AN: You know how this will end… You can't stop it… You… Can't fight it… Just accept it and just watch, as this goes down… You don't have a choice dear reader, you need to read, how do you know if they survive? You can't…
Dave dodged the blast from John, a combo of trickster magicks and breath powers.
"DIEDIEDIEDEI!" John screamed, firing madly, Rose doing the same.
"THIS IS GETTING NOWHERE!" Karkat shouted to Dave, before he was forced to doge.
"ah know that!" Dave shouted back, pulling a sword out of the air and deflecting a blast, the shockwave sending him flying back. "bad idea" He told himself, getting up quickly.
"I really don't think we're getting anywhere!" Jake called out, shooting shots out of the sky.
"Yeah, I kinda guessed that genius! We're gonna get culled if we don't figure this out!" Vriska called back annoyed, stumbling over her own feet. "Why am I so clumsy all of a sudden?!" She screamed annoyed.
"T)(is is fun!" Rose said with a grin.
"wwell, it's good to see you'vve mastered the art of FUN!" John commented, quirk changing again.
"I'M REALLY GETTING SICK OF THIS…" Karkat grumbled, boosting Terezi into the air to deflect another shot.
"NO K1DD1NG! TH1S 1S JUST BOR1NG NOW!" Terezi agreed.
"b-boring?! we can't have that!" John shouted instantly, his hair flickering for a moment, his shot hitting Vriska while she was distracted.
"VR1SK4!" Terezi shouted in horror.
"It hurts…" She whimpered, her hair turning into bright red candy floss, two candy cane horns bursting from her skull, one ending in a claw and the other with a small hook hanging off of it… "Make it stop….." She begged, before floating into the air slowly.
"it's ok vriska, it's all ok…" John said, helping her into the air gently, before letting go. "see?"
"… Heh… Heh heh…" Vriska started laughing, before shooting blasts at the sane four, causing them to dodge more blasts.
"GODDAMNIT VRISKA!" Karkat shouted angrily.
"W3 N33D TO H3LP H3R!" Terezi shouted worried for her Moirail.
"NO TIME! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Karkat told her, grabbing her arm and starting to back away.
"Boo!" Vriska shouted, booping Terezi on the nose, Karkat quickly releasing the quickly changing girl.
"VR1SK4?! WH4T D1D YOU DO!? 1T F33LS GR34T!" She shouted, horns bursting from her head, hair changing colour…
"OH GOD, NOT YOU AS WELL…" Karkat muttered in fear, running to Dave as Jake got hit…
"TALLY HOO!" He shouted, looking at his new appearance confused. "I don't usually look this." He noted. His hair, usually green in this form, was now a slightly different shade of green, lime instead of acidic…
"THIS IS BAD. THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD THIS IS BAD…" Karkat repeated, panicking a lot.
"don't look now but it's gotten worse" Dave told him.
Karkat turned around and gulped, dave's shades had changed shape, and his hair was turning the colour jake's normal trickster mode usually was… "NOT YOU AS WELL…" He whimpered.
"ah'm sorry karkat we gotta fix this fast" Dave told him, making sure to avoid physical contact… And then the transformation took him over, giving Karkat a horrid grin before he vanished, Karkat breaking into a sprint to escape the horror.
John watched curiously as Karkat ran, following him from a distance, the other's laughing happily, before stopping, staring at their hands depressed…
"karkat?" He asked as Karkat dropped gasping.
"NO… NONONO STAY AWAY!"
"karkat? what's going on?" He asked, the trickster colours fading instantly, along with some of his own colour.
"THIS IS A TRICK. THIS HAS TO BE…"
"karkat, why are you scared? where's dave?" He asked confused, before remembering. "oh… this is my fault… we need to fix this, quickly." He told him.
"YEAH, I KNOW THAT! BUT HOW?! THAT WASN'T NORMAL!" Karkat agreed.
"… it wasn't trickster mode! i snapped when i thought you guys had abandoned me! i've never been really alone before, so… i didn't infect them with…"
"ASSHOLE CANDY MAGIC… YOU INFECTED THEM WITH ASSHOLE INSANE CANDY MAGIC!" Karkat finished, figuring out where he was going with this.
"exactly! but… that doesn't tell us how to fix it…"
"ACTUALLY… I MIGHT KNOW A GUY THAT CAN HELP US…" Karkat pondered, rubbing his chin in thought. "WE JUST HAVE TO ASK…"
"No, I'm not helpin' you out here, you got yourself into this mess." The boy refused, his anime shades glinting in the light.
"but jake got infected as well! you're the only one that's immune to the effects!" John pleaded.
"The answers still no, it'll wear off on it's own."
"IT WOULD, BUT IT'S NOT NORMAL ASSHOLE CANDY MAGIC, IT'S ASSHOLE INSANE CANDY MAGIC." Karkat corrected.
"… Fine… You're lucky I'm the one with the juju, we just gotta make a new one since mine only works for me." The boy agreed.
"thanks dirk, we really appreciate this." John thanked.
"Don't thank me yet, this might not work." Dirk told him, melting down two suckers and putting them into beakers, measuring them out in a room, sealed with glass. "Stay out of here while I work…" He added, putting them into a machine that created a spiral sucker. "Here. Now get out." He told them, passing it over and locking the room, the glass covered by shutters.
"… now what?" John asked, looking at it.
"I… THINK WE NEED TO LICK IT?" Karkat told him cautiously.
"different sides?"
"DIFFERENT SIDES." They agreed, tentatively giving it a lick, as the asshole candy magic shot through them…
John went into his true trickster mode for the second time, the one from earlier being bewitcher mode, as they had dubbed it on the way to dirk. "oh this is awesome!" He said, giving Karkat a grin, the large pink sweet in his hair jiggling around as he did.
"I WANT TO HAVE YOUR PLATONIC BABIES!" Karkat shouted happily, having his first true trickster mode high, his hair like red liquorice, like black but red.
"me too!" John agreed, bouncing up and down.
They both shot off to find the others… They found Terezi at one of the towers, spinning around depressed, trying to have fun. A quick boop on the nose from Karkat fixed her right up!
"TH1S 1S 4M4Z1NG!" She shouted, joining them in their flight.
Vriska was sitting by the lake, throwing stones into it. Terezi kicked one back at her, getting her in the forehead and changing her.
"Ow, that hurt! Buuuuuuuut… This is gr8!" She complained, before shooting up, high fiving the group.
"Next up, Jake!" John told them, as they soared around the castle together.
"OVER THERE!" Karkat called out, shooting towards a part of the forest, with lots of injured animals, Jake fighting them and sighing.
"I got this one guys." Vriska said, dropping into a dive and landing, getting a cut from a branch, forcing the trickster mode to not heal the wound until blood came out, showing it to Jake who was distracted by the 'blue ladies' long enough for them all to turn him.
"TALLY HOO!" He shouted, shooting up. "Thanks for that by the by, i really needed that." He thanked them.
"WHO'S L3FT?" Terezi asked.
"rose and dave."
"DAVE EXPLODED OR SOMETHING, HE VANISHED ANYWAY." Karkat told John.
"I see rose over there! Tally ho!" Jake called out, heading to her where she was pacing.
"Useless, who'd care about this anyway? Nobody that's who… Hah, friends? Who needs them?!" She ranted to herself.
"i do!" John called out, distracted Rose long enough for Jake to convert her.
"… Thanks John, I forgot how optimistic you can be, sorry." She apologised, giving him a smile. "Also, Karkat, your horns are back." She added.
"HUH?! THEY WERE JUST NUBS…" Karkat muttered, feeling the candy cane feeling of his old horns. "THEY'RE BACK! WOO!"
"Where's Dave?" She asked confused.
"we don't know, we're going after him now though." John explained, looking around.
Dave was sitting at the highest point of the castle, looking everything over with a demonic smirk. "this could be a song… ah got no clue what though" He muttered, ignoring the true tricksters flying towards him, the last bewitcher.
"DAVE!" Karkat called, getting in front of him.
"heh" Dave chuckled. "what was that about ya'll not getting in trickster mode?"
"We're in trickster mode, we were, and you are, in Bewitcher mode." Rose corrected.
"whatever ya say rose" Dave said with a shrug.
John rushed dave and pushed trickster magic through him, but nothing happened. "wha?"
"heh, ah've accepted this" He explained, pushing John away.
"WE NEED TO BE POSITIVE! I'M NOT A VERY CHEERY PERSON BUT DAMNIT TRICKSTER MODE MAKES ME HAPPY AND I LIKE IT WITHOUT BEING FORCED TOO!" Karkat told John.
"we need to know we stand with each other." John agreed, looking to Terezi.
"1 M4Y H4V3 K1LL3D YOU, BUT 1 TH1NK W3 H4V3 SOM3TH1NG." She told him, reaching out a hand.
"i hatelove you too!" John said with a grin, taking the hand.
"S4M3 H3R3." She nodded with a smirk,
"You're my moirail, I'm not leaving you to suffer, you wouldn't leave me and I'd do the same for you any day." Vriska told Terezi, before turning to Jake. "You're just really creepy, but in a kinda cute way I guess." She admitted.
"I need to dial it back, i'll admit." He agreed.
"We may all be from different sessions, but we all have a bond. As cheesy as it is, we're all friends." Rose added with a chuckle.
"this is cute an all but ah think ah'll pass on the huggy feely crap" Dave told them, floating in the air.
"then how-About we-G3T DOWN-To 8usiness-right this second-AND CALM YOU DOWN!" They said in sync, holding hands, Karkat doing so with this half happy half disgusted look on his face, and circling Dave.
"ah really don't want in on this" Dave repeated.
"sorry, you don't have a choice." John apologised, as they got closer and closer, the circle getting even smaller, the group pressing against each other.
"nononononononoyesyesyesyesyes" Dave said, the power flooding through him. "thanks ah really needed that" He admitted, giving them a smile.
"so… how do we go back to normal?" John asked.
"… WE HAVE BETTER BE ABLE TO." Karkat grumbled annoyed, as they all landed at where they had fought.
"ah'm fine" Dave said, back to normal, but holding the trickster mode shades in his hands, his normal shades on his face.
"Same here, by jove look! We have trickster items!" Jake exclaimed, holding a small pumpkin toy in his hands.
"My headband is here in trickster form as well." Rose added, holding it in her hands.
"Huh, my eye patch is gone…" Vriska realised, putting it on and going back to normal, well… Mostly.
"You still have your horns." Rose told her.
"Weird…"
"I H4V3 NO 1D34 1F 4NYTH1NG 1S DOUBL3D." Terezi said.
"You were wearing a blindfold, it's around your head." Rose told her.
"COOL!"
"WHAT ABOUT US? HOW DO WE CHANGE BACK?" Karkat asked, as John got the juju out and stared at it, pulling at the handle in different directions. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He asked confused, before watching as John's mangrit pulled the sucker into a red sucker and a green sucker. "HUH…" He muttered, taking the red one and licking it, changing back, and then the sucker vanished, a red spiral appearing on his palm.
"cool!" John shouted, doing the same with the green, the swirl appearing in green on the opposite hand.
"ah hope ya'll ain't taking mah matesprit" Dave told John half seriously.
"well, i'd have a matesprit, and a kismesis right?" He pointed out.
"Y34H H3 WOULD. BUT H3'S JUST GOT A K1SM3S1S 4T TH3 MOM3NT." Terezi agreed.
"CAN WE STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS? I REALLY DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF USING THIS STUFF FOR FUN, IT'S REALLY FUN TO USE, BUT STILL… IT SHOULDN'T BE USED FOR EVERYTHING." Karkat told them.
"Yes, it would be… Irresponsible, and we'd get addicted." Rose agreed.
"And it feels bad to take advantage of such power when my friends can't do the same…" Jake added.
"I just don't want to resort to needing outside power…" Vriska muttered. "Still a jerk, go figure."
"I C4N'T S33 4 D1FF3R3NC3 BUT 1'LL 4GR33 4NYW4Y." Terezi told them.
"… how about we use them for dumb stuff next month just to annoy the others?" John questioned.
"ya'll onto something there" Dave told him, the others agreed…
"Just throwing this out there, and forgive me if i'm wrong... But we just saved the day with the power of friendship." Jake realised, getting snickers from everyone.
"THIS IS SO CHEESY!" Karkat shouted as he leaned against Dave.
"yeah, but it's funny so we're laughing." John agreed.
"So, John, we still watching Con air?" Vriska asked hopefully.
"yeah of course! why wouldn't we?" John gave a nod.
"… SO… I'V3 N3V3R 4CTU4LLY N3V3R H4D 4 K1SM3S1S B3FOR3." Terezi told John with a shrug.
"huh. well neither have i so… yeah." John said, shrugging back.
"OH MY GOD THIS IS JUST TRAGIC." Karkat said, practically purring as Dave rubbed his horn.
"no romcoms karkat, i'm not in the mood. i just ruined the day and then got a tattoo. we should just take the week off to relax and just… yeah." John told him, rubbing the mark.
"ah'm glad ah don't have one. mah 'family' would rip mah balls off." Dave said with a grin, rubbing his thumb over a certain spot on Karkat's horn.
"OH GOD THAT'S GOOD!"
"… wow. horns are sensitive huh?"
"YOU DON'T KNOW TH3 H4LF OF 1T JOHN." Terezi agreed.
"So, how do we explain the horns? Nu88y can hide them 8ut we can't." Vriska pointed out.
"ah can come up with something" Dave promised, before looking carefully.
…
…
…
…
"ah got nothing" He admitted, going back to rubbing Karkat's horns like cat ears.
"Greaaaaaaaat… I'm not cutting my horns off, no matter what anyone says. That hurts!" Vriska complained.
"3QU1US 1S 4CTU4LLY TH3 TH1RD STRONG3ST TROLL 1N TH3 S3SS1ON." Terezi pointed out.
"OH YEAH I REMEMBER THAT, GAMZEE TOOK THE LEAD WHILE NEPETA WAS BETWEEN RIGHT?" Karkat checked.
"Y3P!"
"We actually thought Nepeta was really fragile until Equius accidently hit her hard, and she just hit him back playfully, he needed ice." Vriska explained with a smirk. "That's when I learned not to mess with the kitty." She added.
"wow. i didn't expect that." John remarked, examining the swirl again. "why is this so familiar?" He wondered.
"It's calliope's. She and caliborn had the separate forms of the first trickster mode juju, she sent her's to janey, caliborn gave me his, which i gave to jane, that caused them to fuse." Jake explained.
"oh, that'd do it…" John agreed, scratching furiously at it. "this is so irritating!" He complained.
"Let me try something." Rose told him, scratching it with her nails, almost cutting John's palm open.
"owowowow! there goes the itch, and my hand…" He groaned, rubbing his hand.
"It got rid of it though, right?"
"ow…"
"ah'm gonna go back to the castle 'cause we've got ten minutes to get back to where we were when we went to go find john" Dave told them, walking off, the other's following quickly behind him.
"I almost forgot about that…" Rose admitted.
"SO DID I. BUT SERIOUSLY HOW AM I GOING TO EXPLAIN THIS TO MY PARENTS?!" Karkat shouted annoyed. "THEY ALREADY WANTED TO GET ME SURGERY TO LOSE THE BONE HORNS! NOW I HAVE ACTUAL HORNS AND A TATTOO! THIS IS NOT GOOD!"
"ya have parents?"
"YEAH… THEY… THEY SUCK. IT'S… IT'S DAMARA AND CRONUS. THEY KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING BUT ONE OF THEM CAN'T BE UNDERSTOOD BY THE OTHER, AND ONE OF THEM FLIRTS WITH LITERALLY EVERYTHING… I HAVE TO TRANSLATE SINCE I SOMEHOW UNDERSTAND HER." Karkat explained with a shrug.
"Wow. I'm just raised by Aranea, we mostly just let each other do our own things, but we do hang out and do family stuff when we get the chance." Vriska said, throwing her own two coins in.
"1'M R41S3D BY TH3 R4DD3ST CH1CK 3V3R!" Terezi exclaimed, literally jumping into the air for a second.
"I'm raised by mother, not Roxy, the one I was raised by last time, Roxy's my sister in this life, well, we're cousins but her mother, b2 me, is usually sick so she lives with me." Rose added.
"I'm raised by grandma, jade's on the island opposite raised by other me, oh yeah we have islands, they're like identical in everyway." Jake said, stretching as they headed back.
"i'm just raised by dad with jane, but… well, it's my dad and her dad, somehow both versions were reborn in one body so it developed in him getting two personalities, dad egbert and dad crocker, so jane and i are siblings in everything but name." John said. "i think i have the best home life."
"well ah'm literally harry potter, ah'm sorta wishin ah'd read them books now." Dave finished, agreeing that John had the best life.
"Well John, you win again. Just like last time…" Rose grumbled, giving him a medal.
"woo! i'm always gonna win! oh yeah!" He said happily, doing a little dance that made Rose break into a giggle fit.
"I-Is that a dance or a jig?" Jake asked confused.
"I have a-absolutely… N-No idea!" Rose giggled, unable to help herself.
"… 1 H4V3 JUST R34L1S3D 1'V3 GOT 4 W31RDO FOR 4 K1SM3S1S…" Terezi muttered in horror.
"Yeah, sure sucks huh?" Vriska told her. "I had Eridan though, I got it worse." She decided.
"so… quadrents are two red two black right?"
"YES. YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS."
"is there a reverse? red spade, red club, black heart, black diamond?" John asked curiously.
"… I GOT THIS… BLACH HEART, WHEN A PARTNER LOVES SOMEONE SO MUCH THEIR MATESPRITSHIP TURNS BLACK, AND THEY BECOME OBSESSIVE AND CONTROLLING. VERY WILLING TO USE VIOLENCE IF NECESSARY TO PREVENT OTHERS FROM INTERACTING WITH THEIR MATESPRIT AND VISE VERSA." He said, before continuing. "BLACK DIAMOND, SIMILIARLY TO BLACK HEART ROMANCE, IT IS WHEN ONE MEMBER OF A MOIRAILIGIANCE BECOMES SO POSSESSIVE OF THEIR MOIRAIL THAT THEY ACTIVELY ATTEMPT TO CONTROL THEIR LIFE AND PREVENT OTHERS FROM INTERFERING. RED SPADE, A BRUTAL, ALMOST SPITEFUL FORM OF ROMANCE MOST CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH MATESPRITSHIP, HOWEVER TYPICALLY FULL OF CONFLICTING VIEWS AND OPINIONS, AND LINED WITH SARCASTIC AND SNARKY TONES. RED CLIB, WHEN TWO PARTNERS ARE SO VERY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER, THEY MUTUALY BECOME LOST IN EACH OTHER, TO THE POINT WHERE THEY FORGET TO EAT, SLEEP, BATH OR PARTICIAPATE IN ANY OTHER ACTIVITY, A THIRD PARTY INVOLVES THEMSELVES TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THESE TWO OBSESSIVE LOVERS, HOWEVER IT IS A DANGEROUS ROLE AS THE RELATIONSHIP MAY VERY QUICKLY BECOME A DOUBLE-SIDED BLACK HEARTED RELATIONSHIP." He finished, giving a smug little smirk.
"… wow. are they real or…?" John asked.
"I HAVE NO IDEA. I JUST MADE THEM UP BUT THEY'RE PROBABLY REAL."
"They're real, I read a8out it once in Mindfangs journal. 8ack in her time they were ancient, so by our time no8ody remem8ered them, not even Nepeta, only candy-red's can remember them apparently, they always think they made them up." Vriska explained. "They're always the same explanation." She added, before Karkat could argue.
"Well, maybe we can test this later…" Rose theorised, getting distracted, before walking into the wall.
"watch out rose!" John warned, intentionally after she had impacted.
"I'm swooning as we speak." She said sarcastically.
"then our brave knight can save you." John pointed out, just as sarcastic.
"ah can swoop in like the goddamn batman" Dave joked, putting on a batman voice that clashed with his accent.
"ugh, terrible." John told him, humming something. "you got it stuck in my head!"
"got what in what"
"that dumb, cancer crystal power thing."
"y'mean karkat moon right"
"I THOUGHT WE CALLED MOONLIGHT TSUNDERE."
"karkat moon's the ironic name dahlin" Dave explained, putting on a posh voice that didn't clash at all what are you talking about no this isn't a dead body behind my back what are you talking about hah… This is just a script idiot.
"dahlin? ah lookit me ah'm dave ah'm a texan dahlin lookit!" John mocked with a grin.
"that sounds nothing like me how dare ya do that" Dave argued instantly.
"IT SOUNDED JUST LIKE YOU WHEN YOU'RE TIRED." Karkat said, siding with John.
"ouch" Dave mock fainted before getting back up. "mah own matesprit betrays me" He mock anguished.
"NO. I'M JUST SIDING WITH THE PRANKSTER THAT I THINK I HAD A CALIGNOUS CRUSH ON AT SOME POINT BUT I DON'T REALLY REMEMBER." Karkat argued.
"yeah you did. it's why you did the reverse time travel thing." John reminded him.
"OH YEAH. I FORGOT ABOUT THAT… THE BASIS FOR FRIENDSHIP, INSUFFERABLE TIME TRAVEL TROLLING THAT GAVE US BOTH HEADACHES." Karkat reminisced.
"and yet you're still shorter than me." John pointed out, leaning on Karkat's head, his arm at just the angle to avoid the horns.
"OH COME ON! DON'T CALL ME SHORT!" Karkat complained.
"yer short karkat" Dave admitted with a smirk.
"you're the same height as him since this version of you seems abused." John noted, resting his other arm on Dave's head.
"John, stop using your tall privilege against those who can't use it." Rose told him, while she leaned on Jake's head along with Terezi's.
"when you stop using yours." John argued.
"I'm tired."
"so am i." the two started bickering playfully.
"ah love these guys" Dave told Karkat with a small smile.
"YEAH. YOU KEEP SAYING THAT." Karkat told him, rolling his eyes…
"ah do don't ah" Dave muttered, looking up as best he could with an egbert arm on his skull…
Dirk watched from his room, looking at his own juju in distaste. "Why can he get the full effects when I can't?" He wondered, letting it vanish into the air…