Prologue
What had that explosion been?
Was anyone hurt?
Was anyone DEAD?
Who the FUCK had their knee in his crotch!?
Karkat sat up, rolling over to his back, hissing at the ache he felt all over. Everything hurt. He was pretty sure even his hair hurt. He forced his eyelids open, glancing around using only his eyes.
Blurred forms were scattered around him. He made a mental count, trying to pair the dark blotchy forms with names. 'One….red dress….that's Kanaya…two, blue pants….Vriska. Dammit, she lived. Three….was that Terezi? Had to be. Then who the fuck had their knee in my fucking crotch?!'
He forced his neck to turn, seeing a larger form next to him with purple polka-dotted pants, splayed out and actually snoring. 'Oh FUCK ME SIDEWAYS—'
Another shot of pain stuck up his spine, making him hiss and clench his eyes shut. FUCK. Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. The pain subsided slowly, and he was able to think again.
Just the five of them. No one else. Where was Strider? Egbert, Lalonde, or Harley? He forced his eyes open again to do another glace over the place.
Nothing. Just them.
He strained his memory, trying find something that would jar his memory of what exactly had happened. He remembered them all being together…then something BIG. Something BAD. He remembered Vriska being struck down. Egbert shouting something, creating a ball of wind to protect them. Harley and Strider revving up something big, a bright light from Lalonde, an even BRIGHTER light…
….and then agonizing darkness.
His eyes snapped open, staring up at a hazy, dim canopy above him. What had happened to them? Where were they? Did they…?
Tears stung in the corners of his eyes, and he didn't even have the strength to wipe them away, or make them stop. 'What is going on?'
He laid there, staring up at the canopy, feeling himself grow weaker and numb. Death seemed like a decent option by this point, to be honest. He closed his eyes, and just moments before conscious left him, he heard footsteps approaching. His last thought was how grateful he was he'd be unconscious before probably being killed by whoever it was.
