THIS IS NOT THE END! I AM IN NO WAY ENDING THIS NOW. THERE IS TOO MUCH IN MY LITTLE SKULL TO LET OUT BEFORE I END THIS, AND I WILL NOT GIVE UP I WILL RIDE THIS OUT TO THE END I SWWEAR! Yes, I just said that like Eridan, but that doesn't mean you can't hold me to it. Anyways, a big thank you to EyesTealer, animefan1394, krikanalo, TailsDoll13, SeductiveStriders, Kariza Elquen, eldritchSeer, Foxyfics, rinnykagaminevocaloid, and Toaneo07 Ver2.0. I read other people's fan fictions and decided that Terezi has synesthesia, yeah, yeah, I changed character traits mid-story, but I swear, no more of this redundant character switching for the rest of the story. The song Aradia was singing in the last chapter was the Ballad of Serenity, otherwise known as the theme song to Firefly! Now before I hold you up much longer, I will stop my incessant rambling and give it to ya.
We're back at my house now, everyone that isn't in the hospital minus Sollux, he stayed up there for Aradia with permission of his dad. I'm lying on my bed, still in a trace of what just happened. Terezi is talking to me, but I'm not particularly listening, and I'm sure she knows it. Karkat is downstairs with Equius, Karkat grabbing a snack, Equius boiling three pots of water because I asked him to, I really don't feel like having anyone up here with me, but I don't know how to get Terezi out, so I'm just tuning her out. Why did this all happen? I don't see why Aradia and Tavros had to have this happen to them. Neither has done anything wrong at all! A small tear falls from my eye.
"Hey, I smell that tear on you. Why are you crying?" Terezi breaks from what she was saying. Ugh, I forgot about her synesthesia.
"Nothing, I-it's nothing…" I trail off. Damn it!
"I smell otherwise," she states. "What's wrong?" I just sit there. "Nepeta, tell me what's wrong now." At this point Karkat walks in and Terezi yells at him, "Hey, this is a female moment!" and he turns around and walks out, still munching on his snack.
I let out a small laugh through my tears, and Terezi just hugs me. We sit that way for a couple minutes until my tear subside. "Um, that was about the accident…" I state, still not believing it happened.
"I wish it didn't happen, but it did, and we have to live with it," Terezi consoles, her voice cracking slightly. Even the famous "Legislacerator" has human emotions.
"We should be getting downstairs, the others will be worrying about us," I say, standing and poking the side of her that is the direction I'm going.
"Y'know, you don't have to do that," she retorts, and I just laugh, leaving the room and making my way downstairs.
"I know, but I guess it's just a habit."
"Yeah, it's fine."
We step downstairs and I'm immediately being conversed with. "Nepeta, I do not see why there is need to boil three pots of water."
"Umm… I wanted to make pasta for everyone," I quickly think up, immediately regretting saying it.
"Well, couldn't it have just been one big pot…?" Equius questions.
"Now that you say so, yeah, I guess I could have," I hesitate, then say, "Why don't we do that then?"
"Because you already have water fucking heated up?" Karkat interjects.
"Watch you language," Equius automatically responds.
I sigh and continue before it can go any further. "We can pour all the water that is heated up into the big pot in the cupboard under the microwave," I point.
"Heh, even I knew that!" Terezi adds.
"That's only because you've known her longer, and you basically have the whole goddamned house memorized!" Karkat retorts.
"Hey, cool it," I say to no one in general, since I seem to be in a room of hot-heads. I grab the pot from under the microwave and pour the three smaller pots of warm water into it, filling up four fifths full. I wander over to the pullout shelf and grab three full boxes of different kinds of pasta, Farfalle, Rigatoni, and Rotini. I wait for the water to boil, the others behind me, talking. I'm not really paying attention, and eventually I hear Karkat get all up in a huff about something and storm off into the bathroom. I giggle a tiny bit, and I feel Terezi and Equius both giving me a funny look. I pretend nothing happened. Once the water boils I realize I don't have a spoon. I frantically search around for one and realize none are clean. I grab a dirty one and scrub it off with soap, drying it off afterwards and returning to my boiling pot. I put a tiny bit of salt in and pour in all three boxes, stirring for a bit and turn around. Terezi and Equius are both still giving me a funny look. "What?" I inquire.
Terezi loosens her gob first. "What was all that about?"
"I didn't have a clean spoon," I calmly reply with a smile.
"No, I mean the thing with… Ah, never mind," she waves it off, and I mentally stop holding my breath. It's bad enough one person knows, even if it's Kanaya, whom I trust. I sure hope she keeps mum on the subject. Terezi grasps her see stick and taps it around, making her way over to the staircase to go upstairs and grab something, even though she obviously doesn't need it. I stir the pasta again before it starts sticking.
"Hey, where the fuck is Terezi? Did her mom drag her color sniffing ass out of here?" Karkat questions upon his return.
"Nope, and the colorful insult wasn't needed," Terezi retorts as she clambers back down the stairs, one of her dragon plushes in hand, a noose trailing behind it.
"Okay, what the fuck is that and why does it have something that belongs of a medieval gallows hanging off its neck?" he inquires.
"Oh, you mean lemonsnout and his noose? The senator has done many evil crimes not worth mentioning, and I was going to hang him in the front yard as a display for wrong-doers that dare to cross my nose sight," she explains, cackling at the end.
"Well, we will have to wait for after dinner, maybe we can torture him in the process with the wait?" I suggest.
"What a brilliant idea! Hear that lemonsnout? You're trial has been delayed for possible questioning."
I just giggle at this, Equius stands there sweating, and Karkat has the most confused look on his face! He gets a bit agitated and says, "What's all this roleplaying shit about?"
"Ac sighs and says that she's told cg about this before, and he purrobably wasn't listening." I respond, rolling my r when I use my cat-pun, but only then.
"Gc cackles at the scene before her and remarks about how cg never pays attention," Terezi interjects, referring to herself as her role-play character.
Karkat looks at Equius for help, but he just adjusts cracked sunglasses upon his face, shrugging. "Ac remempurrs cg's crab and pawnders whether he'll use it and join in!" I exclaim, basically asking Karkat to join. Equius raises an eyebrow.
"Fuck no," Karkat refuses.
"The mighty dragon sneaks up behind the crab, sniffing out where he is," Terezi whispers, sneaking up behind Karkat. She jumps up and yells, "She grabs the crab in her massive talons!"
Karkat cowers in front as an impulsive reaction. "No, gc- I mean you didn't grab me in your talons, you don't have talons! What kind of load of shit is this?"
I sigh. "You're no fun," I accuse.
"Thanks, I try," Karkat retorts, crossing his arms.
I remember the pasta and turn around, stirring it. It's sticking a little, but otherwise it's perfectly fine. Then I start thinking about sauce. I walk to the refrigerator and grab the Velveeta, then grab the cheese slicer. As I work, I keep talking. "So, after we hang lemon snout, what do you guys want to do?"
"We should make Equius a character!" yells Terezi.
"I'd very much rather not do that," Equius states.
"For once, I finally agree with the asshole."
"Be nice, he's better than you think."
"Fine, maybe we can watch him hang," Karkat suggests.
"Who exactly?" Equius questions, his voice low and threatening.
"Whoa, calm down, you huge, sweaty muscle-beast. I meant the dragon plush," Karkat states.
"Scalemate," Terezi corrects, then says, "Or, we could reenact the court case," bringing us back on topic.
"Hmm… What do you guys think?" I ask, responding to Terezi's request. But before anyone can respond, there's a knock at the door. Wait, a knock? Who would be here at this hour? It's too late for a door to door salesman, but it could be the McNary marching band coming around to pick up pop cans, thing is it's a bit early in the year for that. I can tell even the adults are startled, because the only sound in the house is the boiling pasta. I'm the first to react, but only by a few milliseconds because Meulin is already up and to the door before I exit the room. I have no clue why, but everyone is caught in the suspense of the burning question: Who's at the door? I hear Meulin talking to someone who is most likely male, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it were a girl. We all stand in our spots, and wait. Finally, Meulin turns.
"Terezi, it's for you."
Terezi stands dumbfounded for a bit, then walks over to the door. "Oh, miss Pyrope. Hi. Umm... What do you want?"
"You should have messaged, or called! I did not know where you are and I am legally responsible for you."
"I-I'm sorry, could I stay here a bit, though?"
"I don't care, I need Latula to drive me over to the courthouse for a small claim, but either you're spending the night or getting picked up afterwards. Take the extra house key if you decide to spend the night, but I need you to tell Latula if you are. We need to go."
Terezi stands there for a bit, and then adjusts her glasses, shutting the door and immediately asking if she could spend the night. Meulin shrugs, reading her lips, and then saying that everyone could spend the night, and then that I'm making a crap-ton of pasta anyways.
I'm debating whether to feel offended or pleased. Turning back to the pasta, I start thinking of what we'll be doing tonight. Gah, I hate planning. In a few minutes I finish up, and everyone in the other room is talking. I tell them dinner is ready and sit on the couch, my own bowl in hand. Pasta is cheap, and delicious with butter and just a little salt. All cheap, and mostly healthy. Yeah, we're being careful of money now…
Everyone finishes eating, and Equius, Karkat, Terezi, and I head upstairs to prosecute Lemonsnout. Terezi's the lawyer, Karkat is the judge, Equius is the bailiff, and I represent the jury. I think that makes a pretty good courtroom, don't you?
"The court is in session," Karkat declares, slapping his hand on the desk. "Terezi, make your goddamned point."
"The judge is supposed to be respectful," Terezi whispers.
"I don't give a fuck, tell me your case."
Terezi stands for a second, then begins. "Lemonsnout here has committed several cases of fraud in the states of Idaho, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington, and Oregon. He has cheated thousands of people out of millions of dollars. The defendant is accused of being a false businessman."
"Well, do you have evidence?"
"Why yes I do. Here are several written accounts of people paying and never receiving claimed product. I also have several witnesses among our audience today," she concludes, handing Equius several sheets of scribbled on pages. He takes them over to Karkat.
"Yes these are indeed valid," he states, sarcasm dripping and staining the floor, a smirk on his face.
"Just go with it," Terezi complains.
"Fine, fine. I think this is enough evidence for me to make a ruling."
"No, you can't make the ruling! Nepeta will, and it hasn't been long enough anyways. Tell me to bring some witnesses up!" Terezi exclaims, obviously pumped up about it.
"Okay, bring whatever witnesses you have up."
Terezi races over to the other side of the room and grabs at her big bag. After pulling out four or five multi-colored scalemates, she returns to the stands, bringing Professor Watermelonnose up. He has a green outer, while he is so said stuffed with dark pink stuffing. She calls him to the stands and starts asking him questions. "Did you pay Lemonsnout five thousand dollars for a product or service?" "Did you ever receive this product or service?" "No? Well, you are dismissed." She throws the Professor against the wall, wrestling the next one in, Colonel Peachneck. She goes through the same routine and throws the Colonel against the wall next to Watermelonnose. Last, but not least, Mrs. Licoricescales. The same questions are asked, and she is thrown against the wall with the other two scalemates. "Your honor," she snarls, "the prosecution is finished."
"Now what? Do I get to claim him guilty now?"
"No, Nepeta gets to do that, and Lemonsnout has to present his case."
Karkat huffs, "Lemonsnout, convince me otherwise."
Lemonsnout just sits there on his chair
Terezi raises her hand. "Your honor?"
"Yeah?"
"May I bring another witness to the stands?"
"I don't fucking care."
She grabs Lemonsnout and puts him in the stands. "Senator, did you ever intend to give any product to these nice people?" "Answer me Lemonsnout." "Well, if you are going to uncooperative then it will just pin up against you. The witness is dismissed." She puts the plush back on his seat and returns to her side.
"Can Nepeta make the fucking decision now?" Karkat demands.
"Wait!" I interject. "Bring in the dancing lobsters!"
Karkat, Equius, who has been uncharacteristically silent, and Terezi all stare at me, then Terezi starts cracking up. Equius cracks a smile, while Karkat just sits there blank faced, staring at me. I smile, trying to lighten the mood, and then Terezi says, "Decide on a verdict now."
"Oh, okay," I say, and stand up, needing to go to the bathroom anyways. When I'm done, I walk back in.
"What's the verdict, jury?" Terezi says as soon as I walk in.
"Oh, umm… What do I say?"
"We, the jury, pronounce the defendant…"
"Oh, yeah, right," I realize. My mom used to always watch court shows, like Law and Order, but not as much as Terezi listened to it. "We the jury pronounce the defendant, Senator Lemonsnout…" I let it hang there a long second, "Guilty of all charges."
"Well," she exclaims. "Time for the execution!"
We all go downstairs and out front, Lemonsnout and a noose in tow. When we get out there, Terezi is already up in the tree tying the loose end to the branch. She has the Senator up there with her, the noose around his neck. The three of us stand below, staring up at her. She sits up there for a few minutes, testing the knot. When she is done, she whispers to Lemonsnout, then throws him as hard as she can to the ground, the noose snapping taught about a foot from the ground. Terezi climbs down and we leave him hanging from his gallows.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-
"Okay, Equius," I begin. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"What is the least you've been able to lift in the past year?" I ask.
"Oh," he stalls, "one hundred pounds, April second," he states, embarrassed.
"Holy shit, dude. How much do you lift now?!" Karkat exclaims.
"Three days ago it was almost two-hundred," he boasts, his voice now full of pride.
"Now ask someone," I tell him.
"Terezi, truth or dare."
"Dare," she snarks.
"Oh, umm…" he hesitates. "I dare you to lick the bottom of your cane."
"Lame," she says, turning her cane around and licking it. "Okay, my turn. Nepeta, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Who do you have a crush on?"
Oh, god. I didn't want him to find out this way! I can't say the truth, because I don't want Karkat to find out I like him, and Equius would get furious, but if I lie, Terezi would be able to sense it and it will be totally obvious! What do I do! Really, TELL ME WHAT TO DO!
What, you no like da cliffhanger? I like the cliffhanger, but that's just me. What do you think Nepeta should do? Tell me in the comments, I have absolutely no idea! I'm sorry it took way too long, I've been busy. But I don't want to flood you with excuses, you know what's going on. Heading into eighth grade and all. Friend drama too, and writer's block. Wait! I said I wouldn't do that! Gah! Anyways, I've had a deviantArt account for a bit, and I've started to update it. You guys should check it out. It's just sketches I scan and post, not too good, but pretty decent. I'll be posting illustrations of the chapters. Don't forget to review.