Chapter Two (Karkat's POV)

I was in and out of consciousness God knows how many times. Each time I woke up, I tried to stay conscious, but it never worked. I attempted to lift my eyelids, but I didn't have the strength to move a single part of my body. I was bone tired. So I let myself go back to sleep, since I obviously needed the rest.

Low murmuring sounded around me as I came into consciousness for the final time. My eyes were still so heavy, so I left them closed. What was going on? Where was I? I was vaguely aware of a pain in my side, and a dull throbbing in my head. I tried to focus on the voices, but only managed to make the throbbing worse. I groaned. The murmuring stopped.

A long creak signaled that a door was being opened, and I peeled my eyes open, taking in the room I was in. It was a dimly lit room, underground judging from the high up, small window that filtered in bright sunshine from behind a curtain. How long had I been asleep? Was it just that night, or longer? The room was a wreck. There was junk piled everywhere, boxes of random things, and objects scattered about the floor. My eyes drifted upwards and locked on the two figures standing at the door.

My mind immediately named one of the faces Jade Harley, the girl I had met in front of the bakery. Behind her stood a tall man with spiked back, blonde hair and pointy shades. Jade gasped and ran over to my bed when she saw my eyes open. "Karkat! You're awake!" She exclaimed loudly, causing my head to hurt more. I grumbled at her and adjusted my arms to try to sit up, immediately falling back down to the pillow with a grunt at the stab of pain that shot through my side.

"You're not ready to stand up yet!" She said, pulling back my blanket to reveal bandages wrapping around my stomach, bright red bleeding through the cloth. "Oh. It looks like we'll have to change them again, huh?" She grinned at me. "But that won't have to be for long, because our medic will be back soon, and he'll stitch you right up." She looked down at my wound and then back up at me. "We've been sitting you up to redo this. Do you think you can try to sit up on your own?"

I paused, giving her an unsure expression. "I can try." She smiled. "That's the spirit!" I grimaced and pushed up with my arms, gasping at the pain and falling back down. "Here," A Texan accent sounded for the first time beside me, startling me for a moment. The blonde man slid his hands under my back as stabilizers, and he motioned for me to sit up. I pushed myself upward again, grunting when the pain shot through me again. My arms wobbled, but he kept me up, and I slowly pushed myself the rest of the way up, turning my body and letting my legs dangle over the side of the bed, panting slightly.

The blonde man stepped back and looked down at me as Jade beamed and unpinned my bandages. "So you're this Karkat that Jade told us about, huh?" I blinked at him. "Uh…why would she tell you about that?"

He shrugged. "She said she got a huge laugh out of some crabby short guy on the street. And she said that you had a look in your eyes that I might like."

I looked at him queerly and flinched when Jade peeled the bandage off my wound. She looked up at me. "Sorry." And then removed the bandage, drawing out a cloth and dipping it into…was that a bucket of water? Eugh. That was disgusting, but at least it was only water in the bucket and not…other things. I shook my head and looked back at the man. "A look in my eyes? What do you mean by that?" I asked as Jade brought the cloth to my wound and cautiously started to clean it.

"I mean that she was right. I like that fire in your eyes. Tell me something…I've never seen that blood color before," I paled as he said this, flinching at the cloth touching my side. The man continued. "Where are you on the hemospectrum?"

"I…" I faltered, looking down at the floor. Jade stopped to look at me, rinsing the cloth off in the water. Should I tell them? I didn't want anyone else to know I was a mutant, not after what I'd gone through my whole life. But, these two weren't Alternian, so maybe they wouldn't care. Either way, it wasn't as if I had anything to lose in telling them. I sighed, and continued staring at the floor. "I'm a mutant."

"Well then," I looked up at the man as he talked. "You must know what's it's like to be treated differently, right? Especially judging by those." He gestured to the line of scars along my arms. My eyes widened. I had forgotten about those, and now they'd both seen them. I stared at him. "Don't worry. We won't judge you for that, Karkat. You aren't the only one who's done it." He grimaced slightly as he said it, adding a darker look to his expression. Was he speaking from experience? I didn't see any scars on his arms, so maybe it was someone he knew, or maybe he just hated the thought of the act.

I nodded as Jade finished cleaning the wound, tossing the cloth into the water with a plop. I turned a disgusted look onto the bucket; the water in it was now tinted red. Shaking my head, I returned my glance to the man, who launched into another question. "Karkat, what do you think of the rebellion?" I furrowed my eyebrows at him and tilted my head. Where did that question come from? I hissed quietly in pain as Jade started wrapping the new bandage around my stomach. "I think that what they do is right. They're fighting for equality and peace between both races, and they know that the queen is wrong. Humans are not below Alternians just because they took over. We all share this earth, and we might as well get along, right? But, I don't agree with a lot of their methods. They steal from rich trolls, which I think will only enrage them more, and make matters worse." I shrugged, Jade pinning the bandage and stepping back.

The man smirked and nodded. "Good answer. And I have a proposition for you." He strode a bit closer and grinned down at me. "How'd you like to tell the leader of the rebellion what he's doing wrong?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you talking about? No one knows where the rebellion even is."

"You do." He grinned further. I paused for a moment before fully realizing what he'd just said. "You're the leader of the rebellion?" I breathed, staring incredulously at him.

"Yeah. I just took over the job a few years ago. The leader before me was killed by the queen's group. But that's beside the point. The point is, I want you in the rebellion, if you'll accept." I gaped at him, lost for words. My mouth opened and closed for a minute, not sure what to say.

"Keep in mind, however," He frowned at me, his voice darker. "That there are people after us. Those people want us dead. And if they find us, we could very well die. We have strong forces, but the queen has brought together a very elite group of people, and there would be a very close fight. That's why we move our base a lot. So whether or not you join, you can never tell anyone about the rebellion, ever. You can never tell anyone where we are, or who's in the rebellion. You never know who's listening for the queen. And if you join, remember that there is a chance you could die."

I nodded to show I understood, and stopped to let the words sink in. The thought of death terrified me, especially after being so close to it once before, but I hated everything about how humans were looked upon as lesser beings. I hated how I was looked upon as a lesser being as well. If I could make it a better world to live in for not only myself, but everyone else who felt the way I did, then wasn't that goal worth the risk of death? I sighed. I didn't know.

The blonde stood next to Jade as I thought it over, both watching me intently. And after a few minutes, I responded. "May I think about it for a while first?"

The man nodded. "Of course you can. In fact, if you're up to it, why don't I find you a shirt and you can walk around the place a bit? That way you can get a vibe for the people and the way we live and whatnot."

"Yeah." I responded, slowly standing myself up, wincing a bit as I did. "Wait." I said, and the man halted at the doorframe. "I never got your name." He turned his head to look at me. "Dirk. And I'll be right back with a shirt." He added, leaving the room. Jade stayed and smiled at me. "I'm so glad he invited you to join. And I hope you do. We really are trying our best to do a good thing here, and one person can make a difference." I nodded at her but kept my mouth shut. I didn't know for sure if I'd be staying, anyways.

"Hey, Jade, how long was I asleep, anyways?" I inquired, tapping my foot on the floor subconsciously. "About three days." She replied, a grin still plastered on her face. She sure smiled a lot. "Three days?" I gaped at her, and she giggled. "Yup! People around here are starting to call you Sleeping Beauty, you know." I groaned. Great. Now even more people I didn't know had nicknames for me. "How many people are here, anyways?" I asked.

"Well since this is the head hideout, there are only a few. See, we have places scattered all over the city, and HQ moves around a lot. We like to keep only a select amount of people here, that way the moves are easier. And the people that are here are some of our best." She explained, twiddling her thumbs in front of her.

"Oh." I looked up at the window. "So where exactly are we right now?" Her gaze followed mine as she responded. "Downtown. This is some abandoned factory that went under some time ago, which is why there's stuff everywhere."

Dirk walked in at that moment, stealing my response along with my train of thought. "Here," I caught the folded up shirt as he tossed it to me. "It might be a tad big, but not by much. My shirts would've engulfed you, so I grabbed one of my brother's." Unfolding it, I slipped it over my head and pulled it on, grateful that it had long sleeves. The sleeves were red, the rest of the shirt white. In the center of the shirt was a picture of a record with a crack slicing through the middle. The fabric stretched a little over halfway down my hands, and the collar was big, but other than that it was comfortable, and it was loose around my wound, so I was grateful for it. "Thanks." I said.

He hummed his response as he left the room, Jade gathering up the bucket and cloth in her hands, which I made sure to stay away from. Seriously, weren't they aware of Alternian use for buckets? How inconsiderate. And gross. I guess they didn't know, so I shrugged it off and followed her out of the room. "Go ahead and explore the place, maybe make some friends." She smiled and I grimaced in return. I wasn't sure about the whole "making friends" thing. Making friends wasn't exactly my specialty. Even so, I nodded and she gave me one last grin before veering off into another room and leaving me to my own devices.

Glancing around the hallway that I had been lead to, I began walking toward the end of it. Reaching the doors, I swung one of them open to reveal what looked to be a lobby or some sort of faculty room. It was set up with a small kitchen off to the side, and a half circle of couches arching around a large brown coffee table. On the couches sat several people, who all turned their heads to look at me. A couple of people in the kitchen, and a few more in the corner of the room also paused to take notice of me. I suddenly felt very awkward and intrusive. One of the people, a dark haired boy with glasses framing forest green eyes, flashed a toothy grin at me. "Well I'll be. Looks like the lad finally woke up, eh?" A thick British accent colored his voice, and a few chuckles came in response.

Another voice popped up beside him from a boy in identical glasses. In fact, he looked exactly like the first boy other than his eyes being a deep blue instead of green. "Have a nice nap, Sleeping Beauty?" He smirked. More laughs. What was with these people? I didn't even know their names and they were joking around like we were all best friends or something. I fumed on the spot, and had opened my mouth to shoot out a sharp retort when another voice interjected. "Why are you wearing my shirt? And why do you look so cute in it?"

I glared angrily at the voice's owner. He was a tall blonde boy with dark aviators, and a short-sleeved white shirt. Judging from Dirk saying he had given him one of his brother's shirts, I gathered that this was him. They certainly looked like siblings. Same pale skin, bleach blonde hair, shades, and sarcastic attitudes about them. Except this one was different. This one made my blood boil. "I do not look cute." Several giggles and chuckles sounded around the room. "Stop laughing, ass hats."

"Ass hats?" The snarky remark came from the infuriating blonde, matched with a playful snicker. "Forget Sleeping Beauty. It's more like Sleeping Cutie."

I growled at him and tromped angrily over, getting close and jabbing him hard in the chest. "Who the fuck do you think you are exactly? I don't even know your name and you're messing with me like we're best friends! Well I've got news for you, fuck stain. I am not cute. You are not funny. And we are not friends. So stop acting so condescending and please do the world a favor and politely fuck off." I ranted, repeatedly jabbing him in the chest.

The room went silent. A low whistle sounded from the boy with blue eyes, but I ignored it, instead choosing to glare viciously at the asshole in front of me, who was still smirking sheepishly. It pissed me off even more. "Damn." He grinned. "At first I thought you were quiet, or maybe shy. But when you talk, you breathe fire. Not bad. The name's Strider. Dave Strider." He reached up and grabbed the hand I was using to jab him, shaking it up and down. I hissed and ripped my hand out of his grasp, glaring harder at him. He only raised an eyebrow at me, leaning in closer with a smirk playing on his lips. "This is usually the part where you introduce yourself back." He whispered into my ear as if I was a helpless infant at the first day of school. It infuriated me! I shoved him away from me with a vicious growl and huffed angrily before shuffling quickly out of the room.

Gog damn it! Who did those people think they were? Especially that asshole with the shades. What did he say his name was? Dave? I hardly cared, because I was practically spitting fire at the walls as I walked aimlessly down the hall in frustration. Jade poked her head out from a room, entering the hallway when she saw me coming. She blinked at me and blocked my path. "Karkat? What's wrong? What happened?" I hissed at the obstacle in my way in annoyance. "Dave happened. In fact, that whole room happened. What's their problem, anyways?"

She giggled a bit. "That's just how they welcome people. It's best to just go along with it and let them have their fun. I rolled my eyes, scoffing as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Fun for them at least. I personally don't see what's so fun about it." Jade pursed her lips, setting her hands on her hips and giving me a sort of pout. "Karkat, just put up with it, okay? Once they're done messing with you badly, you'll practically be one of them."

One of them? Was that what I really wanted when I wasn't even completely sure yet if I was going to stay? Honestly, what was she trying to do? Maybe she really believed that it was a good idea for me to stay. I didn't even know myself. The thought of death terrified me, but there was so much that could be accomplished, and I could help with something important and worthwhile. An exasperated huff escaped my lips and I stared over at a wall. "Fine." I muttered. "I'll give them a chance. But I make no promises that they won't be punched in the face, got it?" She grinned victoriously. "Got it." And with that, she slipped back into the room she came from, and with a defeated sigh, I made my way back to the double doors. When I entered the room, once again I was met with several stares, albeit less this time. The green eyed man from before grinned. "Oh, back so soon, chap? Sorry if that lad over there frightened you off." I fought the urge to snap a retort at him, and instead leaned calmly against the door. "He couldn't if he tried."

"That sounds an awful lot like a challenge, but never mind that." I groaned as Dave's smooth voice wafted over from where he was suddenly standing beside me. "I never did get that name." He smirked at me, head cocked slightly to the side as he waited for my response. I sneered at him and replied. "My name, you insufferable prick, is Karkat." He snorted at this, for reasons that escaped me. "Karkat?" He grinned, obviously enjoying himself. "That's pretty ironic." I blinked at him, eyebrows drawn together. "How is it ironic?" He shrugged. "Think about it. The name Karkat sounds like a cuddly kitten. And then there's you, who seems to be about as far from cuddly as a cactus." I frowned at him and let out a deep breath through my nose, remembering what Jade had said. Put up with it, and eventually they'd stop. Or at least they'd tone it down after a while. I hoped so anyways.

"And then there's Dave Strider. It sounds like a pretty cool name, like it would belong to some awesome person. But oh look. It's just you." I countered, smirking devilishly. "Ouch." He grinned. "Karkitten's got some sting to his words, huh?" I hissed at him. "Do not call me Karkitten. I already have Jade calling me that, and I certainly don't need you spouting nonsensical nicknames, too." He chuckled and poked my arm. "So why are you in my shirt, anyways?" He inquired as I swatted at his hand in annoyance. "Because I needed a clean shirt, and your brother shoved one of your dumb pieces of clothing at me."

"Ah." He responded, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. The green-eyed man spoke up suddenly. "So Karkat. What brings you here anyhow?" He asked, and I shrugged. "I don't know. I think Jade brought me here." The man chuckled. "No, no, I know how you got here. I was the one who carried you here, in fact. What I meant was why were you downtown? Do you live around here?" And there was the topic that I was really hoping wouldn't be brought up. But there it was despite my wishes, up in the air like Simba from the Lion King. I offered another shrug. "Just...wandering. Nothing special." I lied, looking off nonchalantly at a wall as I did so. I could tell he didn't buy it, but he seemed to notice that the topic was better left alone, and he didn't persist. Instead he changed the topic, much to my gratitude. "Well maybe it's time for some introductions." I looked back at him as he continued. "You know Dave. My name is Jake English." I nodded, and he gestured to the smaller boy beside him with blue eyes. "This is my younger brother, John." John gave a goofy grin and waved, and Jake motioned to two blonde girls in the kitchen. "That tall girl with the liquor in her hand is Roxy Lalonde, and her sister Rose." Roxy smiled drunkenly at me, and Rose nodded her head with a gentle smile. Next he turned to the other side of him, a girl with short black hair and dazzling blue eyes on the couch. "This is Jane Crocker." He looked back at me with a smile. "And you've met Dirk and Jade already."

I nodded and replied gruffly, almost mumbling. "Nice to meet you all." The comment was met with a chorus of "Nice to meet you, toos" and "yeahs."

"The only other one who isn't here is Sollux, our computer whiz and our doctor." Jake went on. "He's out helping out a medic in another location at the moment, but today's the day he's supposed to be back. How's that wound by the way?"

"It hurts." I leaned against the wall. Jake chuckled. "Well yes, I would imagine so. You did get stabbed after all." Jane and John grinned on either side of him. I didn't see what was so funny. "Yeah." I muttered, staring off at a wall. Dave poked my cheek, and I shot him a furious glare. "What?"

He shrugged. "Come on dude, lighten up. Just because you're hurt doesn't mean you have to be so sour." I growled at him, narrowing my eyes. "Just shut the hell up already. I can be sour if I want, and you can just piss off." He snorted and put his hands up in mock defeat. "Okay, okay. I get it, Karcrab. You want to be left alone. Only it's too bad that I'm not the kind of guy just to walk away from a conversation. Some may call that rude, you know. Weren't you taught any manners? Honestly, Karkat."

I rolled my eyes. "Weren't you taught to keep your nose out of other people's business?"

"Touché." He conceded, a smirk playing on his lips. "Sorry if I offended you. I didn't realize you were so fragile. Maybe you're more like a kitten than I thought." It amazed me how much restraint it took not to punch him in the face. Instead I simply glared harder, which was my usual response. "Listen here, you festering, putrid excuse for a piece of shit. I am not fragile. I can take care of myself just fine, and I don't need you telling me otherwise. I don't need your approval, got it? And you don't need me to tell you that you're an intrusive asshole. You've probably been told that numerous times in your life. And it's not hard to see why. Oh, by the way, sorry if I offended you with any of this."

Dave scoffed. "You couldn't if you tried." I sneered at him. "That sounds an awful lot like a challenge." Jake cut in before Dave could respond. "Alright, you two. Honestly. If I don't stop you here, I'm afraid you'll go on for hours."

Dave grinned. "Nah. I think nubs would run out of mashed together insults before then." I fumed, clenching my hands into fists at my sides. "I have more mashed together insults than you have IQ points." John giggled and Jake stood up. He walked over and stood in front of us. We both looked up at him, and before we could react, Jake grabbed both of our heads and smacked them together. We both cringed, as Jake walked back over and plunked back down onto the couch. I doubled over, holding my head and hissing sharply. Dave reacted similarly, gripping his head and grimacing.

I could hear several laughs and chuckles from around the room, and it made me even angrier. Dave recovered before me, standing up fully and rubbing his head. "Come on, Jake. Not cool. No one ever wins with head-butts."

I saw Jake grin as I looked up, still nursing my head sorely. "I do believe I won, Dave." He chuckled, and Dave frowned. "Tch. Whatever you say, English." He turned and offered a grin. "Damn those horns hurt when they're jammed into your head." He laughed a little, and I only frowned harder. "Well it could have been avoided if you'd just given up sooner."

Dave snorted. "Yeah right. Striders don't give up. Giving up is lame, and a lame Strider is unacceptable."

I rolled my eyes as Jake sat forward on the couch. "Do I need to come back over there?" Dave and I hastily reacted, shaking our heads frantically, and Jake grinned, sitting back. "That's what I thought. Now behave, the two of you, or I'll knock you senseless next time." I swallowed and rubbed my head again. "Yeah." I saw Dave grin from the corner of my eye and huffed in irritation. This guy really was just a gigantic asshole, wasn't he? If I did decide to stay, how the hell was I going to deal with him?

AN: Welp here it is. I'm hoping I can update weekly from now on, but I make no promises because hey, procrastination is a bitch. Also, someone corrected me on the age Karkat would be in sweeps, and I'm looking into that. I used a converter I found on Google, so sorry that it wasn't the right number. Anyways, I hope to have chapter three out soon, and be ready for the first POV change! Because while I love Karkat to little bits and pieces and just want to hug him and squish his cheeks and watch him have sloppy make outs with DaveIMEANWHAT...anyways...I also want to give some other characters the spotlight! Not to mention it's much more fun to write it like that, and you get to see what some other people are thinking. And while the story does technically revolve around Karkat, I'll be focusing on some other people in different places as well. So until chapter three, have a great day, loves!