Chapter 4
I am back! Thanks for the reviews Lady of Black Millennium and Hibiki
Karkat walks around town alone and absent mindedly, he didn't have to buy anything today so he was just going to walk around until he found Eridan and Gamzee. They were going to have to find a place to meet so they didn't have to waste so much time looking for each other. "I wonder where those idiots are today." It has been two sweeps since he met Gamzee and Eridan and he still has to look for them.
"Stupid low blood," he hears someone say, Karkat runs into the crowd that surrounds the voice. He looks at the tall muscular troll with blood blue looking down at the yellow blood on the ground. The blue blood has one broken horn with the other one looking like an arrow head and the yellow blood has four horns, "how dare you try to humiliate me," the blue blood spits.
"Hey," Karkat walks in front of the yellow blood, "leave him alone!"
"Who are you?" The blue blood asks.
"It is common curtesy to give one's own name before asking for someone else's name unless they give it first," Karkat says remembering the manors Kanaya taught him.
"What is your blood color?" He asks.
Karkat moves his cloak with his arm to reveal half of his jade Cancer sign, "jade blood, but I guess a high blood like yourself would never remember a middle class blood like me."
"Have we met before?"
"Yes we have," Karkat says, "I was the one who helped you help your poor lusus when you bruised him up near town, you would have been four sweeps while I was only one and a half sweeps old." Karkat bends down behind him, "take my hand."
"I don't need your help," the yellow blood says but takes his hand anyway.
"I know," he says and pulls him up, "I am just being nice."
"Why?"
"Why not?" Karkat asks and leads him out of the crowd, "I will tend to your wounds."
"Thankth," he says and Karkat sits him down in an empty part of the town.
He has a lisp oh Gog, Karkat thinks as he bandages him up, "why were you fighting with Equius Zahhak?"
"Tho you really do know him?"
"Yes, I do," Karkat says, "so what happen?"
"I didn't let him puth me around and he didn't like that."
Karkat chuckles, "yeah, he only let's high bloods order him around, and me sometimes."
"Why?"
"Because I know how to scare him to death."
"How?" The yellow blood asks intrigued.
"I am Karkat Vantas," he says, "who are you?"
"Thollux Captor, now tell me," Sollux says.
"I would have thought you would have figured it out from my name," Karkat says and puts away his first aid kit, "I am under high blood protection."
"Why?"
"I am good friends with the Heiress," he says, "and I have two high bloods I take care of sometimes."
"Thit," Sollux says, "you muth be a buthy KK."
"No kidding Captor," Karkat says and stands up, "be more careful ok?"
"Whatever KK," Sollux says, "why do you care?"
"It is my job to," Karkat says, "later." Karkat is a little worried about Sollux but he needs to find Eridan and Gamzee.
"Where are you going?
"To find my high bloods," Karkat says and walks away, Sollux follows him.
"They will cull you one day KK," Sollux says.
"I don't care," he says, "I can take care of myself."
"Oh yeah, so if I did thith," he uses his red psionic hand and grabs Karkat's arms, "then you can ethcape?"
"Ha-ha," he says and tries to pull away but her can't budge his arms, "seriously Sollux, let me go."
"Nope, you have to take care of yourthelf KK," Sollux says smugly and sits on the ground watching him struggle.
"Ok, what do you want me to say? I can't escape, or maybe I was wrong I need someone watching over me? Well of course I can't escape!" He snaps and Sollux jumps a bit.
"Continue," he stands up.
"I know my own limits," Karkat scoffs, "I don't go in over my head and right now I am so if you don't mine," he holds out his arms.
"Nope," he says smiling, "you need thomeone to protect you."
Karkat is silent, "what?"
"That would be me," Sollux says, "come on KK, keep up," he says and makes Karkat walks with him.
"You must be kidding," Karkat says, Fuck! Ok, calm down and look for help. I refuse to be his pet damn it! Karkat looks around for his friends then smiles when he sees Eridan's cape in the crowd of people talking about him. "Eridan, Gamzee!" He screams.
They look back to see him with Sollux and run over, "Kar," Eridan says, "wwho is your friend?"
"Sollux," he says, "but I am a little tied up," he moves his cloak to show the red psionic keeping his arms together.
Gamzee glares at Sollux, he is close to become sober and this is something he didn't need, "let him go right now mother fucking low blood shit."
Karkat is shocked and frowns, "oh fuck, Gamzee are you…"
"Yes I mother fucking almost am!" He snaps then looks back at Sollux, "now bitch."
"Kar?" Eridan asks, "wwhat is wwrong wwith Gam?"
"He is almost sober," he sighs, "shit, I need to get him home before he snaps and goes on a killing spree again."
"Again," Sollux asks, "what do you mean again KK?"
"You really do not want to know so," he holds out his arm, "please?"
Sollux releases him, "you are going to get yourthelf killed KK."
"So what?" He says, "come on Gamzee," he grabs the high bloods arm nicely then is smacked back into a building.
"Kar!"
"KK!"
"I don't take any mother fucking orders from a middle class blood," Gamzee spits.
Karkat stands up and coughs up blood, "shit!" He wipes his mouth off and his hand until the color was gone before anyone can see the mutant red blood, "Gamzee, that is not how you treat your lusus!"
"So what mother fucker?" He asks and grabs Karkat's neck, "are you going to mother fucking scold me or something?"
Karkat doesn't struggle, "no," he whispers, "I guess I failed then."
"WHAT DO YOU MOTHERFUCKING MEAN SPEAK UP," he screams in Karkat's face.
Sollux is about to attack but Eridan stops him, "Kar doesn't go in ovver his head," he says, "he knowws wwhat he is doing."
"Thit," Sollux says, "he ith going to cull him!"
"No he won't," Eridan says but has his gun out ready to fire if he is wrong.
"I must have failed as a parent if you are going to cull me," Karkat says and Gamzee lifts him off of his feet, "I am sorry." Karkat doesn't make any effort to move his arms to help himself or to try to fight Gamzee.
"I am going to mother fucking cull you," Gamzee growls.
"Then why am I still alive, mighty high blood," Karkat asks void of emotion.
He drops Karkat, "you are too pathetic to cull," he spits.
Karkat doesn't get up, "just like last time?"
Gamzee's eyes turn red to signal he is fully sober, "what was that mother fucker?!"
Karkat jumps up, "you heard me high blood, you can't cull me," he gets in Gamzee's face, "because you care about me," he jumps back when Gamzee tries to punch him. "Enough with being a good lusus, time for some tough parenting, come and get me high blood," he runs away and Gamzee chases after him.
"Ith he crazy?!" Sollux asks as they follow them.
"I havve no idea if he is or not," Eridan says honestly. He has seem Karkat do some reckless things to help them and this is by far the worse thing he has seen him do.
Karkat runs into Gamzee's hive and pulls out a sopor pie from the fridge and puts it on the table then hides.
"MOTHER?" He screams as he walks into his hive, "where are you HONK?" He walks into the kitchen and sees the pie, "shit rots my think pan, I can't believe I used to like this shit," he says and picks up the pie. "I should have listen to Mother when he said it was bad the first time."
Karkat sweeps his leg and trips Gamzee into the pie, "got you."
"Mother fucker," he says with slime on his face, "I will fucking cull you!" Karkat smiles as Gamzee starts to relax.
"Feel better now Gam?"
"Yeah mother," he says with a lazy smile and finishes the pie, "did something happen, you look…"
"It is nothing," he pulls his hood up and hides his body, "you just went to far on trying to sober up, nothing bad happen though."
"Kar," Eridan runs in with Sollux behind him. He sighs with relief when he sees the slime on Gamzee's face, "you are crazier than Gam."
"Hn," Karkat says and walks into the bathroom, he locks the door.
"Thit, what wath that about?" Sollux asks.
"Who is he?" Gamzee asks looking at Sollux.
"A friend of Kar's," Eridan says, "Thollux Captor," he teases.
"Thit head."
"Nice to meet you Solbro," Eridan says.
Sollux smiles at the fact Gamzee got part of his name right, "you too, but what the fuck wath wrong with you earlier?"
"What do you mean mother fucker?" Gamzee asks and starts to drink a faygo.
Karkat pulls out his first aid kit and takes off his hood,"damn it Gamzee, you really did a number on me this time," he says looking at his new red bruises on his neck. He takes off his shirt and examines his bruised arms and stomach, "fuck," he says not wanting to look at his back and starts to wrap his body up in bandages. After he is done he puts his shirt back on and winces in pain as the fabric touches his bruised body. He looks at the badges around his neck as he ties his cloak back on, "well this is going to be a fucking pain to hide," he says and puts his hood on so he can hide it better. He walks out of the bathroom and Sollux is waiting for him, "sorry I made you wait," he says and moves to Sollux can go in to go.
"I wath waiting for you," he says and uses his psionic to pulls his cloak off and push his sleeves up, "thith ith what I wath trying to warn you about, idiot!"
"It doesn't concern you," he pushes his sleeves back down and puts his cloak back on, "what are you my lusus?"
"Maybe I thould be!" He snaps.
Karkat raises his eye brown, "really, I don't need another lusus. Miss. Kanaya is doing just fine."
"Well apparently you need thomeone to watch you when you are out and thince you help me I gueth that will have to be me," Sollux says.
Karkat shrugs, "do whatever you want Sollux," he walks back to the kitchen to see the end of a faygo drink off.
"Win again mother fucker," Gamzee says.
"Howw?!" Eridan screams in irritated.
"Practice Lil Eribro," Gamzee teases.
"Hey Eridan, Gamzee," Karkat says walking into the kitchen. The thought crossed his mind to call them his boys but they are both much older than him, even though they didn't know that. "Sollux just made himself my second lusus, be nice to him."
"Fine," Eridan says.
"Sure mother," Gamzee says.
Sollux starts laughing, "mother?!"
"Yeah," Karkat says un-amused, "he calls me mother, so what mom?" Sollux stops but Eridan and Gamzee burst into laughter, "not so funny now is it Sollux?"
"Thut up KK," Sollux says.
"Whatever," he says trying to act like a disobedient teen age troll to annoy him and it worked.
"Hey!"
"Hey yourself," he counters, "oh shit I need to go," Karkat says looking out the window at the moon.
"Why?" Sollux asks.
"Because I will be late getting home to Miss. Kanaya and I don't want to make he do my chores around the hive," he says and runs out of Gamzee's hive, "see you guys tomorrow."
"Later," Gamzee says.
"Bye," Eridan waves him off.
"What the fuck," Sollux stands there confused as Karkat leaves him alone with the two high bloods.
Karkat runs as fast as he can to get home, "I am not going to make it if I keep doing this," he mutters to himself. A meteor falls from the sky and lands near where he is, "you are fucking kidding me," he says looking at the place, "don't go look, just go home." He curses to himself as he runs to see what happened at the crater, "nothing," he mutters looking in the empty crater, well almost empty, except for the little wriggler in it. "Holly shit!" He slides down into the crater to get it, he is just hopping it is ok.
He picks up the wriggler and he is perfectly fine, "thank Gog," he sighs and gets a better look at its cherry red body, "you are fucking kidding me," he says and the wriggler starts crawling around his arms. "Hey, it is ok little guy, I am not going to hurt you." He climbs out of the crater with one hand and takes him home.
"Karkat," she says when he walks in dirty, "what happened, are you hurt?!"
"Yes but that doesn't matter at the moment," he say and Kanaya intently takes his cloak off of him to examine his wound but stops when she sees the wriggler in his arms, "Karkat?"
"Yes mother?"
"Where did that come from?"
"The sky," he says, "I found him in a crater."
"Really," she asks and takes the wriggler from him, "well I guess you have a new addition to your little and still growing family Kardad," she giggles.
Karkat blushes bright red and takes the cherry wriggler back, "then doesn't that make you a…" He thinks of the word he heard from Feferi, "grandma!" He shouts in delight that he remembered it.
"I guess it does," she says, "what will you name him Karkat?"
He thinks for a second, "Kankri, he is my son now!" Karkat smiles at Kanaya and takes the wriggler to his room to let him nap in his bed. "Could you watch him for a few minutes?" He asks putting his hood on, "I need to find something."
"OK," she says and watches him leave.
He walks into the forest until he finds an abandoned hive in the forest. It is small and looks like a rust bloods old home but he knows that rust bloods don't live anywhere near here. After he found it he claimed it as he second hive, but now he might have to use it as something other than a club house for him to play in and hide in when someone is at the hive that shouldn't see him, like when Equius comes over to try and beat him up for owning him in front of everyone.
He turns on the lights, "ok, time to clean up," he dusts everything off and sets up the restspiteblock, "shit," he coughs as dust hits his face.
"IS someone here?!" He hears a girl's voice scream.
SHIT! Karkat hides in the closet of the room and watches the girl walk in. She has long black hair and glasses, one of her eyes has an eight fold in it. He sees her blue Scorpio sign on her shirt, shit I am so fucked!
"Come out before I attack," she warns with her dice out, "I am warning you, I am very lucky."
Karkat rolls out a can from the closet and she doesn't notice as she continues to search for him.
"Come out no- ahh," she slips on the can and falls. Karkat runs out of the hive but she grabs his cloak, "got you!"
"Shit!" He says and falls face first into the floor.
"Now tell me who you are before I cull you," she pins Karkat down.
"Let me go," he screams struggling and his hood falls off.
"Karkat?" She says surprised, "weeeeeeeell look who finally showed up!" She gets off of his and pulls him up, "what has it been, four and a half sweeps now?"
He doesn't know her, "I'm sorry?" He says.
"Ooooooooh well, back to reality," she says and puts her arm over his shoulder, "how have you been Karkat?"
"Good?" He says confused.
"I saw what you did in town, he deserved what you did and he face was priceless!" She laughs.
"OK who are you?!" Karkat says backing away from the girl.
"Vriska, don't you remember me?"
"No," he says bluntly, "sorry I really don't remember anything passed one and a half sweeps."
"Ooooooooh, that make sense," she says, "I see you still come here even after I told you to stay out."
"I found it!" He says annoyed.
"Yes you did, but I needed a place to hide when I was on land and this was perfect."
"Well it is mine," he says, "you can't stay here unless I say it is ok!"
"Soooooooo is it ok?" She asks.
"NO!" He screams, "you tried to cull me!"
"I used to do that all the time," Vriska says, "come on Karkat I am really need to stay here for a few days."
"Why?"
"I can't tell you unless you want to be hunted down."
"Oh shit," he covers his ears, "I never saw you here today."
"Wait," she grabs his shoulder, "Karkat come on."
"What?" He looks at her.
"Why do you look so mad?"
"Well maybe I have plans for this hive but now I can't fucking do them," he says and leans on the wall, "it doesn't matter."
"Do tell Karkat," she says, "I want to hear what the jade blood is planning for this little hive. Are you going to smuggle a grub in here?"
"My son," he says.
"Holly shit! You finally pailed with someone?! Who was it, I want, no need, to know!"
"Not telling," he says crossing his arms, "besides why should I?"
"Because we are friends?" She says and puts her arm around him, "just spill Karkat before I make you," she growls seductively.
He stares at her blankly, "w-what?!"
"You know what I mean," she says playing with the string of his cloak.
Karkat looks down so she can't see his flushed face, "Vriska, I need some space."
"Why?" She asks in his ear.
"I can't breathe," he mutters feeling like he is being suffocated.
She steps back one step, "better?"
"No," he mutters and pulls his hood down as far as it will go, "besides you don't need to know."
"But why!" She asks annoyed, "just tell me like a good boy and I might let you have the hive back."
"I have more than this place in mind for him," Karkat says and leaves the room.
"You are noooooooo fun Karkat," she groans, "just tell me who you are with."
"No one!" He growls, "I have no one to fill a quadrant with Vriska!"
"Oh, I am sorry, well great I feel like a big bitch now," she says, "fuck."
"Forget it," he says and walks to the door.
"Don't he sun is out," she grabs his arm and pulls him away from the door. He yelps in pain when he falls on her, "are you really that weak Karkat?" Karkat scrambles up and runs into the bathroom, "Karkat!"
He takes off his clothes and look in the cracked mirror, he sighs when he sees his isn't bleeding, "good," he puts his clothes back on and walks out of the bathroom.
"Did I hurt you?" She asks soundly mildly concerned.
"No, I am just beat up from a fight," he lies. He is still bruised from when Gamzee attacked him but he wasn't going to tell her that, he doesn't even know why he told her he was in a fight in the first place.
"Who hurt you?!" She growls, "tell me who hurt you so I can kick there ass!"
"Whoa," Karkat says, "what is…."
"Karkat, tell me who hit you right now or I will just go and beat up ever troll I can get my hands on. Was it Equius?!"
"No, no, I wasn't him, why do you care so much?"
"I am not going to let someone hurt my kismesis and gets away with it!"
Karkat is silent and confused as hell; he blinks a few times trying to figure out what is going on.
"Well! Who did it?!" She says grabbing the front of his shirt and snapping him out of his thoughts.
He winces, "I can't breathe Vriska," he says and she immediately lets him go again, "since when are we in a kismesis?!"
"Since we both hate each other, well it is more like a matesprit/kismesis double reach around," she admits, "since you are cute sometimes."
Karkat's think pan turns off, he cannot fathom what is going through her head and doesn't want to know.
"Karkat," she says, "tell me now."
"No," he says blankly and walks to the door again.
"Is your think pan rusted," she jerks him back from the door, "the sun will cull you stupid!"
"Fuck!" He screams in pain and holds his arm, "careful, I am not a rag doll!" He snaps at her.
"Well sorry for saving you!"
"I can handle the sun thanks to being a jade blood and having this cloak!" He snaps back at her.
She is silent, finally. "Oh yeah," she says.
"Good bye," he leaves.
"Wait," she walks out the door then runs back inside, "Karkat!"
He sighs, "fuck," he pulls out a plain black cloak and throw it to her, "go away," he leaves to his next hide out.
This one is a cave he found, it is still close to his hive with Kanaya and perfect to hide Kankri when he needs to be stashed away. Karkat has drawn pictures high on the walls of the caves of lusus and of his Cancer sign in red, gray, and jade. "Home again," he mutters and sits on the floor, he put fur on the floor that he cleaned so it was soft and wouldn't smell like blood. He made a bed and put a coach in it with a table in front of it so if he is avoiding everyone he can put his husktop on the table to play something or talk to other trolls. He put one window in that can be covered by a curtain and has several candles around for him to light if he wants to.
He sits on the coach and sigh, "this will have to do I guess," he gets up and goes back home after hiding the cave.
"Karkat, what took you so long?"
"I got held up," he sighs, "I will work with the mother grubs, could you watch Kankri?"
"Ok," she says smiling and he walks out again.
Well I just introduced a few new people.
Hope you liked it 69