It was loud, he knew that. There was definately something happening around him, but it was hard to figure out what it was exactly. His head was foggy as was usual at first, though he knew it would clear in a moment. When it did he wished it hadn't. Blood sprayed forward and splattered his face. It was a brighter hue then the red that was already there. A familiar curved blade stuck out from the equally familiar body infront of him, protruding from the chest from having clearly been stabbed from behind.

"K-karkat?" His voice was weak and just hardly audible.

When the troll started to fall forward John grabbed him not even caring that the blade stucking out ran across his own abs causing a line of blood to flow down his front once more. His eyes were wide and his voice cracked as he lowered the troll into his lap on his side, the sickle keeping him from being on his back.

"K-kark-kat." John's voice trembled so badly he could hardly even get the words out.

The Knight didn't reply. His eyes were only half open and his expression was painfully blank. He was absolutely covered with the bright candy red and his whole body was limp. John brought a hand to the trolls face and traced his cheek with shakily. Closing his eyes tightly he could feel the stream of tears already running freely down his face.

"-hn."

John's eyes flittered to his matesprite's as the breathy noise reached his ears. There was a small glimmer of consciousness there, but it was just barely visible. His lips moved slowly, weakly, with words that his vocal cords couldn't manage to make.

"Karkat." John's voice cracked as he looked down at the troll.

He brushed his fingers over his face again, trembling. The troll made an attempt to move his own hand but could only get it to shift slightly. John, picked it up and brought it up to his face rubbing the bloodly hand against his cheek smearing his tears with the red fluid. He could see the pain that was behind Karkat's eyes as tinted tears started to form. Coughing thickly Karkat struggled to speak.

"No. K-karkat, please. Don't talk." John pleaded, his own voice giving out on certain syllables, "Sh, it's okay. I'll save you. I'll protect you. I promised."

Shaking his head weakly Karkat curled his fingers as best he could around John's hand, which was still held against the boy's cheek. John stopped talking, whimpering as the troll tried to speak again. It hurt, but the Cancer strained until he managed to force his vocals to work.

"I'm sorry John." The troll whispered it a cracked voice as his eyes fluttered closed, "Sorry..."

"Karkat."

John waited, though he could feel it already.

"Karkat."

Louder now, but still nothing.

Looking back into the troll's eyes John could see nothing but a lifelessness. The Knight's pupils had only just started to fill with the red that displayed his blood color. It was so vivid once, but now. Now it only looked sickening. It was never going to hold that beautiful glimmer again. Even if they met in the deam bubbles, those eyes would never be there.

Karkat.

Karkat was...dead.

His Knight was dead.

John sat with the trolls body in his lap rocking slowly back and forth. He held the troll to his chest tightly, ignoring the blade that bit into him. He struggled to breath as he squeezed his eyes closed.

"Karkat." He whimpered over and over again.

The wind picked up from inside the hive and started to whip around the boy and his dead matesprite. The rocking became more feverent and the winds picked up to where furniture was starting to go flying about the room.

"Karkat. Karkat. KARKAT!." John screamed as loud as his voice could manage.

The winds in the house blasted outward spraying the gathered items out as well, the couch going clean through the wall leading outside. The hive creaked and groaned with the strain from trying not to collapse. When the blast let up there was an angry clicking noise as one of the chairs was kicked from one of the still standing walls. The lusi had been pinned down but still managed to survive.

John looked up at it now, his eyes tear stained but undeniably dark. The lusi, in one of its many hands, held firmly onto the handle of his Zillyhoo. Just like how it had Karkat's sickles before and used them. Used them to-

Turning his attention down back to the fallen Knight of Blood John pulled the blade from his back and laid his on the floor. Picking up the blade that had been used to try and decapitate John crossed them and placed them over the troll's chest.

While John was distracted the lusi took the time to lunge at him. John looked up sharply and raised a hand. The wind hit the beast with the force of a train and sent it careening backwards all the way into the kitchen. John floated to the doorway and landed gently watching as the thing struggled to its feet from being barried under the crumbled bits of the ceiling. As it did so John raised his hand forward again, only this time the wind tugged towards him. From under the rubble flew the Zillyhoo, returning to its rightful place in the hand of the Heir of Breath.

John stalked forward and without even hesitating he brought the hammer down with all the strength he had. The carapice cracked all the way through breaking off one of its legs. When he raised the hammer a second time the creature unfolded its tail to reveal the barb on the end. John never gave it a chance and the next hit broke the tail right off. Picking the tail up John looked it over as the creature struggled to find an escape.

Taking a step forward John jammed the tip of the barb into one of the few exposed places on it's body. It took a few moments to work, as it had with him and supposedly Karkat the first time. All the while John continued to hammer away at it, breaking off its limbs one by one. When finally it was down to just its head he stopped. It was hardly even breathing at this point, though the paralysis made it kind of hard to tell.

John looked down at it, his eyes still viscious and cold. He shifted his gaze to glance over the seperated appendages and slowly moved to pick one up. This, this thing was fond of taking weapons from its victims. Of killing them with their own stolen items. It was his turn to feel the bite of his own claws. Taking one of the hands with the largest claws John set his own hammer down and raised the limb over his head. Driving it down he plunged it's points into the beasts skull. It jolted once, and then nothing.

Sollux landed outside his moirail's hive imeadiately aware that something was seriously wrong. One of the walls was down and the couch was in the lawnring. There was the smell of blood in the air too. A lot of blood. He had landed close by the back door that lead into the kitchen and not wanting to go through the hole in the livingroom he entered there.

He was startled at the sight of a lusus torn to shit and impaled with it's own arm on the floor. Looking a little closer though it became clear it wasn't a lusus, not really. It was a lusi, but the scent of it was rogue. It had never had a grub to look after before, which made it one of the more violent lusi.

Wandering through the door that lead into the livingroom Sollux's eyes imeadiately fell on John's form, his back was towards him. He was kneeling on the ground covered in blood, both his and not. A knot tied in the yellowbloods stomach as another form could be seen laid out infrom of the human. The Mage approached slowly, his breath catching as he realized that it wasn't moving.

"Jn, is- is that-" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

John didn't reply and so the troll made his way over to kneel beside the boy. John's eyes were dull and staring though the form of his dead mateprite. Karkat lay where John had placed him earlier, his blades crossed over his chest though his eyes were now fully closed.

"Jn?"

Nothing.

"John?" Sollux said a little louder, his voice cracking with his own imminent emotional break.

When John continued to ignore him Sollux slid back and looked down at his departed moirail. The moirail he had failed. A stab went through his chest and in minutes he was in tears too. He had been on his way. He should have been there. Could have, if he had flown faster. he had failed his moirail and now he was dead.

"He wasn't supposed to be down here." John's voice broke the tense air, though it was hollow sounding.

Sollux looked over at him, the Heir's eyes wre still looking into nothing.

"He was supposed to be in the recuperacoon. I came down to get the phone. He tried to warn me." His sentences were short, as if any longer and they would break too, "I should have locked the door. He wouldn't have come down."

His already puffy eyes teard up again as he went on.

"I knew I would be safe though." He closed his eyes tightly now, "I knew I couldn't die. Even if it was here, I knew. I knew I was still immortal. It's my fault."

Sollux looked at John with confusion here and the boy turned to face him. He opened his eyes and they showed a peircing ice blue that swallowed whatever joy they once held.

"I killed him, I killed my matesprite."

END