Looking back, I should have realized something was wrong. I know, what ever tipped you off? Was it the fact you weren't allowed to leave the house or the panic your parents were whipped intro every time your brother left Karkat, or perhaps it was constantly telling you the outside world was dangerous? In honesty, I didn't even realize those were problems, just strange little quirks about my family.
I stayed inside and looked out of the cracks in the window covers at the trees in the yard and the grass and flowers as I wished I could go outside. I convinced my parents to let me outside only twice, both times they agreed they refused to let me stay up and go outside when the sun was up, the time Kankri always went out, but I was allowed to wander around the yard in the moonlight.
The first time I was outside, they only allowed me in the backyard for a few minutes, one of them focused on me, the other constantly looking around like we might be attacked any moment. It was funny seeing the panicked glances over the fence at the time, but now I realize it was something that should have tipped me off. As soon as I tripped and scraped me knee I was rushed inside, and I was told no to going outside for several months.
The second time I went outside I convinced them to let me play in the front yard for just a few minutes, half the time I had been in the backyard. They agreed only to get me to stop moping around the house, but my short time outside only brought questions. Why weren't there any lights on in the other houses? Why were some of the houses falling apart? Why did spiderwebs cover people's doorways? Why didn't I get to do the things the kids on tv did, like play in the day with other kids? My parents just said that the outside world was weird and dangerous and left it at that.
By the time I turned five I had no clue what other people were like except what I saw on tv and my parent's warnings. Kankri wasn't allowed to talk about his outings except that he went out to do errands and shopping. I begged relentlessly to know what the outside world was like, but he wouldn't budge on his deal to remain silent on that one issue. It was when my parents were sleeping that Kankri had come to wake me up. He shook me awake an said that if I let him prep me for the trip I could go with him. I agreed instantly.
He sat me down in his room and told me I had to promise that I wouldn't talk to anyone, that I would hold his hand the whole time, and that I had to understand people were dangerous, but that he would protect me so I shouldn't attack anyone. I agreed and he said that I had to sit still while he disguised me. He dyed my hair black before pulling a box out from under his bed. The first thing he pulled out were contact lenses for my eyes, thing he trimmed my nails so they were nubby. He said if I absolutely had to talk, talk in this weird way he showed me so no one would see my teeth. He handed me a pendant and said to not take it off no matter what, and despite the fact all of this didn't seem right, I agreed.
Kankri made me put on a really fluffy sweater on over my overalls, a hoodie over that, and made me put on socks before making me put on shoes for the first time. The rain boots were just a little too big on me, but I was excited too were them anyway. I was tired, but I was full of energy the instant I was all ready to go. I've never been up this late before, grinning as soon as I was tightly gripping Kankri's hand in excitement, keys opened the door and we started our adventure.
We walked for a very long time before we reached a bus stop, and I finally realized the whole place and the area around it had been abandoned. The bus stop had someone there, the first living person I had seen outside my family. I had been excited our whole trip to the city until we finally reached our destination, and it dawned on me how many people were here. I pressed myself against Kankri, like somehow he would help me, but to him this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
I should have looked around at all the other shops that were easily see able from the street and realized we were headed someplace that wasn't quite right. The shop was down a back alley way with a dim sign that simply read 'Oddities'. It was a pitch black sign with purple around the cut out letters, the whole metal sign looking worn and slightly dented and the door not much better off. Not a single window, and when Kankri opened the door to what seemed like an empty room. I realized why only after he closed the door had I realized it was an elevator, the motor whirring to life as the little room rattled.
Now, at this point anyone would have tried turning back, but I was a five year old who made a promise to his big brother, so I just clutched tighter. Even at that point I knew something was up, but I just was shaking rather than doing anything. Younger me had chalked it up as just being scared of the room or being nervous, but I should have payed attention. As soon as the door opened they should have realized that it was more than nerves.
The elevator had opened up to a dark room that barely had bare bulbs dangling from the ceiling every few feet by but it wasn't bright at all. The bulbs were blackish-violet, colors contrasting and a few shades even glow neon in the lighting. Jars and boxes lined the shelves, every once in a while I spotted a little doll hanging from the ceiling.
Kankri scanned the aisles, walking up and down the store slowly. He picked up a few jars, and I actually recognized some of them. What really freaked me out about the place and finally had little five year old me realize something was going on was the boy at the counter. He had his face painted white and bones designed onto his clothes, except for around his chest. Around his chest looked like he was wearing someone's rib cage, and his glaring eyes seemed to say that he actually was.
"So you brought someone along." The boy stated, voice a bit raspy.
"We've been over this Kurloz. He's just my brother, nothing to be worried about." Kankri was talking in his weird way that hid his teeth, putting the jars and the box he had picked up on the counter. "If anything this is a great opportunity for Gamzee to meet someone, don't you think? They're both around the same age and you can still keep an eye on him."
"Gamzee is... out in the city... Unfortunatly. I have to watch the shop, so I can't go looking for him." Kurloz sighed. Of course this ensued into adventure around the city, where we had found Gamzee at the train station through the smell from the shop. The boy had been running around in pants several sizes to big he tied to his waist and a tshirt that was also too big, hanging off one shoulder, white face paint smeared and hair as fluffy as his brother's. His expression was completely zoned out as he stared across the tracks.
When we brought him back Kurloz's expression was first joy, but slowly the slight smile turned sinister as he looked to the two of us. "You know, Gamzee might want to play with your brother. Gamzee? Gamzee." He lightly stroked Gamzee's hair as he repeated his name, managing to shake him from his zoned out trance. "Gamzee, this is Kankri's brother." He motioned to me, and I almost fell over when Kankri let go of my hand.
"Go on Karkat. You're fine." Kankri scooted me closer to the counter and out from behind him, Gamzee immediately spotting me.
Gamzee hopped the counter with a smile, fangless teeth showing. "Woah, you're really small! Come on, I want to show you something." Gamzee lead me behind the counter and down to a room, a nervous glance to my brother in return for a thumbs up before disappearing with Gamzee into the room out of view. As soon as we were in Gamzee closed the door, turning on a regular light. It looked like it was his room, a bed in the corner and pictures he probably drew pinned up on the walls, paint a peeling sickly yellow.
I should have not agreed to go in there, because the first thing Gamzee went on about was a trick his big brother taught him. After trying to play with other toys a bit he brought up the trick again. "Can I try it on you Karkat? It probably won't work, but it might."
"Okay. What is it?"
"Sit right here." Gamzee sat me down in a little chair, pulling up a plastic kiddy table before setting things up on it messily. It looked fairly well ordered when he finished, lighting candles around me. "Hold still." He dipped his fingers in a little cup of something, reaching forward and running his fingers across my head. Neither of us expected a reaction and Gamzee looked more than surprised at the liquid on his fingers. The clear liquid had turned bright red, and my hands flew up to touch my head only to find no wound. "You have horns? It worked!"
I reached up to my horns, surprised they reappeared. They had been gone since Kankri had given me the pendant, but now they were visible again. I should have been scared of what this little boy did to me, but I was excited at the time. "Woah, how'd you do that Gamzee!"
"It's my brother's trick. Wait, is that red?" He leaned very close to me, staring at the color across my forehead. "It's candy red. That means you're special! It's brighter than human blood color, which is super rare. Come on, let's show my brother." He grabbed my hand, leading me back to the strange boy talking to my brother. At the time I wasn't scared at all, excited in fact.
Kankri and Kurloz looked over, both shocked as Gamzee got their attention. Kankri was over the counter in moments, putting himself between me and everyone else, pulling me away from Gamzee in the process. "Kankri!" I was scared, instantly, unsure of what to do. I had stumbled and was on the ground, taking a moment before getting up. "What's wrong?" I tried looking around Kankri only to see Gamzee just as lost, and Kurloz holding a hunting knife.
"So, he's a candy freak." Kurloz eyed me, his glare sending me stumbling back. "I already let you slip by, I can't let another. You must understand the state of things."
"Don't you dare touch him. I thought better of you Kurloz, not resorting to cheap tricks and judging poorly like this. You can't kill h-"
"I'm not killing him... Look at him, barely half your short height. Besides, you know what we do with the rarer catches here. Dad takes them."
"No." Kankri picked me up, arm tightly around me as he pulled my hoodie over my horns quickly. "You can't do that to him! It is fair or dignified in any way." He growled, fangs bared and back to full length. His other arm was outstretched towards the two brothers and as soon as Makkara twitched he was over the counter and in the elevator. He pulled his own hoodie low over his face.
As soon as the doors opened Kankri launched with a single jump onto a fire escape before continuing all the way up. He launched himself rooftop to rooftop, traveling the distance we walked here from the train station quickly. I was too scared to ask him what was going on in that moment and he was focused on moving out of there so much he wouldn't have answered even if I had gotten it together. Quickly we were on a train and heading back to the edge of the city to catch a bus.
The moment we were home Kankri immediately sat me down and ran off only to reappear with a first aid kit. He checked me over from head to toe like he thought I had gotten stabbed, and I was scared to death of what happened. He asked me what happened and told me I could never play with Gamzee again. Gamzee and Kurloz are the Makara brothers and along with their dad were members of a group called the Dark Carnival, getting away with things under the disguise of a traveling circus. Kankri explained his purchases, and that they weren't exactly regular buys. He said that our parents would take me some place far away to be safe and that he was going to lead the Makaras off. Before I fell asleep he left his backpack by my bed, saying if anything happened to keep it with me and run.
That night I woke in a car for the first time, windows shattered and the world on its side, rain trickling in through busted windows. It took me a while to figure out how to get free, and a while to pull the backpack out from its place crammed in the back with the suitcases. I tried waking up my parents, but it was to late for them. I managed to get out of the car in time to hear someone coming down the ravine to investigate, and the terrified five year old I was I ran with my brother's backpack and a pendant around my neck as the only things left from a life spent dreaming about the world in a dusty house.
I'm seventeen now, and I have yet to figure out what happened to Kankri that night or why my parents had crashed, but I was given help from a hit man called Crabdad. He took me in, feed me, raised me as his own, trained me to fight, and every new city we hit he makes sure to keep an eye out for my brother. He knows what I am, and he doesn't care about me being a mutant except for using it as a reason to drill me with even more training. I don't remember what my old last name was, so I've taken his: Vantas. We had to move home base after the cops started catching up to us, so here is hideout house number seven in the middle of plain sight. I swear if something stupid happens I will throw all my rom coms out the window while screeching like an eagle.