Author's Note:

Hooray! This fic hit one thousand views this morning, and I'm so very happy ^^ Thank you, Lovelies, for all of your comments and support! -confetti-

xxx

CHAPTER EIGHT:

In Which Things Just Get Worse

Somewhere, in a place not far from where an escape plan was being carefully laid out...

Equius Zahhak felt the punching bag tear at the seams as he delivered another heavy blow. He watched with a frown as it skittered across the cold stone floor of his basement, copious amounts of sand spilling out of the rip. A small, dissatisfied grunt escaped the muscular teen. He had expected this particular punching bag to be more durable. But, it appeared that would not be the case. Equius turned and headed up the basement stairs, pushing open the door and slamming it behind him. He enjoyed working out, but sometimes the equipment was just too fragile for him. Either way, he delighted in working up a good sweat.

"Equius?" he heard his brother's voice from the garage. "Are you finished with your workout?" Equius didn't have to wonder what his brother was doing in the garage at this time of night. He was most definitely working on customizing that car of his. It was a Mustang, and his older brother had been attached to the thing ever since he'd gotten it.

"Yes!" he called back. Then, after a moment of thought, he added, "The confounded punching bag has failed me." He would have softened his language, but he was just so frustrated that it was so difficult to find suitable workout equipment. Absentmindedly, he wandered through the kitchen and over to the garage door, opening it and stepping out into the garage as his older brother spoke again.

Just as he had hypothesized, Horuss's upper body was secluded, hidden by the undercarriage of his beloved vehicle. An open toolbox sat to his right, and Equius's brother appeared to be working hard on personalizing his precious car. To be honest, even with all his mechanical know-how, Equius often had no idea what his older brother was doing to that car, or even if it had any effect on how it ran. But he supposed that Horuss knew more about it than he did, and that was all he could really say.

"Oh fiddlesticks!" came his brother's voice from below the car again. "Er, pardon my language, but that is most unfortunate, Equius." And then, after a moment, his older brother added, "Have you, by any chance, seen father about? I need his assistance."

Equius raised a brow. He hadn't seen his father. Not since that morning, before he'd gone to school. He remembered the last thing he heard from his father was something about being home at around ten that night, earlier than usual. His father had said that he hadn't a lot of work to do that night, just a simple job. And Equius and Horuss hadn't asked for details, as always.

The freshman shook his head stupidly, then, realizing that Horuss wasn't looking at him, responded, "I have not. Which is... peculiar. He had said this morning that he would be home earlier than usual, about ten o'clock, did he not?"

He watched as Horuss slid out from under the vehicle, wrench in hand and begoggled face stained with the occasional oil smudge. Although Equius could not see his brother's eyes, he knew that he as being fixed with a look of puzzlement. "He did... Odd... What time is it?" the older inquired.

Equius spotted the analog clock in a high corner. "It is... eleven forty-five, give or take." Tardiness was unlike his father...

Horuss rose slowly from the concrete floor of the garage, wrench still gripped in his gloved hand. "Already? This is most bizzare..."

Equius nodded in agreement. "This requires an investigation," he said before turning on his heel and leaving the garage. He heard his brother call after him, but he disregarded it. Equius ascended the stairs and entered his bedroom, stepping around dismembered robots and other mechanical pieces with practiced ease. He sat at his desk and switched on his computer. This may just be the beginning of an emergency.

And step one in the event of any emergency was to warn Nepeta. No matter what the emergency may be. No e%eptions.

centaursTesticle [CT] began trolling arsenicCatnip [AC]

CT: D- Nepeta

CT: D- You must respond to me at once

CT: D- In 100 of your silly games

CT: D- I e%pect a legitimate reply

CT: D- As this is c001d be a potential emergency

CT: D- The nature of which I do not e%actly know

CT: D- However

CT: D- The fact that my paternal figure

CT: D- Who is a very punctual man

CT: D- Has not returned at the time of which he appro%imated

CT: D- May or may not a100d to your personal welfare

CT: D- Thus

CT: D- As an e%eptionally good and STRONG friend

CT: D- I am inquiring as to your wellbeing

CT: D- Please respond

Equius leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together under the desk as he waited for a reply from Nepeta. He waited and waited for what seemed like an agonizing eternity. Equius's dark blue eyes were anxiously glued to the screen. After a bit, he began to fidget, his nerves slowly creeping upon him. The circle next to Nepeta's username was her olive green, wordlessly declaring that his friend was online.

Then why isn't she online?

Frowning deeply, he decided to ask his other comrade if she knew of Nepeta's whereabouts. Nepeta was almost never offline, not even this late at night. He knew, because they'd had several conversations this time at night before. Something was definitely wrong. First his dad, and now Nepeta. The chances of these two things being connected in any way were very, very slim, but Equius was the kind of person that would assume that they were.

He checked his ChumpRoll. Excellent. Vriska was online.

centaursTesticle [CT] began trolling arachnidsGrip [AG]

CT: D- I fear that Nepeta might be in mortal danger

AG: Pffffffff

AG: Equius, that is the single dumbest thing I have heard all day ::::/

CT: D- E%cuse me

AG: You're worrying a8out nothing, dum8ass.

AG: Oh, this is a joke, isn't it?

AG: Holy shit, Equius, I didn't know you were capa8le of joking.

CT: D- I am not

CT: D- I am being

CT: D- 100% serious at the moment

AG: Equius, don't 8e ridiculous.

AG: What makes you think that Nepeta's in "mortal danger"?

CT: D- She won't respond to my messages.

AG: Equius.

AG: Equius.

AG: If only you could see how much you are making me facepalm.

AG: My palm is just out of control.

AG: Slapping my face.

AG: 8ecause you insist on being a dense, obsessive idiot.

AG: She's o8viously sleeping, you twit.

AG: It's midnight.

CT: D- Be that as it may

CT: D- She usually answers my messages, no matter the time of night

AG: Point 8eing, you fool

AG: Nepeta fell asleep, forgot to log off, and is thus UNA8LE to answer you.

AG: Quit being so obsessive.

AG: You'll see her tomorrow, anyway. What's the 8ig deal?

CT: D- You do not understand

CT: D- It is

CT: D- Of E%TREME importance

CT: D- That you message her as well

CT: D- For confirmation purposes

AG: Okay, Equius.

AG: Okay.

AG: Fine.

AG: I'll humor you.

AG: 8ut only to get you to shut up.

CT: D- E%cellent

Equius waited, and he had a response within about a minute or so.

AG: No go, compadre.

AG: She's afk or something.

AG: Satisfied?

CT: D- No

CT: D- This is madness

CT: D- I must

CT: D- Investigate further

CT: D- Before drawing my own conc100sion

CT: D- Goodnight.

AG: Weirdo ::::/

centaursTesticle [CT] ceased trolling arachnidsGrip [AG]

Equius, with gritted teeth and slightly perspiring pores, pushed away from his computer and stood up, metal-laced shoes making a heavy thud sound as he rose. He walked briskly and heavily out of his room (kicking several robot limbs out of his way as he did so), down the stairs and back into the garage, where Horuss had returned to working on his car.

"I require usage of your vehicle at once!" he exclaimed as he burst into the garage. His brother was quick to reply.

"Are you mad? You know I can't let you drive! It would be illegal, and father would not be pleased if he knew that I, the eldest of the two of us, allowed infringement of the law to occur!" This was very much true; Equius had failed all three of his prior permit tests, mainly because his strength often caused him to press down too hard on either of the pedals. It was rather embarrassing for him.

Equius clenched his fists. His brother could be difficult sometimes. Didn't he know that this was a drastic situation? He needed to see if Nepeta was alright!

"Horuss," he growled in a threatening manner. "I need to use that car without delay. It is an emergency!"

This time, Horuss slid out from under the car to look at his younger brother in adamance. "You most certainly may not use my four-wheeled majestic beauty!"

Equius unintentionally released a small growl from the back of his throat. He hated when his brother got like this. He could most certainly take the car by force, and he would have been able to justify himself in doing so, certainly. But that was not how Equius got things done. Very well. He would use his own STRENGTH to solve this mystery.

Without another word, he hastily stomped to the other side of the garage, throwing open the door and stepping outside. He heard his brother call after him, "Equius! Come back here!" But he disregarded his brother, and slammed the door behind him. As the cold midnight air greeted him, he looked to the neon-spattered sky.

First stop: Nepeta's apartment.

xxx

Karkat eyed Mr. Zahhak with a mixture of maliciousness and wariness as the man quietly laid out his plan for the captives' escape. It sounded quite simple, Karkat decided as he listened. The other four mobsters were all the way upstairs, discussing the fates of the captives. So, Mr. Zahhak had said, he would lead them all outside after checking to see that the coast was clear, and they would escape in the car that had been used to abduct them. He gave them an address, too. Karkat wasn't sure where exactly the place was, or even if it could be considered safe for them to be there, but he had no choice but to take the man's word for it.

He allowed his mind to wander, although he really should have been paying attention. This really was an important situation. But, he did what he did.

As it so happened, he slipped his gaze over to his older brother. Kankri seemed to be listening intently to what their father's murderer had to say. It was strange that it took such an extreme situation to get his brother to listen for once. Vaguely, he wondered what his brother thought of their current circumstances. He didn't look all that scared. In fact, Karkat didn't think he'd ever seen his older brother truly frightened before. He always seemed so... composed. How did he manage that? Surely he had emotions too! As for Karkat himself, he was absolutely terrified. He'd been snatched right off of his own two feet, thrust into an unfamiliar car by an uncomfortably-familiar adult, drugged, handcuffed, thrown into a basement with his also-kidnapped brother and would-be stepfamily, and, oh yeah, he watched his dad get shot in the back of the head right in front of him.

Karkat sighed quietly and lowered his head. His had had to be alive still. He knew it, deep inside his very soul, willed it, that his dad's heart was still beating, his brain still functioning, his lungs still sucking in precious oxygen. There was no way that his dad could be dead. It was just impossible. Thus, it wasn't true. His dad was alive. Playing dead, probably, and thinking of a way to escape.

That was when it occurred to him: If they escaped now, they'd be leaving his dad behind with these goons!

Without thinking, he cut right into Mr. Zahhak's explanation. "Hey! Wait just a fucking second! We can't leave just yet!"

He was immediately fixed with five quizzical glances. "Karkitty... what's the matter?" Nepeta inquired, head tilted to the side and eyebrow raised in puzzlement.

Sans hesitation, he elaborated immediately, sounding as firm and adamant as he could. "We can't leave Dad behind! He's still in danger here, you know!"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the captives and their potential rescuer. He saw glances exchanged between Kankri, Nepeta, Ms. Leijon, and Mr. Zahhak. He watched their expressions closely. Upon Nepeta and Kankri's faces, he saw, oddly enough, hurt. Kankri was even biting his lip, something he never did, but was obviously a sign of nervousness or some such thing. Ms. Leijon's and Mr. Zahhak's lips were pressed into tight lines, and their eyes conveyed a message to each other that Karkat could not comprehend, as skilled as he was in reading the feelings of others.

Kankri turned to him, but not completely, hiding a portion of his face as he murmured in a tone that confused his younger brother, "Karkat..."

Karkat frowned and huffed indignantly. Why did everyone suddenly get so sullen? "What?" he inquired/exclaimed, exasperated with all of this needless drama. What was wrong? Was everyone just afraid of going to get Dad? Because he was still in that room with the mobsters? Yeah, that was probably it-

Kankri's expression suddenly burned with anger, and Karkat was cut off by his older brother as he glared at the ground. "Karkat, Father is dead!" Before Karkat could call Kankri an idiot for believing such a stupid thing, he was rendered speechless when his brother whirled on him, an uncharacteristic mix of hurt and fury smoldering in his pupils. "He's dead, you idiot! Don't you understand? We're leaving behind a corpse! He's dead, Karkat! He's FUCKING dead and he's never, ever coming back! Has it gotten through your thick skull yet? You were there! You saw! You watched his brains get blown out of his FUCKING head, didn't you? Didn't you?!"

Then, before Ms. Leijon could intervene, It was Karkat's turn to explode. Without warning, he tackled Kankri and pinned him to the ground, and proceeded yelling right in his face in retaliation. "SHUT THE FUCK UP! You have NO idea what the FUCK you're talking about, you MOTORMOUTH SACK OF SHIT! So just SHUT THE FUCK UP and don't say ANOTHER FUCKING WORD! DAD'S NOT DEAD, ALRIGHT? HE'S NOT FUCKING DEAD!"

"Karkat, that is enough!" Ms. Leijon shouted, laying a hand on Karkat's furiously quivering shoulder. And, in the matter of a moment, Karkat's vehement shouting was reduced to heartbroken, disbelieving sobbing.

"'S not true... He's not dead... Liar..." Semi-coherent mumbles fell from Karkat's lips as he clutched tightly onto his brother's sweater, weeping into his chest. Kankri slowly sat up, recovering from his own outburst moment earlier as well. He hugged his little brother close, something that he very rarely was able to do, and stroked his dark hair in a soothing manner.

Ms. Leijon rubbed small circles on his back, working with Kankri to try and help Karkat come to terms with the reality of what he'd witnessed. "Karkat... I'm so, so sorry..." she whispered to him, trying to be as delicate as possible, treating him as she would a child of her own. Behind her back, her youngest daughter sniffed and wiped away a stray tear. Nepeta couldn't stand seeing Karkat in such a state. It was devastating.

Everyone, save Karkat, turned to face Mr. Zahhak as he cleared his throat soundly. "I... I am very sorry to interrupt, but... Time is of the essence, and we must make haste if we are to get you all out of this place-"

"Zahhak, dear, I thought you had more... sensssssssse~"

Even Karkat had to look to the basement door, feeling his heart just about up and stop at the chilling voice.

Ms. Serket descended the basement steps with a horrifyingly smug, satisfied smile across her face. In a malevolent procession, her cohorts followed her down the stairs. Karkat unconsciously shifted closer to his brother, trying to find comfort in his red-sweatered grip.

As Ms. Peixes, the last in the line (but somehow the most intimidating) descended the last step, Mr. Ampora shot a snide glance to Ms. Serket. "Remind me again whose idea it was to allow Zahhak to keep an eye on the captives?"

Vriska's mom was not deterred in her haughtiness. "Mine, naturally. And remind me again who has now weeded out the traitor of the bunch, Ampora?" That shut him up. Karkat would have snickered had he not been scared shitless at that moment.

Ms. Serket snickered and fixed her vicious gaze upon Mr. Zahhak, who slowly rose to meet her. "Sssssssso," she cooed. "Look who had a change of heart. Honestly, I'm not surprised. I always knew you were a pushover, a sucker for sob stories. But, oddly enough, you've done worse than shoot a father in front of his sons before. I know you have. So, Zahhak, what's so special about this particular case, hm?" As he gulped and went rigid, she continued, eyeing Ms. Leijon, who also tensed up. "Could it be because of this one, right here? You know, you didn't have to rescue her. You could have just paid for her like everyone else. But no. You wanted. To be. A hero. Didn't you?" She took a step towards him, reaching for her pistol. He took a step backwards.

"Serket," Eridan's father interjected, a slightly... whiny tone to his voice, and Karkat was surprised that this man could sound so much like his brat of a kid. "You said that I could-"

"Hush up, Ampora, ya big sissy," the mobster woman replied, drawing her gun and aiming it at Mr. Zahhak, who could do nothing but glare in defiance in his final moments. "You have next dibs. Promise~"

Karkat averted his eyes as the woman pulled the trigger, and another father was killed that night.

xxx

I swear, he is the last father to die in this fic ^^" At least, that's what I'm aiming for. In any case, please review, as I would love to hear your feedback and reactions!