thinking about are those final few minutes on the moonbase.

HARRY: hey, uh–
VRISKA: Harry! Vrissy!

Vriska Serket is suddenly at the doorway, a curious look on her face. In the corridor behind her, Harry sees troops mobilising.

VRISSY: Vriska?
HARRY: what’s up?
VRISKA: Oh my god you guys are slow!
VRISKA: Clearly some kind of important shit is happening! Come on!
VRISSY: Y... Yeah! Sure!
VRISSY: Let’s Go!

Unsure of a single thing, Vrissy sprints towards Vriska’s side. Vriska makes for the exit when a burly guard blocks the exit.

VRISKA: Hey! Move your ass!
GUARD: NNo caNN do kid
GUARD: emergeNNcy situatioNN
GUARD: sit tight till we get aNN all clear
VRISKA: ........
VRISKA: Oh, you are f8cking kidding me! Move!!!!!!!
VRISKA: I’m more useful out there! I’m not some lame 8a8y that needs protecting!
GUARD: orders from commaNNder maryam herself kid
GUARD: im NNot in the busiNNess of overriding her
VRISKA: Ugh!!!!!

Vriska reaches into her Sylladex for her dice, but the guard deftly waps her across the head with the butt of the rifle. Vriska crashes out onto the floor uselessly.

GUARD: im sorry but youre NNot putting yourselves iNN daNNger
VRISKA: ........

Trembling, Vriska lifts her head to glare at the guard. From her position on the floor, it has minimal effect as an intimidation tactic.

VRISKA: Fuck you.
GUARD: please doNNt be coNNfroNNtatioNNal
GUARD: as a civiliaNN miNNor this is where youre safest
VRISKA: Civilian...????????

The label is enough to flabbergast Vriska. She boggles with blank frustration at the stalwart guard. Before the silence can grow too barbed, Vrissy speaks up.

VRISSY: So, Um, what is Actually Happening? The Commander is my Mom so I think I deserve a little Information.
GUARD: classified. i caNNt

Vrissy frowns, then blinks rapidly until tears bat in the corners of her eyes.

VRISSY: 8ut... my Moms are out there.
VRISSY: I don’t want St8 Secrets or anything. I just... I just wanna know if they’re Okay.
VRISSY: After what happened in NuSeattle, I... I c8n’t. I get So Scared and...
VRISSY: Please. At least tell me if My Moms are Alive and Okay.
VRISSY: *Sniffle*
GUARD:

A beat. Two. Three. The guard clears her throat and looks at Vrissy with guilt and pity.

GUARD: we received a message oNN the outglut^2 comms about fifteeNN miNNutes back
GUARD: commaNNders maryam and laloNNde aNNd their party are alive aNNd well aNNd dealing with the emerging situatioNN
VRISSY: My Moms are okay?
GUARD: yes

Vrissy theatrically lets out an exhausted breath, followed by a shaky smile.

VRISSY: Th... thank you! Oh, I was So Worried that they’d 8e Hurt or Something out There
GUARD: well please doNNt
GUARD: the iNNvestigatioNN should be NNearly doNNe so you caNN see for yourself
VRISSY: Of course! Once they’re 8ack from the Outglut^2 Investig8tion, I’ll feel so much better.
VRISSY: I think I can 8reathe 8etter now. Thank you.
GUARD: course
GUARD: you kids doNNt make aNNy trouble

The guard gives a warm smile, then turns out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. Vriska sits up and blinks wide-eyed at Vrissy.

VRISKA: You manipulative 8itch... holy shit.

Vrissy smirks.

VRISSY: Why, thank you. Sometimes you need a Defter Approach. ::::)
VRISSY: Getting Inform8tion 8n’t nothing.
HARRY: right yeah, we know some shit now, cool.
HARRY: but we’re still stuck in here until it’s over.
VRISSY: ...
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: ...Well, fuck.
VRISSY: This is L8me.
VRISKA: Yeah! I wanted one last shot at doing something cool 8efore we’re all out of this universe tomorrow.
HARRY: ...
VRISSY: ...
HARRY: ...what?

Vriska goes still, like a feline caught misbehaving. Her back straightens and her expression schools itself into something that might be a poker face if she wasn’t tired as hell, and Harry didn’t know the bulk of her microexpressions already on account of her and Vrissy sharing a face.

Vrissy goes to open her mouth, to ask her just what the fuck she means. She doesn’t get much further than inhaling one sharp breath.
There’s a rumble, then with an unpleasant electrical groan, the lights go out.

=>

They land on the tarmac with precision. Jade’s Space lightning has barely started to fade before Kanaya is striding towards the relay station with grim purpose.

KANAYA: Lets Get Answers

The relay station is a moderately-sized boxy building a little off a side road from the highway, behind an abandoned Crockercorp gas station. At one end of the road is Outglut^2, looking remarkably tattered from this distance. In the other direction, the road stretches out into the badlands, an endless sea of steep hills and dry brush where anyone without a Skaia-ordained internal compass can and will easily get lost.

Roxy realises with a start that this is yet another new sight for her. For so long Earth C has felt tiny, claustrophobically contained to her small suburban patch in NuSeattle, and occasional visits to New Prospit with Callie. There is so little of this world that she knows. So little she has actually done with her four decades of life.

A tiny part of her dares to hope, to think about the life that could come after the dust has settled. One where she’s not bound to any roles, no notions of marriage or womanhood or society or anything that suffocates her. And then she’s thinking of Harry again, and all the dreadful things threatening to take this joy from the both of them.

Rose is looking at her curiously. It sends a cold jolt down Roxy’s spine.

ROSE: Something the matter?
ROXY: nah
ROXY: just
ROXY: brain churning abt shit u know?
ROSE: Hm.

Rose cocks her head. There’s something she’s not saying, because of course there is. The amount of unsaid stuff between the two of them could rival Roxy’s mom’s old wizard novels in scope. Roxy barely knows where to begin bridging that kind of gap.

So instead she clenches a fist, breathes through her nose, then hurries to follow after Kanaya and Jade. Rose takes up the rear in a careful stroll.

The inside of the relay station is in shambles. Boxes and scrap pieces of paper and loose chunks of wiring scatter the floor. No sense or semblance of sense can be made from the mess in front of them.

Kanaya scans it coolly.

KANAYA: What Are They Hiding
ROXY: u uh
ROXY: think theres something in all this?
KANAYA: Blatantly
KANAYA: This Reeks Of A Hasty Exit Mission
KANAYA: They Clearly Did Not Wish To Be Pursued
KANAYA: Immediately You Have To Wonder Why
JADE: any ideas?
KANAYA: Hrm

Kanaya bends down and picks up a piece of paper at random. Roxy leans over. It’s a page from the operating manual for some kind of automated artillery cannon. She skims over it with her Voidey senses. There’s nothing obfuscated there.

She stretches out and pings the whole room, and comes back with more nothing. A strange feeling, like blunted static, runs down her spine.

ROXY: uh
ROXY: idk how useful it is
ROXY: buuuuut the voidey powers aint picking up squat
ROXY: dont think theres any secrets 2 this place
JADE: but
JADE: this is where they went
ROSE: And yet, they left nothing incriminating.
ROSE: A handful of defectors in cahoots with Crockercorp’s sparingly trained forces.
ROSE: Alfonz is beyond a shadow of a doubt the smartest member of that outfit, and that’s saying something.
KANAYA: Alfonz Was Still A Vaunted Ally Of Karkats Until Now
ROSE: I know, and look how little that was worth. I am perfectly free to address him as I wish.
KANAYA: Right
KANAYA: So What Are You Saying Rose
ROSE: I thought it’d be obvious.

Rose crosses her arms.

ROSE: This ragtag band of turncoats was acting on somebody else’s orders.
ROXY: what
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: What
ROSE: It’s been evident for a while, if you consider the systems at play.
ROSE: Alfonz, for all his status, remains a pedestrian denizen of Earth C.
ROSE: And yet, this scheme involved the hijacking of the Ring of Life and manipulation of a haywire Rage player in order to alter the course of events just enough.
ROSE: Do these seem like reasonable actions to be taken by one whose only aim is to secure an advantage for themself following the power vacuum of a war ended?
ROSE: And more to the point, the entire concept of deploying Gamzee makes little sense when you consider the players.
KANAYA: How So
ROSE: I mentioned the power vacuum following the war.
ROSE: The important part of that is that the clown’s presence on the battlefield pressured the situation into becoming a war-ending skirmish.
ROSE: Ergo, Alfonz would have reacting to a power vacuum he himself helped to orchestrate.
ROSE: Or more accurately, someone had advance knowledge of how the battle in NuSeattle would unfold, and retroactively acted accordingly.
ROXY: what
ROXY: like a timeloop thing?
ROSE: I’m... not sure. It’s... almost there...

She starts pacing around the room, bringing one hand to her temple.

ROSE: It’s... something about it is familiar.
ROSE: Like a dream I can’t quite...

Suddenly she flinches back, as if in pain. Kanaya hurriedly strides to her side.

KANAYA: What Is It Rose
ROSE: I
ROSE: I’m sorry. I don’t know.
ROSE: The shape of it’s almost there, but it’s like... I’m not permitted to think in that pattern.

Her shoulders slump. Whatever moment almost was, it’s gone just as fast.

ROSE: Damn. It was right there.
ROSE: I don’t have proof, but I think there’s strong ideatic interference at play.
ROSE: Someone isn’t letting us think about things properly. Like there should be something more, but there's not. Not that we can sense or fathom.
ROXY: but like
ROXY: im not pickin up any more secrets here
ROSE: That’s because there’s nothing to conceal.
ROSE: This is just noise. Deliberate nothing to get us woolgathering and theoryspinning.
ROSE: In other words, the relay station ruse...

A grim and miserable smile creaks across Rose’s face in a ghastly line. At the exact same moment, Jade’s ears prick up with a crackle of green electricity.

JADE: um
ROSE: ...Was a distaction.
JADE: guys seriously
KANAYA: You Did Not Just

Kanaya steps back, mortified. Rose cocks an eyebrow and twists the expression into a shit-eating smirk only worn by a flighty broad still playing the snarky horseshitometer for keeps after all this time.

Jade butts in between the two of them.

JADE: GUYS LISTEN TO ME!!!!! D:
ROSE: Jade?

Rose and Kanaya finally turn to face Jade, whose whole body is taut.

JADE: i just felt it
JADE: something crossed earth cs atmosphere
ROSE: I’m sorry?
JADE: i

Jade closes her eyes, focusing. Her whole body lights up. When her eyes open again, they’re swirling galaxies.

JADE: a massive vessel just passed into the exosphere
JADE: going at sub light speed angling to pass the sun by one point five au running counter to this galaxys gravitational well
JADE: the molecules are newly alchemized. crockercorp metal? im not sure its going too fast
JADE: dozens of living bodies on board. human and troll its...
JADE: ah!

There’s an ear-splitting rumble. Everyone rushes outside to see a sonic ripple wave being torn at the highest point in the sky. A trail of smoke rises up from a point somewhere in the distance, but not too far away.

Jade bares her fangs.

JADE: FUCK it just left planetary orbit. i cant feel it any more :(

Kanaya and Roxy can’t take their eyes off the point in the sky. Rose, however, stares fixedly at the base of the smoke column.

ROSE: Jade. I need you to focus.
ROSE: Approximately how far away from our position is the origin point of that smoke cloud?
JADE: uh

Jade extends an open palm in that direction, and sticks her tongue out in concentration.

JADE: about a hundred and eleven miles northwest from here
JADE: hey thats...

Rose realises first.

ROSE: The cake mill.
ROXY: ?
ROSE: I... I think that solved the mystery of where they went.
ROSE: But a craft of that size and that velocity... what the hell are they doing?
ROSE: That’s enough force to propel them to the other end... of the universe.

She stops dead in her tracks and stares at Roxy with piercing eyes. Roxy picks up on it immediately. A horrible, horrible feeling crawls over her.

Before she can say anything, Kanaya’s comms device explodes with action.

KANAYA: We Need To Get Back
KANAYA: Now
KANAYA: About Ten Minutes Ago Something Drained The Communal Alchemiter Of Every Last Drop Of Grist
JADE: what the fuck??
KANAYA: Ullses Needs Us
KANAYA: Jade!

There’s no time for conversation. No time for answers. Jade snaps her fingers, and they’re out of there.

Minutes later, a fraymotif dispels. The scattered paper glows and reforms into a single large hardback book. The cover, deep red, merely reads

convergence groundwork.

T-minus eighteen hours.

Tick tock.

Chapter 76: SEVEN, section iii.

Notes:

CW: Suicidal ideation.

iii.

 

Jade tears through several thousand miles of distance in less than a second, dumping herself and the others in the middle of the briefing room with little ceremony and a lot of thudding. It's pitch-dark in here, and there are bodies scrambling about every which way.

It takes her Space senses half a beat to ping Parvoy and John at the front of the room; Parvoy is steady, and John is anxiously floating a few feet in the air. Jade wastes no time.

JADE: whats happened??
JOHN: jade? is that you?
JADE: yes its us were back!! parvoy?
PARVOY: Right. The answer is... we have n{} clue.
PARVOY: The grist systems abruptly tanked appr{}ximately twelve minutes ag{}. Didn't take l{}ng f{}r the p{}wer t{} g{} with it.
JADE: wheres ullses and everyone else?
PARVOY: Ullses went with the {}ther c{}mmanders d{}wn t{} the generat{}r. I stayed back t{} see if anything c{}uld be d{}ne here.
PARVOY: The Heir made himself present, but he's d{}ne little m{}re than flap ab{}ut.
JOHN: what do you expect? everything just plunged into chaos!
PARVOY: M{}re than that fr{}m a seas{}ned g{}d.
JOHN: it's pitch black! what am i meant to do?
JADE: ugh who cares john! just get a flashlight!

Jade scrambles in her sylladex for a light to prove her point. At the same time, the room erupts in a soft golden glow, coming from a miniature sun suspended by Rose in the air.

ROSE: Solved.
ROSE: Now, what exactly happened?
ROSE: Parvoy, were you monitoring the terminals at the time of the outage?

Rose gestures to the command terminal at the front of the room. Kanaya, meanwhile, helps Roxy to her feet.

Parvoy nods.

PARVOY: Yes. I was relaying a status rep{}rt fr{}m Rita d{}wn in the medical bay, s{} the cache wasn't my pri{}rity.
PARVOY: But an aut{}matic alert flagged when {]ne {}f Rec{}nstructi{}n's requests failed.
PARVOY: Then the grist fueling the p{}wer generat{}rs g{}t sucked, t{}{}, and here we are.
ROSE: ...
ROSE: Any leads on the cause?
PARVOY: Barely en{}ugh time has passed.
PARVOY: M{}lxes's psi{}nics aren't up t{} snuff, but ze thinks it was taken in a singular drain t{}wards a singular s{}urce, likely many miles away fr{}m here.
PARVOY: We d{}n't kn{}w much m{}re than that, I'm afraid.
PARVOY: Ullses suspects a cyber attack, but there aren't any {}bvi{}us leads.
PARVOY: Cr{}ckerc{}rp's kn{}wn f{}rces are all neutralized, and we cann{}t think {}f wh{} else w{}uld p{}ssess such p{}wer.
PARVOY: We need t{} d{} s{}mething, th{}ugh. All {}ur infrastructure relied {}n that grist.

Parvoy frowns, biting her lower lip. She stares daggers at the computer's dead screen, as if willing it to come back to life. Jade reaches out with her Space powers and feels a notable lack of any moving machinery. It's all dead, including the life support equipment in the medical wing.

The communal grist bank is directly responsible for powering nearly ninety percent of Rebellion-controlled infrastructure. Reclaimed cities rely on it. Vehicle fuel. The careful climate controls on the hidden brooding caverns... the scale of the crisis hits Jade with a dizzying wallop.

JADE: shit
JADE: what do we do??

She opens the question to the room, helpless. Grist was always one of those resources they took for granted as infinite. Between the amounts siphoned off Crockercorp and the personal porkhollows of all the gods, it was trivial to fund whatever they needed. It was perhaps the only blessing of the whole war, the fact that it wasn't waged in scarcity.

PARVOY: We need t{} find {}ut where it went. {]nly... that's imp{}ssible with everything {}ffline.
ROSE: ...
PARVOY: S{}mething up, C{}mmander Lal{}nde?
ROSE: ...Yes.
ROSE: I don't think you're going to like this, but I have a strong suspicion on where our grist has been taken.

Rose shares a Look between Jade, Roxy, and Kanaya. Roxy's eyes widen.

ROXY: wait
ROXY: THIS is how they did it??
ROSE: I am fairly sure, yes.

Rose's face is grim. John frowns.

JOHN: so, uh, can you explain to the rest of us? because i'm not following.
PARVOY: Is this s{}mething t{} d{} with what y{}u f{}und in {}utglut^2?
ROSE: I fear so.
ROSE: The long and short of it is that Alfonz has turned coat. There is no easy way to say this.

Parvoy's eyes close in a flinch. She swears silently under her breath.

ROSE: He killed Meenah, and set the Bard in motion.
ROSE: We found evidence he was colluding with a remnant Crockercorp cell, taking himself and several other defectors out of the city.
ROSE: Most likely bound for the nearby cake mill, if speculation serves.
ROSE: Did the sensors pick up the rocket launch earlier?
PARVOY: The... what?
ROSE: I see.

Rose's lips go flat.

ROSE: A massive vessel fit for deep interstellar travel launched from an area near to the cake mill several minutes ago, propelled at near-light speed.
ROSE: We had no time to investigate, but I'd wager that our snakes in the camp used this to abscond stage up.
ROSE: There are obvious questions we don't have the answers to. Who exactly was on that craft, and why they chose to flee Earth C evade my understanding at present.
ROSE: Given the size, scope, and propulsion of the craft, it obviously needed an extreme amount of grist to meet its needs.
PARVOY: But... *all* {}ur grist?
PARVOY: What c{}uld they p{}ssibly need with that?
PARVOY: We kn{}w h{}w much it takes t{} p{}wer a small t{} medium vessel t{} the m{}{}n and {}utlying satellites thanks t{} Cr{}cker.
PARVOY: Even if y{}u scaled that up t{} acc{}mm{}date a fully st{}cked megalith class Cr{}ckerc{}rp airship, that w{}uld barely use a fracti{}n {}f a dent {}f what we had.
PARVOY: Why w{}uld a squad {}f turnc{}ats need a gl{}bal cache {}f grist?
ROSE: ...

That bizarre look crosses Rose's face again. It's the one she wears when she's burdened with a grave revelation the likes of which she has no desire to share. It's a look Jade has seen countless times, when she's been mulling over how to break terrible news. Whatever it is, it's putting a haunted strain in her eyes.

She stands straight, back stiffening.

ROSE: I have theories. None of them pleasant.
ROSE: It won't do to speculate, though. This is a clear crisis that needs to be addressed imminently.
ROSE: I... believe the solution may lie within the aforementioned cake mill. Or answers, at least.
ROSE: I need to check it out immediately.
ROSE: Kanaya.
KANAYA: Yes
ROSE: I defer to you on this issue. Do I have your blessing to investigate the Outglut^2 mill? Or would I be more useful here?

Kanaya blinks. This is mostly a conscious show of goodwill on Rose's end, to communicate that she's making an effort. Despite her tactical prowess, everybody knows Rose has a tendency to rest on her own laurels and take action without consulting anyone else. Jade supposes that, in this new world they wish to build, that kind of behaviour leads a poor example.

KANAYA: Rose I Trust Implicitly That Your Seers Vision Always Brings You To The Correct Decision
KANAYA: Go If You Believe This Is The Correct Course
ROSE: I do, but...

Rose pauses, lips quirking down.

ROSE: There are people here that urgently need our help. I'll be no use chasing what may amount to another empty lead.
ROSE: I... I could help keep them alive.
KANAYA: Perhaps
KANAYA: But That Will Not Make Any Headway In Solving The Greater Problem
KANAYA: You Have Always Been The Long Term Thinker Dear
KANAYA: Better To Take A Gamble And Find A Solution Thatll Work
KANAYA: I Will Help The Infirm
KANAYA: You And Jade Go Chase That Lead
ROSE: ...
ROSE: Of course. Thank you, Kanaya.

Rose bows her head with a thin smile. Jade's not sure what kind of point's being proven here, but Rose is definitely proving it.

Kanaya turns behind her.

KANAYA: Roxy

Roxy, who'd almost entirely slipped into the background, forgotten, blinks.

ROXY: huwha?
KANAYA: I Need You
ROXY: u do?
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: Hundreds Upon Hundreds Of Individuals Are Dying
KANAYA: I Can Feel It
KANAYA: Help Me
ROXY: ok but
ROXY: how?
KANAYA: You Are First And Foremost The Rogue Of Void
KANAYA: Your Abilities Excel In Darkness And Obfuscation
KANAYA:This Blackout Should Be Your Natural Environment
ROXY: ...

Roxy frowns, shrinking in on herself. An uneasy look flashes in her eyes.

ROXY: idk i think u may b putting 2 much emphasis on my skills
ROXY: i never did that much shit w my voidey stuff
ROXY: like sure i can do some cool shadowtrix n other miscellaneous stuff youve all seen me do
ROXY: but a blackout aint gonna give me a magic amplifier or somethin!
KANAYA:

Kanaya says nothing. She just looks, very blankly, at Roxy.

KANAYA: You Are Aware We Are Giving You One And Only One Show Of Goodwill As Reward For Your Contributions In The Final Battle
ROXY: well yea
ROXY: i mean
ROXY: i think im still getting a trial or w/e but
ROXY: like
ROXY: you do know what a rogue of void actually does right
KANAYA: One Who Passively Steals Void Yes I Know The Lore I Am Not Some Attention Deficient Wiggler Incapable Of Retaining Facts
ROXY: so u see what i mean!
ROXY: i do wanna help but probably the best i can do is help ppl see in the dark or somethin similarly underwhelming
ROXY: gonna do jack shit about the legiteral megagenerators of hospital gear and stuff that are rotting around w/o juice
ROXY: i mean maybe i could make sum ambient grist outta the void except idk if it works like that??
ROXY: the lil gushers were originally game abstractions and theres hella rules about fucking w that
ROXY: i mean jfc remember how it took like one william glitches to get the universe in a state to even let me make the matriorb
ROXY: i just think im a useless flop here and i dont wanna be!
ROXY: but i am :(

Guilty tears prick Roxy's eyes. Kanaya carefully applies a palm to her forehead with scathing surgical precision.

KANAYA: If You Would Actually Listen To Me
KANAYA: You Would Realize I Clearly Have A Plan Formulating I Need Your Assistance With
KANAYA: There Is In Fact A Fraymotif That Will Hopefully Buy Everybody Enough Time To Pursue A More Permanent Solution
KANAYA: So If You Could Keep Your Thinkpan On Instead Of Flailing Around And Prove To Me Youre The Woman Rose Hopes You Are
ROSE: ...
ROXY:
KANAYA: Just
KANAYA: Shut The Fuck Up And Take My Hand

Kanaya stresses that last bit sharp enough that Roxy sheepishly steps forward. She extends a hand out. Kanaya clasps it hard enough that Roxy winces under the force of her grip. A couple seconds later, and a Void blue-Space green fraymotif wraps around the two of them and pulses out through the walls, floor, and ceiling.

CRECHE OBSCURA

A strange tingling settles over Jade's skin. A few tiny scabs and bruises along her body from the previous few days' conflict suddenly begin to itch. She lifts an arm and watches as a bullet scar grazing the tip of her forearm knits together back into soft, unblemished skin.

ROXY: woah
ROXY: uh
ROXY: what did we just do exactly?
KANAYA: A Moderate Strength Healing Fraymotif
KANAYA: I Knew It As The Void Cradle But That Is Not Its Name Evidently
KANAYA: Everything Within A Mile Radius That Is Enveloped In Shadow Is Now Under A Life Support Aura
ROXY: hay thats good yeah?
ROXY: should keep anyone from dyin
KANAYA: For Now
KANAYA: It Is Mean To Be A Short Lived Combat Buff
KANAYA: At The Highest Rung Of The Echeladder
KANAYA: Which We Both Are
KANAYA: It Still Has A Hard Time Limit Of Fifty Nine Minutes
ROXY: ...
ROXY: welp shit
ROXY: cant we do anything to like extend it??
ROXY: like if we get everyone in we can do sum kinda god tier extended multipower uh
ROXY: thing?

Roxy looks around helplessly. Parvoy's face is blank. This is above her paygrade and so far out of her wheelhouse that the wheelhouse doesn't even reside on the same material plane at this point. John shrugs. He's never been one to understand the technical details of any of his Skaian powers.

Rose, however, is the one to shake her head.

ROSE: I'm afraid she's right.
ROSE: Ultimately, the kind of healing we'd need is locked to god tier Life abilities, in order to incentivize investment in wielders of that Aspect.
ROSE: Of course, Skaia did not anticipate that our assigned Life player would turn out to be a once-in-a-universe tyrant, so we are very much six miles down the proverbial shit creek and forced to improvise.
ROSE: Or maybe it did, and this is yet another lashing of that cruel cudgel of cosmic irony.
ROSE: Regardless, this is the best we can do with these damnable systems we are trapped by.

As Rose talks, her hands twitch. Jade feels a small pit open in her stomach. She dislikes the look on Rose's face, the tension in her body language. The simmering resentment puts her mind of a different time and place, when they were all different people, so very long ago.

Despite everything, there's always been that wild glint to Rose's eyes that never left even as they all departed their youth for pastures more grave. There's a reason why Vrissy has the streak that she has. A reason why even as chief strategist, Kanaya has always had to step in. It's that dangerous edge that Rose refused to lose. It rests, constantly, just below the surface, a siren call for a kind of relevance that, if indulged, would be nothing short of a suicidal appel du vide.

In several ways, even though the world they live in is bleak and terrible, Jade sometimes wonders if this is the preferable alternative to remaining on the cosmic stage and letting that system chew them all to shreds for decades. She's thinking of Dave, and the cruel desire for greater significance that took him from her, from all of them. She looks at Rose and thinks how easy it would have been to spirit Lalonde away to pastures more relevant. How easy it still would be.

The thought of losing Rose in this way, too, sends a desperate ache through Jade's core that makes the canine parts of her flinch in sorrow. This world is evil and vicious and drenched in blood, but it is a world where she is not alone. It is a world where, in time, the losses may stop.

KANAYA: Which Means We Do Not Have Time For Diatribes
ROSE: ...Right. Sorry, dear.

Rose has the decency to flush. Kanaya shakes her head, not unkindly.

KANAYA: Just Get Going Before The Fraymotif Dissipates
ROSE: Right.
ROSE: Jade?

Rose turns to face Jade. Her smile speaks of thoughts Jade can only guess at, but she's fairly certain of their general shape.

JADE: got it
JADE: well find answers in no time kanaya! dont worry :D

She flashes a grin to the front of the room, to where Kanaya and Roxy stand. It's wide and warm and full of fear. Mostly Jade feels tired of the crises. They haven't really stopped to breathe in so long.

Rose approaches Jade's side. With a soft breath, she slips one hand into Jade's, even though it's not at all necessary for Space teleportation. Rose's skin is soft and warm. Jade squeezes back.

JADE: you ready?
ROSE: We have no time to spare. Make haste–
JOHN: uh, w-wait!

John, who up until now had been standing uselessly in the corner, suddenly darts forward. There's a wide, desperate expression on his face.

ROSE: What is it, John?
JOHN: i
JOHN: i want to come with you.
ROSE: You do?
ROSE: No offense, but why?
ROSE: You have no expertise in grist management, and you couldn't tell me the first thing about the cake mill if your life depended on it
JOHN: i... i don't know myself. i just...
JOHN: look. i can't explain it, but i think about the cake mill and i get a feeling.
ROSE: A... feeling?

Rose frowns, eyebrow up. But she's listening. As John draws closer, something cold trickles down Jade's spine like melting hail. It coalesces into a slowly-growing sense of vertigo. She has to remind herself to breathe, and now she's aware that she's getting A Feeling, too.

JOHN: like, i don't know...
JOHN: like i *need* to be there with you. for... some reason.
JOHN: i can't explain it myself, but it's there in my head and won't leave.
JOHN: i mean... it's actually been creeping up on me for a while! i just didn't really feel aware of it until right now.
JOHN: and it really is screaming at me, believe me!
JOHN: ...you do believe me, right??

John stops, his chest shakily rising and falling. Tiny gusts of wind billow through his hair and tug at the ends of his clothing. The odd puff breaks free every now and then and licks past Jade's body. They're surprisingly forceful.

Rose studies John with that edge to her eyes. She still holds Jade's hand, so Jade feels when Rose begins to tighten her grip. Her nails dig in, and the soft touch becomes something painful.

ROSE: John, this is important.
ROSE: I need you to elaborate on whatever it is you're feeling.
JOHN: rose, i am trying.
JOHN: it's hard to explain, but it's like... every part of my body needs to go with you.
ROSE: Is this feeling of your own volition? A physical sensation?
ROSE: A voice in your head?

John shakes his head.

JOHN: no, nothing like that.
JOHN: it's
JOHN: ok, this will probably sound very dumb to you.
JOHN: but it kinda feels like... destiny?
ROSE: Destiny.

Rose's tone is flat. Not deriding, just... flat. It takes Jade a beat to realise Rose is holding her breath in between words.

JOHN: have you ever had a feeling that's so important you know your whole life depends on seeing it through?
JOHN: well, it's actually not EXACTLY like that, but it's kind of in the same ball park.
JOHN: look, maybe i'm just going crazy after everything the last few days, but–
ROSE: I believe you.
JOHN: ?

John blinks, surprised. Jade looks to Rose again. There's a Seer's glow to her eyes now.

ROSE: I... I feel it too, suddenly.
ROSE: I think you're right. I think there's something urgent at our destination. Something that demands all of us.
JOHN: but... what could it be?
ROSE: I'm unsure, but... I think whatever it is, it's bigger than chasing some lost grist.

The casual way in which Rose dismisses a planetary supply of wealth should send warning signals through Jade, but she lets it slide. Because she gets it as much as they do. That feeling of something, somewhere, waiting for them. A breath suspended. A Meteor about to drop. That kind of feeling. Her Space powers crackle with pent-up static.

JADE: what do we do?
ROSE: We go. We find the answer to our present predicament, and we seek whatever it is drawing us in to this moment.
JOHN: so... i can come?
ROSE: Yes. You may be needed John, for... whatever reason.
ROSE: If there's something there, then it would be prudent to have you along with us.
ROSE: There's nobody I trust more.
JOHN: ...

John goes quiet, stunned by Rose's comment. She gives a curt smile, then turns to Jade.

ROSE: There's little more that needs to be said.
ROSE: Time is of the essence, and purpose bears even more heavily.
ROSE: When you're ready, Jade.

She needs no more prompting than that. Jade snaps her fingers and they're out of there.

=>

Minutes in the past, but not many...

JAKE: Well tavvy my boy here we are.
JAKE: The last bastions of our dynasty battered and bruised in a military base ushering in a post war era. Whod have thought?
TAV: ,,
TAV: Um,
TAV: Father,
TAV: I don't think, now is the time,,

The lights are dead. The holding cells are flutter of chaos. Rising voices, scattered furniture. Someone is saying something nearby, but it might as well be dead noise. Despite all that, Tav can see his father clear as day behind the glass, every disheveled shell-shocked inch of the man.

He's not entirely sure how he can still see Jake despite the obvious highly alarming power outage. Most likely some quirk of Hope powers willing this interaction to happen. It is probably also why they're being left alone, even though there is absolutely an emergency going on.

A few minutes ago, Tav's phone had buzzed with a message from Vrissy, but he never got to check it before everything went haywire. In this brief lull in the conversation, he spares a glance. No signal, but the last message came through.

VL: Tav! There's some kind of Event happening!
VL: Stop hanging out with your Loser Class Tr8tor dad and get your scrawny ass Up Here!!!!!!!!

Most likely this would then devolve into a panicked wall of text the longer Tav left her on read, but without network, both he and her are blissfully free of that redundant dance. Instead he's here. Not that here is much better.

JAKE: Right. I wonder what the hubbub is about.
TAV: I don't know,,, sounds urgent though,
JAKE: Regardless, it certainly isnt my problem from in here, heh.

His laugh isn't pleasant. His eyes are bloodshot and there's an uncomfortable twitch in his hands. Tav is once more glad for the glass separating them. He's not sure why he came here, what he hoped to see. Confirmation, maybe? But of what?

Everybody already knows the gist of what happened in the Crocker Needle. Jake English's desperate suicide charge that culminated in Karkat Vanta's heroic sacrifice that ultimately killed Baroness Crocker. For the last twenty four hours, it's all anyone wants to talk about. The only people who haven't badgered Tav about it are Harry and Vrissy, and his assigned therapist he supposes. But he knows the man is just waiting for the opportunity. Tav has a sense for when adults are sniffing for a psychological entrypoint. He had enough practice with–

Enough. That part is dead and gone. More than anything else he knows that part is dead and gone.

JAKE: Something up lad?
TAV: Um,, a number of things, clearly,
TAV: You,, are you well?
JAKE: Well tavros, thats...

Tav flinches at that name. Jake doesn't seem to realise, too caught up in formulating some kind of self-deprecating barb. When he looks back at his son, his face sinks.

JAKE: Im gonna be honest with you lad i had no intention of being alive by this point so im very much spinning my wheels.
JAKE: Ive done some hellish stuff havent i?
TAV: I mean,,,,, yeah,
TAV: But, well,
TAV: I don't know,,

He falters. He's not sure what he needs to say. What Jake needs to hear, versus what Jake wants to hear. Tav isn't even sure if he's the one to be having this conversation. But other than him, who does Jake English have left?

TAV: Some people are saying,,, you did one of the bravest acts of the war,
TAV: Others,, say the stain can't be washed out,,,
TAV: There's a debate, i think,
TAV: About,,, whether to include you,,, in the trials and executions,,, of surviving high ranked members of crockercorp,,,
TAV: Which is a thing i also am, in a roundabout way,

Tav, of course, was exonerated without much fuss. An abused minor who had the willpower to defect and assist the rebellion, who never directly contributed anything to the subjugation of trollkind. It's not a bulletproof defence. There are kids younger than Tav, Crocktok stars mostly, who will more than receive retribution for their role in the propaganda machine. Tav's different. He guesses it's because he's got ties to the important people. That's just the way of things. Lucky break.

He doesn't feel lucky. He hasn't felt lucky for one second in the last sixteen years of his life, save for a few fleeting hours when Vriska saw potential in him and he did what he wanted for the first time. That rush of adrenaline and violence was grim and terrible, and it's the only time he felt alive.

Jake probably gets it, a former lonely child whose only escape was through the meat grinding maw of Sburb. That doesn't make it any easier to vocalise.

JAKE: Well i bet the jakecourse is mighty fierce.
JAKE: I know the wanted lists. Ive seen my bounties. Third place jake crocker, thats what i am
JAKE: By all accounts i now probably have the most direct blood on my hands.
JAKE: To be frank id be astounded if im not earmarked as a scapegoat.
TAV: Right,,, yeah,
TAV: There's a great deal of opinions,,,, about that,
TAV: And,,
TAV: ,,,
TAV: Your,,, final act,,,, too,
JAKE:...

Jake's body goes rigid. There it is. The facts of that day are not the same as the truth. What happened up there on the top floor of the Crocker Needle is something that'll only ever be known to Jake. He's been interrogated multiple times already, but he's not given anyone any details that they couldn't surmise on their own.

Those final moments, whatever led to the suicide vest going off... they're a closed world shared only by Jake and his ghosts.

TAV: I,,,
TAV: I think I have to know,,,,
JAKE: No you dont
TAV: I do,,,,
TAV: I am owed that,,, at least,,,, after everything,
JAKE: Tavros i am telling you
TAV: Do not call me that,

Tav raises his voice, startling even himself. Jake flinches. The man looks small. The man has looked small for so long, ever since he fled the marital home and found solace in the bottle.

TAV: I,,,, tavros crocker,,, is a horrible name,,,
TAV: Given to me by horrible people,,,,
TAV: I am done with it,, and expect you to be done with it to,,,,
JAKE: Tavvy...
TAV: If you do not respect this,, i will go, now,
TAV: I am not him any more,, i am not hers,,,,

Something hard to describe swims through Jake's eyes. There's a moment where he looks like he'll say something, then he reconsiders. Silence falls momentarily, save for the scrambling of a chaos that does not concern them right now, and then he finally speaks.

JAKE: Okay.
JAKE: I understand that, erm,
TAV: Tav,
TAV: I am tav,
JAKE: Tav? Like, um...
TAV: Just tav,
JAKE: I see. It... it suits you, son.
JAKE: I mean i never held any sway when it came to your nomenclature. That was all your mothers work. And, um...
TAV: Gamzee,

He says it without flinching. He still tastes acid in his throat, but he doesn't let it show. And if he doesn't let it show, then eventually it'll stop winning.

TAV: You can say his name,
TAV: You can acknowledge him,,, what he did,,,,
TAV: It is done,,, he is done,,,
JAKE: Even so, i need you to know that what happened there will haunt me for the rest of my days.
JAKE: I failed you so miserably tavvy. If id have been stronger, if id have done anything, you–
TAV: What,
JAKE: ?
TAV: What, exactly, could you have done,,,
TAV: We were bound to the most powerful woman on the planet,,, who controlled the most evil empire, in the history of the universe,,,
TAV: And,,,,
TAV: ,,,,
TAV: Despite everything,,,, i am her son,,
TAV: I am the product of your horrible union,,, and i always will be,
TAV: I don't get to change that, and neither do you,
TAV: A world where you're happy is one where i do not exist,
JAKE: I...

Jake draws closer to the glass.

JAKE: Do you really think that, tav?
TAV: I do,
TAV: This is not an admission of my desire, for annihilation,
TAV: I am alive, and very much intend on staying that way,
TAV: But i am aware that my existence came at a grim cost,,,
TAV: My new existence, was also born from blood and death,
TAV: At least that choice was mine,
JAKE: ...
TAV: What happened,
TAV: Up there, in that tower,

Jake looks away, guilty, haunted. Tav stands firm. He is thinking of all those years of agony, every word and action and touch that stripped away so many possibilities from him, cut short by one obfuscated hour.

JAKE: You know already.
TAV: Yes, i have been told the official version,
TAV: That you, jake english, were involved in killing jane crocker,
TAV: The ensuing result, ended the war,
TAV: This is what is being said, loud and often,

He says it detached, clinical. The facts float several feet away from them, behind an impermeable barrier that prevents them from gaining substance. It's just words, just enough to placate those who do not know the situation in the way they do.

TAV: That isn't important to me,
TAV: I want to know,,,, what led to it,
TAV: That moment, where m,,, my mother,, died at the hands of my father,
TAV: She was an evil, reprehensible woman, who knew nothing but a life of causing pain,,,
TAV: But she birthed me,,,,,
TAV: I wish otherwise, but you were my family,,,
TAV: I deserve to know how it ended,
TAV: What happened,

There's a moment, here, a precipice. Jake freezes, doe in the headlights. A bead of guilty sweat rolls down his forehead, past stress lines that never used to be there. Be it god tier powers or cosmetic work or whatever, Jake always had a fresh face beneath his rugged man facade. Every one of his forty years of life and then some dance across his skin in the weird not-light.

Tav half-expects him to clam up, to choose that same coward's path he always has. Retreat into denial and distance, where nobody has to pick at that festering scab. He could do it, easily. And just as easily, Tav knows that if he chooses that, if he lets the truth fade into enigma, he will walk away now and forever. This is the time, the most important time, to see if he proves himself.

Jake opens his mouth.

JAKE: Its not glamorous, lad.
JAKE: Oh, i dont want to look it in the eye, and nobody would ever give a fig, but youre my son and youre right. I do owe you this.
JAKE: I owe you so much more, but this is all i have to give.
JAKE: I... am deeply, deeply selfish.

Tav stiffens, not surprised at what he's saying, but surprised that he's saying it at all. The words scrape out of Jake's mouth, rough and unsteady. He looks pained.

JAKE: The absolute truth of the matter is that i could not care less about winning the war.
JAKE: Dont get me wrong i fully knew what i would bring about and ascended the tower with that knowledge firm in my noggin.
JAKE: But thats not what motivated me to strap the vest on and do what i did.
TAV: So, what is,
JAKE: Id like to think its obvious to you already, tavvy my boy.

Jake laughs. It's the miserable bark of a kicked dog.

JAKE: I wanted a way out from my sins. I wanted redemption.
JAKE: Im a rational man. I know the blood of millions seeps through my fingers with every minute that i breathe. I also know that nothing will ever rid me of that stain.
JAKE: The only appeasement left for a man like me plain and simple is a good ol Just shuffle off the coil.
JAKE: It... it was a suicide mission in every extent of the word.
JAKE: I wanted. No i needed to die.
JAKE: I figured that the least i could do was make my inevitable expiration useful to the cause. Take out the woman whose responsibility i bore. Wipe out public enemies one and two and give karkat the keys to a better world.
JAKE: Of course i fucked that one up tremendously.
JAKE: Couldnt even kill myself right. Now im a spare part in a cell and i still have to think and breathe every single damn day.
JAKE: I
JAKE: I really really should have died a long time ago tav. Thats all there is to it.

He's looking at his hands. They're trembling. He shrinks in on himself, eyes dilated and mouth downturned in despair.

JAKE: My only thought has been that. The hope of ending it all.
JAKE: And then it got dashed because thats just my luck. Alive when i need to be the contrary.
JAKE: Karkats in the ground and its my fault, because im too weak. Couldnt stand up to jane. Couldnt kill myself.
JAKE: Im sorry you still have to set eyes on me tav. Heavens willing theyll execute me soon.
TAV: ,,,

Tav takes in a breath. He's not sure what he's feeling at first, a heavy blow like viscous fluid pooling in his chest, spreading out to his limbs. He feels hot and heavy, like everything's spinning. The world widens out then focuses back down on the single point of Jake English.

It takes a beat longer before he realises he's angry.

TAV: That's it?
JAKE: Eh?
TAV: After everything,,, you just,,, wanted to kill yourself,,,,
TAV: No,,,, not that,,,, you're not really suicidal,
JAKE: Tav my boy i appreciate i might have a way of talking about things but i think i know my own feelings–
TAV: Don't,,, i know, okay?
TAV: You,,, don't want to die,,
TAV: You just wanted,,,, to escape culpability,,,
TAV: Die a redeeming death,,, bring it to an end,,,
TAV: If you'd have died,,, in the tower,, you wouldn't have had to look at the state things are now,
TAV: You'd have left it all behind,,,
TAV: You'd have left me,,,
JAKE: I
TAV: No,,

He takes a step back. The anger is curdling to something more putrid, and even then threatens to sink into something sadder.

TAV: I,,, need to ask you something,,,
TAV: One thing,, no bullshit,
JAKE:
TAV: If,,,,,, given the option,,,,
TAV: Between being let out of here,,, and rebuilding your life, with,,,, me,
TAV: Or waking up,,,, twenty years in the past,,,, with dirk strider,,,,
TAV: What do you pick,,,?
JAKE: Well, obviously id
JAKE: I
JAKE: I...

The answer clogs itself up in Jake's mouth like a cracked dam. His cheeks flush with shame. Nothing more needs to be said. It's nothing Tav didn't expect.

JAKE: ...Yes, i would.
JAKE: Oh tavvy more than anything id kill to be whisked back to that halcyon glory.
JAKE: The world made sense back then to me in a way i dont think i can truly begin to express to you.
JAKE: Everyone was normal. The world was sane.
JAKE: I... i felt loved.
TAV: ,,,

Tav doesn't say it. Jake should already know.

JAKE: Its rotten to hell that im saying this to my own son but i owe you honesty.
JAKE: I wanted to stop being jake crocker for one godforsaken second. I wanted my life back.
JAKE: I wanted to get away from it all. And yes that includes you and i hate myself. By god do i fucking hate myself!
JAKE: Spending day out with jane and that fucking clown, and then in johns rotten old house imbibing myself into a divorced stupor... I dont know who the hell i am but im not myself.
JAKE: I... i feel like i got unceremoniously dumped into the skin of some strange pathetic weird man, and i want out.
JAKE: I want to feel like me again. That boy swept up in a whirlwind of adventure.
JAKE: I miss it all. The combat. The philosophy. The life. The love. I miss reality.
TAV: And this,,, here,,, will never feel like reality,,,,

The tension in Jake's face relaxes into a smile. He's started crying, silent tears rolling down into his scraggly beard.

JAKE: You know, john once said the same such thing.
JAKE: Years back at wee harry andersons birthday. The one where he... lost it.
TAV: ,,,

Tav remembers, faint and vague, that eventful afternoon. He remembers the smell of frosting filling the house instead of Faygo for once. He remembers John sitting him down in his room, being the first and only adult to dare ask questions that should have been asked by more people long ago. He remembers the screaming, and the howling of wind. He doesn't remember much after that. Like always, his predominant memory of that day comes from earlier that morning, of hot sticky skin and discordant circus horns. It's always the same.

JAKE: Anyway, among the number of things that came from egberts mouth was the insinuation that our lives were fake and stupid.
JAKE: Everybody laughed at him. Called it a load of hogwash from the maw of a man teetering on a premature midlife crisis in spite of the fact that were all destined to live infinite lifespans.
JAKE: The world being fake? How absurd! Why, we were all adults with marriages and children and other important tidbits.
JAKE: Except... was john wrong?
JAKE: I mean, were any of us REALLY happy with our lot?
JAKE: My marriage was an absolute fucking clowncar, wordplay here being both figurative and literal.
JAKE: John and Roxy were on the rocks in about a hundred different ways. Jade the poor gal was trapped in a right farce of a situation.
JAKE: Rose and kanaya, well... the political situation was a-brewin' even back then.
JAKE: And dirk had already been fucking dead for half a decade by that point, so...
JAKE: I had a feeling, deep where im not allowed to feel stuff.
JAKE: That maybe, to borrow some accursed parlance from the ol skaian fold, we had found ourselves staring down the bottom of an absolute stinker of a doomed timeline.
JAKE: Even though the game is over and doomed timelines werent even meant to be a thing in the first place... i think. I dont remember dirks infodumps all too well. Was it a lord english thing?
JAKE: Cant remember. Anyhow this isnt relevant.
JAKE: The point is, as the crocker household grew more crooked and the world went more and more sour, i found myself hoping against hope that thered be a funny little miracle of oblivion and id snap back to whenever i was meant to be.
JAKE: Wake up from the nightmare. Be twenty three again. Or sixteen. Or wherever it is i needed to be to be happy.
JAKE: And then i would put my tits and teeth on and i would go and play my role in the slaughter, because the good timeline never came.
JAKE: It just kept being here and now and things kept getting worse.
JAKE: And i let it. I sleepwalked into some parody of a life and i wish i knew how to get out.
JAKE: All i really did was fail you by leaving you to the wolves, eh? My own flesh and blood.
JAKE: Wouldnt be the first jake offspring in paradox space to be inflicted with such a fate.

He laughs mirthlessly. The floor beneath Tav feels solid. What washes through him is predictable, steady. For years, he'd imagined pinning his father down and forcing this admission of truth out of him. It's everything he thought he would say. It's nothing like how he would feel.

Tav doesn't find himself dwelling on a failed childhood. He doesn't think of the future he could scaffold with his father with a little mutual effort. Behind his eyes is not even the pivotal moment where he ousted Gamzee Makara from existence forever.

Instead, all he thinks of is that moment in Cavalreap, surrounded by his mother's armed guards. Vriska, handing him that strife specibus and the promise that came attached with it. The rush, that giddy breathless rush of something genuinely his. Something new.

He's... he's bound for more than this. More than a neat coming of age, where he slides back into teenagedom on the unsteady stilts of a rekindled parental relationship in its infancy. Maybe he relates to his father, then, in a strange way. Maybe the adventure matters more to Tav, too.

Time has passed. Enough that Tav's lack of a response is looking weird. He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. Breathes out. Sturdy.

TAV: I,,, understand,
JAKE: You do?

Jake's eyes light up.

TAV: I do,,,
TAV: However,,,
TAV: That does not change,, what has been done,
JAKE: Of course not. Thatll take time, and–
TAV: And,, i am not sure i am interested,, in pursuing that avenue,
JAKE: Huh?
TAV: You are no doubt sincere, and i thank you for that,
TAV: So,,, i must owe you sincerity, too,,

It's harder to say than he thought. Even though he's done harder. Pushed himself further. Compared to that frantic day on the airship, this is nothing. Should be nothing. And yet.

TAV: Sixteen years have passed in my life,, very few of which you were there for me,
TAV: You were a victim as much as i, and yet you also offloaded me to that wretched clown,
TAV: You did not do more for me when you could have,, and by your own admission, this was not all down to mother,,
TAV: It is because you wished,, to be someone else,,
TAV: You wished, to be jake english,
TAV: But you are not him, and you have not been him,,, for a very long time,,
TAV: You are jake crocker,, and you built that tomb for yourself,, out of negligence,,
TAV: You cannot undo everything that you hate,, it is there,, just as i am,
JAKE: ...
TAV: You had a chance to escape being him,, when we fled the estate,,
TAV: When we joined the rebels,, it could have been the making of you,,
TAV: You,,, you helped to topple,,,, the baroness,
TAV: If anything could have put you on the path,, it was that,,
TAV: Jake english standing against a tyrant,,
TAV: But that's not it,, it was jake crocker hoping,,, to be taken out with his wife,,
TAV: The desire was,,, for both my parents to die up there,,
TAV: But you are not dead,, jake crocker is not dead,
TAV: And,, i don't think the rebels will execute you either,,
TAV: Most likely you have done enough for some form of pardon,, for a path towards reformation,,
TAV: Because they believe you finally found the courage to bite back,,,
TAV: But you and i know, that's not it,
TAV: You did not intend for any of this, just as you still do not intend to begin anew with me,
TAV: I have learned a lot, lately,
TAV: About myself, and about the world, and about what it means to be genuine,
TAV: And you are not genuine, you are jake crocker, the man who lied to himself until genocide tasted good,,,
TAV: And you are still my father,
TAV: Jake crocker should be there for tavros crocker, yes,
TAV: But i am no longer tavros crocker, and cannot be him,
TAV: And i do not think, you will ever be able to know who i am,,
TAV: You could have, once,, maybe, if you were still jake english,, if your sad wish had come through,
TAV: So that is why,, i need to leave you,,
TAV: Because i am tav,,
TAV: Tav,, english, because one of us has to be,
TAV: Maybe,, if you ever find yourself, truly, we can try again,,
TAV: But i want to live, i want to see the future, and you do not,,
TAV: I don't think you'll ever stop being a ghost,, instead of doing something with the man you could be,
TAV: ,,,
TAV: Goodbye,

Tav turns on his heels, before the lump in his throat can coalesce. Jake predictably rushes forward, but Tav's already steeled himself not to let the plea sway his heart.

Except that's not what Jake does. He just laughs. He laughs and he laughs and he laughs until his voice goes scratchy. Tav stops in his tracks.

JAKE: All this fretting from sollux and jade and everybody about trying to stop her when it doesnt matter.
JAKE: Youre gonna end up there on your own anyway. Were all a bunch of old fools.
TAV: What,
TAV: Are you talking about,,
JAKE: Look at you, tav. A reformed character of your own forging. A true actualized teen enticed by the thread of destiny.
JAKE: No doubt the other youngsters have undergone just as shattering arcs.
JAKE: Vriskall want to take credit, but this has naught even to do with her.
TAV: I, i don't follow,
JAKE: Yeah, i see. Thats the point of this whole shtick.
JAKE: You were always gonna walk willingly into the muses hands at the end of the day. Theres nowhere else for you to go.
JAKE: The good old call of adventure.
TAV: The,,

Tav draws closer. That feeling again, that strange pressure that has haunted him ever since things started happening. The blooming sensation that he is being drawn towards a point with the suction force of a black hole, inescapable to its draw. As if he's been moved along a track towards a destination that is both unknown and inevitable. His muscles tense, electric.

JAKE: You will, wont you? Youll absolutely leap out of this universe without a second thought.
TAV: I'll, what,,

His breath comes short.

TAV: What are you saying,,

He's thinking back, suddenly and sharply, to those conversations with Vriska. Of Serket's bravado, her assurance that her time in this world will always be temporary. Of Sollux's guilt that hangs off him like an odour. Of that feeling, that damn feeling.

Maybe he always knew, somewhere deep down, that Vriska wouldn't be leaving alone.

JAKE: Shes coming. The disembodied dead calliope.
JAKE: For some mission of such grand importance that someone like me couldnt hope to comprehend it.
JAKE: Shell come, and shell sway you plucky young teens into hitching a ride to wherever it is this relevance lies, because youre essential.
JAKE: Because youve already made yourselves into essential players, havent you?
TAV: ,,,
JAKE: We should have all seen it. The progeny of gods, nudged by fate.
JAKE: Theres no stopping it. Wed be fools to try.
TAV: H, how do you know this,,,
JAKE: Sollux. He spilled the beans in nuseattle. A geezer such as he was ill equipped for such a burden.
JAKE: He said little of the how and the why, only the what.
JAKE: Also something about dave strider? I didnt follow it. Jade mostly screamed at him i think.
TAV: I,,,
TAV: And you're only, saying this now?
JAKE: I was too busy trying to top myself to care much. I figured the others would handle it.
JAKE: Proves me wrong for assuming jack shit about anything.
TAV: ,,,
JAKE: It makes sense, doesnt it?

He's not saying it unkindly. There's understanding in his face now, and suddenly this is the first time Tav has ever felt a modicum of respect for the man before him.

JAKE: Where else is someone like you to go? A normal teen life, like your noggin isnt swimming with power and trauma?
JAKE: I heard what happened with you and gamzee. I dont think you can come back from a threshold like that.
JAKE: I see it now, in you. Me.
JAKE: That desperate boy waiting for the adventure that will finally reveal his purpose to him.
JAKE: Im not wrong, am i?
JAKE: If the muse of space were to stand before you and offer you the adventure of a lifetime, way out at the edges of existence, would you take it?

Jake looks at him. He knows. Tav knows. On this, this singular thing, they are alike. It helps Tav understand, but it does not help him forgive. There is still the bloody chasm between the man in the cell and the idea of Jake English. But it helps Tav see the shadow of what was once there.

JAKE: I wont stop you, because i cant.
JAKE: Youll do as you will, same as i did.
JAKE: So, tav... all i can say this this.
JAKE: Whatever happens, do not make my mistakes.
TAV: ,,,

Tav's throat is dry. Jake's eyes carry a grave glint. Questions swim and burn in his mind, questions he fears he already has the answers to. He wants to reach through the glass, shake his father by the shoulders, and wring out every piece of information he can. He wants to turn and run. He... he wants to see if this is true, if there is more for him after this.

There's an unceremonious BANG from several floors up that sets Tav's teeth on edge. The power shoots back on. Jake retreats to the corner of his cell in silence. He has said all that needs to be said.

Tav's phone pulses with a sharp buzz. Two more texts from Harry.

HE: tav. come upstairs. we need to talk.
HE: now.

=>

The afternoon is warm and dry when they land in the courtyard. John relies on the breeze to keep him afloat, while Rose and Jade pop out on their feet, more practiced at this than him.

JADE: were here

The Outglut^2 cake mill is... a pretty depressing place, Jade remarks. A ringed prison structure of grey concrete circling an empty courtyard of packed dirt. Only, it would be empty if not for the massive construction platform smack in the centre, scorched with flame marks, and the strange lumpy cloth mound all the way back.

Jade sniffs the air in the direction of the pile and blanches. That strange frenetic energy shared between the three of them dissipates, replaced immediately with mounting horror.

JOHN: jade? what is it?
JADE: i
JADE: that smell...

Mumbling to herself, Jade crosses the courtyard to the cloth. She stops before it, gulps, then extends a hand to the base of the structure. Slowly, dreadfully, she lifts the cloth.

A naked grey arm caked in indigo and burgundy blood drops free. Jade zaps back in a ball of lightning, then dry heaves.

JADE: ohhhhhh fuck
JADE: bodies
JADE: theyre all

Jade flinches her eyes shut and wills the urge to scream to leave. She suppresses it only partially. A repulsed whine slips out of her lips. Horror, disgust, sorrow, and then finally hatred settle in over her.

Without looking, she knows. She can't unknow. She can feel them, every individual troll body, all of them peppered with bullet holes through their scarred organs, all of them unceremoniously dumped. Brushed aside like garbage. So many lives, scorched down at the hands of her friends.

These are Alfonz's bullets, but more than that, deeper than that, all of this is Jane's handiwork. The rage pivots back around a sharp keening sadness Jade had thought long since gone, a flash of mourning for the person Jane Crocker once was, so so long ago.

And then she's remembering Karkat and the fact that he's gone and then again the mountain of troll corpses here, snuffed out by a treacherous Alfonz but put here by Jane in the name of... what? What was it that truly pushed down that path? What did they do? What did they miss? Was the rot their responsibility, or did it stretch back even further?

Standing here, in a prison turned death camp in the middle of a drought-ravaged badlands, it's hard to imagine the planet this once was, the world Jane came from. The geography of Earth C is so radically warped from its predecessor that Jade couldn't even begin to wonder where the former site of Washington state even is.

Now she steals a glance at John, looking lost and afraid before the gravity of a situation he was content to ignore for so much of his life. In many ways he and Jane came from the same world, but if that evil existed as a common influencing thread between them, John only got away with it with a pretty intolerable case of avoidance. But there's a universe worth of difference between that and... what Jane did. And yeah, there was literally a whole universe between them, but also they both grew up in literally the same house, thanks to the weird and stupid whims of Paradox Space.

John's now kicking at the dirt with a shoe, pointedly avoiding looking at the pile of bodies. Jade, in this moment, thinks she gets it. His aversion to viewing this world as real, a twice-replicated increasingly absurdified version of the world he knew. Does he, too, sometimes dwell on that old suburb that used to be his whole reality?

Jade never had that, growing up so isolated and distant. Earth C has been the first place to truly parse as “home” to her. It's real in a way that old Earth, that the incipisphere, that that fucking battleship never were. Her whole youth she felt like a cardboard cutout in a story, gritting her teeth through a two-dimensional hell, waiting for the moment she could become tangible. She lost her island, her friends, her own body, but none of it really felt real, because she wasn't real yet.

Her tail twitches. She still has thoughts about her body, so many decades after the fact, but it's hard to call it a complicated relationship. She entered into the real world in this form. The purely human girl was nothing more than a sad abstraction screaming out to be made into something that matters. For John, she guesses things must have moved in the opposite direction.

Does he still miss being that boy with the uncomplicated life? What does he feel? Jade's not sure. There's been a strange opacity to John since he rejoined the war effort that she can't quite crack. Like there's something... more beneath his buoyant smile. Something significant that he's keeping to himself.

He's still her brother, she reflects, and it twists and burns that he feels too distant. She... she wants those chasms torn open over the last twenty years to be well and truly gone. She wants the bridges they're building to be sturdier, to live the kind of happy adult life she's always dreamed of.

It's not John that comforts Jade in this moment, though. It's Rose, placing a steady yet stiff hand between Jade's shoulder blades, rubbing in unpracticed circles.

ROSE: I know, Jade. I know.
ROSE: I can barely stomach to look at the thing myself
JADE: why?? why did he do it rose?

The words spill out of Jade's mouth, impotent and hapless. Rose massages more firmly. Jade struggles against the urge to crumple into the other woman.

ROSE: That is what I hope to find out.
ROSE: John's right. There's... something significant about this place. Beyond the veil of senseless horror, I can feel it.
ROSE: It's like a trace. A shadow of a shadow. But it's here. Somewhere.

Rose glances up towards the upper level of the prison. There's nothing there, but her gaze hangs there for a second, then slowly lowers.

ROSE: We will get answers, Jade. This will not be for naught.
ROSE: I promise you that. Everything will be okay.
JADE: i...
JADE: thank you rose

Jade sniffles and pushes herself away. She forces a deep breath and wipes at the budding tears. There is a mission here of grave importance, maybe on multiple levels, and she has a job to do. She thinks of the wounded in the medbay, perishing with every second devoid of power, of the gaping hole in the global grist supply, of Kanaya and Roxy desperately trying to plug the gaps.They have to succeed.

JADE: ok
JADE: where do we start? what do we look for?
ROSE: Mm. From what I gather, I believe there are two points of interest worth considering.
ROSE: One is somewhere on the upper levels.

She points to the spot on the top floor she was staring at before.

ROSE: The second, I think... is below us.

She's now looking at a point on the ground, right beneath where the hastily alchemised launchpad sits.

ROSE: That's my suspicion, at least.
ROSE: Jade, would you mind scouting it out with your Space abilities?
JADE: no problem

Jade takes a step back from Rose, flexes her hands, and reaches out with her senses. The first thing she does is steel herself against balking as she comes across hundreds more dead trolls within the cells and rooms of the prison, forces herself to tune them out. Her awareness floats upstairs to the point Rose focused on. She finds a room, buzzing with static electricity and radio waves, but curiously devoid of any bodies.

JADE: theres a radio upstairs
JADE: i think its the comms center?
JADE: a lot of ambient noise signals still hanging around but i dont know what they mean
ROSE: Remnants, like those in Outglut^2, perhaps?
ROSE: Could be another angle to the tangled web of transmissions stretching out from the city.
ROSE: I'll investigate the signals, see what I can See.
ROSE: And below?
JADE: got it!

Then she focuses downward, tracing the arc of a staircase and winding hallway through what feels like a basement, and then...

There. She feels it. A room. A sealed door. She tries to probe further, and there it is. That feeling again, slamming against every nerve in her body like a train. Jade staggers and gaps.

JOHN: jade!! are you alright?
JADE: grgh. fine

She grits her teeth. It feels awful, like she's washed out by a tidal wave of acid. A powerful rejective obfuscating force wraps itself around the room, pushing out inquisitive eyes. She can't get a pin on it.

JADE: theres something
JADE: really weird downstairs i think
JADE: i, i cant explain it
JADE: theres a room, i think... but theres something keeping me from checking it out
ROSE: Oh?
ROSE: Let me try.

The Light sun flares up as an afterimage across Rose's forehead, and she shuts her eyes. She clenches her fists in concentration, and a not-unpleasant warmth rolls off her.

Then suddenly she's staggering to one knee.

ROSE: Gah!

Jade swoops forward to catch her from falling. Rose steadies herself on her feet.

JOHN: woah!! what's happening?
ROSE: It's... as Jade said. I don't know what it is but it's an overwhelming force blocking *something* from perception.
ROSE: My first instinct is to say Void coating, but I know how to navigate ambient Void pockets on Earth C.
ROSE: And Jade's a wielder of an adjacent aspect. What may be tough for me should be trivial for her.
JADE: yeah. i dont think i could teleport down there even if tried :(
ROSE: Which is obviously a concern, if whatever's down there has insulated itself from two of the planet's most potent gods.
JADE: you think whatever it is might be hostile?
ROSE: I... possibly. Anything or any*one* could be down there.
ROSE: Whatever it is isn't something that wants our prying eyes to wander there. So naturally, it is imperative we take a gander.
JOHN: do you think it has to do with this alfonz guy and the stolen grist?

Rose blinks, having evidently forgotten about the ostensible actual reason they're here in her excitement.

ROSE: Maybe. But a mechanism this sophisticated is well beyond the capacity of a pedestrian denizen of this world.
ROSE: I think we need to think bigger.
JOHN: bigger? how much bigger do you get?
ROSE: I think whatever it is... may lie beyond our universe.
JOHN: what??? but
JOHN: but i thought the whole point of this time line is that we're sealed off from all that!
JOHN: like that was explicitly the terms of the choice i made all those years ago.
JOHN: or whatever actually happened with the ghost calliope and the black hole that i decided to blame on my decision like a weirdo weenie.
JOHN: roxy set me straight on my assumption there, ha ha...
ROSE: No, you're right to think that, egocentric musings notwithstanding.
ROSE: Our unmooring from canonicity should have permanently severed us from the fold, giving us the freedom to fuck everything up entirely on our own terms, as evidenced by the complex geopolitical crisis we're crawling out of.
ROSE: And yet, there is an aura of the metatextually significant lingering in the air.
ROSE: We can all feel it, clinging on our backs and whispering promises of something intangible in our ears, no?

Rose doesn't have to look at either John or Jade. All three know implicitly this feeling. It's a chafe, building and growing like a swelling balloon. Like all of Earth C's been placed in a pressure cooker, building towards some grim and terrible moment of popping.

ROSE: We know that something's unfolding behind the scenes.
ROSE: Roxy's jaunt to the far flung corners of the globe with the ever-elusive Calliope point to that.
ROSE: As do whatever machinations driving the dead cherub to take a keen interest in our children.
ROSE: There's... a pattern unfurling here that I can't quite make out from this existential vantage point.
ROSE: I do have my suspicions, though.
JADE: and what are they?
ROSE: Do you remember those hazy days of young adulthood, in the leadup to the divergence point?
JOHN: you mean my birth day and the choice, yeah?
ROSE: One and the same.
ROSE: Specifically, you both remember my... condition, that cleared up soon after.
JADE: right
JADE: you started getting those awful headaches and basically spent the best part of a year housebound
JADE: dave and i constantly tried to help you but nothing worked
JADE: in fact most of the time you wouldnt even let us see you!!
JADE: the only you actually spent time with was
JADE:

Jade pauses. The thought hits her like an ancient wound reopened. Rose finishes the sentence for her.

ROSE: Dirk.
ROSE: I won't bore you with the details, but we were both dead certain this was the initialization of the process of ascension to the Ultimate Self.
ROSE: Do you remember what I said on the topic?
JADE: veeeery vaguely x_x
JADE: it was like
JADE: identity dissolution or something similar???
JOHN: yeah, and something about canon? and god tier powers?
JOHN: uh, i think my old retcon powers had something to do with it?
ROSE: Essentially, yes.
ROSE: The boundaries between isolated instances of myself were threatening to collapse and drag all parts of my awareness into the amalgamate ur-Rose Lalonde.
ROSE: A sort of... composite of the irreducible notions of my selfhood as parsed by a theoretical observer to our narratological plane.
ROSE: Dirk and I theorized I would eventually cease to exist physically, unable to sustain myself as anything more than a phantom echo within any non-canonical framework.
ROSE: I'd unspool into a series of, well... rudimentary signs and signifiers with no purpose other than to appear like an immutable, non-specific instance of myself.
ROSE: It would hit all of us, this... decay, of our truth, relevance and essentiality, in time.
ROSE: Our true essences fade, and what remains is a sort of grotesque parody nobody gives a fuck about within an increasingly absurd pantomime.
JOHN: ...

John bites his lip. Jade frowns at him. This is... pretty much exactly the kind of stuff John was saying at the height of his breakdown all those years ago.

JOHN: so, i was right?
ROSE: Well, yes and no.
ROSE: From the perspective of the canonical, that's clearly what happened to us. But I've always believed that the truth/relevance/essentiality core matters only as long as you're driven by a desire for canonical adherence.
ROSE: It really only matters if you're hung up about maintaining a perfect continuity between yourself and the you that left that victory platform a quarter of a century ago.
ROSE: This world is real and matters to us, even if it doesn't to some other being on the flipside of the canonical coin.
ROSE: The point is that that barrier should have been irrevocable. We should be self contained.
ROSE: And yet... it seems to be that canonicity is bleeding through.
ROSE: Our corner of the black hole is garnering attention from interested parties, far beyond what we should be doing.
ROSE: Something here has turned this world into a screaming beacon of relevance, and that grim spotlight is glaring down at us once more.
JADE: what do you think that is?
JADE: does it have anything to do with dave?
JOHN: dave?

John frowns. Right. It's hard to keep track of who knows what at this stage. Luckily, Rose fills him in.

ROSE: Yes, John.
ROSE: The gist of that is that while Dave did die out in the jungle, something or someone allowed the transfer of his consciousness to a robotic body, which he then promptly used to depart this universe.
ROSE: He's with the dead cherub, ostensibly aiding her in whatever her machinations are.
JOHN: wait. so dave's...
JADE: yes hes alive and yes he left us and NO we dont know why
JOHN:
JADE: ...

Jade flushes. The rage rises and falls just as quickly.

JADE: im sorry
JADE: its still very sore for me given that
JADE: you know
JADE: he was meant to be my husband and i loved him even though our marriage was a sham and everybody knew it ^^;
JOHN: ...huh. right.
JOHN: well. that's. a lot to take in!
JOHN: somehow it's not surprising though? in a weird way, i mean.
JOHN: not the “dave abandoning you” part, jade. more the... insane stuff.
JOHN: it's actually weird we went so long without being knee deep in all that!
JOHN: canon stuff aside, i think we're just... destined to attract unfathomably bizarre endless bullshit?
ROSE: John, that might be the truest statement ever uttered in the history of Paradox Space.
ROSE: But we *should* have been unmoored from destiny. Something's drawing us back in.
JADE: and thats this relevance beacon?

Rose nods.

JADE: what do you think it is?
ROSE: My first instinct was to say it's Vriska. A god tier Light player plucked right from the maws of canon's most pivotal moment would be like honey to canon-seeking flies.
ROSE: But... the more I think of it, the more I think Vriska is a symptom rather than the cause.
ROSE: She could have ended up any number of the supposed infinite noncanon pocket realities after succumbing to the black hole. Why here?
ROSE: Random chance does not exist. Not with one whose entire deal is lucky breaks. Not with one who originated from an orchestrated canon.
ROSE: This world drew her in, same as the dead cherub for... some reason.
ROSE: There's something here, something to do with this world, that the bedrock of canon rests on.
ROSE: The dead cherub seems to think it's the children. Our Calliope has a keen interest in exile stations and other Skaian miscellanea that should not be here, yet are.
ROSE: There's an obvious conclusion here, but it doesn't make sense.
JOHN: and that is?

Jade understands.

JADE: its like
JADE: earth cs getting itself ready for a game of sburb
ROSE: Precisely.
ROSE: Even though that should be impossible.
ROSE: We all know that our world is bound for Calliope and Lord English's session billions of years from now. It makes no chronological sense for any other sessions to occur.
ROSE: And more than that, even if such a session were to exist, it could only occur in a deeply non-canonical offshoot timeline that would be of no interest to these key players.
ROSE: Logic dictates that if we piece this together, the Muse of Space is seeking to use our children as players in this alleged Sburb session, which has already been retroactively accounted for.
JOHN: wait, but...
JOHN: doesn't that mean that earth c is gonna be wrecked by meteors?

John's face is haunted. He nervously wrings his hands and looks up to the sky. It's a clear day. No clouds save for the remnants of the spaceship launch. Nothing even remotely meteoric. Out of a fearful curiosity, Jade reaches out to the furthest extent her powers will let her perceive, and comes back with nothing save for some satellites and debris in orbit.

JADE: well theres nothing up there at all
JADE: so if there is a reckoning its nowhere near close to happening
ROSE: Future historical records would suggest that at no point in its timeline does Earth C experience a barrage.
ROSE: And if this is being driven by the dead Calliope, she is likely orchestrating this in a way that continues to authenticate her own personal timeline.
ROSE: She can hardly exist without her homeworld to grow up on in the far future.
ROSE: I think whatever's coming is deeply unorthodox, and I do not know the extent of the role we are to play.
ROSE: I might have known, once, but that was long ago.

Rose trails off, a troubled look on her face. Jade's head swims a little putting it all together. It feels so much bigger than her in a way she's not prepared for, like she's staring down an infinitely complex puzzle she can only see a fraction of the pieces of.

ROSE: I'll have to think on this further. But not now.
ROSE: There's still a crisis unfolding, in case we forgot.

Nobody forgot, but Rose says it more to re-anchor herself to what matters.

ROSE: I'll go investigate the radio signals upstairs.
ROSE: Jade, you and John check out the basement anomaly.
ROSE: But take care. I don't know what awaits you.
JADE: dont worry! well be ok :)

Jade flashes a bright smile, but nerves rattle through her core. She pulls a gun out of her sylladex, prompting John to withdraw his hammer. Rose slips her needles into her hands and nods.

ROSE: I'll join you when I'm done.
JADE: got it
JOHN: um... you be careful too, rose.

Rose grins wryly at John. Her eyes remain distant, focused on the greater conundrum.

ROSE: Thank you, John. I'll try.

And then she's off through the doors bound for the comms station. Jade and John look at each other in silence for a few minutes, then take off across to the other side of the courtyard towards where the stairs to the basement lie.

John brushes the door open with a push of his powers. The tiled floor of the cake mill is stained with blood both fresh and ancient. He balks as they head inside.

JOHN: urgh, this is horrible.
JADE: i know john

Jade's swiveling her ears around, pinging out with her Space senses. The only things in motion she can feel are herself and John moving down the hallway, and Rose upstairs. The place is eerily silent, and she cannot escape the sensation of whatever horrors took place here.

They pass down a cell block. Mercifully, the doors are closed. They both know what's in there.

JOHN: ...

John's going more and more pale by the second. Jade places a supportive hand on his shoulder, even though she knows it won't really help.

JADE: it doesnt get better john
JADE: but this will never happen again
JADE: try and remember that
JOHN: i know, but... shit.
JOHN: how did it get this bad??
JADE: a lot of reasons, but you cant dwell on that
JADE: its not useful
JADE: for every massacred cake mill there are thousands of liberated trolls rescued from others
JADE: this is not the whole world
JOHN: ...

John grips his hammer a bit tighter, regardless. His footsteps echo, a lonely noise through the dimly-lit hallway. There's a scrap of bloody clothing in one corner. Half the lights are shot out with bullet holes. A few abandoned guns here and there, some alchemised, some Crockercorp-red. No human bodies. Of course they all made it, likely several thousand miles away from Earth C at this moment.

What is it like, out there? Are any of the trolls from the mill still alive? What is Alfonz thinking? Jade doesn't have the answers, just an awful ache in her chest.

At the end of the hall is an aja set of double doors. Past them is a staircase, poorly lit by a single bare bulb. It gets colder as they descend. The air gets thinner. John reflexively sets a bunch of breezes wafting around himself and Jade.

They descend the stars in silence. More bullets on the walls. Chips of horn fragment. Bloody boot prints. Somehow it feels wrong that the violence spread down here, to this strange place. The lower they get, the more the feeling grows. Jade's perception of the space upstairs grows strange, muffled. It feels like they're plunging slowly into a pocket of pure sensory deprivation, a localised black hole. She double checks that her rifle is loaded. Just to be sure.

More blood at the bottom of the staircase. Checkered tiles awash in purple, violet, and teal. Bullet holes that run about ten feet deeper, then abruptly stop.

JADE: looks like they didnt get any further than this

Jade stares down the darkened hallway. There's a strange ambient glow that doesn't seem to originate from any known light source. She wonders if the slaughterers carried on past this point regardless, if there was even a shred of curiosity propelling them. She doubts it, somehow. This place seems to tell her that, with a soft hush of certainty. If anyone's been here, it wasn't them.

JOHN: i wonder where the bodies went.

John's looking at the blood pile. Everywhere else inside the prison, the corpses were left where they fell. There's something perplexingly odd about their absence. Even outside, the bodies were only moved to make room for the launch platform. There's at least three blood types here. Why were these bodies moved?

It's another question hanging in the air. Another question Jade fears she won't like the answer to.

There's no blood further down the hallway. It's untouched this far back. Even the tiles are devoid of dust or any matter. The whole place feels paradoxically fresh and ancient. Whatever this is, it's clearly not part of Jane's design. Did she even know about it?

And then there, right at the very end, a doorway sits ajar. The room beyond it is bathed in a soft light and an odd hum. The fur on Jade's ears and tail stand on end. John comes to a stop.

JOHN: what is this place?
JADE: i dont know, but it feels...

That sensation, that drowning muffling sensation, threatens to overwhelm her. It would be so easy to believe that nothing exists save for the two of them and this room right now. It's a struggle for Jade to remember that Rose is just upstairs. She barely remembers why they even came here in the first place.

JADE: we need to go in

The words slip out of her mouth before she can think. It's not a thought. It's an urge, something screaming through every nerve in her body. She has to go through. She has to see.

JOHN: right.

John nods stiffly. He feels it too.

They exchange no further formalities. They pass the threshold.

=>

JADE: ...
JOHN: ...
JADE: ...
JOHN: ...
JOHN: ...what just happened?
JADE: i... dont know

Jade felt it the minute they slipped past the threshold. A strange feeling, like an almost blink of lost time. As if the entirety of existence got reframed, or like they passed some imperceptible barrier into someplace else. The sensation is so distracting it takes her an embarrassing thirty seconds to clock the room they're in.

JADE: wait
JADE: this is...
JADE: an exile station?
JOHN: huh? for real?

John blinks, mouth agape. The room is larger than the entryway would imply, furnished by an elaborate command terminal on one end, and an appearifier on the other. There are a bunch of screens atop the terminal, at least half a dozen. All but one of them are off.

And more curiously, a lotus capsule smack bang in the middle of the room.

JADE: hm?

Jade approaches the flower. It is still yet to bloom, but not for long.

16:12:15
16:12:14
16:12:13

JADE: thats weird
JADE: i didnt think lotus capsules appeared inside exile stations
JOHN: um, also...
JOHN: why the hell is this place beneath one of jane's prisons??
JADE: i dont know john
JADE: but i think this is definitely the weird important thing we were meant to find

She runs a calculation in her head. The capsule's due to open early tomorrow morning.

JADE: no way its a coincidence this is where alfonz left earth c from
JADE: but... i dont know how its related
JADE: rose might know
JOHN: maybe... they know about the sburb session and want to escape the reckoning?
JOHN: IF there's a reckoning.
JADE: maybe
JADE: we cant do anything about this capsule until tomorrow though
JOHN: huh. should someone, like... wait for it to open?
JADE: i think we should. whatever it is could be dangerous
JADE: but...
JADE: everybody back at the base needs us and we cant leave them to die over this
JADE: ugh!!!

No answers will be forthcoming from this capsule. Jade's breath catches in her throat at the thought of this being a dead end, of an unanswered mystery leaving them out here with no solution, with everybody at HQ suffering as a result.

JOHN: ...what about the terminal?
JADE: hm?
JOHN: i mean, it's on, so...

Jade's attention switches to the terminal. Of all the screens attached to the display, a single one flickers with light. When she gets closer, she sees that it's a single symbol on a white background.

Δ

JADE: ...

She taps away at a few buttons on the keyboard, but nothing happens. The screen appears to be locked.

JADE: shit

A sigh of frustration escapes her. There are two prime information sources in this room, and both are tauntingly unavailable to her. Answers, as always, remain elusive.

JOHN: so...now what?
JADE: i... dont know!
JADE: theres something really weird going on here but we dont have the *time* to figure it out
JADE: i wish i knew what to do but im stumped and people are dying and this stupid room isnt helping!!! bark

She slams her hands against the keyboard again. Predictably, nothing happens. It's not fair. Everything's going wrong and there's something strange happening and Jade is useless. She can't do anything but stand here knowing she's out of her depth and there's a crisis she can't help with and–

Her comms device pings with a notification alert.

JADE: ??

It snaps her out of her emerging spiral. She pulls it out of her pocket and stares at the screen. It's a new message, from someone she doesn't recognise.

JOHN: what is it?
JADE: i dont know
JADE: i dont think these things are even supposed to work this far underground
JOHN: maybe... it's related to this room?
JADE: maybe
JOHN: so... should you answer it?
JADE: i
JADE: im not sure

A strange hesitation washes over Jade. She can't say why. Her every instinct suddenly screams her that this is wrong, that to reply would be to invite danger. It would also be to invite clarity. She glances back at the lotus capsule. At the locked command terminal. The fear is keen and rising, but the decision is inevitable.

Jade answers.

DR: Hi again, bitch
GG: ???
DR: So i guess today is finally the day you fuck everything up
GG: hello??
GG: who is this?
DR: Theres really nothing i can do to change your mind, is there?
GG: seriously who the fuck are you and what are you talking about?
GG: how are you even messaging me???
DR:
DR: You're
DR: Not
DR: Who i thought i was talking to
DR: I just called a stranger a bitch
DR: Oh my fucking god, i am so sorry
GG: i dont care about that!!
GG: who the hell are you!!!
DR:
DR:
DR:

The person on the other end of the line takes several seconds to reply. In the interim, Jade exchanges a puzzled look with John who's reading over her shoulder.

DR: Wait
DR: This is another one of your stupid tests isnt it
DR: I almost fell for it too
DR: Well you know what
DR: Im not as much of a sucker as you think
GG: hold the fucking phone right here buddy
GG: i dont know who you think i am and i dont really care
GG: so tone your pissy attitude down and start answering my questions!!! >:O
DR: You think i was formed yesterday?
DR: I see what youre doing
DR: As ploys go im honestly kind of disappointed
DR: I know what this is and this is piss poor compared to the mindfuck you played on GL
DR: Hes not left his quarters in days thanks to you
DR: You did that on purpose just to make things harder for us
DR: Because poor you in your fucked alien world begging to piggyback off our business
GG: BARKBARKBARKBARKBARK GOD!!! JUST SHUT UP!!!
DR: Did
DR: Did you just bark
GG: yes!! yes i barked! because you are pissing me the hell off!
GG: i just wanna know who the hell you are what youre talking about and why youre connected to this skaian exile terminal beneath the cake mill!!!!!!!
GG: i dont know who you think i am but i am not that person!! i have literally never heard from you in my life!
GG: and believe me that is a long storied and impressive life so i really am saying something!
DR: Are
DR: You also some kind of irate hound
GG: right now yes!!!
DR: Weird
DR: Why
DR: That kind of shit just doesnt happen
GG: ugh does it matter!!
GG: when i was 13 i died and merged with my dog and then became a god and then a lot of things happened and i am what i am
GG: there happy??
DR: Do
DR: You happen to know the owner of the transcanon transponder youre using
DR: Because thats important groundwork to see if youre bullshitting me or not
GG: the what ._.
GG: YOU messaged ME on my phone
DR: No
DR: I used the transponder to make a last ditch attempt at getting our extracanonical alien acquaintance to stop this stupid scheme
DR: More to the point
DR: Why are you like them
DR: I thought they were the only one
DR: Are there multiple of your species or something
DR: Is that just a thing we have to deal with now
GG: uhhh, im not sure i follow
GG: im a human being which is like the third most populous race in the world
GG: the doggy things pretty unique to me though!!
GG: i mean thereve been a few others who also merged with animals over the years but none of them are around these days, and its also pretty impossible without exploiting prototyping im pretty sure!
DR: Prototyping
DR: Hold on
DR: You know about the game
GG: sburb! obviously!
DR: Are
DR: You in the medium too
DR: Are you one of the other alien coplayers i was told about
GG: wait
GG: what???

Jade swallows a heavy breath. Her brain begins to spin at a billion miles an hour. John's still a few lines behind her, but he audibly gasps when he catches up.

JOHN: what??
JOHN: is this person, like...
JOHN: part of... you know.
JADE: ...
JADE: it really seems like that
JOHN: good. i'm glad you think that, because i think i'm following maybe half of what's being said??
JOHN: where's rose when you need her!

Rose is presently upstairs, solving a much more pressing problem. So Jade is forced to continue to navigate this bizarre conversation on her own.

DR: Yeah
DR: I mean half of us still think its a load of bullshit but thats because they still think the system is immutable
DR: Like we havent all been bothered by an alien from another dimension for several months at this point
DR: And obviously theres a final curveball the instructors didnt wanna clue us in on
DR: An alien jumping in with us fits that bill pretty snugly
DR: So why the fuck not add more?
GG: listen
GG: yes its true that i know about sburb and yes im guessing im an alien from your perspective
GG: but no im not in the medium. this is because i already beat sburb myself decades ago!
DR: You
DR: Wait
DR: Wait
DR: What did you say your planet was called
GG: i didnt. :|
GG: anyway its earth c! named like that for a lot of complicated reasons that probably wont make sense to you
GG: what planet are you from?
DR: No, no, hang on
DR: Thats impossible
DR: You cant be from earth c
GG: why not, exactly??
DR: I know what state earth c is in
DR: You
DR: What the fuck is going on
GG: wait what do you mean??
GG: earth c has its problems yes, but its a perfectly habitable world otherwise!
DR: Ok either something weird is going on or you absolutely are fucking with me
DR: Im inclined towards the latter
DR: Everyone knows the lore
DR: You cant escape the memetic decay. Earth c is dead
DR: Its been dead for millennia
DR: I know what you are
DR: Youre not tearing into our canon so easily
DR: Leave my friends alone

Jade goes to reply again, but suddenly the chat is wiped. It's as if it was never there to begin with. She lets out a frustrated snarl and lets waves of barbed electricity roll off her.

JADE: woof! >:(
JADE: what the fuck was that!!!
JADE: ughhhhh
JOHN: i... don't know. that was really fucking weird.
JOHN: but what was that last bit?
JOHN: about earth c?

John bites his lip and frowns.

JOHN: earth c's not dead. but they said we were.
JOHN: so what does that mean?
JADE: i honestly dont know john
JADE: it might be a load of bullshit for all i know!
JADE: they werent very forthcoming and were kind of a jerk actually
JOHN: i dunno. with all this sburb talk and stuff, what if...
JOHN: what if we're in danger?
JADE: we dont even know if theres gonna be a sburb session on earth c
JADE: and if there is the only one we know about isnt gonna happen for literally billions of years so i wouldnt worry
JOHN: yeah, but...
JOHN: we also know it's only supposed to involve calliope and lord english.
JOHN: so who was that??

John points at the phone, even though the message is gone. He has a point, Jade hates to admit. The stations, the terminals, this odd conversation, and whatever fate is looming for the children... it all adds up.

Jade checks the atmosphere again. Still no meteors, though. Except, it's just a huge assumption on everyone's part to think meteors are a universal constant just because they were a prominent feature in the alpha-beta Sburb-Sgrub chain of events. A new game and a new session with new, unrelated players may operate under different rules. Nobody ever really understood anything about Skaia.

JADE: i... dont know, actually :(

Jade's ears flop down.

JADE: i think theres a lot we dont know that we need to know, and probably urgently
JADE: i mean we also have the whole revolution thing too, but i think this is important as well
JADE: something big is happening and wed be stupid to ignore it.

She's thinking of the kids back on base. Would it be better or worse to let the Muse take them? Which path prevents their doom? Is there a doom to avert? What are the rules? Who's set the parameters?

JOHN: so... what do we do now?
JADE: i
JADE: i think we need to get everyone together and talk about this
JADE: solve this power problem somehow, and then figure out if theres anything we can do to stop this from going really bad for us all
ROSE: Stop what from going bad?

Rose stands in the doorway, holding a captchalogue card and a crumpled letter. She takes in the room, eyes widening.

ROSE: Well, this is a development.
JADE: rose!! how long have you been there?
ROSE: Maybe fifteen seconds?
ROSE: I stumbled across these in the radio room and came to find you.

She lifts the objects she's holding, and then motions to the room again.

ROSE: But *this* seems alarmingly interesting.
ROSE: ...
ROSE: Is that a lotus capsule?

It takes all of nearly twenty minutes to explain everything to Rose, who nods sagely and grows more invested with every word.

ROSE: So this mysterious caller from beyond the canon didn't give anything more concrete?
ROSE: Remind me about that curious idiom they used again?
JADE: which one??
ROSE: The thing they said when you attempted to counter-interrogate.
JOHN: oh, i remember because it was kind of weird.
JOHN: it was, um, "i wasn't formed yesterday", or something like it.
ROSE: I see.

Rose bows her head, satisfied. Jade raises an eyebrow in her direction.

JADE: why was that the most important bit to you?
JADE: instead of, you know, the really scary implications about earth c! :o
ROSE: Ah, that's pedestrian. No such thing as a cosmic event without an accompanying calamity.

She waves a hand dismissively.

ROSE: I'm more interested in *who* that was.
JOHN: but. it was an alien from maybe another dimension.
JOHN: i don't think that's something we can really understand.
ROSE: Oh, John. My good friend John, how you underestimate me.
ROSE: I've had my suspicions since the moment I saw that delta on screen.

Rose nods at the screen.

JADE: what?
ROSE: If I'm right, this explains exactly why the cherub is meddling in our world.
ROSE: What she wants the children for, why they're important, and why she needs to do this all in the first place.
JOHN: what, the sburb thing?
ROSE: Yes, the Sburb thing.
JADE: and whats the reason?
ROSE: Hm.

Rose's mouth contorts into a very thin smile. It doesn't make Jade feel good.

ROSE: The Muse is on the back foot.
ROSE: She's trying to beat her opponent at his own game in the only way she knows how.
ROSE: Through a one-upmanship of canonicity.
JOHN: i'm not following...
ROSE: Jade. The person you spoke to is a Sburb player, yes?
JADE: uh huh
ROSE: However, they have absolutely nothing to do with the Muse.
ROSE: There are two distinct sessions running parallel somewhere, each with their own orchestrator.
ROSE: One is the Muse. The other...
ROSE: Well, you already knew that, right?

Rose turns her head to the ceiling. Jade blinks, confused, and follows her gaze. There's nothing there but a couple of water stained tiles and a naked lightbulb.

ROSE: We'll talk more about it later.
ROSE: For now, look at this.

She heads over to the console table and slaps the two objects down. Jade peers over with shock and wonder. The captchalogue card contains within it a petaboonbuck work at least one zillion boondollars, if not more. Easily enough to meet a small galaxy's grist needs.

The note however, is a single double-sided piece of lined paper, covered in hasty fuchsia scrawl. The edges are singed and there's... human blood? on one corner. But what's written is far more interesting.

yo karkat

i know i said were done and i meant it which is why im penning this note stead of doin it face to face or voice to voice or however the fuck you wanna our various tools of communicraytion. anyway if youre reading this obviously youre aware theres some kinda glubbin demented situation that happened in this place and youre gonna need a helluva lotta answers.

i got some of em and because i do still think youre worth something and im not a hypocrite whos gonna let the rebellion flounder ill give you the downlow.

ok first thing that happened thats not reely relevant but if i didnt tell you i would lose my whole fucking mind is that im dead. not in some sad way but in the stupid "my ring got got and now im a lame ass ghost again" way. blame fronz for that one. backstabbing maggot cunt if you hadnt alraydy clocked him.

dudes been working for who tf knows how long with crockercarp. got the jump on me in a reely asinine and kinda embarrassing way so if you could do me a solid and sea if you can find my body and do somefin less dumb with it. maybe make up a badbass story to tell the guppies so they still respect me because i aint leaving this world as less than anyfin but a bad bitch no matter what 38/

and i do mean leaving btw. idk if itll still be there but theyve set up some kinda hugeass rocket here that i THINK was one of crockers old cruiser models but alchemically sized up to accommodate a couple hundred passengers on a long haul (when im sayin haul i need you to picture that in a nautical pun way btw) journey. coupla light years minimum. dunno what the interior is like on account of them having it PR--E--ETY locked down. hidin out in this top floor communication array looking at the chump w a pretty nasty machine gun guarding it. i mean im a ghost so probably cant be krilled in the normal way but i dont wanna draw attention to myself you know? any more than i already did. idgaf about whatever bodies are my fault fronz and co did way fuckin more. peep whats under that courtyard tarp if you got the bladder for it.

so im gonna follow em out into the stars with leijon here (dont ask) (:33 < hi commeownder! im here too) (stfu nepeta go back to sentry duty)

sorry boat that. anyway what were doing is hitching a ride on that guppy when it hits blastoff which should be pretty soon. i could say im doing it for some noble porpoise or w/e but honestly? fronz pissed me the hell off for ganking my bling and snuffing my life out. what can i say ive always been a bitch with a grudge.

also this has been on my mind anyway but if the fightings coming to an end whatll be the point of me on earth c anyway? i was never meant for peace. not back on beforus not in the media not in those codforsaken bubbles and not here. earth c rocked cause i could do somefin w myself that scratched that itch but i know me and i know id probably get bored n start a war in like half a sweep tops from now otherwise cause im still a god bursting with power in case anyone forgot that.

and you and i made it clear were done and you were basically the only person keeping me interested anyway. if i dont have you whats left for me? might as well ditch and do somefin better w my time than some cringe obligations i never vibed with. conquest was always my thing. i hope governing ends up being yours. despite it all i do want this lil world to succeed. you deserve it.

so. final point. fuel and power n shit on the level theyre playing with is huge and fronz has got elite grayde psionics poised to hack the communal grist fund. cant stop em w/o creating an international incident but you guysre gonna need some coins to get shit going. so im leaving to you my sgrub spoils in this captchalogue card. dont act shocked. should keep yall buoying along till you can generayte a reel economy n then some. never let it be said im not generous. just dont go wasting my hard stolen wealth on anything stupid.

anyway im out. good luck with the world or whatever

dont look for me

meenah

JOHN: ...
ROSE: ...
JADE: ...
JOHN: man, this is kind of sad, isn't it. :(
JOHN: she never found out about karkat.

John gives an overly exaggerated frown. Rose stands placidly, having read and comprehended all this before she presented her findings. Jade bites the inside of her cheek.

JADE: well
JADE: thats the power problem solved for
JADE: uh
JADE: a LOT of years
ROSE: I checked. The card contains 4.13 quadrillion boondollars.
ROSE: Factoring in Earth C's needs, and the estimated ramping up of industry and infrastructure, this'll sustain us for about two thousand years, give or take.
JADE: wow
JADE: so we should head back and plug this in pretty much immediately
ROSE: That would be the pressing course of action, yes.
JOHN: um, hold on.

John raises his hand timidly, like a child in a classroom.

JOHN: so what about all the sburb stuff?
JOHN: what do we do?
ROSE: What *can* we do for now? We lack the time and the information to do much more than posture at nothing.
ROSE: Perhaps when the flower blooms and we are presented with something concrete.
ROSE: For now, there are thousands of people relying on this captchalogue card.
JOHN: ...

He looks at the capsule, then at the console. His face is deeply troubled.

JOHN: fine. if you say so...
ROSE: I do.
ROSE: Jade?
JADE: sure

Jade's a rational woman. She understands the needs of Earth C and the people they fought so hard to liberate come first. But the last hour, this room, the weight of everything... it leaves behind an itch she knows she won't be able to ignore for long.

But for now she remains Commander Harley, and her role is to prevent a disaster from unfolding. But then, after that, as the coming days continue to loom... Change lingers, and change promises its imminence.

Jade picks up the captchalogue card and her powers flare to life.

=>

Miracle solution in hand, the trio depart. The exile station sits lonely and empty once more. The lotus timer ticks away, its significance lost and obscured to all. There is quiet in the room, save for the gentle hum of the command terminal, the flutter of the letter as it drifts to the floor, and the faint buzz of the light. There are no more diegetic eyes on this space, and will not be until the time that everything will change.

From the vents, a curious interloper lets out a breath held for an impossibly long time, for it would do no good to expel Breath with its Heir so close by. A hand reaches out and gently pushes the grating forward. It clattles to the floor with an empty reverberation, swallowed by the loneliness of this narrative epicenter.

It's no effort to slip out of one space and into another, especially one as potent at this one. The lotus is there, its contents known and keenly anticipated. But no force within or beyond Paradox Space can bring to its fruition before its time, a short handful of hours from now. Some things must simply be waited for.

The console, however, is a different matter entirely.

With a roll of the neck and a cracking of bony fingertips, the cherub locally known as Callie steps forward, pausing only to glance at Meenah's letter with a faint, endearing smile. Fate alone knows what will await her out there, when she reaches that foretold destination. But that is for another story, another time. For now there are matters more urgent.

Callie steps up to the terminal and unlocks it with a single button press. The lockscreen switches from Delta to Omega and then boots up. A chatlog, half-full and perfectly preserved, fills the monitor. Row upon row of text in two alternating colours, imparting that final, critical piece of the puzzle.

There is no time to waste.

UU: sorry aboUt the intrUsion. these things happen as yoU mUst be well aware.
UU: it shan't happen again. not this close to the convergence. after that, no promises. :U
UU: anyway.
UU: where were we?

Chapter 77: SEVEN, section iv.

Notes:

CW: Gender dysphoria, needles.

iv.

We could belabour the point on how the emerging crisis of the prior few chapters is resolved, but such an effort would be an exercise in self-evident redundancy. Obviously the betas return to HQ, somebody plugs in the captchalogue card to the alchemiter, and with a retroactively foreshadowed bang, power returns. Nobody dies, the day is saved, and that petty excuse for the real plot is laid to bed. Time follows its own rule here, but its supply is still limited in a sense, best reserved for what really matters.

So it passes, afternoon makes way to evening, and the gods and the godlings of Earth C settle into a steady holding pattern. The rebellion hangs as an afterthought, an unsteady suspended stalemate, its purpose in this pocket of storytelling served. Ullses and Parvoy work tirelessly off-screen, making choices and laying the groundwork for a future best left to the hypothetical.

The residential quarters reside on the ground level, in a separate wing from the rest of the base. If you were to stop by and peer outside the window, you would see the rolling fields bordering the Void Mountains bathed in the molten gold of the sunset, and the bruise-purple shadows, ever growing, ever hungry.

Events resume at a little after eight PM, in the bedroom harbouring the player on this stale gameboard with the highest natural relevance saturation, a figure who, despite this, has only ever been a catalyst, and whose role will soon be easily extinguished.

Vriska Serket thinks none of this, and leans her head back on the pillow with a sigh. Her phone slips out of her left hand and splats on her chest.

VRISKA: Uuuuuuuugh.

She glances out of the window at the pretty but pointless vista again. She manages to sustain an admirable thirty seconds before she picks the phone up again and returns to her message drafts. She pretends she doesn't feel the knot in her throat.

AG: Hi, you.
AG: 8een a minute! Not that you're a8le to read any of these yet, lol.
AG: Good old 8lack hole interference in the w8y, I think.
AG: Either that or you're still too weirded out 8y the creepo emotional affair you had with the sad adult John.
AG: You'll come round to these eventually, though! I just know it. ::::)

It doesn't settle the somersault in her gut, but Vriska is nothing if not deft at playing pretend.

AG: So, status upd8.
AG: Karkat's fucking dead.
AG: Well, the f8ke Karkat from this f8ke world. He died t8king down the stupid version of Crocker ten sweeps deep into her l8me ass Condesce larp.
AG: If it didn't happen to some two 8it wasted echo of Karkat in this shitsack world, I might have 8een impressed! Didn't think any Karkat anywhere had the kind of glo8es to get shit done like that.
AG: Imagine how much easier Sgru8 would have 8een if he was! xxxxD
AG: 8ut more importantly, I think this means the war is won?
AG: I mean, Crocker's army is like 99% dead and the seat of Human Kingdom power is irrad8ed dust rn.
AG: So I don't think they're coming 8ack from that one!
AG: The 8ummer versions of our friends are predicta8ly 8ummed out over their victory for some asinine reason even though they won, 8ecause adulthood is apparently just constant moping a8out everything forever.
AG: The 8attle itself was... well, it was 8oth intense and stupid. Standard war shit, 8ut then there were zom8ies for a hot minute I think? And Gamzee????????
AG: Idk. It was the right level of a8surd and der8nged for this world to experience.
AG: I, of course, pl8yed a pivotal role in turning the ta8les. I showed these washed up chumps how it's done, like I always do. ::::)

Nobody really needs to know that all Vriska actually did was zip around the city uselessly then get sucker killed before she could actually achieve anything. Nobody'll be able to ever disprove her, so what does it matter? She totally would have, under the right circumstances! Everyone knows this.

AG: Anyway. That was a couple days ago now.
AG: Or like, a day tops???????? The flow of time's weird in this pl8ce. Did I ever mention how weird the flow of time is?
AG: It's hard to expl8n unless you've felt it 8efore, 8ut it's very much like the w8y that time kind of... compressed itself around Lord English 8ack out in the Furthest Ring.
AG: Like things happen at some weird pace you don't really notice is fucky till you're looking in from the outside.
AG: Hell, I couldn't confidently s8y how long I've 8een stuck here for now!
AG: I wanna say a week? 8ut then it paradoxically feels 8oth w8y longer and w88888888y shorter than that.
AG: Pro8a8ly a weird entropy thing.
AG: The point is, a 8it of time has passed, and for now I'm stuck in the re8ellion hq.
AG: The kids are with me, 8ecause they don't seem to ever leave my side, haha.
AG: They're cool, in a str8nge way.
AG: Harry's like if John actually had a 8ack8one. Tav, well... he killed a clown in stone cold fury.
AG: And Vrissy, well... she's definitely living up to the standards I'd set for my own descendant!
AG: I mean, they 8n't got a patch on you, OR the real versions of my friends for that matter.
AG: 8ut for uncanny manfiest8tions of a 8ullshit unreal world, they're not too 8ad.

Vriska sets the phone down and looks at her bedroom door. Out in the common room for her shared living quarters, she can hear Harry and Vrissy laughing over nothing in particular. It's not the thought of the two of them that tugs a warm smile on her face.

AG: I've 8een spinning my wheels for a 8it, 8ut I have it on good authority it won't 8e for long.
AG: Sollux reckons that 8ased on the way things are going, the Muse should rock up to pick me up some point tomorrow?
AG: Well, she's actually gunning for the kids, 8ut I'm gonna hitch a ride.
AG: I don't really care too much a8out whatever her overarching cosmic scheme is, though!
AG: She's just my instant ticket out of this fucking 8lack hole.
AG: I mean, I guess I'm interested in her first destin8tion, however!
AG: So, I think I need to 8e upfront.

She pauses, takes a breath. Tries not to let Sollux's words from earlier rattle around in her head. He's wrong. He has to be. What the fuck did he ever know?

AG: I know. A8out Dirk Strider, and whatever 8eef is 8rewing 8etween him and the Muse.
AG: I need you to know that I understand you must have had your reasons, and that I don't hold it against you.
AG: I mean, especially given that I've had to hitch myself to the opposing saddle8east, so I figure you're there for your own ends, too.
AG: I feel this is important to hash out, since the Muse is steering us to a f8ted conflict with Strider the minute we 8r8k 8ack into the real universe.
AG: I don't 8lame her! Asshole did in fact punt me out of here so he could get away with his 8ullshit unopposed.
AG: And I figure you pro8a8ly didn't know that, 8ecause if you did you wouldn't 8e with him.
AG: Or may8e you would, anyw8y, 8ecause of where 8eing with him leads.
AG: I... don't mind, that it'll 8e violent.
AG: You'll 8e there. I'll get to see you.
AG: Nothing else matters, Terezi.
AG: Nothing.

Her hands are shaking. She started crying about ten lines back. How lame. How stupid. Terezi isn't even reading these piece of shit messages. Vriska's just embarrassing herself over here. It isn't even cathartic, because catharsis is a fake stupid thing practiced by wigglers who don't have the guts to handle their problems in a meaningful way.

Well, she won't let herself wallow. There's maybe twelve hours until she's out of here. It's almost game time, and she's a winner.

Vriska hops out of bed and aggressively wipes at her face until the tears are gone. She clears her throat a few times, octuple checking that there's no wobble in her voice. She's got this. She's fucking got this.

Out in the common area, Harry, Vrissy, and Tav are hanging out on the couch in the middle of the room. Tav is idly flitting through something on his phone with a worried frown on his face. Harry's doing his best effort to stifle a giggle, and Vrissy's fiddling with... some kind of inhaler?

VRISKA: Sup.

She says into the room. Tav looks up to her first.

TAV: Vriska,
TAV: How, um, are you?
VRISKA: You know me! Never 8etter. ::::D
VRISKA: I'm the most 8etter 8itch out there right now! None can 8eat me at 8eing 8etter.
TAV: Uh huh,
TAV: ,,,
TAV: ,,,

Tav scrolls for a few seconds. Then he locks his phone, and meets eyes with Vriska.

TAV: So, was it ever going to be the right time to tell us, about leaving the universe,
TAV: Or was that, a patented fun little vriska secret,
VRISKA: Uhhhhhhh
TAV: Harry and vrissy, filled me in,
TAV: On how it accidentally slipped your mouth,
TAV: Which is very curious, given how critical that kind of information is,

Vriska blinks, abruptly caught on the back foot. To be honest, it didn't really matter to her what the kids did and didn't know. They're cool, don't get her wrong! But she's critically aware her time spent giving a shit about them is running out.

Somehow she feels guilty saying that.

In the silence, Harry talks.

HARRY: i mean, he's got a point.
HARRY: like... come on.
HARRY: after literally everything we've done, i'd like to think you trust us.
VRISKA: I mean, I do!
VRISKA: It's just...
HARRY: just?

Harry cocks an eyebrow. His voice is... weirdly low and heavy? And his eyes are unfocused in a strange way.

VRISKA: Um, why are you like that?
HARRY: like what.
VRISKA: Weird. ::::|
HARRY: i'm not weird.
VRISKA: Yeah, you totally are!!!!!!!!

At her raised voice, Harry gives a startled flinch and almost topples off the couch. It's only thanks to Vrissy catching him that he doesn't. Afterwards, Vrissy looks up at her with a frown.

VRISSY: Damn, please don't Harsh The Vi8e Vriska.
VRISKA: What "vi8e"????????
VRISSY: Don't 8e o8tuse.
VRISSY: I'm o8viously talking a8out the Fact that the last few d8ys have 8een Really Fucking Hard so we're getting Stoned Out Of Our Minds.
VRISSY: To cope.
VRISKA: To cope...? Stoned?
VRISKA: Like... drugs? Are you guys doing drugs?

Vrissy facepalms.

VRISSY: Oh my Godddddd don't make it a 8ig deal.
VRISSY: It's not even drugs first off. It's literally just a Weed V8pe.
VRISSY: Second off my Moms are cool with it so it 8asically doesn't count anyway.
VRISKA: What the fuck is a weedv8pe.
HARRY: snrkt
HARRY: oh my god, you're right. she actually doesn't know.
VRISKA: Know what!

Vriska rounds on Harry with a snarl, abruptly aware she's being made fun of, but not exactly sure how. Fucking teenagers.

Tav, sweet, precious Tav, puts her out of her misery.

TAV: So, um, weed is,, it's,,
VRISSY: No, w8 Tav! Let her figure it Out!
HARRY: pffffffft
TAV: Um, i think, this is an unpleasant jape you're pulling on someone, who has been good to us,
VRISSY: 8oooooooo

Tav blinks. His expression flattens. He turns his head away from his friends, and instead looks up to Vriska.

TAV: I, um, forgive me if i'm assuming you know less than you do,, being from an alien universe,
TAV: But weed is,, well, it's a funny plant,, that gets you high,
VRISKA: What? Like soporher8s?
TAV: If that is, what they are called, and if alternian trolls liked smoking it, for recreational purposes like that,
VRISKA: It was mostly deployed as a sed8tive to low8lood com8atants in the imperial fleet to keep the 24/7 psionic radiation made 8y the su8juggl8ors from inciner8ting their thinkpans 8efore they could 8e of use.
TAV: That is, a very bleak picture,,,
VRISKA: Also tooooooons of people on Alternia used it to dick around with.
VRISKA: My lusus h8ted trolls that weren't so8er. She wouldn't touch them!
TAV: And, um, by that, you mean,,,
VRISKA: She 8 them, duh.
HARRY: wait what the fuck
VRISSY: Oh yeah! I think Mom once mentioned that Alternia had Loads of Fucked Shit like that.
VRISSY: I couldn't imagine 8eing raised 8y a Feral Animal, lol.

Vrissy takes another hit of the weed pen and smirks. Vriska raises an eyebrow.

VRISKA: You know, that *is* kinda weird.
VRISSY: What is?
VRISKA: The fact that I've not seen a single lusus on Earth C once since I've 8een here!
VRISKA: Even though there is clearly a pretty sizea8le troll population. Where are all the lusii?
VRISSY: Oh, right. Those.
VRISSY: I mean, most people don't 8other with them?
VRISSY: Like, 8efore The War, there used to 8e a pretty Ro8ust Adoption/Guardianship system tied to the 8rooding Caverns.
VRISSY: Wigglers get adopted 8y Adults usually a little 8it 8efore their first pup8ion so they can Imprint on their new Caregiver.
VRISSY: It's W8y healthier to 8e r8sed by a full Grown Human or Troll than it is a literal Feral Wild Animal. Some offense.
VRISKA: Some t8ken. 8ut... I thought trolls needed a lusus?

Vrissy laughs again.

VRISSY: Oh God No!
VRISSY: Could you imagine a functional Society 8uilt like that????????
VRISSY: I mean, like, yeah, Lusiii Exist.
VRISSY: 8ut only Weird Alternian Revivalists deep in the Troll Kingdom have them.
VRISSY: And even then I think they're mostly like service animals than Surrog8 Parents?
VRISSY: Pretty sure there's Laws Against leaving a 8a8y troll in the care of a Lusus.

She looks to Harry, who shrugs with all the deftness of a baked adolescent.

HARRY: i dunno, babe.
HARRY: they stopped teaching history when i was in like the seventh grade.
HARRY: my mom never knew anything about trolls anyway and mostly had to keep quiet so she didn't offend auntie jane.
HARRY: ...
HARRY: wait fuck she's dead now, haha.
HARRY: man.

Harry's expression sinks. There's an instant of quiet before Vrissy slaps him around the shoulder.

VRISSY: Hey! Remem8er the rules.
VRISSY: No 8ummer Vi8es.
HARRY: shit. sorry.
VRISSY: Seriously. We're too Cool and 8adass to Traumadump like a 8unch of losers.
HARRY: no yeah you're right babe. won't happen again.
VRISSY: And don't call Me 8a8e in front of Vriska!!!!!!!! M8kes me look soppy 8y extension.
VRISKA: You know, I don't ACTUALLY give a shit a8out your dwee8y kiddy romance.
VRISKA: You should have seen the st8 of some losers I d8ted for a while! Or some version of me anyway.

It's an out that successfully steers the mood away from traumatown. When it comes to this shit, nobody's beating Vriska. She is simply the best there is. Tav just looks on, saying nothing. It's evident he perhaps disagrees with the consensus here, but he's not exactly about to contest the point.

Vrissy perks up.

VRISSY: Seriously? I thought you only cared a8out Terezi.

Vriska is so good. She doesn't even react to the name. So smooth. So in control.

VRISKA: Man! That's only the half of it!
VRISKA: I mean, most of my tr8nwreck romances happened with an alt dead loser version of me, so I don't know if they should count. She was a whiny 8itch, that one.
VRISSY: W8, which Vriska was this?
VRISSY: I mean I know The Lore, 8ut you try Recalling Facts when you're a liiiiiiiitle fucking zooted.
VRISKA: Uh, no8ody's expecting that of you?
VRISSY: Yeah 8ut,
VRISSY: You know! Gotta 8e Impressive at All Times.
VRISKA: Right. ::::|

Vriska looks to Tav. Suddenly the fact he's the only other sober one in the room makes him infinitely more tolerable to her, even if he remains a kind of uncanny amalgamation of the lamest loserboys in Vriska's life.

VRISSY: So! Spill to us!
VRISSY: I 8et your Romantic Travesties are W8y more interesting than whatever L8me Memes Harry's got on his phone.
HARRY: i thought you liked my memes?
VRISSY: Harry Anderson, you have the Stupidest Most Corn8all Sense of Humor Literally Ever.
VRISSY: *Tav* has 8etter jokes than you.
TAV: ,,,,,
HARRY: ??? :(
VRISSY: H8y! I don't keep you around for your Humor though.
VRISSY: You have other Strengths!
HARRY: my mom always said i was a funny little guy...
VRISSY: Your Mom was Lying to You, Harry.
HARRY: :(
VRISSY: Look, you're Good at Tons of Other Stuff so Don't Sweat it.
VRISSY: Like... uh...
VRISSY: Do you still sew? I remem8er that one!
HARRY: yeah, not since i was thirteen.
HARRY: you only cared about that when it was cool to pose as a fashionista online.
HARRY: the hobby is less fun when your girlfriend uses it for clout!
VRISSY: Harry, I M8de that Dwee8y Pastime into something Algorithmically Via8le.
VRISSY: You would have W8sted that Talent otherwise.
HARRY: i didn't do it for attention! i did it because it was fun to me.
VRISSY: Then Why'd you Stop, huh?
HARRY: i dunno? i had other stuff on.
HARRY: like a war. and the economy fucked up buying fabric for a while. on account of the political situation.
VRISSY: This is Edging D8ngerously Close to 8ummer Territory, Harry.
HARRY: just saying!!
HARRY: also, you're shit talking me when YOUR hobby was posting on an online platform that doesn't even exist anymore!
VRISSY: God, I'm not 8ound To Crocktok.
VRISSY: My Elite Skillset Transcends Just The One App.
HARRY: so how come you never bothered to set up on flipstogram?
VRISSY: 8ecause Flipstogram is for 8a8y losers too Scared of the 8ig Leagues.
HARRY: vris they're the same app. just one's blue.
VRISSY: Ugh, you just wouldn't Get It.
TAV: If we're throwing our interests in the ring, i'm not a bad cook,
HARRY: shit really?
TAV: Well, yes,
TAV: I never did it much, because it made mother jealous,,,
TAV: But i'm just, really good at figuring out recipes,, and making them work,,
TAV: How do you think,,, i managed to adjust the dose, of gamzee's sopor pies, in order to keep him knocked out long enough to sneak out?
VRISSY: Huh! I Never Knew That, Tav.
TAV: I mean, nobody ever asked,,,,
TAV: i can also sing,,, a little,,,
VRISSY: Seriously???????? You should have Said!
VRISSY: Imagine the Content we could have m8de!
TAV: Erm,,,,,

Vriska watches the kids bicker with faint amusement. Not to state the obvious, but they're so juvenile it's almost funny. Vriska hasn't had dumb squabblechats like this in sweeps! Not since... anyway. Doesn't matter. She's a badass hero now. She doesn't have time for all that.

Vrissy notices Vriska's expression and blushes in shame.

VRISSY: Anyway!!!!!!!! We're 8eing Asinine and Em8arrassing.
VRISSY: I'm sure Vriska doesn't give a Fuck a8out any of this.
VRISSY: What were we Talking A8out anyway?
VRISKA: The losers I d8ted?
VRISSY: Right!!!!!!!
VRISSY: Sit with us, Vriska! Spill.
VRISSY: Enquiring Minds Need To Know.
VRISKA: Uh, sure. If it m8kes you guys happy.

Vriska carefully lowers herself into the living chair adjacent to the couch. It's surprisingly plush. More than she'd expected from a utilitarian guerrilla military force, at any rate.

VRISKA: So, first there was this doomed timeline John--
VRISSY: Want a Hit?

Vrissy leans forward, extending a hand out holding the weed pen. Vriska blinks, staring at it. This close, she realises it kind of looks like a funky usb stick. There's a faint nasty smell coming off it that makes her want to gag.

VRISKA: Um no????????
VRISKA: A 8adass action hero like me can't afford to cloud her mind with shit like drugs. That's just not cool.
VRISSY: Oh my godddddddd Vriska This Isn't Drugs Like That.
VRISSY: Why are you Such A Str8 Edge.
VRISKA: I just don't need to 8e in an altered st8 to have a good time!
VRISSY: Don't m8ke me Peer Pressure you.
VRISSY: You can't leave me Hanging as the Only Cool Vriska in the room.
VRISKA: How is inhaling vaporized soporherb "cool"?
TAV: Vrissy,,, she's clearly uncomfortable,,,
VRISSY: I Don't F8cking C8re!
VRISSY: T8ke A Hit, Vriska! It's the Rules!!!!!!!
VRISKA: Ugh, whatever! Just hop off my 8ulge, okay?
VRISKA: This is stupid.

Vriska rolls her eyes and snatches the vape out of Vrissy's hands. The teen's eyes light up.

VRISSY: ::::D
VRISKA: Look? I'm part8king in your stupid drugs. Happy now?
VRISKA: I don't even need this shit to prove I'm cool, 8ecause I'm a stone coldaUCHAUCHCOFFCOFFCOFF

To prove a point, Vriska sucks on the pen long and deep. Something hot and rancid tasting slams into the back of her lungs. Her whole body involuntarily spasms and she chokes out a surprisingly large cloud of steam. Her throat burns.

VRISKA: F8ck!!!!!!!!

Without thinking she tosses the vape away like a noxious bullet. Vrissy deftly catches it.

VRISKA: Fucker tried to poison me!
VRISSY: Lol, that's the Worst Anyone's Ever Done It. I guess I should 8e Impressed?
VRISSY: I didn't realize you were So... Uptight?
VRISKA: I'm not uptight! I'm cool!
VRISKA: I just don't need 8a8y su8stances for wigglers to prove it.
HARRY: hey, just wondering. have you ever even been drunk before?
VRISKA: That poison? Fuck no!
HARRY: wow
HARRY: seriously have you ever lived?
VRISKA: Kid, I literally s8ved Paradox Sp8ce. I do not need you questioning my credentials.
VRISKA: What have *you* done???????
HARRY: a bunch of cool stuff? you were there for some of it!
VRISKA: My accomplishments are 8etter.
HARRY: says who?
VRISKA: Me! The authority on cool!
HARRY: literally no actually cool person calls themself that.
HARRY: i'm beginning to think you're actually kind of a dork, vriska?
VRISKA: S8y that again and I'll cut your throat.
VRISSY: Vriska! Stop Threatening My 8oyfriend with Corporal Violence!
VRISKA: He fucking started it!
HARRY: babe, i think i can handle this.
VRISSY: I don't C88888888re! This is L8me!

Vrissy throws her hands up with a snarl that very obviously predates a vintage tier Serket tantrum. Both Harry and Vriska stop in their tracks, blinking. Vriska purses her lip. She's... suddenly feeling kind of light headed?

VRISSY: This is Pro8a8ly Our Last Night on Earth C 8efore we get Whisked into God Fucking Knows what kind of Nightmare, and this is Not How I wanna spend it!!!!!!!
VRISSY: You think we'll ever get to Dick Around again once we're with the Muse????????
VRISSY: The Answer is No We Fucking Won't!!!!!!!
VRISSY: We're gonna 8e up to Our Asses In All kinds of Horseshit and we might Die 8ecause of It!
VRISSY: Pro8a8ly never gonna see Home Again, so I would really.
VRISSY: Really.
VRISSY: RE8LLY
VRISSY: Like it if We could 8e Normal!!!!!!!
TAV:
HARRY:
VRISKA:
VRISSY: S8Y SOMETHING!!!!!!

Now there are tears in Vrissy's eyes, and oh shit this is taking a turn.

VRISKA: Look, you're overthinking this. Whatever's gonna happen will happen, you know?
VRISSY: Easy for You to Say! You Know More!
VRISKA: ...No I don't! I've not 8een told that much.
VRISKA: Sollux is a c8gey 8itch. He only confirmed what I already figured out.
VRISKA: Honest!
VRISSY: Then Tell Me.
VRISKA: ?
VRISSY: What do you think's Gonna Happen to us, Out there?

Vrissy frowns. She's looking at Vriska helplessly. To be honest, based on everything she's seen, Vriska's fairly certain she already knows the answer, but should she tell them? Should she rip their expectations out from under them?

Vriska looks at the kids. Really looks at them. They're so young and squishy and sheltered. Nothing like her and the others back on Alternia. Nothing like their parents, either. There's a... gentleness to them that makes her worry.

But then she thinks back on everything they've been through. The way they fought tooth and nail to get to where they are. The trials this garbage world has already thrown at them. And she considers herself, and how much even a crumb of foreknowledge would have meant everything.

Vriska sighs.

VRISKA: ...I have a good guess.
VRISKA: 8ased on the way certain people have 8een moving, the w8y you kids are, and the general law of averages, I think this is all heading one pl8ce.
VRISKA: Sgru8.
VRISSY: The Skaian G8me?

She nods.

VRISKA: I think it's actually kind of o8vious to anyone clued in, really.
VRISKA: I mean, I should have had an inkling when you guys took to strife speci8i like quack8easts to a viscous fluidspill.
VRISKA: It's kind of like all the events of the last few days have 8een prepping you for that.
VRISKA: Correct me if I'm wrong, 8ut you've all used fraymotifs, right?
HARRY: well yeah. but that was
VRISKA: There's literally only one w8y you get to do that.
VRISKA: And that's if the universe has a god tier title 8acked into your DNA.
HARRY: ...
TAV: I, erm, haven't,,,, used one,
TAV: So,,, what does that mean,,,,
VRISKA: Yeah, 8ut you also killed Gamzee. Where, exactly, did you get the strength for that?
TAV: I think,,, that was mostly desperation,, and blind luck,,
VRISKA: He was a supremely powerful god tier 8ard, we think.
VRISKA: The only people ever a8le to touch that clown have all 8een pretty powerful pl8yers.
VRISKA: I think it's more likely you *did* use some kind of l8tent power 8ack there.
TAV: But,,,,
VRISKA: Harry, Vrissy. I saw with my own eyes what you two did on the moon8ase. Can't expl8n that one away.
VRISSY: 8ut
VRISSY: That means........

Vrissy folds her hands in her lap and looks down. Her jaw hangs open a little. Her face is haunted.

VRISSY: What Does it mean?
VRISKA: 8eats me. If this is the plan, I 8n't 8een clued in on it.
VRISKA: I mean, I know how the Sgru8 shit tends to go, and I don't imagine it'll 8e THAT different from the, what, three? four? sessions I've seen or 8een involved with.
VRISKA: I mean normally the planet gets sucker 8lasted 8y meteors first, 8ut that pro8a8ly won't happen if the Muse is t8king you elsewhere first.
VRISKA: You know, even if something's up with you guys, Earth C is still preeeeeeeety irrelevant!
VRISKA: May8e there's a planet out in the real universe somewhere or something. I dunno!
VRISKA: The Muse pro8a8ly knows more. These g8mes always seem to have some kind of spooky orchestr8tor 8ehind the scenes.
VRISKA: She can't 8e worse than the creep our session was stuck with!
VRISSY: You're talking a8out Doc Scratch, yeah? That was his name right?
VRISKA: Yeah, *that* guy.
VRISKA: Fuck him forever.
VRISKA: I think a Calliope clone is a w8y 8igger upgr8de, to 8e honest!
HARRY: so, like. what.
HARRY: we're gonna make a universe like our parents did?
VRISKA: I dunno! May8e.
HARRY: and then what? we become gods or something?
VRISKA: If it's anything like every other session, pro8a8ly?
HARRY: damn. that's...
TAV: Will, erm,,
TAV: Do we,, get to return home, at any point?
VRISSY: ...
HARRY: ...

Tav's words shatter the emergent curiosity. Because oh yeah, these are kids who probably aren't chomping at the bit to abscond the fuck out of their homeworld. They have lives and families and shit here.

So she chooses to lie, a little.

VRISKA: I mean, Earth C 8n't going anywhere, so I guess?
VRISKA: There were like a hundred ways 8ack to Alternia while I was in the g8me.
VRISKA: I just never 8othered on account of the fact it was a w8steland populated exclusively 8y weirdo chess people.
VRISKA: Like maaaaaaaay8e there was a quest or two I could've done there, 8ut I g8ned w8y more XP hijacking Tavros's progression.
TAV: And, by tavros, you mean,,
VRISKA: The dwee8 troll with a stutter.
TAV: I, know of him,
TAV: Gamzee, he,,,, spoke often,, and lustfully, of him,,
TAV: I think, he still kept tavros's severed head, in his sylladex?
VRISKA: ...Ew.
VRISKA: Also, I'm pretty sure I chucked Tavros's corpse into a kernelsprite, so... how?
TAV: I don't know, he had his ways,,, he always had his ways,,,,
VRISKA: May8e the other timeline?
VRISKA: W8 no. *That* Tavros was also thrown in a sprite.
VRISKA: Huh! Weird.

Vriska shakes her head. That's enough erroneous pondering on the movements of a stinky clown who by his very nature was infuriatingly inscrutable.

VRISKA: I think I'm drifting from the point again.
VRISKA: Keeps happening. I think my thinkpan feels kinda funny?
VRISKA: I dunno.
VRISKA: Kinda hungry too, if I think a8out it????????
VRISKA: Hm.
VRISKA: 8ut no yeah, you'll all 8e fine out there! Pro8a8ly.
VRISKA: I mean it's not my pro8lem, 8ut you're 8adass enough and Sgru8 REALLY isn't that hard.
VRISKA: You'll do gr8!
VRISKA: If my loserfriends could cross the finish line, so can you.
VRISKA: I mean, they all got murdered a few hours later, 8ut that was more due to the hyper violent immortal intruders on our session. Totally separ8 matter!
HARRY: uh
VRISKA: And then we killed each other too? There was a lot of killing at the very end, actually!
VRISKA: I mean, I guess that's just what trolls from Alternia do!
VRISKA: Like, even I almost got killed! And would have too, if not for...
VRISKA: ...
VRISKA: ........

She's back there, on that meteor, at that confrontation. She can feel it, the tip of her blade pressing into her shoulder blades, seconds away from committing to its lethal end, stopped only by what can be exclusively called a miracle. That feels so long ago. So ancient. So unreachable.

Vriska doesn't cry. There's no point in tears. Not when she'll still win. Not when these children are relying on her to make sense of their rapidly shifting world.

So she clears her throat and sits up straight and her eyes are dry. They are dry.

VRISKA: So, wanna hear a8out how to kill a Denizen?

=>

Knowledge is imparted, steady and unreliably from a troll renowned for lying to herself above all else. But it's true enough, and maybe even a little essential. And the children certainly believe it to be relevant, even as the tales grow more outlandish the more stoned they get, and the more Vriska dances around the knife's edge scar in her throat. It services. That's all anyone can ask for. And tomorrow, they'll know a little more about what faces them.

In this timeframe, narrative interest lies four rooms down the hallway. A double suite sits unattended, until its front door tenderly slides out and its occupants enter, guest in tow.

Rose Lalonde flips the lightswitch on with a weary sigh. Kanaya Maryam and Jade Harley enter a few seconds after her.

JADE: was that the last briefing?
KANAYA: Yes
KANAYA: For Now
KANAYA: All Is Well So It Is A Matter Of Stabilizing This Crisis Before Preparing Our First Speech
KANAYA: I Agree With Ullses That New Prospit Makes The Best Neutral Ground From Which To Launch Our Peace
JADE: thats good
JADE: and youre still ok to give the speech?
KANAYA: Karkat Wanted This
KANAYA: I Will Not Let Him Down
KANAYA: Anyway This Is Enough Politics For One Evening

Kanaya strides into the room, then turns around, arms folded. She's looking right at Rose. Rose withers a little, knowing what's coming.

KANAYA: I Think There Is Something Else We Must Address First Is That Right Rose
ROSE: ...
JADE: rose
KANAYA: You As Well Jade

Jade winces. Kanaya ignores it.

KANAYA: Were You At Any Point Going To Tell Me That The Dead Cherub Wants The Children For Fucking Sgrub Or Did I Genuinely Need To Hear It From John First

Rose grits her teeth. As she figured.

ROSE: Kanaya, I--
KANAYA: Go On Rose Lets Hear Your Excuse
KANAYA: Why You Conveniently Didnt Mention This In Your Report Of The Cake Mill
KANAYA: Or How You Clearly Think Chasing Esoteric Mysteries Is More Valuable Than The War My Race Has Bled And Died To Win
KANAYA: Esoteric Mysteries Concerning My Daughter Mind You
KANAYA: Go On
KANAYA: I Am Waiting
ROSE: ...
ROSE: Okay, I know it sounds bad. And yes, I could have told you straight away. But--
KANAYA: But
ROSE: You made it clear earlier you didn't have much interest in this, so I didn't think there was any point in wasting your time.
KANAYA: Rose What Did I Say
ROSE: I'm sorry?
KANAYA: Here Let Me Fill You In
KANAYA: I Said I Was Skeptical Of These Claims Due To A Lack Of Empirical Evidence
KANAYA: You All Found Said Evidence And Chose Not To Share
KANAYA: Very Curious!
ROSE: ...
JADE: ...

Jade's ears drop. She shuffles awkwardly on her feet. Rose bites back the urge to stand by her side.

JADE: look, a lot happened kanaya!
JADE: it wasnt on purpose! it was just... a lot to explain to everyone at once!
JADE: i admire the other commanders but you have to be honest and acknowledge that they dont have a frame of reference for this stuff!
KANAYA: That Explains The Initial Silence
KANAYA: But What About Any Time In The Intervening Eight Hours
KANAYA: Or Am I Too Pedestrian For Your Claims So Caught Up In The Mundane And Boring Day To Day As I am
JADE: hey, i never said that! :(
JADE: i think youre very respectable kanaya and ive always taken the rebellion seriously!
KANAYA: Which Is Why You Spent Time Lollygagging With A Skaian Terminal Instead Of Immediately Returning Back Here With The Captchalogue Card
KANAYA: Not Like The Weak Fraymotif Deployed By Roxy And Myself Was The Only Thing Keeping People Alive Or Anything
JADE: thats a bit unfair!
JADE: we didnt know that meenahs grist would be there so of course we had to spent time looking!!!
KANAYA: At Things That Were Blatantly Irrelevant To The Mission At Hand
JADE: whine :(
KANAYA: Dont Whine At Me Harley
ROSE: Kanaya, I think you're overreacting--
KANAYA: Do Not Tell Me How To Feel Rose

Kanaya's eyebrows crease together. Her jaw is clenched, and there's a rigidity to her posture that ticks something in Rose's hindbrain. Under any other circumstances, this would be kind of extremely hot, but not when Rose herself is the object of Kanaya's scorn. Mostly it makes her feel soiled.

KANAYA: You Should Know Better Even More Than Jade
KANAYA: And This Is Nowhere Near The First Time Youve Abandoned Critical Protocol To Do Something You Deemed More Interesting
KANAYA: Like When You Almost Lost Vrissy To The Skirmish On The Plains
ROSE: Hold on. Vrissy was fine. She was with Vriska.
KANAYA: Not The Point
KANAYA: Or How In Nuseattle You Just Threw Yourself Into The Fray Counter To Advice
ROSE: I helped turn the tide massively.
KANAYA: Because Of Your Negligence We Failed To Be Adequately Warned About Makara And The Undead
KANAYA: We Survived Yes But What About The Thousands Of Footsoldiers Needlessly Lost As A Result Of That Rose
ROSE: Hey, that--
KANAYA: Doesnt Matter?

Rose blushes, because Kanaya's dead on the money. Despite every single one of her musings and protestations about canonicity, so much of this world has felt... insubstantial to Rose. The war was an ephemeral stage that the more important narrative of her family's life took place upon. Even now, loathe as she is to admit it, people like Ullses and Parvoy just... lack that existential weight to them that'd make Rose care.

Perhaps part of her never grew up. Perhaps those hazy machinations she brewed with Dirk in her youth never truly died. Or maybe there's just something irreparably wrong with her, a near-suicidal sickness that'll always push her to see the world as an irrelevant plaything to tear apart.

She thinks about NuSeattle, a beacon of ash and poison, and finds herself mostly indifferent. She can't find it in herself to be that ashamed, either. Reality's always been a pantomime for her, just waiting for her to tug on that loose thread and unravel the whole thing.

KANAYA: There Are Hundreds Of Names I Could Rattle Off The Top Of My Head
KANAYA: Comrades That We Lost In The Last Few Days Alone
KANAYA: Would You Know Any Of Them?
KANAYA: Would You Even Give A Shit?
ROSE: ...
KANAYA: Swifer
KANAYA: Leilia
KANAYA: Asphan
ROSE: Kanaya, I get it--
KANAYA: Lemnis
ROSE: Kanaya--
KANAYA: Soleil
KANAYA: Vorrow, Teyrax
KANAYA: Ataria
KANAYA: Jheasa
KANAYA: I Could Keep Going Mind You
KANAYA: How Many Of These Did You Know About
KANAYA: How Many Of Them Do You Acknowledge
KANAYA: How Many Of Them Did You Even See As Real
ROSE: ...

She can't answer, because Kanaya's right. She can barely recall their faces, let alone anything identifying about them. Maybe Swifer? But even then... What did Rose really know about her? What did someone like Swifer Eggmop ever matter to Rose?

ROSE: Okay, maybe I've been a little negligent.
KANAYA: I Think This Goes Deeper Than Mere Negligence
KANAYA: Everything We Have Worked For Means Nothing To You
KANAYA: Dozens Of People I Have Called Friend Lie In The Ground
KANAYA: Outside Of Dave And Karkat Have You Cared About A Single One Of Their Deaths?
ROSE: That's unfair. I've put so much into this rebellion.
KANAYA: Have You? Really?
KANAYA: Tell Me What You Have Done Rose
KANAYA: Other Than Placidly Stand By My Side And Let Me Call The Shots
ROSE: I just thought, for optics, that as a human it was better for me to
KANAYA: You Are A God!!!

Kanaya suddenly snaps. Rose flinches back, feeling small.

KANAYA: You Are A God
KANAYA: You Are One Of The Creators Of Earth C
KANAYA: You Held So Much Influence And Sway And You Did Nothing With It
KANAYA: What
KANAYA: You Helped Chart A Course Through Some Battles Which Were Mostly Won Through Mine And Karkats Flexible Thinking
KANAYA: You Did Nothing To Help With Coalition Building
KANAYA: You Barely Helped To Liberate The Cake Mills
KANAYA: In The Early Days When We Could Have Headed This Whole Sordid Nightmare Off What Did You Do?
KANAYA: I Dont Recall You Making Much Effort To Sway The Gods To Our Side
KANAYA: You Condemn Roxy For Her Fence Sitting But You Left Her On That Fence Too
KANAYA: As A Human You Could Have Been An Effective Counter Influence Over The Human Kingdom
KANAYA: There Is So Much You Could Have Done That You Didnt
KANAYA: Because None Of This Was Ever Real To You

It stings, because she's right. Because Rose did play lip service to all but the most essential of actions. She could have done more. She knew it herself the whole time. And she knows how good she could have been; another Rose in another lifetime did so much for another rebellion in another universe. But here, now, she's been inefficient at best.

She's mad. At herself, mostly, but in this moment at Kanaya, too, for laying bare her hypocrisy.

ROSE: And? It's not like you needed me.
KANAYA: Beg Your Fucking Pardon
ROSE: I didn't go out of my way to sabotage your efforts. I helped out every time I was asked.
ROSE: Who cares if I didn't show initiative?
JADE: rose wait i think this is the worse thing you could be saying here
ROSE: No, no, it's really not.

Rose waves a hand dismissively to shut Jade up.

ROSE: I mean it literally. Who cares?
ROSE: About us? About this world? About this timeline?
KANAYA: What
ROSE: It's fake. We all know that, yes?
ROSE: This is the last vestiges of meaningless ephemera circling a drain seen by nobody but the most keen-eyed vultures.
ROSE: Our story ended long ago, and if it's continuing, it's not continuing here.
ROSE: Don't pretend you can't feel it. The lack of substance to everything.
JADE: um
ROSE: I mean, I'm not about to flip into decades-long histrionics as John did. I knew this from the start.
ROSE: The bargain of a coin flipped. This time we got tails and all that follows.
ROSE: None of this is serious. None of this has ever been serious.
ROSE: I've played along where I could, because you all still matter to me, but none of this really contains any meaning.
ROSE: My goal these last few decades has been to enjoy the ride. Be a passenger to whatever mutation of entropy we're stuck within. It's been deeply liberating, all things considered.
ROSE: Because I've remembered what real relevance looks like. It's Vriska trying to claw her way back to the limelight. It's the Skaian paraphernalia tucked away in obscure basements.
ROSE: This war? This political feud? It's the narratological equivalent of trying to extract nutrients from styrofoam.
ROSE: So you're right. I don't think it matters. It never has.

Rose is surprised. It's not Kanaya that strikes her. It's Jade, who shoves her with the force of a small truck. Rose totters backwards, landing on the couch with a disgruntled

ROSE: Oof!

Jade stands over her, face scrunched in grief. Kanaya stands beside her.

JADE: rose what the FUCK are you saying???
JADE: that its okay to check out because this world isnt important?
JADE: you said!!! youve said multiple times that that doesnt matter!
JADE: youve said that to me! to john!!!
JADE: so what was that about then!!! >:(
ROSE: Jade, I never meant it like that.
ROSE: I meant that you are free to take things as seriously as you wish, because we're free of any of it mattering.
ROSE: You can find joy in this existence, just as I've found indifference
ROSE: I've done nothing wrong, so I'd appreciate it if the two of you could stop holding me to such ridiculous standards
JADE: ridiculous standards????????
JADE: this is our fucking life!!!
JADE: i get that we saw something big and exciting in the cake mill and maybe something huge is happening in "canon"
JADE: but thats not here! were still us and thats not suddenly changed!!
JADE: a sburb terminal doesnt mean the war never happened! that we dont still have to wake up and keep putting the work in!!!
JADE: karkats still fucking dead
JADE: knowing that hes maybe still alive in some other timeline that "matters more" really does NOT matter to me!
JADE: because THIS is our world and OUR karkat is gone!!! and thats how its always worked!!!
JADE: you should know this rose so why the FUCK are you being this obtuse!!!!!
ROSE: ...

Rose says nothing. She just looks at Jade, sparking with Space powers and eyes saturated with tears. She has nothing to say to that which won't escalate this situation further.

Kanaya, meanwhile, looks at her wife coolly, and speaks simply.

KANAYA: Vrissy
ROSE: ?
KANAYA: Is She Fake And Substanceless Like Everything Else Too
ROSE: Of course not, she's--
KANAYA: A Product Of This World That Can Only Be Found On This World
KANAYA: Same As The War
KANAYA: Same As The Political Situation
KANAYA: Same As The Dead You Dont Care About
KANAYA: I Dont Put Much Stock In Canonicity And Relevance Because Its A Load Of Horseshit To Stroke A Certain Egomaniacal Worldview Full Offense
KANAYA: But Under Your Own Framework Vrissy Is As Pointless As The Rest
KANAYA: Do You Believe This?
KANAYA: Your Own Daughter?
ROSE: Kanaya, Vrissy's different. She's--
KANAYA: A Troll Born On Earth C After Our Unmooring From Canon
KANAYA: Lemnis Was Only One Sweep Older Than Her
KANAYA: Lemnis Who Is By Every Account A Bit Player Who Amounted To Nothing On Account Of Being Perceived As Nothing More Than A Glorified Npc By You
KANAYA: Hes Fake Yes?
KANAYA: So Then Vrissy Must Be Too

The last sentence rolls out of Kanaya's mouth like raw venom dripping off her fangs. Rose's face flushes.

KANAYA: Theyre All The Same Rose
KANAYA: You Dont Get To Pick And Choose Which Bits Of This World Are Real And Fake
ROSE: I would never for one second insinuate that our daughter is irrelevant.
KANAYA: Why Not?
KANAYA: I Mean To Add Insult To Injury The "Real" Vriska Is Here Now Too
KANAYA: One Of The Few Beacons Of Relevance As You Yourself Pointed Out
ROSE: I mean
KANAYA: Or Is She Exonerated Only So Long As Youre Content To Let Her Get Snuffed Up By The Skaian Meat Grinder
KANAYA: Because You Have Conspicuously Not Been Opposed To That Much Rose
KANAYA: Why Is That
KANAYA: Because Its Okay That Our Daughter May End Up Dead Or Worse Because At Least Shell Get Her Defining Canonical Moment
KANAYA: Is That How It All Works
KANAYA: So Long As Someone Gets A Good Story Out Of It Its Ok If We All Kill Ourselves
KANAYA: Whats It Matter Were Not Even Real
ROSE: I wouldn't, I'm not--
KANAYA: Yes You Are
ROSE: I only meant
ROSE: None of this is real. It *can't* be meaningfully real.
KANAYA: And Why The Fuck Not
ROSE: Because

Her throat warbles. Fuck. Fuck!

ROSE: Because
ROSE: I... if this is real... if I have to stare all of this in the face, then...
ROSE: That's
ROSE: Oh fuck
ROSE: *sniffle*

It chokes out of her unprompted. The truth, too. The crushing weight of every failure that has happened under her watch the last twenty years. Every inch that this world has slid into the abyss. People she let down. The cruelty that flourished under her watch.

Karkat's dead. Karkat's fucking dead, and maybe she could have done something about that. Or maybe not, or... that's the point. She doesn't know. She never tried. She just... sat back, assumed her own importance, because if she cared, then she'd have to admit that this world is real. That she's been hurt, over and over and over. That there are countless wounds that never stopped bleeding.

ROSE: *sob*

She tries to talk, but more tears come again. Now the crying's turning ugly, infantile. She sees her daughter in her mind's eye, really feels the love she's kept at arm's length swell into her like a tsunami. It's choking. It's suffocating. That future, that world dictated by cherubs and exile stations, strangles her with blind terror. And deeper than that, too, memories of Sburb that she's kept locked and controlled. Dirk. Old Earth. Her Mom, so many, many years ago.

KANAYA: Rose

She says it with mounting concern. She does not yet move to comfort Rose. Jade does, however. She pops down onto the couch and wraps an arm around Rose. Rose greedily leans into the other woman's embrace.

ROSE: I know, right. Intellectually...
ROSE: Our world is *sob* bound by its own internal compass of truth and relevance and essentiality.
ROSE: Things are real to themselves because it doesn't need to be authenticated by an outside force for once. *sniffle*
ROSE: But it's easier to know that than internalize it, because...
ROSE: Because then it all doesn't *have* to be real...
ROSE: I, I don't need to think about...
JADE: rose...
JADE: rose here its okay
JADE: im here shhhhhh

Jade rocks Rose. In any other time, any other place, her pride would have forced her to wriggle out of it. Instead she leans deeper into it.

ROSE: I've lost *so much*.
ROSE: And I'll lose more. I know I'll lose more.
ROSE: And I can't... I can't look that truth in the eye!
ROSE: It... I...
ROSE: It makes me feel so *helpless* :(
KANAYA: So You Chose What You Saw As The Easier Path
KANAYA: Dissociate Yourself In The Hope Reality Will Stop Biting
KANAYA: Despite The Jagged Jaw Scars Carving Through All Our Bodies That Still Bleed
ROSE: ...
KANAYA: Oh Rose

Kanaya comes forward. She kneels down to eye level, then places her hands on Rose's shoulders.

KANAYA: Oh You Foolish Stupid Woman

There's nothing unkind in her tone.

KANAYA: You Of All People Should Know This Path Leads Nowhere
KANAYA: It Certainly Hasnt Protected You Has It?
KANAYA: You Made Yourself An Outsider In Your Own Life To Stop The Pain
KANAYA: Which Is Clearly Working Wonderfully For You
ROSE: Oh Kanaya, I've fucked everything up...
KANAYA: Yes You Have I Will Not Deny This
KANAYA: I Am Still Disappointed That At Your Age You Have Acted Like This
KANAYA: But
KANAYA: I Understand

Kanaya leans forward and presses her forehead against Rose's.

KANAYA: There Is Still Time
KANAYA: This Is Not Who You Have To Be
KANAYA: Here And Now You Can Decide To Change
KANAYA: Nothing Is Set In Stone No Matter How Much You Believe It
KANAYA: We Are Alive And All Is Possible Through Us
ROSE: Kanaya, I...
KANAYA: I Love You
KANAYA: Even When You Are In Your Own Head And Are Incapable Of Making Sensible Choices
KANAYA: I Will Always Love You Rose And I Will Never Give Up On You And In Time I Hope To Be Able To Forgive You
KANAYA: This Is Not Who You Have To Be

With that promise, that call to action, Kanaya seals it with a kiss. Her lips are soft and warm; Rose can taste her lipstick, feel the hungry push of her muscles. A tear mingles down both their cheeks. Who it belongs to, nobody can say.

This is not a resolution, but it is a pivot. A saving chance for things to be different, for Rose to escape the purgatory she thought was the only way to survive. The pain is still there, and the fear of what may come, but the helplessness doesn't have to be.

Rose is the least relevant version of herself. What does that matter? She's here. She's loved. She can make a difference. She doesn't have to lie down and let fate do as it wills lest she be torn to ribbons. She kisses her wife back, faster, harder. The world shrinks further, just to the two of them, to a cocooned sphere of touch and safety.

JADE: um... should i uh... give you two some privacy? o////o

Suddenly Jade is remembered. Rose has still been holding onto her for the whole duration of this makeout session. She blinks and looks to her oldest friend.

ROSE: Jade, I--
JADE: its fine! its been an emotional evening hehe
JADE: you two enjoy yourselves! im sure i can find something to keep myself busy with for the next couple of hours :)

She smiles, but it's a sad smile. Rose keenly realises, perhaps for the first time, the weight of Jade's loss. Rose has Kanaya. Rose will always have Kanaya. What does Jade have? Whose arms can Jade find refuge in? She's always been lonely, so terribly, painfully lonely. And Rose has stood by and done nothing, time and time again, because it was the path of least resistance. The way things were meant to be. Canonical, even.

And where has that gotten any of them? Rose, on the verge of a dissociative meltdown. Jade, lonelier than she's ever been and running out of chances. Is that it? Is that a world Rose is content to accept?

Jade's been there. Jade's always been there, as long and as deep as Kanaya. Unfalteringly, faithful to a fault. She had no reason to take up this cause, but she did. For Rose and Kanaya. She's given so much of herself, over and over, devoted herself in a way nobody else has.

Maybe Dave kept Rose from seeing it. Maybe her own denial, her own selfish ignorance. But she sees it now. She sees Jade. Really sees Jade.

ROSE: No, stay.
JADE: but im getting the sense that
ROSE: Jade, you matter to me.
ROSE: You matter so so much to me. I... I can't picture a single day without you.
ROSE: I don't know how I can ever express all you've done for me over the years.
ROSE: You, and Kanaya.
JADE: rose...
ROSE: I... I need you here, Jade. By my side.
JADE: youre... what are you saying?
ROSE: Isn't it obvious?
JADE: ummm

Jade blushes. She's never been slow on the uptake. The mood speaks just as loud as Rose's words. But Jade instead looks to Kanaya, face carefully schooled.

JADE: im very flattered rose and youre my dearest friend who ill always love forever
JADE: but kanaya is my friend too and you two are so happy with each other and i refuse to come between that
JADE: i learned that lesson with dave and karkat
JADE: so i just
JADE: lets not step on anyones toes yeah?

But her eyes betray the want, the screaming chasm begging for someone to call hers. She's too polite to say what she really wants, what she wishes she would do if she were a little younger and a little stupider.

Kanaya clears her throat, and chooses her words carefully.

KANAYA: Jade
KANAYA: I Will Agree With Rose
KANAYA: You Have Done So Much For Us Both
KANAYA: Despite Everything You Have Been Unconditionally There
KANAYA: Through All Your Losses And Pain You Have Still Been There
KANAYA: That Is Something I Will Always Appreciate
JADE: of course! i care about you loads
JADE: nothing will change that!
KANAYA: So
KANAYA: I Need You To Understand
KANAYA: This Is Not Pity
KANAYA: This Is Not Compensation
JADE: kanaya--

Kanaya moves her face away from Rose and towards Jade. She extends a hand out, cupping Jade's jaw. Jade stiffens, silently dry swallowing. Kanaya pauses, studying Jade's lips for an excruciating two seconds, three, five. Jade lets out a breath, hot and shaky, eyes watery. Something swells in Rose's stomach, even as an observer. An itch. A hunger, even. Swelling and encompassing and correct.

She closes the gap. The kiss is slow, delicate, an open question that doesn't immediately beg for an answer. It just lingers, like meltwater trickling around a glacier, softening its edges. Jade's ears droop. Her tail twitches, seemingly involuntarily.

Kanaya pulls back, leaving a trail of dark green saliva down Jade's chin. Jade blinks, eyes wide, mouth agog.

KANAYA: You Frustrate Me Endlessly At Times Jade
KANAYA: But You Are Precious To Me
KANAYA: Both Because Of What You Mean To Rose And What You Mean To Me
KANAYA: This World Is Ceaselessly Cruel And Ceaselessly Lonely
KANAYA: But It Doesnt Have To Be
KANAYA: Not When We Are Here
KANAYA: Not When We Can Hold Each Other
KANAYA: We Have All Been A Part Of One Another For So Long Already
KANAYA: You Will Never Be An Intruder Jade
JADE:

Jade tries to speak, but finds all that comes from her mouth is a squeak.

JADE: i...
KANAYA: I Think We Have Both Made Our Feelings Clear
KANAYA: You Are Welcome To Express Yours In Whichever Way You See Fit
JADE:
JADE:
JADE:

So Jade does. She entwines her hand with Rose's, interlocking fingers with fingers, as she returns Kanaya's kiss with the quickness and intensity of shattering glass. Kanaya kisses back, running her hands through Jade's hair. Then Jade pulls away and spins for Rose and carries the energy forward into a singular collision point.

Jade tastes like iron and ozone and a little bit of Kanaya. Her mouth is dry where Kanaya's is wet. There's a soft muskiness to her scent that Rose can't help but breathe in greedily. It's more than everything Rose wanted, so blissfully correct that it's hard to maintain a single train of thought.

Then Kanaya's leaning in, fangs and tongue grazing the soft bit of Rose's throat, and Rose lets out an uncontrolled whimper, and the time for language is over.

Lips exchange places with other lips. Hands with hands. Bodies with bodies. Someone cries. Someone laughs. A shirt lands here. A pair of underwear there. The living room is exchanged for the bedroom. Whose idea it is, none can say. it doesn't need saying. A choice is made tonight, and a choice continues to be made.

This is no solution. This is barely a start. The world turns, the narrative crawls, and problems of all sizes linger. The lotus ticks down. The Convergence draws nearer. The world hangs, scarred and beaten and so overwhelmed with blood and rubble and loss. Their personal problems stand just outside of the frame, politely awaiting their re-invitation into the psyche. There is much work to do, and little of it may succeed, and it may be for naught.

But for tonight, they can dream of feeling better.

=>

After, Kanaya gently and deftly extracts herself from the entwined arms of her companions for the evening. Jade is still as a rock. Rose shuffles a little bit and gives a soft snort that tugs at her pusher. Kanaya gives her a little kiss on the head, then gets up.

She slips on her clothes, carefully folded over the dresser where Rose and Jade's lie tossed haphazardly where they are. The room is dark, save through a slip of moonlight through a crack in the curtains. It must be long past midnight, the first quiet hour after so many long and terrible days.

Kanaya lets out a breath. Sleep has been a formality for her for so long anyway, but even more so since the war reached its fever pitch. Despite it all, she does not feel tired. Perhaps that makes her a hypocrite, calling out Rose's flagrant denial of that which stands blatantly before her. Perhaps not.

She looks over Rose and Jade again. That was... a choice made, between the three of them. There are a lot of feelings there, complicated and thorny, that will no doubt take many days and weeks to figure out. She's not certain if passing this threshold was the correct thing to do long-term, but it was absolutely what both Jade and Rose needed right now. Jade needed to not be alone. Rose needed to feel something real and tangible. They fit together in a way Kanaya really cannot contest, but that sits bumpily on her tongue.

In principle, Kanaya is not opposed to this arrangement. Trolls have never had a strict monogamy complex, her Alternian upbringing even less so. Her marriage to Rose was always more for Rose's sake than hers, not that she loved her any less for it. It was just... a custom to reaffirm their relationship and desire to share their lives. And that remains true. Despite the utter disaster she has made for herself, Kanaya still cannot see herself without Rose by her side.

Having Jade, too, would not change that fundamentally. But... Kanaya is uncertain. Jade is the only woman with whom Rose has a deeper history than Kanaya, and Rose can be... flighty and impulsive at best. Kanaya may not believe in such petty nonsense as "affairs", but Rose was raised with certain cultural customs that were never truly unchallenged. She thinks back to how Rose struggled to find her role as Vrissy's parent in those early years, how a certain level of gendered performance has never quite come truthfully to Rose. It's not as oblique and painful as that which ails Roxy but there's always been that... struggle, to settle things down.

They all stand at a delicate precipice in world history. Do they all need this level of relationship complication right here, right now? Would a mere physical outlet be enough? How much does Jade need? Rose?

What does Kanaya need?

All she knows is that she does not wish to see these women hurting any more than they have. But that is not an answer. That is not addressing her own feelings, her own wants. She wants... she wanted the liberation of the troll race, an end to this ceaselessly vicious genocide. They've earned that, tentatively, at least. The work there is only beginning; the Alternian separatists are already posing a thorn in the peace talks. They understandably want an isolationist Troll Kingdom to keep this from happening again, but Karkat always espoused the importance of an interconnected, united Earth C proletariat.

She misses Karkat. That's what Kanaya knows. She misses him with such agony it is as if the abdominal scar inflicted so many sweeps ago has been ripped wide open once more, bleeding her entrails every which way. She hates that he is dead. She wishes she could wring Jake Crocker's throat, as unproductive as it may be. She understands there is no place for that rage. She sometimes hates having to understand, when everyone around her is so free with their own sentiments.

KANAYA: ...

Ruminating like this is not helpful. She needs air.

Kanaya slips out of their room. The hallway is dark and silent, save for the hum of the air conditioning. Down the hallway, the common room and kitchen are empty. Nobody else seems to be awake. She takes a few minutes to savor the quiet, the still.

When was the last time she saw this level of calm? Nothing screaming urgently for her attention, no crisis demanding a resolution she cannot offer. Just... a kitchen, and Kanaya, and nothing else. It's been so long since she's felt even a shred of solitude. She takes pleasant note of the way it feels to breathe it in.

Perhaps she'll head outside for a bit. The Void mountains are beautiful this time of year under this phase of the moon. Swifer always adored it. Kanaya bites back a wave of grief. She's not even sure what happened to Swifer's body. There are so many like her, dead and lost and struggling to be much more than a statistic. She wonders if the world will ever feel healed.

Kanaya leaves the kitchen. She makes it about ten feet down the hallway when she pauses.The bathroom door is slightly ajar. There's a single light on inside. And is that... crying?

It's faint, a soft sniffle that someone is fighting to keep from being heard, but it's there. Whoever it is clearly wishes to be alone, but there's an edge of panic to the sound, too. Something that makes Kanaya linger, and guarantees that curiosity and concern win out.

KANAYA: Hello?
KANAYA: Are You Okay?

Gingerly, Kanaya pushes the door open. The bathroom is standard issue, rows of sinks opposite toilet stalls and a couple of shower blocks in the back, coated in a grey tile under bare LED bulbs.

Standing at the furthest sink, staring into the mirror miserably, is Vriska. Her face is a picture in anguish. She's holding a small brown paper bag in one hand and whimpering to herself.

VRISKA: sniff
VRISKA: Fuck.......

Kanaya clears her throat, and approaches softly.

KANAYA: Vriska?
VRISKA: !!!!!!!

Vriska flinches, back straightening guilty.

VRISKA: Kanaya! Um,
VRISKA: You're aw8ke?
KANAYA: Yes That Is Evident By The Fact I Am Standing Here And Talking To You
KANAYA: I See You Are Too In A Stunning Novel Observation
VRISKA: Right. Why?
KANAYA: The Same Could Be Said For You
KANAYA: I Was Heading Out For A Walk
VRISKA: At this time of night?
KANAYA: Well Yes I Just

Kanaya pauses. She looks at Vriska and is abruptly hit with how young Serket still is, barely a sweep out from the last time she saw her. It suddenly strikes her as too strange to make the wry remark about fucking her wife that would have otherwise left her lips.

KANAYA: I Just Couldnt Sleep Much
VRISKA: Haha, yeah.
VRISKA: I'm just... up! And fine.
VRISKA: So you don't need to hang around me.
KANAYA: Uh Huh
KANAYA: That Is Definitely Not Suspicious
VRISKA: 8ecause it's not!
KANAYA: So Why Are You Crying
VRISKA: I'm not?

Her cheeks are flushed below and her glasses are fogged with tears. Vriska Serket is many things, and a terrible liar is a great number of them.

KANAYA: You Can See It Clearly
VRISKA: Hey! May8e don't stare at me?
KANAYA: Your Tears Are Right There
KANAYA: And

She looks closer. Behind the glass fog and the tears, Vriska's eyes are also noticeably blurry in an extremely telltale way.

KANAYA: Are You Stoned
VRISKA: Ummmmmmmm. No?
KANAYA: Where Did You Even Get Weed From Vriska
KANAYA: Is That Vrissys
VRISKA: I'm not a narc.
KANAYA: Right
KANAYA: I Dont Give A Shit Like That Vriska
KANAYA: I Know My Daughter Is Sensible With It
VRISKA: Pfft. Your daughter.
VRISKA: It'll never not 8e weird seeing you do some kind of parental routine.
VRISKA: I suppose it's exactly what an adult fussyfangs like you would do, 8ut like...
VRISKA: Fuck, it'll always 8e weird.
VRISKA: Why are you all *old*?
KANAYA: This Is What Happens When Decades Of Chronological Time Pass
VRISKA: Anyway gr8 chat! Now that that's esta8lished can you leave me alone?

Vriska gives a shaky smile. She's very conspicuously hiding the bag (very poorly) behind her back.

KANAYA: I Dont Think I Will
KANAYA: What Are You Holding
VRISKA: Nothing!!!!!!!!

She cups her free hand over her mouth in surprise.

VRISKA: I mean, why is it your 8usiness anyway?
KANAYA: Because You Are Crying Alone In A Bathroom At Midnight About It
VRISKA: So? Tons of people do that!
VRISKA: It's a very well adjusted normal thing to do!
KANAYA: Not Even You Believe That
KANAYA: So What Do You Have That You Dont Want Me To See
KANAYA: Is It Dangerous
VRISKA: No! Uh,
VRISKA: It's nothing at all! Promise!
VRISKA: Now just go on your walk or whatever! Tomorrow's a 8ig d8y, yeah? So I really don't have time for this!

She's squirming, clearly embarrassed. Kanaya glances at the bag again.

KANAYA: Youre Right So Lets Cut To The Chase I Clearly Know What That Bag Is
KANAYA: Thats Mall Estrogen That You Are Clutching And Crying Over

Vriska jerks back like she's just put her hand in scalding water.

VRISKA: S-so? What's that matter?
KANAYA: It Doesnt Im Just Stating A Fact
VRISKA: Even if it is, who cares? Why would it 8e a 8ig deal?
VRISKA: Vrissy said it herself! This is just shit people get from the mall and apply all the time!
VRISKA: It's nothing! So 8asic even a wiggler could do it!!!!!!
VRISKA: I o8viously know what I'm doing 8ecause I've, like, had this gender shit locked down for sweeps!
VRISKA: I can do whatever I w8nt!!!!!!
VRISKA: And if that means I wanna leave these stup8d h8rm8n8s in their c8sing then that's what I'll do!
VRISKA: Who even needs all these fucking su8stances to 8e hot 8itch anyway!!!!!!!!

She's started crying again. Frustrated, she upends the bag into the sink. A single vial rolls out, clattering against the porcelain.

VRISKA: F8CK YOU, ACTUALLY!
KANAYA: Vriska
VRISKA: I D8N'T NEED YOU
VRISKA: I'M ME W8THOUT IT! I FEEL GR8 A8OUT MYSELF
VRISKA: WH8T KIND OF L88888888SER NEEDS TO STA8 THEMSELVES ANYWAY???????
VRISKA: WH8 CARES WH8T THE F8CK MY 8ODY L88KS LIKE
VRISKA: TITS??????? OVERR8TED
KANAYA: Vriska
VRISKA: WHO C8RES TH8T 8 GREW UP A 8IT SINCE SGRU8 AND LOOK LESS LIKE A G8RL TH8N 8 D8D
VRISKA: THAT SHE'LL L88K 8T M8 8ND SEE A 8OY
VRISKA: THAT'S NOT
VRISKA: A REAL
VRISKA: PRO8LEM!!!!!!!
VRISKA: PI8CE OF F8CKING SH8T H8RM8NES
VRISKA: I D8N'T NEED THEM
VRISKA: I D8N'T
VRISKA: I don't...
VRISKA: I.......

And the dam breaks, just as suddenly. Vriska's gripping the edges of the sink, weeping desperately. Then with shaky hands she shoves the hormones back in the bag and begins to hyperventilate, each breath increasing in both pitch and speed. Kanaya understands the scene implicitly. She'd almost forgotten. It's been so long since she was in Vriska's position but that pain, that fear, that pride, it does come back to her.

KANAYA: Its Ok Vriska
VRISKA: It's not. Look at me!
VRISKA: I can't do anything. How am I gonna succeed if I can't do this simple stupid thing???????
VRISKA: It's all gonna 8e for nothing. She'll h8 me!
KANAYA: No She Wont
KANAYA: Nobody Will
VRISKA: You don't get it! This is so important!!!!!!
KANAYA: Of Course I Get It
KANAYA: You Need To Understand Your Assumption Is Incorrect
KANAYA: But I Do Get It
VRISKA: ...

She looks up at Kanaya. There's something fragile and vulnerable there, the frightened teen that sits beneath the mask. She's so young. So young.

VRISKA: I don't need your pity, Kanaya.
KANAYA: Im Not Offering It
KANAYA: I Was Trying To Be Nice
KANAYA: But If You Want To Weep In A Bathroom All Night Too Frightened To Inject Hormones Be My Guest
KANAYA: You Dont Think A Million Girls Havent Been Where You Are Right Now
VRISKA: 8ut... it's different for me!
KANAYA: How
VRISKA: It just is! I have higher st8kes than those other l8me 8itches.
KANAYA: How
KANAYA: The Only Difference Between You And The Bitches Is That Their Girlfriends Arent In Another Universe
VRISKA: Yeah, 8ut look at everything I've done!
VRISKA: This should 8e simple for me! I fought Lord fucking English!
VRISKA: I killed myself to go god tier! It's a fucking cringe ass syringe.
VRISKA: It's less than nothing!
KANAYA: Who Are You Convincing Exactly
VRISKA: ...

She can't argue, because she knows. She knows Kanaya has walked this same path and come out the other side. She knows that this starting line hurdle is tripping her up, because it does that. Because you can bluster and project and say all you want to say, but making it real, bringing into the material, is different. This is the moment where she can go from making "being Vriska" a passive choice into an active decision. And like all teenagers staring down true self-actualisation, there is little that is harder to digest.

Vrissy was born without this to contend with. It's the one major biological divergence point between ancestor and descendant that can't really be explained. Kanaya's not sure such things need an explanation. Vrissy is the way she is, and Vriska is the way she is. Same as how Kanaya is the way she is. They each are, in their similar and differing ways.

KANAYA: Come With Me
VRISKA: Wh
KANAYA: I Wont Take No For An Answer
VRISKA:

The Stern Motherly Voice feels strange to use here, but it works. Vriska shuts up and looks at Kanaya with wide eyes. As teenagers, Vriska always used to be the taller one. Now, Kanaya stands a good couple of inches above her. It's... disquieting, in a way she doesn't really wish to articulate.

Kanaya turns and leaves the bathroom with Vriska and the hormones in tow. They turn down the hallway and return to the kitchen. Kanaya doesn't flick the lights on; instead, she lets her skin glow.

KANAYA: Take A Seat

She gestures to the dining table. Vriska looks at it timidly, eyes glistening in the bioluminescence. Light and shadow play across her face, a sharp intermingling chiaroscuro. But she complies, carefully sliding herself down.

Kanaya pulls out a chair and sits across from her. This close up, she's aware of how thin Vriska is, how frayed raw she's become. This girl has not rested once since she left the victory platform for the Furthest Ring. Since she entered Sgrub from her hive all those sweeps back. Before then even, when she was caught up in a toxic cycle at Doc Scratch's behest. Vriska Serket has never just stopped.

VRISKA: Look. I'm sorry for getting worked up. It's 8een a long day and Vrissy's stupid fucking drugs didn't agree with me, o8viously.
VRISKA: I'm fine now, so you can go.
KANAYA: No
KANAYA: I Will Not Do That
KANAYA: Pass Me The Bag

Her tone begets no argument. Vriska hands it over like a scolded wiggler. Kanaya empties its contents onto the table, then examines the vial. It's in good condition, the way most things stored in a sylladex are. She unwraps the packaging.

Vriska flinches across the way. Fear and want dance through her expression.

KANAYA: I Was Eleven Sweeps Old When I First Did It
KANAYA: I Figured Out A Rudimentary Pill Recipe On The Alchemiter For The First Period On Earth C
KANAYA: Mostly I Was Too Busy With The Mother Grub To Think I Needed To Pursue Such Things
KANAYA: It Was Rose Who Set Things In Motion
KANAYA: Shed Gone Away For A Week To Nuseattle With Jade
KANAYA: I Think It Was The Final Year They Tried To Get John Out For His Wiggling Day

With steady hands, she fits the needle on the cap. She pushes a little to get the air out, to make sure the plunger's working. Vriska stares.

KANAYA: They Got A Cake At The Mall Because By This Point Crocker Had Begun Ghosting Us
KANAYA: Not Quite The Demon She Became But The Signs Were There
KANAYA: We Missed It Of Course Because We Were Too Young And Traumatized And Mostly Naive
KANAYA: Evil Was Lord English
KANAYA: The Condesce
KANAYA: It Couldnt Possibly Dwell In The Hearts Of Our Friends
KANAYA: Anyway. Next To The Bakery Was This Hormone Store
KANAYA: Jade Knew About It Because One Of Her On Again Off Again Hookups In Those Days Worked There
KANAYA: Rose Had Been Out In Our Countryside Hive Most Of The Time So A Lot Of This Was News To Her
KANAYA: I Am Not Sure Of The Circumstances But They Returned Home That Evening With A Prescription For Me
KANAYA: The Real Stuff
KANAYA: Not My Makeshift Efforts Barely Keeping Me Afloat
KANAYA: Vriska Could You Lift Your Shirt

Vriska raises her shirt, exposing her abdomen. There's a nasty bruise just below her stomach that spreads between her grubscars on one side. Her ribs are visible, even as she exhales. She shivers a little from the exposure.

KANAYA: I Was Scared Shitless The First Time
KANAYA: I Just Sat In Our Respiteblock Staring At The Syringe In My Hand Too Scared To Make The First Move
KANAYA: To Break That Boundary And Make It Into Something Even More Real
KANAYA: I Had Never Had A Single Abdominal Puncturing Incident Before Then That Hadnt Been Utterly Devastating
KANAYA: I Suppose I Wasnt Thinking Merely Of My Gender
KANAYA: I Was Thinking Of The Matriorb
KANAYA: Of Something Else Precious Taken From Me At The Last Hurdle
KANAYA: Maybe It Would Happen Again
KANAYA: Maybe This Miracle Would Rob Everything From Me
KANAYA: Maybe I Was Never Destined To Be Happy
KANAYA: Mostly I Could Not Stop Shaking

She leans forward and pinches the loosest bit of Vriska's stomach that she can find. Her skin is clammy and thin-feeling. Kanaya tenderly holds it between her fingers, firm even as Vriska instinctively tenses and squirms away.

KANAYA: Breathe Slowly
KANAYA: This Will Take A Few Seconds
VRISKA: ...

Kanaya brings the needle in. Vriska's breathing starts to go ragged, on the verge of a panic attack. Kanaya withdraws the syringe and places her free hand over Vriska's knee instead. She looks into the girl's eye with a steady warmth.

KANAYA: I Couldnt Do It Alone
KANAYA: In The End
KANAYA: That Very First Injection Wasnt Something I Had It In Me To Do
KANAYA: Rose Came In Obviously Drawn In By My Crying
KANAYA: She Held Me Tight In Her Arms And Swore To Me Things Would Be Okay
KANAYA: Her Hands Did Not Shake

As Kanaya talks, as Vriska's attention is fixated on her, she deftly slides the syringe forward again. She moves her free hand back up to Vriska's torso, slowly angling the skin.

KANAYA: She With Her Infinite Love And Kindness Allowed Me To Receive That Gift
KANAYA: With Rose It Was Okay. It Became Okay
KANAYA: She Took That Fear From Me Maybe For The First Time In My Life
KANAYA: She Gave Me The Strength To Truly And Genuinely Set Down This Path

The needle slides into Vriska's skin. Kanaya slides the plunger down, holds it there until it's empty, and slides it out. Vriska doesn't notice until the needle exits with a sharp tug that makes her wince. She stares down at the tiny puncture, eyes wide.

VRISKA: I... You...
KANAYA: The Least I Could Do Is Pass That Gift On
KANAYA: You Have Been Through So Much Vriska
KANAYA: We All Have
KANAYA: This Joy Should Not Be Lost To You
VRISKA: ...

Vriska says nothing. She just stares. Her breath is shallow, and Kanaya can only wonder about the thoughts racing through her head.

KANAYA: The Second Time Is Easier
KANAYA: As Is Each Subsequent Time Until It Becomes Routine Noise
KANAYA: And Who Knows
KANAYA: Maybe She Will Be Able To Help You Next Time

That breaks it. Vriska's face wobbles and crumples and the tears come. Real, genuine, heavy tears. Her body racks and shudders and the sobs that leave her mouth are infantile and pained.

KANAYA: Come Here

Kanaya leans forward and wraps her arms around Vriska's shoulders. She pulls the girl in and holds her tight, absorbing the rattling sobs like a tidal wave in the deep sea.

They will remain like this for some time, until the well dries and Vriska can stand on her own and enter the future she has fought with every scrap of her soul to receive. Maybe for once she'll win. Maybe the weary child will one day get to rest. The clock ticks. The night trickles away, piece by piece.

KANAYA: When You Set Out There Promise Me One Thing
KANAYA: Promise Me My Daughter Will Be Safe
VRISKA: I will, Kanaya. I will.
VRISKA: I...
VRISKA: Thank you.

Kanaya rests her chin atop Vriska's head. She closes her eyes with a contented smile. She smells a little bit like Vrissy.

=>

The night continues to breathe an uneasy peace. Catharsis and dreams swim down on the ground, swirling through the the Void mountains like a threaded ribbon. It is a clear night, the sky a black sheet punctured by pulsing stars and the full moon, lazy and reliable. The scars of the prior days are rendered invisible, even as the orbital debris remains stretched between the heavens.

It happens at eleven minutes past one. Nobody is there to see it, save for an exhausted Ullses Quayll. He happens to be looking up from his desk at the window, debating if another caffeine shot can push him to the next hour. He's thinking only of this, and more distantly, of the raw hurt of all those who lie dead in the wake of a pointless war.

He sees it come with no sound, no motion, no warning. A line, thin and bright, paints itself across the sky, splitting open like a seam. To his tired eyes, it looks like it hangs beside the moon, a smudged oddity.

In reality it sits further away, far back against the rear wall of the universe. A fracture, millions upon millions of miles wide. It eats at the sky around it, rendering asteroids and worlds and stars into an even greater irrelevance from which there is no return. If this were a different story, no doubt countless peoples and races and existences would have suffered a cataclysmic rupture the likes of which few will ever experience. Every astral body comprising their existence is vacuumed into something worse than oblivion.

If this were a different story, this tragedy would be a gravitational well unto itself.

but this is not that story. this is its own story, with its own end goal, fixed yet inevitable.

and this is no tragedy. such a tale never existed. this is a gateway, nothing more and nothing less. this is the final fracture point for the final traversal.

with little fanfare at all, with barely a passing notice by anyone sapient enough to care, the seam widens by another margin. an object, small yet significant, slips out, bound for the only destination it could ever be.

after time both infinitely long and infinitely meaningless, our ship has finally returned to universe c. the moment will soon be upon us all. the mission is inevitable.

the prince will never succeed.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Omelette Route