Okay, this is important: Read And We Will Fall Together first.Unless you really don't want to. Then all you really need to know is read up to Act six and Karkat broke his arm in my previous story. Let me know if you think this is bad. I will assume that all who read this liked it unless they say otherwise. All you have to do is say, 'This is bad.' If you're feeling adventurous, you could even tell me why you think it sucks so that I may improve. This would have been given to you on Monday, but my mom persisted in not allowing me the necessary time to write. Then I had band and orchestra (as in separately) practice on Tuesday, so...yeah. Continuing onward.
Dave: Be ironically bored
Dave was ironically bored. Wait, no. He was too bored for that. He felt pent-up energy buzzing through him as though he had just drank several mugs of the notoriously shitty coffee they had on this meteor. Mildly irked by his current mood, Dave sighed as he leaned against a wall. Unfortunately, there was nothing to do on the god forsaken rock that he, Rose, and four trolls had unwisely chosen to use to secure their damnation. Dave had a sudden epiphany which made his lip twitch slightly. It was easy to piss off a troll. However, he wouldn't annoy Kanaya because that would make Rose mad at him. He wouldn't annoy Gamzee because, well, Gamzee.
So, this left Terezi or Karkat, obviously. Terezi would put up a vocal fight, but she'd know that he was just goofing around. If she wasn't in the mood, she'd be no fun. And she hadn't been in the mood for it in months. Karkat would also put up a vocal fight, but it wouldn't necessarily make sense and he'd misinterpret everything Dave said. This made things hilarious. Sometimes though, messing with him was too easy, and therefore boring. Dave, as stated before, was already bored, so he decided to chance the risk of more tedious boredom. He found Karkat sprawled on one of the sofas in the luxuriously decorated computer lab. His legs dangled off of one end of the plush purple upholstery, causing the rest of him to sink into the cushions.
"what are you doing Vantas?" Dave asked as he leaned over the smaller boy.
Karkat scowled, "WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? I'M LYING THE FUCK DOWN."
"why? are you tired?" Dave sat on the ground, leaning against the couch as though it were a chair.
"COMPLETELY. I'VE ALWAYS HAD TROUBLE SLEEPING-"
"this much is apparent to me," Dave interrupted.
"BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS," Karkat finished, ignoring Dave. Dave turned from his position to examine Karkat again, giving him a look as if to say, 'continue...' Karkat sighed.
"ROSE STILL HASN'T FOUND A WAY TO ALCHEMIZE EVEN THE MILDEST OF PAINKILLERS," he admitted. Dave glanced at the makeshift brace holding Karkat's broken arm in place. It had only been a week and a half since he had "fallen." There was no way Dave believed that story. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the only one who suspected foul play. Even Terezi had bought Karkat's lies, so Dave doubted his own suspicions. Even so, Karkat had opened up an opportunity for interrogation disguised as mere tomfoolery.
"hmm. yeah, i bet that sucks. how'd you break it again?"
"GAMZEE AND I FELL, ASSHOLE. I LANDED ON IT HARD, WEAKENING MY FUCKING BONE'S RESOLVE, I SUPPOSE. THEN GAMZEE IMMEDIATELY LANDED ON TOP OF ME, CAUSING IT TO SNAP. IT WAS FUCKING REVOLTING," Karkat replied as he rolled his eyes.
"heh, right," Dave snorted.
Karkat glared at him, "OKAY FUCKASS, WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT? I'M NOT UP FOR YOUR BULLSHIT TODAY, SO JUST GET IT OVER WITH BEFORE I SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST."
"well, it's just that your account is missing details. how did you both fall? and didn't he shred your chest with his horn on the way down?
"FIRST, NEITHER OF US COULD RECALL EXACTLY HOW WE FELL. OR WHERE, SINCE GAMZEE DRAGGED ME OFF BEFORE I WOKE UP, AND HE COULDN'T REMEMBER THROUGH HIS FUCKING CONCUSSION. SECOND, YOU FUCKING ASKED ABOUT MY ARM, NOT MY CHEST. WHICH IS ABOUT ONE THIRD OF MY PROBLEM."
"i still don't believe you. i mean, gamzee? we all know he's psychotic. you two were crawling around in vents and avoiding us for some reason. and don't say you weren't, we heard you specifically behind that one door. also, the door handle had been cut off from the other side, where you did the majority of your screaming. now we head onto the next topic: your fucking screaming. do you know how much you sounded as though you were terrified out of your mind? and you were screaming like that for an awfully long time for someone who was passed out."
"THAT WAS WHEN GAMZEE WAS SETTING MY ARM. I WASN'T SCARED...WELL, AT LEAST NOT OF HIM. WELL, NOT DIRECTLY. YOU TRY NOT BEING TERRIFIED WHEN YOU WAKE UP TO AGONIZING PAIN AND FIND A DENT IN YOUR ARM. A FUCKING DENT, STRIDER! AND THEN YOUR HIGH CLOWN MOIRAIL GOES ABOUT SETTING THE FUCKING BONE. WHILE HE'S CONCUSSED! AND SINCE HE'S YOUR MOIRAIL, YOU CAN'T TELL HIM TO FUCK OFF AND LET SOMEONE ELSE DO IT BECAUSE IT WOULD HURT YOUR RELATIONSHIP," Karkat ranted, "THEN IT'S NOT EVEN OVER. YOU DON'T HAVE EVEN ONE TYLENOL OR AN ADVIL TO LESSEN YOUR FUCKING PAIN. THEREFORE, YOU CAN'T SLEEP OR FOCUS ON ANYTHING BECAUSE THE PAIN IS AS FUCKING CONSTANT AS THE GREEN SUN THAT WE FAILED TO DESTROY."
"yeah, that sounds like it blows," Dave admitted, "but did you actually fall?"
"WHAT THE FUCK! ARE YOU JUST GOING TO KEEP BUGGING ME UNTIL I SAY NO?! WELL PISS OFF! AS I SAID BEFORE, I'M FUCKING EXHAUSTED!"
"you're not going to give in, are you? you stubborn bastard," Dave stood. Karkat placed his good arm over his eyes, ignoring Dave's last comment. Dave frowned. It was rather odd that Karkat just kept letting things slip by. Apparently, he actually wanted Dave to leave him alone. Dave sighed, growing weary of practically torturing the miserable troll. He had a plan he was already prepared to resort to, but he was reluctant to put it into action. Reluctant...but willing. "look, i've got something that i'm rather sure will help you," Karkat lowered his arm to look at Dave, who continued, "however, you've got to tell me the truth about what happened. if you don't want the others to know, that's fine, okay? i promise i won't hurt gamzee."
Karkat lowered his gaze, and surprisingly, his eyes teared up, "I-I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH." Damn it. Now Dave felt like an asshole, but he knew that Karkat was lying. Nonetheless, that doubt was persistently shouting in his ear. He'd have to carry through with his plan if he wanted to know what really happened. No one else showed any concern for the guy. They all assumed that he was fine, even when he blatantly wasn't. Dave suspected it might have to do with Karkat flipping his shit about everything, so when he was legitimately flipping his shit, no one cared. It was rather depressing to watch. And to think that this started with him being bored.
"okay, okay, i believe you," Dave consoled, "even if i did still think you were lying, i wouldn't leave you to just sit there. i'll go get the stuff, alright?" After seeing Karkat nod, Dave flew off to grab the substance he needed.
Dave sneaked into the alchemizing room, only to realize that sneaking wasn't necessary. Only Rose was in there, stirring together some beverages. She looked up when Dave entered, grinning widely. Dave strode over to her so he could lean down and sniff her drink. Yep, alcohol.
"Shwant some, Dave?" she asked, "Thish wons stronger tan ones I've preppered in the pash. I relly shouldn't drink it all myself. Kanaya woldn't be heppy."
Dave sighed glumly, "you know what? i will have some of your...eh, what kind of drink is that anyway?"
"Some kinda vodka," Rose shrugged, "Here." She slid him a full bottle of the stuff. Great, just what he needed.
"okay...um, what should i put this in? you're supposed to put vodka into other drinks, right?" Dave inquired.
"Yesh. You can drink it straihgt, but it tasts beter in other things. Vodka can be put inta any type of luquid you cn think of, but sugar masks the alcohol," Rose told him.
"okay, thanks," Dave grabbed the bottle by its neck and ran out the door.
"sweet tea, sweet tea...yes!" Dave muttered to himself as he found the sweet tea. In a large container that one would use to make Kool-aid, Dave mixed together tea and vodka. Once the bottle was halfway empty and the concoction thoroughly stirred, Dave grabbed a cup and raced back to Karkat with the alcoholic tea. He hoped that trolls reacted the same way to alcohol as humans, but none of them had touched a drop of the stuff (they claimed that it smelled funny). There wasn't a way to know what would happen. Nonetheless, Dave poured out a cup of 'tea' as he walked back into the computer lab. Karkat turned his head toward Dave.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" he asked wearily.
"drink it, vantas. it'll probably taste like shit, but it should help," Dave replied.
"SHOULD HELP? SHOULDN'T YOU KNOW IF IT'LL HELP?"
"i only know it works for humans. it may not help you with pain, but i think it'll put you to sleep," Dave informed.
Karkat sat up slowly and spat, "FINE." He took the cup and took a giant gulp of it. His eyes screwed up as he cringed, then coughed after he swallowed the liquid. "WH-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT, DAVE?" Karkat choked.
"i told you it would taste like shit. just keep drinking it, alright? it'll make you relax if you drink enough. you may be out of it for a while, but i really think it'll help you with your nerves. you're wound up like a toy soldier, dude," Dave answered without directly answering the question.
"WHAT IS IT, DAVE?" Karkat persisted in aggravation.
Dave frowned, "you wouldn't know if i told you, but fine. it's tea with some vodka mixed in."
"WHAT THE FUCK IS A VODKA?" Karkat asked. Dave groaned.
"i told you that you wouldn't know what it was!" Dave complained, "just keep drinking it." Karkat wrinkled his nose at the foul liquid, then glanced at the entire jug before him.
"ALL OF IT?" he leaned backwards, slightly nervous at the prospect of drinking more.
"no, i'll tell you when to stop," Dave assured him. Karkat stared through to the depths of Dave's essence, causing uneasy shivers to run down his spine. After an extremely tiresome staring contest, Karkat went back to drinking the alcoholic beverage. Dave monitored him cautiously in silence for a while until Karkat began blinking rapidly and shaking his head.
"are you alright?" Dave asked.
"Feel weird," Karkat stated.
"uh, what happened to your...shoutiness?"
"Shoutiness isn't a fucking word, Dave."
"whatever. stand up, i need to see how much this has effected you." He did so without question, but swayed drastically until Dave steadied him. "okay, now, uh, walk in a straight line with the heel of your foot lined up with the toe of your previous foot."
"What?"
"like this," Dave showed him, "look at your feet while you do it."
"Oh." He stared at his feet while attempting to walk in a straight line. He completely strayed from going directly forward and wobbled as though he were being buffeted by strong winds. Dave sighed and got him to sit back down, then sat beside him.
"so, since i'm an idiot...well, how exactly did you break your arm again?" Dave feigned innocence. Karkat narrowed his eyes, but did speak.
"I shouldn't tell you, but...it's hard having to..." he stopped mid-sentence. Dave leaned forward, trying to urge him to go on. "Having...to...lie? Yes, that's it. Gamzee started falling into a dark rage, so he came to me so that I could calm him down. It didn't fucking work. He was too strong for me to effectively fight him, as was proven when he fucking pounced on me. We fell together, he landed on me. Um, then he...he," Karkat closed his eyes and put a hand to his head.
"are you alright?" Dave's concern was rather genuine since anything that went wrong would be his fault.
"-broke my arm. With his club," Karkat continued, "Then he kept fucking hitting me over the bone, again and again. That's why I was screaming loud as hell. He took my sickle and slashed it across my chest, then went to the door so he could kill the rest of you. I think he wanted to save me for last, or he was reluctant to kill me right away. It doesn't fucking matter, because he left one of my sickles on the ground. I got up and used it to knock him out, which I think only worked because I had managed to hit him over the head with it earlier. I slashed the handle off of the door and blocked the vent. I then left to...I don't know, bleed out? I didn't think it through very well. I don't fucking remember very well either, because of whatever you gave me." Karkat sighed, then leaned into Dave's arm.
"dude, what the fuck? are you one of those people who turn gay when they're drunk?" Dave laughed, trying to make the fact that he had his suspicions confirmed not so big of a deal. Karkat sat up as though he'd been electrocuted. He glared daggers sharper than Rose's knitting needles. Dave's fake smile fell, "geez, sorry. i didn't think you'd be offended since most of your people don't care what gender someone is. That's what...bisexual or pansexual?"
"Ugh, why do you humans give names to that shit? That's not what I find strange at all, Dave. Why'd you say drunk? WHAT WAS IN THAT FUCKING TEA?!" Karkat shouted at the end.
"vodka. i admit that it's...alcoholic," Dave stated with enough grace to be sheepish, "by they way, for someone who's shit-faced drunk, you have an amazing grasp at what's going on. you also have perfect, even complex, speech. you're not even slurring. it's admirable."
"Dave, why am I drunk?" Karkat spoke through his teeth.
"first of all, i needed to figure out what actually happened to you so that i could help," Dave started, but he stopped when Karkat's eyes widened to a point where it would be comical in other situations.
"Wait, you...what? What are you talking about?" Karkat hissed.
Dave flinched before he explained, "well, with your arm. and gamzee. i knew you were lying, but there wasn't anything to do unless i could prove it."
"Oh gog," Karkat groaned, "I fucking told you." He sounded close to tears, even though his eyes were dry. Dave blamed it on the alcohol, but he knew that the troll was genuinely hurt by what he had done. "You-you're going to kill Gamzee now. He's too fucking dangerous. He's gone completely insane twice, and I can't control him every time. Fuck. Fuck you, Strider. I-I-I c-can't even be a g-good fucking moirail."
"oh, you don't slur. you stutter," Dave commented.
"SHUT UP DAVE! JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP! I C-CAN'T BELIEVE THAT NOW EVEN YOU HAVE PROVED YOURSELF TO B-BE A COMPLETE DOUCHEMUFFIN! WHEN-WHY DID-WHY DID YOU DO THIS?! I THOUGHT THAT YOU WEREN'T-I MEAN-I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO WASN'T GOING TO BETRAY MY TRUST. I THOUGHT I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT YOU AND YOUR STUPID FUCKING RAPS, BECAUSE YOU WERE THE ONLY OTHER PERSON HERE WHO COMPLETELY REGRETTED BEING IN THIS FUCKING MESS! YOU HAVE RED EYES, WHICH YOU HID SO YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED A FREAK. I HAVE RED BLOOD, WHICH I HID BECAUSE I'D DIE IF I DIDN'T. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? EVENTUALLY MY-MY EYES W-WILL LOOK LIKE YOURS!"
"um, i understand most of that, and...i'm seriously sorry. look, i promised i wouldn't hurt gamzee. i won't tell the others either. all i want you to do is to stop being moirails with him. that's my advice, okay? you don't have to follow it, but i think it would be a tremendous wight off of your shoulders. but...where were you going with the eye thing?
"I don't even fucking know," Karkat admitted, then laughed in a way that was surprisingly high-pitched, creepy, and irresistibly contagious.
Dave raised his eyebrows as he chuckled, "what the fuck are you laughing about?"
"I-I don't know," Karkat continued laughing, "Is it-do you think it's because of...um."
"the enormous amount of alcohol consumption I put you through?"
"Yeah." Suddenly, Karkat scowled. "Strider?"
"yes?"
"I'm...starting to feel..."
"please don't say nauseous," Dave pleaded. Karkat sent him a look that caused Dave to say, "FUCK!"
Next chapter (I think there will generally be two per story): Dave dealing with what he's done. So, I've got an organized plan going on here. I'm going to go in a circle of characters. Two per story. The character focused on in the previous story becomes the object of the next characters interest in the next one. Ex. Gamzee and Karkat, Karkat and Dave, Dave and the next character, then on until we reach where it would be Gamzee and Karkat again. Then I'll go through the circle again, but one character at a time. Ex. Gamzee, Karkat, Dave, etc. Let me know who you think should be next in the circle. If no one says anything in a couple of days, I'll pick. If you want pairings, ask for them. So far, anything's fair game. If no one picks a pairing by the first completion of the circle, no one will be paired. Feel free to challenge me, but not with word limits. I generally dislike limitations. Plus, it's not a challenge. I've written a full novel and stories of one paragraph in length. But yeah, I can't get my computer to upload the polls, so leave it in a review or message me.