A soft song echoed in the confines of the young troll's hive. Sadenned by its haunting melody, she layed her head in her arms and gazed desperately into the stars, knowing they would never fufill her wishes. She craved the forgiveness she knew the others would never grant her; she wanted to scream out of want for the feeling of acceptance among those of her kind. However, she knew all to well that such hopes were nothing but a hopeless desire in light of all she had done to diminish the trust and tolerance allowed to her before.
"I am nothing anymore." She whispered and her face turned from the stars' shining lights and squeezed her face in pain as tears began to make their way down her cheeks. They left blue trails that contrasted her gray skin. She let the tears fall, no need to pretend she was tough anymore, right? Everyone knew what she really was. A troll who desired attention and wouldn't let anyone stop her from getting what she wanted, no matter the price. But what was she now? Now that she was no longer the leader she thought herself to have been before. Before sburb had really ruined everything. Of course, things hadn't been exactly peachy before the game. Vriska wipped her tears away on the rough cloth of her jacket and buried her face in her arms, sleep gradually pulling her into its grasp.
A pair of blue eyes flashed open and gazed upon the new walls surrounding them. Simple pictures adorned the long hallway before Vriska. She took a tentative step towards the first one, a dull wood frame outlined the young grub in the photograph. She traced her younger self and felt the old hope she had once had. The hope that had filled her heart as a young troll. Now it was gone. She took a deep breath, appreciating the cool air that filled her lungs and distracted her from the pain that was building in her gut.
She walked the long passage, pausing now and again as memories replayed in her mind. She managed a weak smile at a few of the more ridiculous pictures. But the rest, they felt like slaps to the face as Vriska remembered key points in her life that had led to her to were she was now. In a dream bubble, filled with a thousand days and a thousand nights of memories. Memories she had long forgotten. Her feet clicked on the ground as she treaded onward. She fastened her pace as she saw herself age, not daring to look at some of the terrible things she had done. Then she saw them. The pictures of herself commiting vicious and violent crimes for her own amusement. There was Aradia, dead. And Tavros screaming in unimaginable agony at the loss of his legs. Finally there was Terezi... the one who had cost Vriska an arm and seven eyes. Who Vriska had, in return, blinded.
Guilt consumed her and tore her apart inside and out. The troll fell to her knees and wept on the ground mercilessly. Her tears stained the ground blue. She shifted slightly and felt a sharp pain in the side of her leg. An eight sided dice stared back at her menacingly as it challenged her to remember all the damage she had caused, all the lives she had ruined. Frustrated with herself, Vriska grabbed the small object and hurled it to the end of the hallway. She then continued her sorrowful grieving in choking and gasping wails. The sound echoed througout the dream bubble, replaying the sound of her anguish through her ears again and again. It was an endless torture, one she felt she deserved by now.
"Vriska." A male voice intruded the cries of the girl. He laid a hand on her back and crouched down to her position. "It's alright. We forgive you."
"No you don't. No one could forgive me. Not after all I've done." Vriska looked into the eyes of Tavros Nitram as he pulled her into a hug.
"But that's the thing, we do forgive you!" There was a flash of red as Aradia joined the hug. Vriska sighed and held them both tight. Her tears soaked their shirts, but still they held her.
"The judge delivers the verdict: not guilty!" Terezi Pyrope announced with a laugh and a flourish of her hand. She carefully stepped to where the trio were kneeled in an embrace. Silently, Terezi grabbed Vriska's face lightly with her hands and lifted the girl's head up. "Vriska, it's okay. We really do forgive you. It was a long time ago and we were young and foolish. We aren't mad at you. We're you're friends. Besides, you helped us become the amazing trolls we are today. Do you think I would have bonded with my lusus and hightened my other senses, had you not blinded me? Aradia wouldn't have ascended to godtier if not for you. And Tavros, well he found Rufio somewhere in this mess. So that helped him out too. See? You aren't all bad, you just made some mistakes. We all made mistakes. So it's okay." Terezi squeezed Vriska in a bear hug and smiled. The four rose to their feet and smiled reassuringly at Vriska. "Now, who wants to help me convict Senator Lemonsnout for his oh so vicious crimes against all of scalemate kind?" Terezi wrapped her arms around her friends and they walked off, discussing which method would be best to successfully prosecute the accused. In the back of Vriska's mind, the sad melody she had heard before began to fade into silence. For the first time in over a sweep, Vriska genuinly smiled.