He lay across the experimentation table with his two sickles held in a dead pharaohs position before being wrapped up and placed in his tomb. His eyes closed, glasses folded neatly next to him.

"Dave Strider, magical child of time," Equius placed his darkening red soul gem on his chest, "he'll be here soon, my friend," he assured, watching the unconscious boy.

Eridan stood with his hands clasped around his boyfriends bi-colored glasses, looking from Dave to Equius, questions arousing in his mind. "Are...are you leaving, Equius?"

Equius looked up at Eridan with a smile, "no...there's so much in this world...I have companions like you, Sollux, and NeNe by my side..." He trailed off, looking to the bright red light that filled the darkened and fallen lab. A carriage being pulled by a red and white striped tiger, made its way to Dave Strider.

"So it took you longer then it was supposed too?" The gods voice asked, his normally angry voice now soothing, like silk and sweet like cherries.

"Yeah, Dave became an obstacle, but it's surprising how everything went according to plan as soon as he found out that he was the witch," Sollux explained, his hands gripping the rope that crop was held in the tigers mouth.

"Yes...Dave finding out was actually something very exciting to watch, but..." She traced her fingers across her neck, the tense feeling of the paranoid boy's fingers wrapped around her neck.

"Well...it was because of him...he worked so hard to reach this day," Karkat smiled, looking down at the boy before him.

Dave twitched, voiced being heard from behind this darkness. He opened his eyes slightly to get a glimpse at what was happening around him. Equius and Eridan looking up into a bright red light. He blinked his eyes again to the carriage slowly moving down the brighten path. With one last blink, his eyes opened to the god making his way to him.

"I'm sorry for making you wait for so long, Dave." Karkat murmured, easing himself to him. "We can be together now, forever...let me take you away from here,"

Dave Strider stayed quiet, his thoughts roaming. Karkat was going to take him. No. He didn't want that. He wanted Karkat to have a happy life, with a family and everything. With him by his side. Karkat...

"Finally...Karkat..." Dave whispered, a small, wicked smile spreading across his face. Equius saw the smirk but was to late to react when Dave clamped firm hands around the gods wrists, pulling hard and tugging away at the law. Karkat gasped, pulling away as hard as he could. Dave's soul gem soon released a black mist as reality broke before them.

"Dave! What are you doing?" Karkat yelled.

"Something that I should've done before you left me, Karkat" Dave tugged harder, his soul gem darkening into nothing but a repugnant color.

"His soul gem! It's darkening into a fiercer color, what cursed him?" Sollux asked, pulling the reins on the tiger.

"Dave stop please! You'll make me disappear-" reality cracked, Karkat as himself, in his usual sweater and jean attire, unconscious.

"I'll never be apart from you anymore , Karkat." Dave whispered.

Dave's soul gem cracked. A new reality was released. Taking over the oldreality and wrapping itself around the universe, which was was once again rewritten by a new existent being. The clock of salvation slowly fell into this new universe. Dave held out his soul gem and crushed it in his fist. The clock becoming his new crown of rebirth.

Scratch floated into the universe, his face-less visage, "what is this? The universe...it's being rewritten..."

"Yes..." Dave's red eyes were now filled with black tints.

"What are you doing, Dave? Why?"

"Wow Scratch, I'm surprised your even fucking asking this," Dave's voice mewled, his smile never-changing.

"Your soul gem was cursed...you should've disappeared by now...what's manipulating you? TELL ME!"

"Oh Scratch...like you'll ever understand...it was a feeling that I wanted to share with Karkat since I first met him. More powerful then happiness, deeper then despair...because of this curse...I now care for all that I suffered."

Dave swallowed his dark soul gem and smiled widely then ever before,

"it was Love,"

Scratch searched the demonic's face. This was ridiculous, how could such a feeling of being with someone make your heart ponder and ponder while also slipping into a madness of no return? It was amazingly ludicrous, how Dave's soul darkened so purely, almost beautifully...

But Scratch knew better. He knew what he did. He experimented with the wrong species. He choose this species because of their emotional outlook on the world, and defiled it, by creating a God - and now a Monster - that will rewrite the world with new law and thoughts.

Dave's signature sun glasses cracked at the lenses, the frame soon following. A red crocodile pulled in and created his new frame, his lenses black with red rimming the edges. His gem shone bright on the side. Demon. That what he was now...

Demon...

-—-

The morning sun soaked through the classroom windows, students talking amongst themselves. Dave strider sat near a window with his chin on his wrist staring outside at the blue, cloudless sky. The sun beams made his white-blonde hair shine. Whispers if his name wafted through the air and into his ears. He tired his head to a group of girls huddled together in a small group, giggling as the cool-kid winked at them. Sollux Captor walked in with Eridan Amporra at his side, clutching his arm and entwined his fingers with Sollux. In school they were proclaimed the Happy Gay Couple. Sollux walked Eridan to his desk and made his way over to his desk behind Dave. But instead of sitting, he stood next to the demon, who looked up at him as if he had just acknowledged his existence. Sollux slammed his palm against Dave's desk, sending them both into a secluded area outside the classroom. Dave still in his desk and Sollux still standing, they both stared at each other with sharp, but relaxed eyes. Dave then stood and walked around his desk.

"What do you think? Cool, right?" He let his signature word roll on his tongue.

"Do you fucking know what you've done!" Sollux asked, which to Dave sounded more like a scream.

Dave lifted his eyebrow and leaned on the desk, looking from the top of his frames to stare at Sollux, whom was seething with anger.

"Look, I may have broke the law, and inprisioned the life and thoughts of the god, but hey, we all get what we want right?"

Sollux just stared at Dave through his bi-colored specs, "what you just took was every magical child's salvation, they depended on Karkat to save them!"

"So? He didn't deserve that life, I wanted him to live a long, peaceful fucking life instead of wasting eternity on curses."

Sollux stared wide-eyed at the demon before him. Curses. He called them curses. He lifted his hand to look at the ring on his finger, "Sollux Captor" scripted in the ruin language. Then, his eyes trailed to the second ring on the same finger, a promise ring, to always love and protect Eridan Amporra, who was his only salvation. He clenched his fist in anger and then thrusted his fist into Dave's cheek. Dave received his punch and stumbled back a bit, staring at Sollux. Sollux slipped off his glasses as rage and electricity left his eyes. He snapped at Dave's sneer, sending a roar of red psiionics at Dave, who dodged it and then swung his dark red sword at Sollux.

Their fight lasted for as long as they stood.

But before Sollux could make a final move, a voice sounded from the back of his head, catching him off guard.

"Sollux! Sollux!"

Eridan's voice. It was looking for him, calling out to him. Sollux clenched his fist as his lover called out his name, searching for him, loving him...

"You wanna a die now? Right when he's reaching out to you?" Dave snapped his fingers and his opponents powers slowly drifted. Losing his footing, Sollux continued listening for Eridan's voice. His Salvation...

"You wouldn't want him to hate you right? Your only salvation?" The demon let the word roll on his tongue, a smug, evil smile spreading on his face as he sent the two back into reality.

"Sollux?! Are you okay?" Eridan scurried over to Sollux's side, lifting his bleeding head on to his lap. Sollux lost all feeling in his head. His arms. His body felt all to weak.

"He just knocked his head against the desk when he tripped. He's fine" Dave said sitting in seat. As scene played before the audience, a small boy with hair sticking out in all places walked in, confusion taking up his visage. Dave smiled. He stood from his desk and walked slowly toward the new kid, his eyes never leaving the boys eyes. Karkat Vantas was being approached by the demon who locked him away and he didn't even know it. Dave took the boys bag and placed it in a desk.

"Hi, Dave strider at your service." He bowed in his princely way, still never leaving the confused gaze that was set upon him by the shorter boy. Karkat stared wide-eyed at the man before him, then turned his gaze to the commotion behind him.

"Is every-"

"Just another nuisance," Dave said, cutting him off. Karkat stared at him with seething anger. Dave ignored this, grabbing Karkat's hand and leading out the room and away from another obstacle.

Dave lead him out to a deserted hallway, the students he passed by watched with observant eyes. Tavros and Gamzee snuggling under a flight of stairs, kissing each other affectionately. They passed all the stood between them.

Dave stopped and turned, hand still and Karkat's. He smiled and pulled the smaller boy into his chest, running his hands up and down his back and through his dark locks. He smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. Oh how he missed Karkat's smell.

"What the fuck, Dave!" Exclaimed the blushing figure before him. Dave smiled at his foul mouth, wanting terribly to shush it with his.

"How does it feel to be back after such a long time?" He asked, letting his fingers run through Karkat's hair and allowing it to fall away from his fingertips.

The smaller boy, clenching Dave shirt in his chest, looked up at him as if the question as if he wanted to avoid being asked this, eyes filled with his beautiful anger.

"I don't feel anything...nothing hasn't changed since then...like...im the only person that changed..."

Dave widened his eyes behind his glasses, watching the spectical before him as Karkat stared upward with red, glowing eyes. Karkat's grip on Dave's shirt loosened and his hands fell to his sides, the universe slowly pulling him back into his rightful place as god, the salvation of Magical Children everywhere.

"I had another me...another task...why...?" Karkat was leaving the demons grasp...leaving Dave behind again...no...

Dave grabbed him and turned his face to his, pressing his lips to Karkat's, taking him back from the hands reaching out to him, those curses that needed his love...his salvation. The kiss brought Karkat back quickly, him trying hard to push Dave away, but soon lost himself in kiss, eyes half-lidded then soon closing. Dave held on tight to his new love, determined to never let him go...but...he was unsure of one more thing.

He pulled away and looked the dazed Karkat right in his eyes, "Karkat Vantas, do you consider this world precious? Do you think that law is more important then desires?" Dave felt regret filling him, his despair slowly making its way. Karkat looked up into Dave's darkened expression, unsure how to answer his question.

But spoke up with little confidence in his chest. Dave was terrifying.

"I think law is important...and that law should never be broken..." Karkat answered, looking at Dave's terrifying visage. His glasses were off, pushed to the top of his head, eyes red with black rimming the edges. He closed his eyes and pulled away from him, slipping off the cancer necklace that was given to him before Karkat left to serve his purpose. He wrapped the chain around the cancers neck and kissed his lips again.

"It suits you."

"..." Karkat blushed at the sudden gesture.

"We'll be enemies one day...but that won't matter, I only desire to see a world where you and I can be happy..." Dave hugged Karkat again, sealing that unforgiven bond between them. Nothing would sever that bonged they, and the others had. From this newly built universe, their friendships slowly took shape. New beginnings never felt so right, his new world was for him and Karkat to share. The gods cage was his salvation, locking him away from Karkat's memory. It all went just as he wanted. And every night, the demon would find a new way to torture Scratch. His new world...his new love...his new identity...

Fin