My eyes flashed open. At first I was confused, since I rarely slept outside of my recupracoon. Yawning, I stood up and stretched, glancing out the window. The sun was still shining through the dark glass; it couldn't have been any later than 4 o clock.
I had no intention of returning to the creaky chair, so I slid down one of the chains to the floor as quietly as I could. Carefully, I pulled a tarp off of my latest project, smiling despite myself.
It had taken me three sweeps to collect all of the parts, but it had all been worth it. Every stolen piece, every week without food because I had to buy a big part, every stupid part I had to sell to save up… Totally worth it.
I crouched down and wiped some grime off of my hand-made motorcycle with my sleeve. Everything about the bike was perfect. And someday, I was going to ride it out of here, somewhere with no hives, and no cities, and no annoying trolls. I'll plant a farm, and I'll live for as long as I want, and no one will bother me.
I frowned a little. Of course, I couldn't go yet. I didn't have enough money to buy all the seeds and materials I would need. And I had to find my brother first. I would never be able to live with myself if I left him behind in this disgusting society.
And frankly… I missed him. A lot. Not that I would ever tell him that.
I grabbed my wrench, going over the bike and making sure everything was alright. I tightened a few bolts, whistling to myself while I waited for the sun to set, so I could reopen the shop.
There was a strange, unfamiliar noise in the distance. My ear twitched, and I looked up, confused. Dropping the wrench, I stood up and walked to the door, pressing my ear against it and narrowing my eyes.
There was a strange creaking sound, like metal rubbing against itself. A fuzzy noise burst out occasionally, like someone talking. Suspicious, I pulled my cloak on and stepped outside a little, looking down the street.
A huge, metal machine stomped down the road, followed by a horde of trolls dressed in military uniform. The soldiers were kicking the doors of hives in and pulling trolls out, then tossing them in the back of the machine. For a moment I was frozen in terror, gaping at the unbelievable scene.
"NEPETA!" I shouted, slamming the door shut and locking it. "NEPETA WAKE UP, WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!"
"Wha?!" Nepeta popped out of the recupracoon, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"
I clambered clumsily up the chains, making a racket in my haste and fear. I pulled her out of the recupracoon forcefully, and she made a small indignant noise.
"Never mind, we gotta move!" She opened her mouth to question me, but I interrupted her quickly. "Just trust me, okay? We don't have much time! Just go!"
She quickly scraped excess slime off of her and pulled her jacket and hat back on, then followed me down the chains. My hands shook a little as the noisy machine got closer and closer. There weren't a lot of hives in this particular area, so it would take those soldiers no time at all to reach us.
"What's that sound?" Nepeta asked, turning her head back and forth to listen.
"Doesn't matter! Go, go, go!" I picked her up and placed her on the back of the bike. "Actually, stay. Stay right there! No moving!"
"Oh… Kay?" Nepeta was starting to look worried, glancing back and forth with every heavy, metallic step of the machine.
I opened a cabinet beneath the overhang and pulled out my sickles, my emergency food stache, and my bag of (meager) savings. I also grabbed Nepeta's money for her, since she had left it on my table. Smacking my big red button as I ran by, I jumped onto the motorcycle and revved the engines.
I'm really glad it actually works.
The button had activated the back door, which slowly slid upwards. As soon as I could, I barreled through the narrow gap, ducking to avoid hitting my head.
As we sped away, the soldiers kicked in my door, shouting after me. I pulled my cloak over my head with one hand, steering towards the city with my other. Nepeta held onto me tightly, squinting out at the sun.
"Pull my cloak over you!" I shouted back to her above the noise of the engine. If she said anything, I couldn't hear it, but she must have heard me because she pulled the cape that had been tucked between us over her head. I tried not to look at the sun directly, grimacing as the dim light burned my cheeks and hands. I focused on the paths ahead of me, mentally blocking out the sound of screams and grinding machinery.
"Why…" I whispered to myself as silence fell down around us. The roar of the engine filled my ears. We passed various hives, some that had already been emptied and some that hadn't been reached yet.
Around midnight I stopped. The lights of the city could be seen in the distance, but I had no desire to get any closer to it. Nepeta lifted my cloak away from her head, blinking up at me.
"Are you alright, Karkat?" She asked me. My hands trembled a little as I lifted my cloak and pulled her money pouch out. I turned and dropped them in her hands, scowling.
"There. You're home. Now go." I snarled at her. Her eyes widened with surprise, but she got off the motorcycle nonetheless. I turned it away from the city without hesitation, revving the engine.
"Karkat, wait-" Nepeta began to protest, but I sped away from her, doing my best to bury my anger.
How dare they? Those damn city dwellers destroyed my home. Why? What would drive them to that?!
The tears I had been holding back for hours came streaming down my face now. I didn't even know where I was going anymore. My home had been destroyed, and there was no way I'd ever get enough money to live by myself now. I sneered at the wind, squinting as I drove across an especially dusty area. Stones pelted me in the face as my motorcycle kicked them up in the air.
I don't even care anymore.
I came to a stop again. The moon was dipping in the sky, and my exhaustion was making my vision fuzzy. I kicked the kick stand and sat down heavily on the ground, trying to take deep breaths. A shudder passed through me, and I wrapped the cloak around my body, tucking my knees up.
It was a foolish dream anyway.
I reached for my necklace, pressing the cancer symbol between my thumb and forefinger. A sudden rush of anger came over me, and I pulled it over my head. With a yell of anger I threw it as far as I could, watching it sail through the air, glittering in the moonlight. After a moment, it landed with a metallic clang.
A metallic clang? I raised my eyebrow curiously and stood up again. There was no way something so small could make such a loud noise.
I walked slowly towards where I had thrown the pendant. After a few feet, my footsteps began to make a similar metallic sound. I looked down, scuffing the toe of my boot against the dusty ground. As the dirt cleared away, a dull metal surface was revealed, making an echoing clang every time I tapped it with my foot. Picking up my necklace, I slowly cleared earth off of the metal, until the entire surface was revealed.
It was a huge oval, about as long around as I was tall. Engraved into the disk was an enormous cancer symbol, exactly like my necklace. It didn't appear to have any use other than existing, but upon closer inspection I discovered a small divot in the center. Taking the necklace in my hand, I pressed the pendant into the ground, fitting it easily in the small hole.
There was a click, and then nothing. I stood up again, a little disappointed, until the ground began to shake. I spread my arms out for balance, eyes widening as the enormous metal plate began to glow red. I scrunched my eyes shut, slightly blinded, and fell over as the shaking and glowing got even more intense.
When it finally stopped, I slowly opened my eyes. Standing in the center was a slightly taller troll, but he couldn't be any more than nine or ten sweeps old. He was wearing a dark mahogany-colored tunic, cape, and pants, with a bright red slash across the chest. A hood that matched his cape covered his head, shading his face a little.
"Behold, worthless mortal!" He rose his hands above his head. "I am your God!"
"Bull!" I shouted, scowling. He matched my scowl perfectly, clenching his fists.
"What the hell do you mean, bull?! Did you miss the earthquake? How I appeared out of fucking nowhere?!"
"My eyes were closed!"
"I will smite your sorry ass, you liar!" He hollered, but he didn't move to attack me. I stood up to my full height, the hood of the cloak falling down onto my shoulders.
"Go ahead!" I screamed at him, releasing all of the anger I had pent up in me. "I don't care! You wouldn't be the first self-glorified, buldge-scratching dick to COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DESTROY EVERY SINGLE THING AROUND ME!"
For a second he seemed surprised, but I didn't care.
"AND IF YOU'RE MY GOD, HOW COME YOU NEVER HELPED ME OUT, HUH? WHAT ABOUT MY DAD? WHAT ABOUT MY HIVE? WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE IDIOTS THAT HAVE BEEN DRIVEN INTO SELF EXILE IN THE HIVELANDS, ONLY TO BE FORCEFULLY TAKEN FROM THEIR HOMES?! WHAT ABOUT THAT?!" I walked towards him, wild, and he took a half step back. "WHERE WERE YOU?!"
I stood directly in front of him, snarling inches from his face. His scowl didn't disappear, and his eyes darted back and forth, like he was trying to make a decision. After he continued to be silent, I stepped away, panting, trying to get myself under control again. I shook my head, turning away and shoving my hands into my pants pockets.
"There's no such thing as gods, anyway." I grumbled under my breath. "It was stupid to think there were any to protect us."
"Yeah, you're right." The man whispered. I turned around again to see him walking towards me. "It was stupid to think that someone would protect you."
He put his hand on my shoulder, giving me a small half-smile.
"Come with me, kid, I wanna show you something."
"Come with you where..?" I narrowed my eyes. "We're in the middle of nowhere."
"Yeah." He took his hand off and wiped it on his shirt, then jogged awkwardly back to the middle of the platform. Bending down, he picked up my necklace and pulled it over his head.
"H-Hey! Put that the back down! That's not yours!" I pointed angrily at him, and he rolled his eyes.
"Actually, it is mine, I just left it on the planet in case you idiots needed me!" He went back to scowling. "And from what you've said, it sounds like you need me!"
His hands started glowing red like the platform had during the earthquake. He motioned for me to come closer, entering a kneeling position and drawing something on the ground with his fingers. I hesitated, but went to him anyways, kneeling beside him.
"Um…" I tilted my head to the side, trying to look at his drawing from a different angle. "Is it… An umbrella?"
"No, dumbass, it's a key!" He smacked me in the back of the head, making me wince. He kept sketching the "key" with his finger, ignoring me. When he was finished, his hands stopped glowing, but the drawing continued to illuminate the dusk. Slowly, he reached his hand into the drawing and, with a disgusting slurping sound, pulled out a bright red key. His hand and the key were dripping with a thick red liquid, and he scrunched up his nose.
"I really hate my job sometimes." He grumbled, dropping the key on my lap.
"Ew!" I hissed, flicking it off and scrubbing at the now red stain on my pants. When he started glaring at me, I picked the key up and started cleaning that as well.
"There. Now you won't have to come all the way out here to talk to me." He crossed his arms, getting the red liquid all over his sleeves.
"Who says I want to talk to you?" I muttered.
"Excuse me? I couldn't hear you over the sound of how thankful you should be."
"I, um…" Biting back another retort (I wasn't in the mood to get into another fight with this loser), I raised my voice and changed the subject. "What's the red stuff on your hands?"
"Oh." He held them up in the moonlight, scrunching his nose up again. "I think it's blood."
I could feel the color of my face change, and I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from throwing up.
"B-Blood doesn't come in that color!" I stuttered, recoiling. He rolled his eyes, putting his hands down.
"Come on Karkat, your blood is the EXACT same color."
"How did you know-" I started, but quickly shut my mouth. I hadn't told him my name.
To answer me, he pulled his hood off, revealing messy black hair cut exactly the same as mine. Now that I was looking, I could see his horns were the same shape as mine too. As I stared at him in confusion, he bit the inside of his cheek and spit a bright red glob of blood on the ground by my feet.
"We're the same person. Sort of." He told me after deciding he had provided sufficient proof. "But you don't have to call me Karkat. You can just call me, umm… Knight of Blood."
The Knight of Blood stood up, wiping the remaining blood on his hands off on his pants. His cheek had probably already healed, since he didn't spit out any more blood.
"See, a couple thousand years ago, my friends and I noticed that a few of the trolls living down here looked just like us. Turns out, the game's program saved all of our DNA from when we were messing with ectobiology. Sollux, he's another god, was messing with the game's programing, again, so that a certain creature he really liked would spawn on the planet periodically. He wanted it to be a natural inhabitant but didn't want it to go extinct, you know? I don't know, it was something stupid like that. So he asked me to get him the code out of the Appearifier for the stupid animal, since he had already spawned a bunch of them on a day he had nothing to do. And… I might have accidentally printed out the codes for all of the trolls as well… It was really stupid and confusing, so I just printed off all the codes that looked like they had to deal with living creatures! I figured it was just a bunch of different kinds of the same animal, since he had cloned a bazillion of them! So, now every few hundred of years, 24 wrigglers kinda just pop out of nowhere. Sometimes they don't all come at the same time, like Damara. She keeps sporadically popping up, it's really stupid. Actually, A Kankri recently showed up at the wrong time too… He ended up meeting another Kankri, and I had to listen to that idiot brag about how he existed in three different 'states of being' at once, ugh-"
"Wait, Kankri?" I hadn't understood most of what the Knight was talking about, but I perked up at the sound of my brother's name. I still hated that I hadn't taken him with me, no matter how much he used to annoy me in the orphanage. "Do you know where Kankri is?!"
"Calm down, kid." The Knight held his hands up in front of him, a little annoyed. "Were you even listening to me? This is important stuff! I don't explain this to every Karkat I see, so you better pay attention."
"Yeah, yeah, I was listening. Your friend was trying to make an animal and now versions of yourself show up on the planet once and a while, and something about a pear on fire?" I shrugged, standing up next to him. "Come on, if you're a god, you should know where Kankri is! I mean, you can pull keys out of the ground! Do something useful!" He snarled, and I took a step back, laughing uncomfortably. "Not that the key isn't useful. It's super exciting! I cannot wait to use this key, and I am so thankful it hurts! Ouch! See that? That was my thankfulness biting me from the inside!"
"Right… Whatever." The Knight of Blood looked away. "I'm sorry, I don't know where your current Kankri is. It's not exactly a power I have. The key thing is something all gods can do, but I'm not even the best at that!" When he saw my shoulders fall, he bit his lip a little, waving his hands as he spoke.
"Don't worry, though! I know someone who can help you! If you can find a girl named Terezi and convince her to give you her necklace, you'll be able to open the Seer of Mind's gate. She'll easily be able to find your Kankri, seeing stuff is her forte."
"Terezi?" I mentally repeated the name over and over, so I wouldn't forget it. "Right. Got it! Any idea where she is?"
"No. But all of the grubs appearify in about the same area, so she can't be far away." He replied. "I would check any hives and towns nearby, though you'll probably do better looking in the cities."
I grimaced. The city was the last place I wanted to be. But I wasn't too keen to venture into the hivelands again, in case I ran into the soldiers and had to deal with that all over again. The Knight of Blood noticed my discomfort, and patted me on the head.
"Buck up, loser. You'll be fine." He pulled my necklace off and put it back around my head. "Remember, if you need any more help, just stick that key I gave you into any door and you can find me." He turned me around and pushed me lightly towards my motorcycle. "Now get out of here! The sun's coming up soon!"
"Gah!" I stumbled forward, turning around to punch him in the arm for pushing me. But he had already vanished.
"Thank you…" I whispered into the silence. I uncurled my fist, looking at the key in my hand. It was still warm, and pulsed ever so slightly, like a tiny heartbeat. I opened the chain and slid the key on next to the cancer symbol, then clasped it back around my neck. It was surprisingly light, but then again it wasn't all that big.
I slipped onto my bike, my head spinning and heavy with the information the Knight of Blood had pumped into me. Revving the engine, I rolled it all around in my mind, sorting it into what I deemed useful and what seemed like useless filler.
Was I really a reincarnation of a god? And so was my older brother?
I shook my head. What mattered was finding Kankri. It was pointless to procrastinate finding him any further, and now there was a really good chance that I would actually find him. I hoped he would forgive me for leaving him, although deep down I knew he would keep that grudge forever.
I raced against time through the empty plains, desperate to reach the city before the sunlight reached me. The burns on my face and hands still stung violently, and my skin was starting to turn a sore pink color and peel. By sunrise, however, I had reached the city.
It was enormous. Huge, sparkling silver spires stretched out against the sky, as if a massive monster was trying to claw its way out from underground. But it was still graceful, so much more collected and coordinated than the hivelands. I would have described it as beautiful, but my hatred for the corrupt trolls that inhabited the enormous citadel was too deep, and I was filled with disgust simply by being here. It was surrounded by a river, with long bridges leading to the other side periodically placed along the shore.
I steered beneath one, finding a nice and dark spot to rest. I set the kickstand again, lying down between the motorcycle and the river. Luckily, the ground was flat near the wall, where the bridge met the ground. However, it was narrow, and my motorcycle barely fit without scratching the concrete above me. I covered it with my cloak, uncomfortable with it sitting in the open, even though it was unlikely anyone would see me under here. Curling up in a ball, I let the rush of the river sweep me into slumber.
When I woke again, it was dark enough for me to leave. It wasn't apparent that anyone had visited me in my hiding place, as there was nothing missing from my person and my bike hadn't been touched. I pulled my cloak off of it, checking it for damage.
"Ugh…" I bent down, touching the tires of my bike. The hours on end of intense riding had nearly destroyed the wheels. They had been pretty bad when I bought them, but now they looked like they could fall apart any second. I snuck out of my hiding place and looked up on top of the bridge. A group of soldiers were collected in the center, armed with guns. They faced towards the hivelands, as if on guard.
I quickly disappeared back under the bridge before they saw me, cursing under my breath. How was I supposed to get across now?
Upon closer examination, I found that the river wasn't moving very fast at all. And, though it was wide, it might not be all that deep.
Summoning up my determination, I spread my cloak out on the ground and stripped down to my underwear. I tied my clothes, sickles, money, and food up in the cloak and then tied the cloak to the motorcycle. With a quiet grunt, I picked the motorcycle up in my arms, silently screaming. The plus side to spending years as a mechanic, climbing up and down chains and wrestling with machinery, was that I had a pretty sturdy upper body strength, and enough lower body strength to do what I needed. I walked slowly down the bank and into the river, hissing when my skin touched the ice cold water. Lifting the motorcycle all the way above my head, I walked further into the river, my arms shaking.
About a third of the way through, I wished that I had checked to make sure it was shallow enough to cross. The water level was already to the base of my chest, and it was still getting deeper.
Why did I have to be so short?!
"Okay, Knight, this is the part where you help me out!" I whispered, struggling to keep the motorcycle dry as I attempted to continue. I was almost halfway across, I couldn't give up yet! But I was almost pale with the fear of getting the bike wet and the results. THIS BY FAR THE DUMBEST IDEA I HAVE EVER HAD. "Please! I'll never ignore you when you're trying to explain something to me again!"
"Whoa brother!"
I looked up. A troll about my age stood on the bank I was trying to get to. Long, wavy horns jutted out from long, messy hair, which framed his make-up coated face. He hooked his thumb in his belt buckle to keep his sagging pants from falling as he scratched his head and grinned like an idiot.
"Are you trying to sneak past the guards, bro?" He sniggered, his thick voice a little too loud for my taste.
"Sh-Shut up and help!" I hissed at him, desperate to get across quickly.
"Okay, don't get all up and twisted, little man!" He laughed again, ditching his clown shoes and socks and splashing into the river. In a matter of minutes, he was beside me. I let him support half of it, my muscles sighing in relief.
He was much taller than I was, and a little lanky, but he matched my strength easily.
"If this even touches the water, I will personally cut your head off!" I growled at him, but there was no real edge to it. I was grateful someone had actually come along, and just in time. Thank you, Knight.
"Sounds fair." He mumbled back, still grinning. His ridiculous clown makeup weirded me out, but I didn't say anything.
My eyes caught a mark on the outside of his wrist, and my eyes widened a little. There was a small purple barcode, about an inch and a half long and half an inch wide.
It must be his L.U.S.I.I., or Legal Urban Safety Identification and Information. It was the law in every city that every troll is imprinted with a L.U.S.I.I. when they are born, but almost no one in the Hivelands ever got theirs imprinted.
What was worse was that the L.U.S.I.I. always matched the blood color of the troll. Which meant that I had just accidentally threatened to kill a highblood.
Oh, joy.
I was too busy making sure he didn't notice that I did not have a L.U.S.I.I. that I barely noticed when we reached the other side of the bank. The highblood helped me set the bike down, and I propped it up on the kickstand, untying my clothes and tearing a small strip off of my shirt, mumbling something about getting a cut while I was carrying the motorcycle and tying it around my bar-codeless wrist.
"The name's Gamzee Makara." The stranger informed me, wringing out his loose clothes with his hands.
"Karkat," I replied, shaking my head and sending water droplets everywhere. Gamzee laughed as I got him even wetter, and I resisted the urge to smile. "Sorry."
"It's all levels of good, brother." He replied. "Nice motorcycle, by the way! You a racer?"
"Not really, I just have a soft spot for motorcycles." Why was I telling him that? I really had to work on my nervous habit of rambling. "I made this one from scratch, but the wheels are crap. I need to get new ones, after I dry off."
"You're right," He kneeled down, still dripping, to look at the tires. "If you want, I could take you down to a real good mechanic in the South End. It's close enough you could just push your motorcycle there, and still have lotsa moonlight to get to wherever you're up and going." He grinned sideways at me again, and I returned my attention back to my clothes, slipping my pants on as soon as my underwear was dry enough. "What's so important that you got to cross the river carrying an entire motorcycle over your head?"
"Oh, um, I'm looking for somebody. Two somebodies." I finished dressing, looking him in the eyes again. "Do you know anyone named Kankri? Or Terezi?"
"Hmmmm…" He scratched his head again, thinking hard. "Nah. Can't say I've had the pleasure of meeting a Terezi or a Kankri. Sorry bro." He helped me to stand up, and his eyes traced my necklace. "Hey! That's a sweet chain you got there. I got one too!"
"You do?" I blinked, a little surprised.
"Yeah! How cool is that, we match!" He reached inside his t-shirt and grabbed a similar silver chain, pulling it out to reveal a silver amulet with the Capricorn symbol embellished upon it similarly to mine. "They're like best friend necklaces!" He gasped, a little dramatically, blinking. "Does that make us best friends?"
"Yeah… Sure." I was honestly a little surprised that this… Well… Weirdo, was one of the reincarnated gods. But the Knight of Blood did say that we all appear in the same area, and there are twenty four gods… So it was probable that I would meet another eventually. But not this quickly!"
"Yay!" He reached forward, hugging me tightly and getting me all wet again.
"Gack! Quit it! No touching no touching no touching!" I hissed at him, struggling to push him away.
"Alright, best friend!" He let go, taking a step back and raising his hands. "I'll be more careful next time! Now come on this way, we'll go get you new tires!"
"Fine." I grumbled, grumpy now that I was wet again. The air was much colder wherever my wet clothes clung to me, and I shivered involuntarily. Pulling on my cloak and tucking my weapons and money in the inner pockets, I pulled a chunk of bread out of my food bag and stuck it in my mouth before I could say anything else I might regret. As much as it made me uncomfortable, it was probably a good idea to be friends with a highblood in the city. Storing the food bag, I put my hands on the handles of the motorcycle, pushing it after Gamzee, who walked and simultaneously put his shoes back on.
