Sadstuck request by tumblr user blimpcat.
Think of this as an alternate end to 'The World of Crafting' which I need to work on.
"I want to look at you in the eyes."
The Enderman dropped the block of dirt in his hands in surprise. After processing the sentence over in his mind a bit he gave an 'are you stupid' look to his companion, "Uh you look me in the eyes everyday right? When we talk and shit. The fuck are you even talking about?"
"No I mean I want to look at you face to face, eyes looking into each other's eyes, nothing obstructing them. No sunglasses blocking the way."
The Enderman frowned, "But you know what happens to me if I do see your eyes. That's why you keep those stupid things on around me even at night or in the darkest caves."
"Don't you think we've hung around each other enough for you to be fine? To be comfortable enough with me to not freak out any more about my eyes? It's already been a year Karkat," the human leaned on a tree trunk nearby. Yes it had been a year since Dave and his friends ended up in the middle of nowhere and met all of their new friends. Rose had been making attempts to make a teleportation orb back but there was no rush and since they were living so well there wasn't a need for it quite yet.
"No it's not about comfort or about how long we've been together. It's just something that happens to my kind. I still flip out whenever John comes to visit and forgets to put on that pumpkin head. So what if we can't directly look at each other in the eyes. At least my touch alone doesn't burn you or anything worse like that. It's fine this way isn't it? If that's what it takes for us to be together then it's a small sacrifice to make. I don't want to hurt you Dave," Karkat turned back around and picked up the block he dropped to go back to what he was doing before.
"Don't you think we should try anyway? Not like you know for sure. I'm the only human that you've been really close to. Well I'm especially close compared to the others," Karkat rolled his eyes at the human's statement, "But seriously we won't know until it we try. It shouldn't be as bad as you think. We've been together for quite a while now. Don't you trust me?"
"If you two hadn't found that teleportation orb you wouldn't have even been here."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Karkat looked at Dave again with furrowed brows, "I just . . . Dave I really don't want to hurt you. It's a reflexive thing. Instinct. I can't control it you know that. So please just forget about it."
The human frowned and walked over to the Enderman. Even though he was shorter than Karkat he still took his wrist and held it in his hand. Pulling him a little closer he looked at him with determination. It scared Karkat a little because up close he could see the outline of the boy's eyes through the dark glass.
"I can't forget about it. Karkat I love you okay and it hurts that I can't even look at you without you worrying about this shit. The world at night is already dark enough without my shades. I want to see you without obstruction, see those bright glowing eyes with my own to see their full beauty."
The Enderman blushed, "Th-there's nothing beautiful about my eyes. They're red, they glow, they're annoying, and they freak other people out. Don't use such stupid words to describe me."
"No they're really nice and I want to see them. Nothing wrong with calling things the way they are," Dave slowly raised his free hand towards Karkat's face.
"Dave don't," dropping the block again Karkat quickly used his free hand to grab the human's arm to stop him.
"Trust me."
"I do trust you. I just don't trust myself. Dave please don't do this," he looked at the boy with worry, "I don't know what will happen or if I can control myself. I. Don't. Want. To. Hurt. You."
The Enderman said each world separately and carefully hoping that the boy would listen this time.
"Karkat just trust me. I trust that you won't hurt me. You care about me as much as I care about you right?" guess he didn't want to listen.
"I do. I really do. Dave you don't have to do this. I'm fine with the way things are. We're lucky that we can even be together like this with who we are."
The human paused and looked down for a minute as if collecting his thoughts but looked back up again with a pleading look, "Please?"
"Dave I-"
"Do I have to say it again? Trust me."
Karkat felt extremely conflicted by the stubborn human's tactics. He should have outright said no and turned away. Get mad at him, leave for a while or something and make him apologize. Instead he just loosened his grip on Dave's hand and the human slipped out of his hold to reach for his sunglasses. The human smiled as if for reassurance. He felt for a moment that everything would be okay. And then with hesitation Dave slid his sunglasses off.
The Enderman held his breath as he kept his eyes on the accessory that was hung at the collar of the boy's shirt. Dave let out a nervous chuckle as he kept his eyes closed. Moving the hand that held Karkat's wrist, he rubbed soothing circles on the back of the Enderman's hand with his thumb , "Babe just relax and breathe. Everything's gonna be okay."
Once he felt Karkat exhale the human slowly opened his eyes and looked directly into the eyes of the one he loved. The Enderman made eye contact and his own eyes widened a fraction. Dave blinked as he watched those glowing eyes for any indication of change or danger. After a few second he just smiled and gave Karkat a quick peck on the lips. He was perfect. The human wondered how he could ever think his eyes were terrible when they shone brighter than any red stone.
"See? Nothing happened."
But the something finally clicked in the back of Karkat's mind. His body began to shake violently and he tore his gaze away from the human. His heart rate quickened as he tried to fight back the adrenaline building up inside him. He watched Dave's feet as he took a few steps back before looking up and seeing his confused face full of fear.
"R-Run," was his only warning before his mind began to slip and the world around him went hazy, his control was slipping.
Dave watched as the Enderman fell to his knees still shaking and trying to fight back. No he believed that Karkat could fight back so he approached him and knelt down in front of him. Grabbing he sides of his arms he tried to help him fight that primal defensive instinct.
"Karkat you're not a monster you don't have to attack everyone like this. It's just eye contact it's no big deal. You don't have to freak out like this. I know you can stop it-"
The Enderman cut him off with a snarl and grabbed at the boy's arms sinking his claws into his skin, "I SAID RUN YOU IDIOT. GET TO WATER, ANY WHERE AWAY FROM ME, JUST RUN!"
The last thing he could remember seeing was Dave's terrified face. Those eyes filled with fear. The exact opposite of what he wanted to see. And then his world went black.
Karkat's consciousness returned at some point and he found himself panting for breath kneeling on the ground in a similar position he was in before he blacked out. His heart was out of control and the smell of blood was in the air. His entire body was still shaking. With horror he lifted his hands up to find them stained with fresh blood obviously not his own and with dread he looked around. Signs of battle could be seen, dirt blocks missing and broken, trees scraped and fallen, marks of sword swings and claw marks littered the area along with drops of human blood here and there. A sword sat to the side, no signs of blood on it whatsoever. If the idiot had a sword on him he should have used it better to defend himself yet there wasn't a single scratch on the Enderman. He was so skillful it shouldn't have been a problem to attack him and run yet it turned out that the human's priority was to not hurt Karkat rather than think of his own life.
He picked up the sword for some reason and stood up to search farther. He barely took five steps when he caught sight of the familiar red and white shirt. Karkat quickly ran over to the boy lying on the ground with his heart rate increasing. Sweat began to collect at the side of his forehead as he got closer. Soon he stood over the human who was lying on his back unconscious and bleeding out. He was severely wounded, scratches were seen all over his body, a trail of blood ran from his mouth and head, his sunglasses were found a few feet away from him, and his skin looked much too pale.
With a trembling hand Karkat checked to see if he was breathing or if there was a pulse. Holding his hand above his face he felt no breath and so with panic he quickly picked up the boy's much too cold hand. It was faint but there was a pulse. There was no time to be relieved. He had to bring him to the other humans for treatment. It was all he could do. Within a flash he grabbed the boy's bag and other items before carefully picking up Dave's tattered body. A groan of pain escaped from his lips. Karkat began heading back to the human settlement as fast as he could teleporting as far as he could. His vision started blurring for some reason and he had no idea why until he realized the blur was cause by tears falling down his face. He didn't even know when he started crying.
Soon he was at the front door of the home feeling exhausted from the trek but still fear over took it as his legs collapsed under him. Letting Dave lean on his legs and cradling his head in his left arm the Enderman frantically knocked on the door.
"Dave is that you? Back so soon? Did you forget your key?" a sleepy voice called behind the door before a lock was heard and the door swung open.
Karkat made sure to keep his head low even if the tears in his eyes obstructed most of his vision, "I-I'm so sorry. Fuck. I'm s-sorry. I'm sorry. Help h-him please. I'm sorry."
He heard John's breath hitch once he saw Dave's condition and could feel how his gaze widened upon him, "J-JADE! ROSE!"
"John?" Rose's voice called out in concern. Commotion was heard upstairs before the girls ran down and gasped at the sight. John knelt down and held his hands tentatively near Dave unsure of what to do.
"I-I'm so fucking s-sorry," Karkat cried before dropping Dave's items and shoving the boy into John's arms. He teleported away soon after.
In his caves he walked until his legs refused to move any longer before falling to his knees. He just sat there and spent about ten minutes crying until a voice called his name. Karkat turned to find Kanaya approaching with a concerned look. Once she saw him crying she immediately went over to hug him which just made him cry harder. He wasn't sure if he explained it to her or if he just babbled out nonsense amidst his sobbing but eventually he passed out in her arms.
Kanaya held the Enderman in her arms protectively. She had never seen him so distraught before. If she pieced together his jumble of words it meant that he had hurt the human he loved. His tears continued to fall even in his sleep. After bring him to his own little home he had made in the deepest part of the caves where no adventurers dared to go the Creeper headed outside to see if she could help the humans.
"We did all that we could," Jade placed a hand on John's shoulder. The boy was sitting on a chair by the bed his best friend was currently lying on. The three spent all night trying to stop the bleeding and bandaging him properly but that was all they could do. He had a terrible head wound, many broken bones and ribs, a few deep gashes and most likely internal bleeding. Just from his wounds the rest could tell what had happened. Karkat had attacked him. He was beaten, scratched, bruised and thrown around. His body was a complete and utter mess.
"None of us have the knowledge on how to treat his severe wounds. If we were back at the village the adults could have done a better job but with no way home I'm not sure how long he can last like this," Rose admitted with a shaky voice, "I've been trying to recreate that teleportation orb but to no avail . . ."
"I only know how to take care of minor wounds or sprains. Not anything like this," Jade's hand on John's shoulder shook. He put a hand on hers and looked up to see the girl crying. He got up and sat his sister down in his place as she put her face in her hands and sobbed.
Rose clenched her fists and got up from her seat by the wall, "I'm going to go try and make it again."
"Alright, but don't push yourself too hard," John looked at the girl with worry.
"I . . . I have to make it. We have to get back to the village. It's the only way to save him," with a distraught look the girl headed downstairs towards her enchanting room.
John looked back at Dave once Rose left and felt his heart tighten once he saw how pale he was. His best friend who was so full of energy was now on the verge of death without proper treatment. This shouldn't have happened. What did they do to cause such a horrible fight? No why did they even allow one to hurt the other? He thought they had something going on so there was no way Karkat should have hurt him. They were supposed to be in love right? It would be hard to ask what actually happened with the way Karkat disappeared like that. Well the Enderman definitely felt bad about what had happened with how John saw him crying like that. But through that it was obvious that it was his fault. Why did he hurt Dave?
"Jade you worked the hardest out of all of us. You should get some rest. I'll be here to take care of him for now."
His sister looked up at him with teary eyes, "But-"
"Like you said we did all that we could. It's okay we'll find a way to help him. We won't let him die. We'll take turns sleeping and taking care of him okay? We have to make sure Rose eats and sleeps too or else she'll dedicate her time to trying to make that orb without any breaks."
"Okay . . ." after wiping away her tears she gave one last hug to John before heading to her own room.
John sighed as he took his seat again. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, hands together, and mouth resting on them. Moving his head downwards he rested his forehead against his hands instead while closing his eyes, "What happened Dave . . ."
It was about a little past midday when there was a knock at the door. Dave was returned home in the middle of the night so about 12 hours had passed. Movement downstairs indicated that Rose went to answer it.
"Kanaya. What brings you here?" Rose's soft and tired voice was barely heard from where he was. John slowly left the room and headed downstairs to the front door.
"Rose? You look as if you haven't slept at all. What have you been doing?" Kanaya asked with concern.
"I need to make that teleportation orb like the one we found in the town hall. I need to get Dave home to be properly treated. If we just keep him here he will die at this rate. I have to make it as soon as possible," Rose wobbled in place.
Kanaya held her hands forwards ready to catch her if needed, "Rose you need rest. I came to help if there's any way I can."
"No I don't have time to rest. We have to get Dave home. That's the only way he will survive," Rose tried to fight against her exhaustion but felt it taking over her.
John watched from the bottom of the stairs as he processed some information over in his mind. Karkat had hurt Dave. Why he wasn't sure but when facts came to facts he was a monster. A being not human. A being that was always seen as creatures of danger and terror. And Kanaya was just another one of them. Spotting Dave's sword to the side he picked it up and ran at Kanaya with a cry.
"GET OUT! I WON'T LET YOU HURT ROSE! GET OUT YOU MONSTER," John swung the sword at her.
"John!? No John stop!" Rose held him back as he continued to swing at the invader of their home.
Kanaya backed away immediately but his reach was quite far causing him to make a nick on her hand before she could fully get out of reach. She held her hand back with a hurt look on her face as she continued to back out towards the door.
"GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK! I'M NOT GOING TO LET ANY OF YOU HURT ANY MORE OF MY FRIENDS! TELL ALL YOUR MONSTER FRIENDS TO STAY AWAY!" he continued to scream as he tried to struggle out of Rose's hold.
"Kanaya you have to leave now," Rose frantically demanded as she held John back with whatever strength she had left.
The Creeper looked at the humans with confusion and fear but after seeing John's frantic state and Rose's pleading look she turned and ran. Once she was out John fell to his knees and let the sword in his hand fall slack. Rose fell with him but kept her arms around him. With her face buried into his back he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt. He looked down and watched as a few drops fell below him. He didn't know when he had begun to cry either. At this rate it really was hopeless.
Jade came downstairs a few seconds after. Once she closed the door she carefully took the sword away from John's hand and helped her friends to their rooms. They soon fell asleep from exhaustion. She checked on Dave and found him paler than before. Rest wouldn't do him any good if they could barely take care of his injuries. There had to be another easier way to get them home without causing stressful failures to the others. Shaking her head Jade headed outside to sit on the beach. Her head was clearer when she was outdoors. At the edge of the waters she sat down and tried to come up with a plan but after an hour she still had no idea what to do. With distraught she pulled her legs up to her chest and hid her face in her knees. There had to be a way.
"Jade?" a soft melodic voice called. Carefully looking up the girl found a certain Squid Princess crouched down in front of her with her feet still in the water. She gave the girl a worried look, "Are you okay Jade? Did something happen?"
"Feferi . . ." Jade debated with herself if she should tell her what had happened. It looked as if the princess did not receive the news yet, but did she want to tell her? She was practically a monster like the others, like the one that hurt Dave. Had they been deceiving them all this time? Could she even trust them anymore? Maybe she couldn't trust them but she could use them to help her, "Feferi you said you know a wizard right."
"Yes I do."
"Can you bring me to this wizard? I need his help with something and only someone like him can help me."
"Would it help you with what you're worried about?" Feferi asked.
"Yes it would. A lot."
"Eridan doesn't like humans though . . ."
"But that's why I need you to help me to get to him. You're friends with him right? Can you convince him to help me? I really really need his help," that was right. A wizard could probably make a teleportation orb easy or even teleport them himself with magic.
"Okay I can bring you to him and I'll talk to him too! The only thing is that his house is about a day's travel . . ."
"That's fine it's better than a week or a month. A day is great. I'll pack up for the trip tonight and we'll leave at dawn. Is that alright?"
"Yes of course!"
"Thanks Feferi this will help out a lot."
Feferi smiled glad to be of aid to the human, "Um can I ask why you need to see Eridan?"
Jade stood up, "I just need his help in making something for me. It's something only a wizard can do at the moment."
"Okay . . ." Feferi stood up as well. Concern still written on her face.
"Don't worry about it. Everything's fine," Jade forced a smile, "Everyone's feeling a bit under the weather at the moment so I have to go take care of them okay? I'll see you tomorrow morning."
After a wave the girl went back into the house. Feferi stood at the shore as she watched the figure retreat back into the home. She definitely did not look fine at all. When she said everyone was a bit under the weather did that mean they were all sick? It was understandable for someone to be feeling down if all their friends were sick. Yeah that sounded like a plausible explanation. From the way the girl acted it looked as if Jade wanted to be alone for now. The human was usually a cheery girl so Feferi was sure she would be back to her old self in the morning for their trip.
Rose and John took a quick nap before waking up again. Rose disappeared back into her enchanting room and John left to get some extra wood to burn in the furnace. He didn't want to go into the caves to find more coal because that was the Enderman's domain. Thankfully no one else visited them. A few hours after dark Jade sent Rose back to bed as John stayed up to watch over Dave. She packed quietly in her room before going to bed herself. By dawn she sent John off to sleep and checked to make sure Rose was asleep before writing a note for them and leaving. With her shotgun over her shoulder and some food she headed out.
Feferi was waiting at the shore as expected. It was a very cloudy day which meant monsters would be out and about with no fear from burning under the sun. It was a good excuse to explain to the Squid Princess why Jade was bringing her gun along. Apparently the wizard lived far off into the swamps so Jade had to take a boat to get there. She took the fishing boat that they had made a couple of months ago. They switched between Jade rowing the boat and Feferi pushing it towards their destination. When Jade rowed Feferi sat in the boat and chatted away about her reclusive wizard friend. On and on she went about how he hated humans and was nocturnal but was actually a good guy. The girl silently listened with a fake smile on her face. When Feferi pushed Jade went over the plan of convincing the wizard to help. If he really hated humans that much it would be hard to get him to comply even with Feferi's help.
After carefully rowing the boat through the swamps they stopped at a larger island where an old abandoned purple pirate ship sat. How the pirate ship even got to the swamplands was beyond her.
"He lives in there surprisingly enough. He was fascinated by it as a kid so when he got older he claimed it as his home. He used to live in a little hut close to the rest of us way back then," Feferi explained as she helped Jade pull the boat up to shore far enough so it wouldn't get swept away.
"Can you go first and talk to him before I go in? Like I don't want him to suddenly attack me. Especially with how you told me about how much he hates humans."
"Oh right we don't want that happening now. Okay just wait here for a bit and I'll go and see him first," the Princess hopped into one of the cracks in the ship and called out to the wizard. Well if the Squid Princess couldn't convince him and begging didn't work well there was another reason why Jade had brought her shotgun.
Jade watched the sun begin to set as she waited for a half hour. Turns out the wizard just woke up and had to look presentable even for a 'human'. Feferi called out to her once he was ready. He didn't agree to help her right away but did agree to listen to her request before deciding on what to do. The princess led the girl through the ship until they reached a far room where the wizard was waiting sitting on an elegant looking chair. When Jade saw him she sensed danger from him. The wizard's skin was grey like Feferi's and he had dark scleras with violet eyes. He was probably quite powerful as well.
"Hurry and speak human so I can get to my breakfast."
"Eridan!" Feferi gave him a disapproving scowl. The wizard just huffed and waited with his head rested on his hand leaning on the arm of the chair.
"Don't worry I'll make it quick," Jade ignored his ill manners, "I need you to make me a teleportation orb. I'm sure a wizard like you knows how to make one."
"Hn, and wwhat do you need the orb for?" he raised a brow in curiosity.
"To get my friends home. So if you make us one it would be beneficial for you to get us humans out of the land near you."
"Wait Jade why are you going home all of a sudden? I thought Rose was trying to make one for you but she wasn't rushing on making one," Feferi cut in confused.
"Dave is on the brink of death because Karkat attacked him!" Jade shouted with clenched fists unable to hide it any longer, "The only way for him to get better is for him to receive proper treatment back at our home town."
"Wwell of course Kar wwould attack a stupid human that wwould look him in the eyes. That's the only wway for him to suddenly attack someone. If you humans didn't evven knoww that simple fact then you havve no one to blame but yourself for such idiotic actions. This is why I hate humans. Alwways actin' like idiots evven though you'vve been wwarned of the dangers around you."
"Shut up! Just make me the stupid orb so we can be on our way! Out of this place and away from the rest of you . . . you . . ."
"Us wwhat?"
"You MONSTERS!"
Feferi looked at Jade with wide unbelieving eyes. The human looked down to avoid eye contact.
"Fef go home," the wizard demanded as he got up from his seat.
"What but I-"
"I don't wwant you near the humans any more either. They'll be leavvin' soon anywways. Plus you travvelled all day to get here right? So go home and get some rest," Eridan walked towards Jade but kept a fair distance, "I wwill help you human. First you must take me to the place wwhere you wwere teleported to wwhen you first appeared here. From there I can make you an orb to take you straight back to your human vvillage. If I made you one here you may get teleported to some random area and end up back here. Wwe don't wwant that happenin' now do wwe."
"No of course not . . ." Jade turned to leave the pirate ship.
"Jade wait-" Feferi was about to run up to the girl but was stopped by Eridan. She looked up and gave him a pleading look but he just shook his head.
After the wizard gathered some items and food for travel they followed the human outside before Jade pushed the fishing boat back into the water. Eridan got into the boat with her as Feferi stood by and watched. She took two steps forwards when Eridan shook his head once more.
"Feferi go home," the wizard repeated.
The Squid Princess looked to the human girl but Jade didn't pause to turn around at all and just continued to row forward out of the swamps. Eridan looked down when he saw Feferi cover her face with her hands and sink down to her knees.
The trip was silent. Jade refused to stop for a nap or anything of the sort even though it had taken a day to get there. She didn't feel safe just falling asleep in front of that wizard in the boat with her. Plus the sooner they got back the better so they could get this over with and get home already. Once they hit open water Eridan broke the silence by asking which direction her home was. He used his magic to push them the rest of the way. It was awkward just sitting across from each other silently so the wizard attempted conversation.
"You're Jade right."
"Yeah. Didn't think you'd bother to know any of our names."
"Wwell Fef came by a lot and all she'd ever talk about wwas you humans that had suddenly appeared and became friends with evveryone. She liked you wwhich wwas wwhy I never took any actions earlier to dispose of you. If I had knowwn you wwould'vve made her cry then I should'vve gotten rid a you sooner," Eridan looked out at the water with irritation, "She made you all sound so nice too."
"Well we're not nice only when one of you hurt one of us badly," Jade retaliated with a face of annoyance.
"Hey you can't blame Kar for that. Wweren't you friends wwith him since you got here? You all should knoww howw out of control he gets wwhen a human looks him in the eyes. It's that Davve human's fault for lookin' at his eyes directly. He practically asked to get hurt like that."
"SHUT UP! DON'T SAY ANYTHING MORE BEFORE I THROW YOU OFF THE GOD DAMN BOAT!"
The wizard shrunk in his spot and held his hands up in forfeit. Usually he would have broken the deal and left with simple levitation magic to get away but he had to cooperate for now to rid of these unwanted beings. Jade looked away from him to calm herself down. If she continued to think about how pompous he looked with that ridiculous robe cape thing on him she really would throw him off the boat. She couldn't afford to do that at the moment. Unfortunately they needed him. Eridan pouted to the side but stayed silent for the rest of the trip.
Once the shore was in sight Jade found John sitting at the beach waiting. He stood up and waved at her once he saw them. The girl hopped off of the boat once they reached the shore and hugged him. He pulled her back and pointed Dave's sword, which he had with him for some reason, at the stranger in the boat. Eridan jumped out and landed with grace before pulling out a wand and waving it at the boat. He made the vessel fly in the air before gently placing it to the side of the house.
"Don't worry John. He's here to help us. He's going to make a teleportation orb for us so we can get Dave home," Jade pulled him away from the wizard that was inspecting his surroundings.
"Are you sure he's not just here to attack us and wipe us out? Isn't he that wizard guy Feferi talked about hating humans?"
"How rude. I'm not a beast. I am a civvilized person not some sort of animal. I'm only helping you since it's a chance to get you humans out of here and awway from my friends. I'm going to guess you're John. The one VVris wwon't shut up about."
"Good because we don't want to be here either," John lowered the blade.
"Well this is where we teleported to," Jade pointed to where Eridan stood, "You can make an orb for us now right?"
"Yup tomorroww."
"What!?"
"Wwhoa hey calm dowwn noww. I'm nocturnal. Mornin' is comin' soon and I spent most of my energy pushin' the boat for ovver half the trip so a course I'd be tired. Just give me a place to rest and I'll get right onto makin' one when dusk falls again."
Jade clenched her teeth ready to snap at him once more. She did not just suffer an entire day's trip just to have this guy waltz around at his own pace. John blinked at this side of Jade he rarely saw.
"If I make one noww at half powwer I'll end up makin' an orb that teleports you to some other random area that's still no wwhere near wwhere you wwant to go. I'm just statin' the facts don't bark at me again."
"BARK!? YOU-" John stopped Jade as she took a step forward and was pulling the gun from her back.
"Jade go get some rest. You were travelling all this time right? You must be tired. I can take care of this guy. Go get some sleep," John decided to place Jade's new easily irritable anger on her lack of sleep. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling to calm her down. After giving another hug to John and advising him to be careful she headed inside, "So just need a place to rest for the day right? Come on in. "
The boy led the wizard into the home and directed him to a couch. Eridan gave John a bewildered look, "So you offer a guest of your home a couch? I remember wwhy I hate humans noww. You wwere alwways the ill-mannered bunch."
"Hey it's better than the floor okay!"
The wizard rolled his eyes, "You're just provvin' my point. Wwhatevver this wwill havve to do I guess."
"John?" Rose came downstairs after waking up. She was awake in the day but John made her go back to sleep when night fell. She had passed by Jade so she already got the update from her.
He said good morning to her as they watched the wizard pull out his wand and draw a box with it around the couch. When he was finished a transparent barrier was made, "There noww I wwon't have to wworry about you jumpin' me in my sleep. Noww if you humans can step into the next room I'll be takin' my rest noww and make you that orb wwhen I get up."
The two humans looked at each other before back at Eridan who had his arms crossed waiting. With slightly confused looked they went into the next room.
"You can go to sleep John. I can watch him."
"Okay I guess. I don't want you wearing yourself out trying to make this thing anymore since we have this guy here alright Rose?"
"Well since our solution is here there is no point in trying anymore."
"I'm just making sure. You've just been looking really tired from trying to make that thing and it doesn't look like you've been getting much sleep either," John looked away scratching his head.
"Same to you. I understand. We are all worried, but soon we will get home and get Dave treated," Rose gave him a weak smile in attempts for reassurance, "Go to bed. He may be an almighty wizard but I do know how to trap him if he does try anything out of the ordinary."
"Okay but don't be hesitant to call me or Jade just in case."
"Noted."
Sleep failed to come to the Enderman ever since he had attacked the human three days ago. Whenever it tried to sneak up on him screams would force him back up again. He could hear a voice yelling out his name. Cries of pain. Pleas for him to stop. A voice that believed he could stop himself and that his true self was somewhere in there but it never reached him. The human's voice echoed inside of Karkat's mind.
Please.
Stop.
Karkat!
I know you're in there!
I don't want to hurt you!
You can fight it!
Please Karkat.
Stop!
It hurts.
STOP!
KARKAT!
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Stop. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you," that was all he chanted once the voice tried to talk to him over and over again. It stayed there reminding him that he had hurt the one he loved at any moment it got. The less sleep he got the louder the voice glow around him got brighter as his tears increased. It just wouldn't stop.
Karkat.
"I'M SORRY PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Karkat."
The Enderman's eyes widened when he realized the voice was no longer coming from inside his head but from behind him. He froze in his place wondering if it really was from his mind or not.
"Karkat," the voice said again.
Slowly he turned around to face the one calling his name. Leaning against a wall of the cave was the human trying so hard to stay standing. A weak smile was seen on his pale white skin. His sunglasses were gone which showed his eyes that were once so bright and full of life now showed signs of fatigue. The light in them was fading. His body shook from just standing but who knew how long it took for him to get to where the Enderman was. Bandages were wrapped around the boy's head and body. He was in terrible condition yet he had somehow trekked through the dark caves to find him all on his own. He had to be alone. There was absolutely no way his friends would have allowed him to move by himself in that condition.
"D-Dave?"
"Hey, what are you doing. Crying alone like that . . ." his words trailed off as he began to fall forward unable to support himself any longer.
Karkat quickly teleported over to the boy and caught him before he hit the ground, "Dave. Wh-why, what are you doing here you idiot!"
"You're loud," the human let out a weak chuckle.
The Enderman turned the human with care to face him up but the boy still winced. The life in his eyes were faded. It didn't seem to trigger the primal instinct inside him since he knew they were dying. Although it was obvious he still couldn't believe it. His tears continued, "Why are you here. You should be resting. You're crazy . . ."
Dave could feel the arms holding him shaking, "How long have you been crying?"
"Th-that doesn't matter right now. I have to- have to take you back. You're s-supposed to be resting. To get better. Why. Why did you come here in such a state."
"It's too late for me . . . I can't be helped . . . Might as well spend my last moments where I want to."
"DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!" Karkat stumbled as he got up carrying the much too light body of the boy. His skin was cold to the touch and he winced in pain at every movement, "I-I'm going to get you out of here. Bring you back to the others. You're going t-to be okay."
"Karkat. Stop. I told you I-"
"SHUT UP! Shut up. Please. Don't say that . . ." he was only able to take a few steps before he sunk down to his knees holding the boy close to him, "Please . . ."
"Don't blame yourself . . . It's not your fault. It was mine . . . I didn't listen to you. I shouldn't have let this happen," with each word he said his volume decreased. His strength was leaving him.
"Stop talking. Don't say anymore. Stop wasting your energy."
A hand moved up to wipe at the Enderman's tears. They were brushed to the side but floated up into the air around him adding to the bright glow surrounding them, "I don't want you to keep living with this regret . . . I need you to know . . . it's not your fault. I'm sorry."
"Please. Stop. Stop talking. Dave please," the Enderman could feel his entire body shaking as the heat began to disappear from the boy completely.
"I'm sorry," with the last of his strength he pulled himself upwards to leave one last kiss on Karkat's lips. As he fell back down the Enderman could feel the last warm breath escape from the human before he stopped moving completely. Looking at his eyes he saw they were completely devoid of life.
"Dave?"
"Jade wake up! He made it! We can go now!" John shook his sister in her bed.
The girl sat straight up immediately, blinked and tried to process things in her mind as fast as she could, "Should we pack anything or just go straight back or?"
"We should go right away. We can come back later using the orb in town hall if we do want to bring anything back but for now we have to get Dave h-"
"He's gone," Rose's voice came in rushed and panicked, "Dave is gone. He's not in his room or anywhere in the house. I-I don't understand I checked on him in the morning and he was there and I didn't see him leave at all. I should have checked on him again I was just too worried about the wizard and-"
"Rose calm down. He couldn't have gone too far in his condition," John tried to get a hold of the situation even if his heart rate began to pick up in fear, "We just have to go find him. We can ask the wizard to help. He wants us out of here pronto so he shouldn't have a reason to say no."
"We need to catch him before he leaves," Jade flipped her blanket away as she grabbed her blanket. She barely got two steps out of her room when she ran into Eridan.
"Wwhat's goin' on? Wwhy are you all in a frenzy?"
"O-Our friend disappeared. You have to help us find him!" she cried grabbing to the front of his shirt.
"Okay! I wwill! Just let go a me!"
"But where could he have gone? Why would he leave?" Rose exited the room with her hand through her hair clutching at it.
The four stepped outside into the night air as they began to plan on where to look. Jade brought her gun with her for just in case and John held onto Dave's sword. Eridan was about to suggest using a spell to find him before a strange ear piercing unnatural cry was heard from the mining entrance near the home. The humans all gave each other wide eyed looks before dashing for the caves. The wizard followed right behind them.
The cries continued loud and clear for them to follow. Ignoring the need for torches they ran forward. Eridan annoyed by their carelessness cast a ball of light to follow the leader. There was no time for thanks as they headed deeper into the mines. The cries subsided as they ran and soon they just stopped. Their lead had disappeared but a new one soon followed. A bright red glow could be seen around the corner. Carefully the four walked around it and found the source of the glow.
There the Enderman sat on his knees huddled over the slack body of the boy they were searching for. Karkat's face was buried into the chest of the human as his body shook with sobs. Dave's eyes just continued to look up at nothing with those faded unseeing eyes. Jade dropped her gun at the sight and sunk down into a sitting position. At the sound Karkat looked up at the group his face full of tears. Eridan quickly moved in front of the humans and held his cape in front of them to avoid any sort of eye contact. No one needed another Enderman freak out at this point.
"I'm sorry," Karkat whispered, ". . . I killed him."
John with wide eyes walked around Eridan's cape and headed towards the Enderman with sword still in hand.
"Wwhat are you doin' you fool!? Get back here!" the wizard hissed.
The human took no heed of the wizards words and just kept walking. The Enderman just watched him with his tear stained face. Even if he did make eye contact with the boy he wasn't sure if he could even attack him. He was drained physically and mentally from three full days of crying and avoiding sleep. When he was right in front of him Karkat eyed the sword. He wouldn't blame him if he attacked him right then and there. He deserved it for killing his best friend after all. He watched when the boy's hand gripped on the sword's handle before closing his eyes and preparing to accept his fate. His eyes opened once he heard the sword hit the ground. He found John kneeling in front of him crying as well but with his gaze onto the body of his friend. Looking up he found Eridan had put his cape back down and he could see the crying faces of the other humans. Jade curled over herself with her face hidden and Rose just stood there staring with wide eyes and tears falling silently down her face.
"I'm sorry," the Enderman whispered again when he realized he was the cause of all the tears, "I'm sorry. I killed him. It's my fault . . . kill me."
". . . what?" John looked up from Dave's body to Karkat's face.
"Kill me. I don't deserve to live for what I did," he picked up the sword that John was still holding on to and held the tip up to his neck, "Take revenge for your friend. Slay the monster that killed him."
John gave Karkat a hurt and conflicted look. For once he finally dared to look directly into the Enderman's eyes. The glow was barely there. He could see all will to live had escaped him. He had given up, he truly believed that he no longer should live, and he was determined to have it all end right there.
"N-No. I," John hung his head low as he sobbed, "I can't."
"John KILL ME," Karkat held the blade tighter causing cuts in his hand and blood dripping from it, "KILL ME NOW."
John looked frantic and confused as he tried to pull the sword away but was unable to get it out of the Enderman's strong hold. Eridan quickly ran over and helped John pull away the sword while ignoring the hysterics from Karkat. It took a while to take Dave from his arms as well as he continued to scream and cry. Eventually Eridan just used magic to levitated the dead human and place him in the arms of John.
"Take him and go. That's wwhat you came here for right?" he waved his wand and a new ball of light hovered above them, "Followw that light out. Take care of your business and leavve as soon as you can. I'll take care of this one."
It took John a minute before he got up carrying Dave in his arms. Leaving the sword behind he wobbly headed back to the entrance. Rose helped Jade get up and without another word they silently followed the magic light and left behind the cries of the Enderman. Now in the wizards arms Karkat cried and begged over and over again for him to kill him because he was the one who killed the human he loved.
"I'm not going to kill you Kar. Sorry but you need some rest," Eridan waved his wand over the Enderman. He began to feel his exhaustion finally take over and lulling him into sleep. There were no voices this time. He was gone.
A grave sat at the bottom of a mine. John sat across from the stone slab in the area of dirt in the dark caves. He had dug through stone all night until he hit dirt, cleared space and made stairs to the grave area. A part of him just knew that Dave would have wanted his grave to be in the mines rather than outside. Torches were placed all around to keep other monsters away. It was a humble and small little grave. Rose and Jade were there for the burial but left after a while and shut themselves in their rooms. Eridan had come by for a moment but only to drop off Dave's sword that was left behind which was now stabbed into the ground beside the grave. The wizard said nothing to them, he just gave them the item and left. Only John remained sitting there silently staring at the slab of rock. He still couldn't believe it. His best friend, one of the kids he grew up with, the one that was practically like his brother was suddenly gone just like that.
"John?" a voice that did not belong to Jade or Rose called from behind him.
He didn't bother turning around. He knew who it was and he didn't want her to be there, "Go away."
The sound of footsteps from behind him indicated that the visitor was coming closer rather than going away. The sound moved from behind him to the side above him. John didn't even bother looking up at the creature who was waiting on the wall with the help of her extra appendages.
"Not going to look up or anything? Not even a hi just a go away?" the voice seeped with annoyance, "Is that any way to greet your friend?"
"No you are not my friend and all I want you to do right now is to leave. I don't want to see you or your kind ever again. Just for today keep away. I'll be gone soon . . ."
"What the hell? My kind!? What do you mean we're not friends!? That's all you've been spouting and making sure of ever since we met!"
"Well I was wrong! You're all just monsters!" John finally looked up at the Cave Spider with fury as his yell echoed through the caves.
"Excuse me? Now we're monsters after a year of you enthusiastically calling us friends!?" Vriska looked back at him in surprise before her face revealed a look of irritation, "I thought . . . I even foolishly thought we were more than friends . . . But I guess you've just been leading me on this entire time."
Her eyes grew dark as she revealed her feral teeth. John feeling the killing intent got up and quickly dodged to the side when she jumped at him, "What the hell are you doing!?"
"What's the matter John? I'm a monster remember. I'm acting exactly like what you expect us to act like."
"I said to leave me alone not attack me!" John eyed Dave's sword.
"I just wanted to say sorry for your loss and try to be a friend but you shunned me just like that! I bet it wasn't even Karkat's fault but your stupid friend's! He practically asked for his own fucking death! Just because we're different doesn't give you the fucking right to claim us as heartless dumbass creatures!"
"SHUT UP!"
"NO! YOU IDIOTIC HUMAN!" Vriska jumped at him again but was pulled back by someone. She looked back and hissed at the Enderman with a teal glow that had stopped her. The human took the chance to run and grab the sword to defend himself. But when he turned around arms quickly wrapped around him and held him back.
"John please no more fighting!" Jade buried her face into his chest. Rose stood beside her and gave John a look of sadness. They didn't need any more bloodshed.
"Let go of me," the Cave Spider pulled her arm back, "The fuck are you doing here Pyrope."
"I was going to bring Karkat home until I heard the commotion," Terezi crossed her arms as she looked around with her eyes covered by the red glasses that Dave had made for her long ago.
Beside her stood Karkat looking down at the ground. John lowered his sword once he saw the bright red glow. His eyes barely showed any signs of life, his gaze wasn't particularly trained on anything, there were dark bags under his eyes and he just looked so dead. He was staring at empty space until his eyes shifted over to the grave.
"Leave them alone Vriska. They're leaving soon anyways," the Enderdragon in disguise warned.
"Tch," Vriska turned back to the humans and glared at them, "If I ever see you or your fucking kind again I will kill you all."
John looked away. She wanted to hit him. To scream at him more but it was pointless. She just turned and left into the dark caves. Under her breath she mumbled 'John you asshole'. The human looked up again as he watched her figure climb farther into the dark until he could no longer she her long blue hair.
"John let's just go home already. Please," Jade let go and looked up at him with her tear stained face. He looked over to Rose who had closed her eyes to stop herself from crying again.
"Okay . . ." John put the sword back into the hole it was originally in by the grave and was led out with Jade.
"Goodbye," Terezi bid them farewell but none of them responded.
John and Jade continued walking without looking back but Rose turned around. She walked up to Karkat and held up his hand before placing Dave's sunglasses in them. After curling his fingers around them she stepped back, gave small bow to Terezi and then followed after her friends. Karakat stared at the accessory as Terezi walked over to the grave. She took off her red glasses and hung them over the handle of the sword.
"I'll leave these with you so I know where they are if I ever need them again," she looked over to Karkat who was still staring at the glasses, "I'll take care of him don't you worry . . . We'll visit sometime. I'll bring him back once he's better. I'll also protect your friends when they want to visit too, well if they do . . . Goodbye. It was fun, while it lasted."
Terezi turned back to Karkat and looked at her friend with a sigh. It would probably be quite a while before she could get him back to his old self. It was an unfortunate incident that affected far too many of them.
"Let's go home Karkat. Back to The End," she held her hand out to him. He looked up at her with a blank look for a moment before taking it. He looked into her sad eyes and the forced smile on her face before giving one last look at the grave. Looking back at Terezi he nodded as if saying he was ready and left with the sunglasses in his hand to go back to his home where he belonged. Away from everything.
"Just a quick goodbye to the house and then we'll leave," Jade stated. The two following her said nothing.
Back inside their home they parted ways to look around at the rooms on their own. This was the house that the four of them had built together all on their own with no help from any adults or anyone else. It was comfortable and the perfect size for just the four of them. It was their home for an entire year but now it was time to leave. Probably forever. It was just another item of bad memories to them now.
"Kanaya?" Rose's voice was heard from her room. John and Jade immediately ran from where they were to Rose's room and found the Creeper standing there.
"I apologize for the sudden intrusion," Kanaya held her hands up in defense once she saw the others join, "I just came by to bid you all farewell since I heard you were leaving. No one was home and so I waited and came in . . ."
"We were just about to leave . . ." Rose responded.
"I see," Kanaya looked down before looking up and giving them a sad smile, "Then I guess this is goodbye."
Tears ran down the sides of her face as her skin began to glow. John was confused for a second before he realized what was about to happen. He quickly grabbed the two girls and pulled them down the stairs. The explosion was too sudden, too soon and it caused them to fly apart and into the walls. By the time everything settled half of their home was destroyed.
Rose was found on her knees staring at the large hole where her room once was with devastation. Jade walked over to her before falling to her knees and leaning onto her shoulder and crying. She couldn't take it anymore. None of them could. John took the teleportation orb from his backpack once he sat with the girls and held it out in front of them. There was nothing left there anymore. There was no reason to stay any longer. Jade held Rose's hand up for her and placed both their hands on the orb at the same time. A light shone from the orb and engulfed them finally taking them back to their true home.
A wizard peeked out from behind a tree once the light faded. He had been staying at his old nearby hidden home until the humans left. In the leftover debris of the broken house he searched around until he found the teleportation orb that was left behind along with a torn piece from a green checkered scarf. After picking the items up with a sigh he headed back towards his home in the swamps. Leaving the orb there would have been too dangerous. He didn't want anyone around there accidentally picking it up and then falling right into the middle of dangerous human territory. Hopefully there would be no other disturbances like that again. If there was he decided he would take care of it before anything like that happened again.
"Fools. Humans and monsters together? Howw ridiculous. It wwas never meant to be."