I am so proud of myself: I finally learned how to put in the horizontal lines! Ya I know, pathetic... Anyway here ya go ^u^

Later that day, Phaedra and Vriska sat next to each other in their seventh period. The teacher, who was ironically named Mr. English, was going through the basics of the English language, hoping to prepare them for the lessons that they'd be starting the next day, but the two weren't even listening. They were too busy making plans for all of their friends, who were unaware that they even had any after school. Putting her eye gear to good use, Phaedra started a memo that all of her friends could view, acquiring their troll tags through Vriska.

CURRENT cannibalisticReaper [CCR] RIGHT NOW opened memo on board HEY WH^T'S UP FUCKERS.

CCR: Hey every*ne!

CCR: It's Ph^edr^, in c^se y*u were w*ndering.

CCR: ^nyw^y, me ^nd Mindf^ng h&ve decided th^t we're ^ll meeting up ^t her hive ^fter sch**l.

CURRENT carcinoGeneticist [CCG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

CCG: SO WE CAN GET EATEN BY HER HUGE SPIDER LUSUS? NO THANKS.

CCG: I'D RATHER DESECRATE MY PANTS WHILE SIMUTANEOUSLY SINGING LULLIBIES TO DEAD GRUBS.

CCR: D*n't be such ^ little bitch, y*u're g*ing, ^nd s* is every*ne else. If y*u d*n't sh*w up, Mind f^ng s^ys she'll sick her lusus *n y*u.

CCG: AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING. WHY DO YOU SUPPORT THAT BULLSHIT FLARP NAME OF HERS? IT'S SO STUPID.

CURRENT benevolentPyro [CBP] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

CBP: $er'ously guy$? you couldn't ju$t wa't unt'l $chool wa$ over? we l'terally have twenty more m'nute$

CCR: I d* it bec^use it m^kes her h^ppy, ^nd n* Lumi^, I c*uldn't w^it.

CCG: OH HEY LUMIA.

CCR: S* Lumi^, ^re Y*U g*ing?

CBP: duh \(^.^)/

CCG: I GUESS I'LL GO TOO.

CCR: *h re^lly /:3

CCG: HEY IT'S ONLY BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA BECOME GRUBLOAF FOR THAT FREAK CUSTODIAN!

CCR: Surrrre. Wh^tever y*u s^y K^rcunt.

CCG: DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!

CURRENT eternalNeutrality [CEN] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

CEN: …ill be there…

CEN: …and karkat…try to not be so obvious…

CCG: FUCK YOU!

CURRENT cannbalisticReaper [CCR] RIGHT NOW banned CURRENT carcinoGeneticist [CCG] from responding to memo.

CEN: …ha…too easy…

CBP: really guy$? that wa$ mean |:

CCR: Wh* c^res?

CEN: …exactly…

CURRENT caligulasAquarium [CCA] RIGHT NOW responded to memo.

CCA: wwhy are wwe meetin there

CCR: C^use I s^id s*. I'm ending this mem* bef*re Mr. English c^tches me. We'll meet in fr*nt *f the b^thr**ms *n the first fl**r.

CCA: i nevver understood wwhy wwe needed three separate bathrooms

CCR: Uh, c^use there's ^ fuck t*n *f us?

CURRENT cannibalisticReaper [CCR] RIGHT NOW closed memo on board HEY WH^T'S UP FUCKERS.

Meanwhile during seventh period Gym…

An alert popped up on Equius' glasses as he went to take his shot. The noise shocked him, making him miss the basket completely and hit the wall. The ball popped and left a large dent in the concrete, resulting in a very upset Equius. Nepeta, who could sense his anger, clung onto his arm and meowed.

"AC looks at Equius with large kitten eyes and asks what's wrong," she said, roleplaying during regular conversation like a sensible troll. Her meowrail grimaced and clenched his fists, wishing he was in his hive so he could pummel some robots to alleviate his rage. Nepeta tugged the side of his tank top urgently, trying to distract him from the damage he'd done to the building. The gym teacher, Mr. Slick, didn't bother addressing the issue. He just stood in the corner of the gym and observed the students with a scowl.

"Purrlease don't get upset," the cat troll pleaded, even ceasing her roleplay to show she meant business, "It was just an accident, right?"

Equius nodded stiffly and unclenched his fists, letting his hands hang loosely at his sides. Taking this as a sign to continue, Nepeta nuzzled against his arm and said, "There you go, just calm down and tell me what happened."

"I was trying to make my shot while also controlling the amount of force I was using when that poor excuse for a high blood started a memo. The alert distracted me, causing me to damage the wall. I very much dislike that Phaedra girl: disgracing both her blood caste AND education by trolling in the middle of class. How uncultured," Equius complained to his meowrail, and then, "Thank you for preventing any further damage I may have caused, but you need to be careful. One of these days, your attempts to calm me down may get hurt, and I don't think I could deal with that."

"Awww how sweet, but I'm not worried. I know you would nefur hurt me," Nepeta ensured with a bright smile. Equius returned the expression of amusement, baring the few teeth he had left. He always reserved his smiles for her, knowing how much they meant to the mid-blood, and she knew that. They were the perfect pair of meowrails, and went everywhere with each other. People who didn't know any better often confused them as matesprit's, which led to very awkward denial and shifting in place.

"I do my best to refrain from it, yes, but it still frightens me."

Nepeta was about to express how sweet she thought that was, but a troll behind them interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey d'ere bitches, move yo asses along so we can get ta makin' shots already!"

The mid-blood felt her friend tense up again, and swiftly started brushing her head against him in order to relieve him of anger. He'd already busted his basketball and dented the wall: he didn't need to add murder to the list. Equius disregarded her affections, though, and abruptly turned to face the troll who'd said that. Since she was clinging to his arm, he wound up spinning her in the process. His eyes narrowed at the troll, an umber blood, who looked back at him smugly.

"Forgive me, but I didn't realize that it was the place of rust bloods to order around those superior to themselves," Equius growled, once again balling up his fists.

"An' I din't 'realize' dat a hot little thing like her went for freaky muscle dudes like you," the troll replied, obviously not grasping the severity of his situation. Nepeta buried her face in Equius' arm, preparing herself for what would come. There was nothing she could do at this point other than hope he didn't kill the kid.

"Did you just refer to my Nepeta as a 'hot little thing'?" Equius reiterated: dismissing the 'freaky muscle dude' insult he'd received. Usually he would have reveled in being treated as a lesser being, but he always put defending Nepeta before his weird fetishes, "She is not 'hot', nor is she a 'thing'. She is a beautiful young lady who deserves to be addressed as such, despite how childish she can act sometimes. I'm afraid that if you degrade her again, I'll have to act."

The troll scoffed, and then challenged, "I din't insult the bitch, I was just sayin' she's a nice piece of ass."

Oh fuck no.

Equius charged at the low blood and connected his first with the other's face, sending him flying across the gym. His body clanged against the bright green bleachers and literally sunk into them: a troll shaped hole permanently etched there. After a couple of seconds, the blood pouring out of the troll had tinted the bleacher area around it, mixing into a sick vomit color. The troll's body eased out of the hole eerily, then landed smack on the ground: dead. Mr. Slick simply watched the scene: not bothering to intervene. He absolutely hated these kids, and the only reason he didn't quit was because of Ms. Paint. She was an absolute babe.

"Learn your place you vile low blood scum!" Equius ordered, drenched in sweat and shaking from anger: he still wanted to inflict more damage. Nepeta, seeming to read his thoughts, leapt in front of him with her arms extended. Her eyes begged him to stop and searched for his gaze frantically, finally getting it. Equius stared at her in dismay, wishing she would get out of his way so he could dismantle the trolls hideous physique.

"Nepeta, I must ask you to move."

"No Equius! Just leave the guy alone, he's already dead. Purrlease?" she begged, giving him her best kitten eyes. He melted under her gaze and slumped his shoulders, deciding that she was right.

"I just don't want trolls speaking of you in such a manner: it's so lewd, but if that is what you wish of me, then I will stop."

The olive blood giggled and wrapped her arms around Equius' waist, snuggling into his chest affectionately. She started purring whilst doing so in gratitude that he'd stuck up for her: despite how violent things had gotten. Luckily for him, murder in Alternia is looked upon with favor, especially when a nobility kills a gutter blood. Equius did not return the hug, fearful that he may hurt her, but did smile down at her sweetly and wished she'd look up at him. She did, giving him a mischievous smile.

"AC grins devilishly at her meowrail, pointing out that he called her beautiful."

Equius froze up as the color practically drained from his face, "Oh fiddlesticks.


School would be over in seven more minutes, but each second that passed by went excruciatingly slow, almost as if time itself were intentionally teasing Karkat. He'd never admit it, but he was looking forward to spending time with all of his friends at Vriska's, even if her lusus scared the ever loving fuck out of him. The twelve of them had been friends before and everything, but they'd never actually hung out as a group. Most of them just hung out with the ones they'd met everyone else through.

For example: the only reason anyone knew Feferi was because of Eridan, who knew Vriska: who knew Terezi, Equius and Tavros, and knew Karkat: who knew Gamzee, Sollux, and Kanaya. Aradia had just sort of come with Sollux, as in knowing him meant directly knowing her. It was sort of like an unspoken agreement. Then there was Nepeta, who met everyone through Equius. He hadn't actually introduced her to his 'friends': seeing as he did his best to avoid them, but she'd gone through his husktop and messaged them, thus commencing the friendship between the twelve trolls. Then came along three NEW trolls who'd befriended the group as well, making their new total fifteen.

Against his worrisome judgment, Karkat actually thought this would be fun. He'd finally get to just hang out with his friends as a whole, just like they did during breakfast and lunch today. If only the stupid clock would go faster!

"Hey, what you all up and nervous about brother?" the juggalo asked his moirail, not really paying attention to their Art teacher: Ms. Paint. Karkat lolled his head to the side and glared daggers at his friend, which Gamzee had expected. He only chuckled, knowing that underneath all that anger, Karkat didn't actually hate him. Hell, he didn't actually hate anyone! Except maybe Vriska, but Gamzee understood: that girl kinda scared him too.

"I am not nervous! I'm just irritated that I have to go to Vriska's hive after school!"

Ms. Paint looked over at Karkat and cleared her throat with such grace that he almost didn't believe she could make such a sound. He straightened himself out in his seat and gave her his full attention, which she was grateful for and said as much in a simple, yet friendly nod. She was such a respectable woman.

After a couple minutes, though, not even Ms. Paint could hold Karkat's attention. His think pan just wanted to wander: much like his moirails did on a daily basis. He started thinking about what it would be like hanging out, figuring that there would be at least one fight. With their group, there always was. It didn't mean they hated each other: they all shared a level of compassion for one another, even the ones they sometimes wished would just die. It was that sense of protection and understanding that held everyone together. That, and Kanaya. It was mostly Kanaya.

She spent so much time managing their relationships that she never really gave her own any thought. Not to mention most trolls would avoid intimate discussions with her. It wasn't that she was ugly or anything, oh no: she was quite beautiful. The issue most trolls had was her intelligence and elegance. She was just the perfect example of a noble lady-troll, and unfortunately, that deterred most. To Karkat, she was the only sane troll he knew, but in that aspect it also made her the strangest.

Only one more minute to go. Then they would wield the weapons they'd stored in their strife specibus and walk to their respective hives or, in this case, Vriska's. They always kept their weapons on hand when roaming Alternia. This way, they could fight against the many dangers that this planted possessed. Personally, Karkat had the sicklekind, in which he used the Clawsickle. It was an advanced weapon, as were all of the weapons his friends equipped.

Equius used fistkind, which only worked for him so well because of how freakishly STRONG he was. His 'meowrail' Nepeta used clawkind with her Action Claws. Tavros had the Fiduspear in his lancekind, Vriska had the Fluorite Octet's in her dicekind, Kanaya had the Demonbane Ragripper in her makeupkind, Terezi had the Dragon Cane in her canekind, Aradia had the Young Whipper Snapper in her whipkind (A/N: I wanted to humor her dreams of becoming an archeologist.), Eridan had the Epiricist's Wand in his wandkind, Feferi had the Psidon's Entente in her 2x3dentkind, and Sollux just used his psionic powers.

Karkat wasn't sure what the other three had, but he wasn't going to fret about it: he was sure that he'd find out eventually. He was about to ponder some more uselessness when the bell rang, and the announcements came on.

"Hello young ladies and gentletrolls! It is your ruler, Calleh Borne. I'm sure you're first day here was as shitty as mine, so I won't go on about how 'fun' the rest of this will be. Instead, let's just get these announcements over with. First order of business, I am proud to say that there were four killings today! These profound murderers were Jezebel Harpe, Ratios Gaskarth, Light Yagami (hehehe), and Equius Zahhak! Ladies, I expect much more out of you tomorrow. Now, onto the boring stuff. The cholerbears are blocking off the pathways to the seas, so some of you will have to strife in order to get back to your hives. A warning for those of you who live in the Mountainous Blue Blood Region: musclebeasts have been spotted in the area, so I advise you to travel with a buddy. If you don't have any friends and you live in that region, then it was nice having you here while it lasted. May you not cry like a bitch when you die. Lastly, I couldn't help but notice that many of you didn't bring supplies today. Make sure to bring them tomorrow, or I'll choose one lucky troll to cull you! Have a terrible night."

And with that the speaker turned off, signaling the official end of the day. Karkat, Gamzee, and the other students filed out of the classroom, the two aforementioned heading to the place they agreed to meet everyone else.


When they got to the location, there was only one troll missing: Lumia. Finding this odd, Karkat decided to question Feferi, who had drama with her, along with Sollux (who resented it).

"Where did the least insane of the three go?" he asked, implying that Troi and Phaedra were mental: which I mean… Ya. Feferi just shrugged, making Karkat's frown deepen before he continued, "So let me just get this straight: you're telling me that you had last period with her and don't know where she is? Not just that, but shrugging is the response you thought suitable? Seriously people? She is a fucking troll-being you assholes, how can you just act like nothing is wrong when OBVIOUSLY something happened!?"

"Um… Karkat?"

Karkat spun around and stared at the troll in front of him: fuck. He inwardly groaned, palm successfully connecting with his face. He could hear his friends laughing behind him, 'Fuckasses probably set this whole thing up!' Lumia ignored his weird behavior and walked over to Phaedra, offering her a purple pen.

"Here it is. I found it in Mr. English's room just lying on a desk. I thought you said you lost it?" Lumia wondered with vague intrigue, more concerned with why everyone was laughing and Karkat was flipping out. Phaedra nudged Troi and put on an insincere smile as she took the pen, "Oh ya! Sorry Karkat, I must've somehow forgotten that I'd asked her to find my pen! Oops, my bad," she apologized in a fake voice, earning a snicker from Vriska. Lumia's face contorted in confusion, wondering why on Alternia he wanted to know.

"I can NOT believe you would do that! Oh wait, ya actually, I can because you're all complete idiots!" Karkat screamed while flailing his arms around. Terezi wailed with laughter, pointing out that, "He sounds sooo adorable right now."

Lumia looked over at Karkat and laughed, deciding that she agreed with Terezi. She was about to ask what happened to make him like this, but Kanaya interrupted, "I don't mean to be rude, but the school is nearly empty now. Shouldn't we be going to Vriska's?"

The group all nodded and murmured their agreement before heading out, Karkat still fuming behind them.


The trolls had been walking for a total of ten minutes now without a sign of those beasts their 'ruler' had warned them about. Gamzee was sitting in Tavros' lap while he wheeled forward: he'd developed quite the upper body strength, what with being crippled from the mid-thigh and down. They didn't say much to each other, aside from the occasional murmurs, but Gamzee did rest his head on Tavros' shoulder, every now and then planting little kisses on his neck. Kanaya walked with Terezi and Feferi, discussing the latest in troll fashion (which was practically nonexistent). The latter two pretended to care, subtly trying to change the topic. Nepeta rode Equius' back as he walked, going on and on about her latest roleplay with Terezi, who only did it to humor her. Equius remained quiet as he listened, not breaking a sweat (ha, everything else makes him sweat, except physical exertion). Vriska WAS walking with Phaedra, until she urged the indigo blood to go talk to Eridan. Now she was walking with Troi, trying to pry anything she could about her friend out of him. As was mentioned, Eridan walked with Phaedra as the two of them discussed potential quadrant-mates. Eridan wanted to know who she thought would be good with him: in ANY quadrant, even ashen! They briefly discussed who Phaedra considered quadrant-worthy for her, but the majority of the conversation centered around Eridan. Aradia walked alongside Sollux, pretty much doing what Phaedra was doing and listening to him complain. She just smiled and nodded, agreeing with him on every subject and occasionally offering advice and encouragement. That's why they fucking work people! Because Aradia is just cool with his moodiness. Everyone else gets offended, but she's so damn amazing that she STILL understands. Anyway… Lumia hung back with Karkat in silence. She looked at him timidly, unsure if talking to him right now was the best option. Oh fuck it.

"Hey, Karkat..."

He huffed in response and crossed his arms, not bothering with a legitimate answer.

"Look, I don't know what happened back there, but for what it's worth: I'm really sorry," she said, staring at the ground with a pained expression. She hated hurting people, even when she wasn't sure how she did it, or that she played a part in it! The fact that Karkat was showing resentment only made her feel even worse. Her apology had struck something in his blood pumper: however, because when she went to walk away, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

She was surprised, sure, but mostly happy. Karkat may have let go once she was walking next to him, but she didn't mind because he'd held her hand. Briefly, but he still did. She looked at him hopefully, but his facial expression hadn't changed one bit.

"Let's just get to Vriska's without bringing it up, ok?" he more commanded than asked, making Lumia smile. She nodded quickly in approval, asking him what he'd prefer to talk about.

"Nothing."

And so they continued walking in silence, each one glancing at the other from the corners of their eyes. It was nice, awkward, and peaceful until…

"Oh fuck, guyth... We have a problem."

Blocking the path to Mountainous Blue Blood Region was not one, not two, but THERE fucking musclebeasts. They towered over the group dramatically, ranging from at least 15-20 feet tall. The creatures resembled hoofbeasts, minus their incredible physique, glowing red eyes, and monstrous size. The group froze in place: scared shitless.

"Oh cod, water we gonna do!" Feferi exclaimed in a hushed whisper, clinging onto Terezi's arm. Although, it seemed that she wasn't quiet enough, because one of the monsters turned and looked at the group, followed by the other two doing the same. Karkat looked up at the hideous THINGS and stiffened, repeating, "Oh god oh god oh god oh god," until he couldn't summon the proper thinking to continue forming words. The only ones who didn't nearly shit their pants were Equius, Vriska, Phaedra, and Kanaya. They were still frightened, ya, but able to think properly. Ok well, Equius wasn't frightened. He just marveled at them, taking in their 'majestic beauty'.

"Would you guys stop being weaky weaky weakersons and shove it back up your waste chutes already?" Vriska asked, commenting on the fear nearly everyone was experiencing, "These things show up here all the time. Sure, they're super big and I've never actually killed one before, but how hard can it be? I'm sure we can just walk around or some-"

While talking, Vriska had foolishly attempted to 'walk around' the musclebeasts. Needless to say, she didn't get very far, as one on them struck her with its oversized hoof. She flew back and knocked into Kanaya, forcing her down as well. She shot back up, leaving Kanaya to help herself, and glared at the monstrosity.

"Oh it is SO on!"

She took off towards the beast, ready to attack, when something grabbed her jacket and yanked her back: causing her to fall down a second time, which Kanaya stifled a laugh at. Vriska looked up at her assailant and, noticing it was Phaedra, expressed her displeasure, "What the hell! I was trying to attack it!"

"Ya I know, that's why I pulled you back," Phaedra stated with a smirk, then addressed everyone with, "We have about two minutes before those things attack. Intimidation is the first factor to destroying an opponent completely, so they'll just stand there for now. Unless you decide to go around them or charge them," she said while glaring at Vriska, "If you do that, they will attack. We need to figure out who's strong enough to fight, and I don't mean those of you who THINK they're strong. We need the ones that actually are. I ain't gonna risk anyone dying when I just met you guys. Alright, now who here is the most powerful?"

The majority of fingers pointed at Equius, who hadn't ceased staring at the creatures.

"Ugh go figure… Alright Zahhak, get over by me. You're fighting."

Equius snapped back upon hearing his name, and then frowned at the idea of hurting one of these beautiful beings. Sensing his discomfort, Sollux rolled his eyes and provided the noble with a bit of… Initiative.

"Would you get over your creepy muthclebeatht fetithh and fight already? What if one of thothe thingth killed you, or killed Nepeta?" he added, knowing the last part would spark the anger in Equius. Being the genius he was, Sollux had been right in assuming this. Equius strode over next to Phaedra, maintaining distance between the two so he wouldn't be 'tainted'. Phaedra just rolled her eyes at him and asked for another powerful fighter. This time, the fingers all pointed at Vriska who was still resting on her rump.

"Guess you'll be fighting after all. Alright Mindfang, you can help: just don't be stupid and charge at the thing again," the high blood warned her friend. Vriska smirked and stood beside her, assuring her that she'd be even better than fine because she had 'all the luck: all of it'. Once again they repeated the pointing process, signaling Sollux out. He shook his head, refusing to put his life on the line when there was a sobbing Aradia to tend to. She looked up at him: thankful. Again they pointed: picking Kanaya as the lucky candidate. She solemnly nodded and accepted her fate, adding that, "I sometimes hunt the undead during the day with my lipstick, so I suppose this will be similar," before walking over to join the group.

Behind the three, Lumia's Light of My Life (which rested in her flamethrowerkind) had materialized in her hands as she offered her assistance, "If Phaedra is risking her life, then I'll risk mine too!"

"No, you won't."

Phaedra turned and narrowed her eyes at Lumia. The yellow blood persisted, but Phaedra's gaze didn't soften. Then, "Well why the hell not!? I've never even SEEN you fight, so why should you get to and not me!?"

Troi walked over to Lumia and did his best to console her, only managing to cease her shaking in frustration. He just couldn't calm her like he could Phaedra, who continued to glare.

"I just don't want you to get hurt…," she trailed off and looked away: focusing on the beasts that she'd have to defeat in the next thirty seconds, "Troi, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. Everyone else? Hide."

The remaining trolls did as they were told. Troi had to drag Lumia, but the two eventually followed suit as the seconds counted down.

(A/N: Start playing Resonance by T.M. Revolution that was featured in Soul Eater: it really sets the mood for Kanaya's badassery)

Five.

'I can't let them defile my Nepeta.'

Four.

'I do hope I die painlessly. Anything else would be horrifying, although, I'm sure pain is exactly what we will all endure. Such a frivolous endeavor.'

Three.

'I'm gonna rip those freaks to pieces! That'll teach them to mess with me, don't ya think conscious?'

Two.

'Just like old times… Heh, irony is such a bitch.'

One.

"Alright, let's fucking do this."

The first musclebeast, presumably the leader, charged forward toward the group. The four dispersed and swiftly made their way to the other two musclebeasts. Kanaya let loose a battle cry as she leapt into the air: her tube of emerald lipstick morphing into a demonic-looking chainsaw. The chain connected with the creature's eye and it let out a wail of pain, causing it and the others of its kind to take action. She resumed these actions, striking different areas along the monster's face. The musclebeast who hadn't acted yet trotted towards Equius, who performed a STRONG jump and nailed it right in the mouth. The beast flew backwards and into a mountain, which crumbled atop it. Undeterred, the beast got back up and ran at Equius a second time: head bent in preparation for a head-butt. When it connected with the troll, Equius grabbed the nostrils and forced him to come to a halt. He then picked up the musclebeast by the abdomen and threw it a good thirty feet away. It landed with a large thud, it's majestic form pressed into the solid earth.

Meanwhile, the leader was preoccupied with both Phaedra and Vriska. The latter was about to attack when something distracted her. She looked to her side and saw Phaedra standing still and bowing her head with a single arm outstretched while murmuring.

"Come to me my Adamantite Scythe. Aid me in battle so that we may bathe in their blood!"

A red scythe materialized in the outstretched hand and around it pulsed a black aura. Phaedra continued to look at the ground and stepped forward into a fighting stance: her voice rising as she continued her weird mantra bullshit.

"Allow us to add yet another miscreant to our collection!"

Phaedra shot forward, not waiting for the enemy to attack, and raised her scythe while screaming, "Now… GO FUCK YOUSELF YOU HEINOUS FREAK!"

The metal sunk into the musclebeasts' upper thigh, making the thing cry out in agony. Phaedra used the momentum from the weapon to launch herself further up so that she was standing atop the monster's head. Taking this as a sign to continue, Vriska smirked and nonchalantly shook the fist her dice rested in.

"This is gonna be fun."

She unclenched her fist: letting the dice sprawl out onto the floor. She quickly looked over the dice, seeing a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. It was a pretty good roll and summoned up a large guillotine the perfect size for their enemies.

"Hey Phaedra! When you're done being crazy and slicing that thing's limbs off, you should check this out. It's so cool, I just know you'll love it," Vriska confirmed. Sure enough, the musclebeast Phaedra had been tending to was now missing its hind legs, which laid precariously to the side. Phaedra ignored her, much to her dismay, but Kanaya ceased running her chainsaw through the creature's ear and turned to look to the contraption Vriska had made. Thankful, she gracefully hopped off of the creature and taunted it: bringing it closer to the guillotine. Kanaya effortlessly bound through the hole in the device, seeing as it was large enough, and the musclebeast (not being nearly as intelligent as Kanaya) attempted the same feat: getting its head stuck. Vriska smirked and let the blade loose. It fell down with much force: slicing the head clean off. The two snarky broads cheered and even shared a hug before Kanaya abruptly pulled away, thinking better of it.

Equius calmly walked over to the musclebeast he'd launched several feet and looked it in the eyes. He got out a final, "Forgive me," before gripping the sides of its head and ripping in off. He tossed the head aside and slumped his shoulders, disappointed that such a lovely creature had to die at his hands. How he would've loved to admire the specimen: take in every detail of its rippling body mass, but alas it twas not meant to be.

Behind him, Phaedra had slaughtered the third: all of its limbs were scattered around her form, which was coated in sickly red blood. Her chest heaved as she unequipped her scythe and smiled at Vriska.

"Ya… That thing was pretty damn cool," she managed, making Vriska laugh at her effort. By now Equius had rejoined them, still hanging his head. Nepeta ran from their hiding spot (a small cave etched into the mountain) and hugged Equius, assuring him that there was no other way. The rest that'd been hiding came out and approached the fighters, thanking them for removing the obstacles. Reveling in the attention, Vriska soaked up all the praise.

"Oh it wasn't even a thing, was it Equius?"

He grunted at her, still a bit upset despite Nepeta's consoling. She rolled her eyes at him before continuing to run her mouth about how amazing she was out there. The group all listened for once, deciding she deserved this, as they walked the rest of the way to her hive. Equius hung back with Nepeta who insisted that he stay away from the rest of them until he calmed down, and Phaedra and Kanaya walked alongside each other, complementing each other on their technique. They were the only ones who didn't bother listening to Vriska, but it's not like they should've. Instead they drifted away from the others, letting Vriska bask in the limelight.


As they walked into Vriska's hive, the cerulean blood pulled out her dice and threw them at the ground, resulting in: 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 8. She fist pumped the air and made an exclamation of joy in getting one of the many combinations she'd been hoping for. This combination wasn't very helpful in battle, but in a situation like this? It was perfect.

Each die morphed into an individual object that would be seen at a party: a table covered in cotton candy, orange creamsicles, Faygo, and cake, a large stereo next to the TV, and two additional sofas. The food was completely edible and in pristine condition, the sofa was a lovely shade of blue, and the stereo was loud enough to wake the rust bloods who lived several miles away. Her friends stared at the additions that'd suddenly appeared in her room for a moment before making themselves at hive. There were now two sofas and a recliner in the room, which were quickly filled by the trolls.

"Why is this filth in here?" Eridan asked whilst pointing at a bottle of Faygo (A/N: I almost couldn't write that: Faygo is just too good!) and grimacing in disgust. Vriska just shrugged, telling him to stop whining and try it. Before he could utter another insult towards the beverage, Gamzee had leapt out of Tavros' lap and sprinted to the table: grabbing a bottle and downing it in seconds.

"Oh motherfuck, thanks! I guess you aren't so bad after all, sis," Gamzee observed, earning a scoff from 'sis' who just strode over to the stereo and played 'Still Alive' from Portal (yes!). A lot of trolls gave her a hard time because she liked the song, considering it clashed with her personality quite a bit, but she didn't care. It was amazing! It even stresses how delicious cake is, I mean, how could someone NOT love it? Vriska has come to the conclusion that those who don't just hate life and should go drown in the ocean.

Gamzee threw the bottle over his shoulder, which landed in Terezi's lap, giving her an excellent idea. She stood up and sat on the floor: setting the Faygo bottle on the floor.

"Get your butts down here! We're gonna play spin the Faygo," she told them with a snicker, knowing that this would be hella fun.

"Oh totally! Hehe I'm so EXCITED, this is gonna be so fun!" Feferi exclaimed while hopping off the couch and onto the carpeted floor. The rest of the group complied, some more willingly than others *cough*Karkat*cough*. Once everyone was settled, Terezi told them the rules, "Alright! So one of us will spin the bottle and kiss whomever the bottle lands on. And don't wuss out, that's no fun!"

And with that, the game commenced! Since she suggested the game, Terezi had to spin the bottle first. It rotated dramatically, drawing everyone's attention, then settled on Vriska.

"No fair! You must've used your weird dice or something, or your stupid luck!"

"Why would I want to kiss YOU? If I was going to cheat, I'd try for Phaedra. I may not be flushed for her, but I wouldn't mind messing around," she proudly admitted, winking at Phaedra. The indigo blood laughed and thrust into the air with her pelvis, then returned the wink, making Terezi want to puke.

"Oh gog please stop, let's just get this over with," Terezi complained before quickly giving Vriska a peck on the lips to silence her. Vriska laughed at Terezi's embarrassment and spun the bottle for herself: landing on Gamzee.

"Eh, why not?"

Vriska balled her fist in Gamzee's shirt, pulled him towards her, and pressed her lips to his for a few seconds before pulling away. Gamzee smirked and spun the bottle, deciding she wasn't even scary anymore. The plastic container pointed at Karkat once it stops, making the midget frown and shake his head.

"Oh fuck no. Gamzee, that is NOT happening!"

"Oh come on bro, it's just one little kiss," Gamzee offered, grabbing the back of Karkat's head and forcing their lips together. Karkat struggled against him, finally free after the most brutal seconds of his life. He begrudgingly spun the wretched bottle, wiping his lips desperately with the sleeve of his sweater. It stopped on Phaedra, whose expression pretty much said it all: this ain't fucking happening buddy. Karkat couldn't agree more, but a game was a game, and he knew there was no way out of it, as did she.

Phaedra, being on the other side of the circle from him, leaned forward with her lips pursed and eyes closed. Karkat did the same, each inching towards each other until…

Their lips grazed for a split second, and each of them retracted with incredible speed, wiping their lips and being overdramatic as hell. Phaedra, happy that was over with, spun the bottle and hoped for the best. The bottle stopped on Vriska, who looked at her in a way that could only be described as suggestive. Phaedra returned the look and curled her fingers through Vriska's lovely hair. Vriska's hands rested on her waist as their lips met and, being who they were, they didn't stop there. Each was eager and parted their lips happily, tongues darting in and battling for dominance. This battle of tongues lasted a few seconds before they decided: oh fuck it, who even cares? They're lips molded together as the appendages mapped out each other's mouths, taking in every last detail before pulling away, each girl wearing a large grin when they got back in their spots.

"Holy fuck…," Troi murmured, voicing everyone else's thoughts perfectly. Vriska ignored their stares as she spun the bottle: landing on Kanaya. The fashionable girl offered a half-smile as she gently kissed Vriska's lips, then pulled away with a faint blush and spun the bottle for herself. It settled on Tavros, who immediately started blushing a deep brown color. Kanaya smiled at him to calm his nerves and ran her dainty fingers through his Mohawk, then pressed her lips against his tenderly. Grateful for the care she'd taken to cease his worries, Tavros kissed back in thanks. Kanaya then went back to her spot, in which Tavros spun the bottle himself. It aligned with Equius, who gave one of the most fucked up looks imaginable. Like, I'm not even sure how to describe it. It's just one of those 'oh fuck there is no way this is happening' mixed with 'seriously why me' kind of faces that nobody really notices when you make.

Equius inched forward, seeing as Tavros couldn't move right now (I'm not gonna make him freaking crawl :/), and hesitantly touched his lips to Tavros'. Once the realization of kissing a low blood kicked in, Equius practically flew backwards and settled in his seat. Terezi laughed her ass off at this, rolling around on the floor while Equius spun the bottle. It landed on his moirail, making his whole fucking face turn blue. She smiled up at him and crawled in his lap, making him start to sweat from the situation they were in. Nepeta wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him flush on the lips, then rubbed her head against his cheek. She grabbed a towel from her sylledex (she always kept towels there just for him) and dabbed away the sweat while humming, making Lumia and Phaedra nearly pass out from fucking sweetness.

Once she was done, she spun the bottle and it landed oh Phaedra who smiled broadly: she was gonna kiss a cat troll! #dreamsdocometrue

Nepeta crawled over to Phaedra with her tail wide in the air, making the indigo girl 'awww' uncontrollably. They pressed their lips together for a total of seven seconds before Nepeta retraced her steps, snuggling back into Equius lap. Equius just looked down at her and continued to blush like crazy. Phaedra flicked the lid of the bottle, and it rotated until it stopped on Eridan. The sea dweller blushed and turned his head away.

"Um… I havven't evver kissed nobody before."

Phaedra laughed and placed her palm against his cheek.

"I figured as much, Ampora."

She rubbed her thumb against his cheek and rested her forehead against his. He whispered something about wanting his first kiss to be with someone who cared about him, and Phaedra nodded before connecting their lips. Eridan rested his arms on her shoulders and dug his nails into her back, making her moan into the kiss. She pulled away smiling softly only to find him staring at her like SHE was a musclebeast or something. Phaedra snickered, knowing she pretty much blew his mind, and sat back in her spot. With shaking hands, Eridan spun the bottle: pointing right at Lumia. She blushed before pressing her lips against his, glad this wasn't HER first kiss. That would be a bit… Disappointing. She pulled away and giddily spun the bottle, hoping against hope for…

Eeyup, Karkat.

The both of them froze and stared at the bottle, too scared to look up.

"Oh come on already!" Vriska shouted, earning her scowl from Karkat. The midget slowly looked at Lumia and tried to shrug it off, but wound up looking like he had epilepsy or something. Lumia giggled and cupped Karkat's face. Bringing it to hers, she closed her eyes and passionately pressed her lips to his. He pressed back and laid his hands on her legs (ya, he's positioned doggy style right now). Lumia tore away from him and grinned when she saw him looking at her in awe. Deciding maybe one more wouldn't hurt; she pecked him on the lips again before letting go of his face and scooting away. Karkat curled into a ball in his spot, opting to stay out of the rest of the game.

Because of this, the group selected Feferi to spin. She happily complied, twisting the plastic around until it stopped and aligned with Sollux. He grinned at her, looking very much like a super sexy nerd right now, and she shot forward and kissed him: savoring every moment of it. Sure, they both had matesprits, but it wasn't like this was infidelity. But fuck, did it feel nice.

Feferi bounced back to her seat as Sollux spun the bottle, landing on Terezi who smiled mischievously and licked his face. For some reason, everyone was totally cool with considering this 'kissing', and Terezi got to spin. The bottle landed on Aradia, who widened her eyes in fear of being licked. Thankfully, Terezi had decided to actually kiss her. Like for real. Their lips met and, when it was over, Aradia bit Terezi's bottom lip teasingly, making the other recoil cautiously. Sollux laughed and wrapped his arm around Aradia's waist.

"Ya she'th into thome freaky thtuff," he said with a wink. Gamzee laughed and took a sip of his Faygo, which he'd gotten at some point during their game.

"I hear that motherfucker!"

Tavros blushed and shrank into himself, knowing that Gamzee was hinting at what HE liked. He may have been shy and everything, but Gamzee just gave him this confidence he couldn't explain and, with this newfound confidence, a few… Fetishes, arose, and I'm talking some seriously dominant and possessive stuff. Troi looked at the boy and quirked an eyebrow, knowing by now that he was with the clown guy. Huh, cute.

Aradia quietly spun the bottle which settled on Troi. A little shocked, considering it hadn't landed on him before, Troi's face contorted in confusion. He looked at the maroon blood, deciding she was definitely going to be fun to kiss, and smirked. She blushed and pressed their lips together, but when Troi thought it would be over, she pressed her palm against his nook and sucked his tongue into her mouth. THEN she stopped, winking at Troi as she went back to her spot by Sollux, who didn't really seem to mind.

Terezi rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle.

"Ok guys, we're done. If we keep doing this, Aradia is gonna wind up raping someone."

The rest of the trolls agreed, pretty much freaked the fuck out by what just happened. By now, 'Still Alive' was long over, so Vriska decided to play a group of songs from her playlist starting with 'Dead Girl Rock' (love this song).

"Alright guys, shut up a second. Since I'm such a good person, you guys can stay at my hive for the rest of the day. It'll be light out soon, so make yourselves at hive," Vriska offered while munching on some cotton candy. The group let out a cheer, stood up, and started mingling!


"Has anybody seen Kanaya, Sollux, or Aradia?" Karkat yelled. He was pretty sure Aradia was with Sollux, so he wasn't too worried about that, but Kanaya? He had no clue where she could be. When he received no answer, he opted to look for her himself: checking the room's in Vriska's huge hive. After searching for ten minutes (not a very avid searcher), he finally stumbled upon the jade blood. Only, not in a situation he was comfortable with.

Sollux was using his twin bulges to fuck both Kanaya and Aradia while stroking their bulges as well. Kanaya and Aradia were making out and groping one another, oblivious to the midget in the doorway, but Sollux saw him. He smirked devilishly and nodded his head towards the two girls, wordlessly asking Karkat if he wanted to join in. Ya um, Karkat didn't want to.

He slammed the door and ran back to where everyone was still having a fun ol' time, completely unaware of what was going on between the three. Can they even do that? Isn't that some kind of infidelity or…?

"Hey, where'd ya go?"

Karkat turned and looked at Lumia who looked back at him quizzically. He shrugged and told everyone he was going to sleep, to which they groaned. The hive only had three recuperacoons, which meant only three trolls could go to sleep today. Admittedly though, most didn't feel like sleeping today. Karkat waved goodbye and then trudged upstairs to Vriska's respiteblock, crawled into the recuperacoon, and fell asleep.

After Karkat went to bed, Eridan, Phaedra, Gamzee, and Tavros all stood (or sat) in a circle: eating cotton candy and/or drinking Faygo. The clown was laying in Tavros' lap like usual and palming the low bloods Mohawk in amazement, while the recipient of this attention was talking with the two high bloods in front of him.

"I don't really mind if he sits here… I mean, um… It's no big deal… And it makes him happy," Tavros stated, responding to Phaedra's question: why do you always let him sit in your lap?

"Well that's sweet," she claimed with a wink. Eridan crossed his arms and pouted, wishing he had somebody to pity like that. It just wasn't fair for him to be all alone when that stupid lower blood got someone! Phaedra, noticing the pout, elbowed Eridan in the side.

"Hey!"

"Well that's what you get grub fucker!"

"Grub fucker? Wwhat the fuck!?"

"I called you a grub fucker, so what?"

"Wwhat the fuck do you evven mean? I havven't evvn seen a grub my wwhole life you distasteful vvermin!"

"Oh really, that's what I am? Listen buddy, at least I ain't sitting here pouting when my friend is trying to answer another friend's question. You could at least PRETEND to be happy for them!"

"An' you could at least shut your catinous wwindhole and stop bein' such a bitch all the time!"

"I ain't a fucking bitch you bulge sucking reject!"

"You think I'M the reject!? If it wweren't for your friend Troi, evveryone wwould DESPISE YOU! YOU'RE NOTHIN' BUT A FUCKIN' MURDERER!"

Eridan screamed the last part, loud enough for everyone to hear, but only a couple trolls actually looked over. By now, Tavros had rolled away with Gamzee: feeling awkward and wanting no part in the arguing. Phaedra looked at the sea dweller with disdain, still not fully grasping what just happened. Was that really all she was to him? Noticing the dramatic shift of attitude play out on her face, Eridan's own anger subsided, replaced with confusion. Not 'confusion for why she was sad', but 'confusion for why he even cared'. She was just some land dweller that he spent time with because she insisted on helping him. No other reason than that, right?

"Phae I'm… I di'nt mean it, I-"

"Ya… Ya you did mean it, but that's ok," Phaedra corrected, offended that he would lie to her like that, "It doesn't matter. None of this does. What, did you think I actually cared about what you said? As if! We've only known each other for a day; your opinion couldn't possibly mean less to me. YOU couldn't possibly mean less to me!"

The violet blood gawked at her, not believing what she just said.

"But wwhen wwe wwere playin' the game you… You nodded… Right before you…"

"I lied."

With that, she left: indigo tears streaming down her face, leaving Eridan the way he's always been.

Alone.


"Alright, what was that all about?" Terezi asked as she approached Vriska. The cerulean blood raised an eyebrow, unsure what her former Flarp partner was talking about.

"With you and Phaedra…?" she added, figuring that would spark Vriska's memory. It did, and Vriska's face lit up at the memory.

"Oh ya, that. What about it?" the noble questioned nonchalantly, as if what happened was completely normal for two friends. Terezi groaned at her friends stubborn behavior, thinking that Vriska was just being difficult to upset her, "I mean why did you make out with her!"

Still not seeing the big deal, Vriska shrugged and said cause. Well, this answer didn't really work for Terezi, who persisted.

"Why did you want to dammit!?"

"None of your freaking business, Redglare!" she said, raising her voice a little and referring to Terezi with her Flarp name to show how annoyed she was getting with the situation. Finally realizing what was going on here, Terezi smirked triumphantly.

"Oh gog, you're waxing red aren't you!"

There we go. Bet many of you have noticed that the number three is featured quite a bit. It's pretty much a constant in this story. Damn, I just love the number three ;u