Nepeta wandered aimlessly through the Land Of Little Cubes And Tea. She thought Equius was somewhere around here, if that concept could be said to have any meaning in this dreamscape without geometry or purpose. An afterlife meant neither to reward nor punish.
The white landscape wavered with the looming form of an approaching asteroid. It was a bizarre thought, but this asteroid held more reality than any sugary mountain or molasses river on this planet. And could it be? Yes, it was the asteroid, the one that held every living person she knew.
A single figure materialized onto the sugarscape, and the asteroid faded from view. Long horns, a lanky body, and unmistakable facepaint. Nepeta felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She was back in the vents of the meteor, on the day she died.
She felt something behind her and turned around. It was Equius, but not like she had seen him just hours ago. No, this Equius bore the wounds of Gamzee's violence: an arrow skewering his knee, a bowstring cutting into his neck. Anger coursed through Nepeta, and she looked up at the murderer, to see only an idiotic grin on his face.
"Sorry 'bout your motherfuckin palebro, kitty." he said, lazy and apathetic.
She launched herself at him, claws extended, and he caught her by the arm. Just like in her memory. The feel of him dragging her claws across his face was sickeningly familiar.
This fight would not go the same way twice. Nepeta swung her other claw around, aiming for his throat. She found his shoulder instead, and drew blood. Maybe it was the shock of the pain, but he released her arm, and she spun around to look into his still-grinning face.
"You lookin to play with me, little kitten?"
"You killed Equius," Nepeta growled. "I'm going to kill you."
"Sure would make Karkitty pretty upset if you all up and killed his motherfuckin palebro. He let me live after what I motherfuckin did to you."
She shook with rage, but put away her claws. "I don't care how Karkat feels about you. I will never forgive you. I will hate you forever." Then she attacked him again.
He wasn't quite as fast as she remembered, nor as reactive. Then again, maybe it was her. When she had seen Equius dead in front of her, she had attacked with blind anger. Now her rage was colder, her instinct as keen and cunning as a pouncebeast's.
She pinned him against the ground, grappling with his long arms, knee against his chest, wishing she had the weight to keep him down for more than a few seconds. Even sprawled and bleeding on the ground like this, he still wore a lazy smirk like he had every advantage. As if there were nothing she could do to hurt him.
"he didn't lift a motherfucking finger against me," he whispered. "HE JUST STOOD THERE TO SUBMIT TO HIS MOTHERFUCKING SUBJUGGLATOR BEFORE PROTECTING HIS MOTHERFUCKING MOIRAIL."
Green blood pooled at the corners of Nepeta's vision. She snarled and leaned in for a kiss of purest pitch.