Chapter Ten
Thanks to SleeplessMemories and Sleeping Kangaroo for reviewing.
= Be Dave Strider
You are Dave Strider. Good thing too. A lot of shit that has been happening recently is too heavy. You need to chill out for a while.
Well… you'd like to chill out for a while. The universe has other plans though, just like it always does. You're frustrated with a lot of things right now, for example your desire to chill the fuck out and your inability to stop the pounding of your heart and the sick fire in your gut.
You wipe the sweat off your brow for like the billionth time in the last hour or so. You and Jade have been walking under the LOWAS sun, making your way back towards the troll's base, and even though cool breezes tousle your hair every so often and the humidity is near non-existent, you're still sweating like a bloated swine.
"Are you alright, Dave?" Jade asks, looking over her shoulder. "You don't look too good."
"Oh yeah, you know me." You respond. "I'm about as alright as it gets. I'm the king of alright and this is my kingdom. I hope you like being alright, because that's all anyone feels in Alrightsire."
"HAHA!" Jade snorts. "Is Alrightsire the name of your kingdom?"
"You bet your fine ass it is."
"Nice!" She grins at you. "But seriously Dave, if you feel like stopping for second, just let me know. I'd hate for you to have a heat stroke on me!"
"A heat stroke. Really, Harley? I think you forgot who you were talking to." You jab two thumbs into your chest. "I'm Dave Fucking Strider and I'm…"
"The king of cool, lord coolio, cooltechGodhead? Yeah I know who you are, Dave. Haha." She's still smiling although her voice has a little bit more force to it. "Tell me if you want to rest though."
You don't jab at her with another metaphoric masterpiece, but instead brush her off with a wave of your hand. There's no way in LOHAC that you're going to be the one to bitch out and ask for a break. Something in your head, probably the logical part, is telling you that you're being illogical. That just makes you all the more frustrated. It literally feels like something is burning you up from the inside. Could it be…
"Maybe by the time we get there, John and Rose will already be back!"
Oh yeah, it's guilt. Thanks, Jade…
You should tell her what happened. You should tell her that you ran away from a fight and didn't question John's order to retreat. You should tell her that you're afraid.
But you won't. Bro always taught you that a true badass can process his emotions and deal with them efficiently. You'd never really understood how to go about doing it though. Controlling your emotions sounds a whole lot easier than it actually is.
Then again you don't really know how much of your Bro's teachings you can trust anymore. Not after everything he's done. You risk a glance at Jade's wounded hand, swinging gracefully by her side. The bandages have soaked though with blood and are now stained a dull red.
"After the golden ship crashed." You say. "I ran to find you and John went ahead into the castle. As far as I know he's still there."
She stops and looks at you with the most confused and startled face you've ever seen.
"What?" Jade blinks at you. "Dave, what are you talking about?"
"I abandoned John and Rose!" You clench your fists and shout at her. "That's what happened, Jade. That's a thing that I did!"
Jade appears to be utterly flabbergasted. Her mouth opens and closes several times, before it shuts for good.
"No." She crosses her arms.
You've both come to a stop and standing idly underneath the sun makes you feel hotter than ever.
"What the hell do you mean 'no'?"
"I mean no, that's not what happened. You didn't abandon anyone, Dave."
"I don't know what happy fantasy land you're currently imagining, but it sounds pretty sweet and if you're selling them, I'd happily buy a one way ticket."
"You didn't abandon anybody!" She stamps her foot and you fight off the smirk that tugs at your lips.
She's too fucking cute. If Beanie Babies had the ability to buy stuffed animals, they would all have a little Jade Harley plushy tucked away between their bed pillows.
"Yeah I did. John and Rose…"
"John and Rose can take care of themselves." Her maimed hand gets waved in your face. "But I can't! That's what you did; you chose to take care of my sorry, worthless ass!"
"You aren't worthless!" You're quick to amend her. Now things are going too far. "You're the complete opposite of that. You're a veritable Swiss Army Knife in human form."
"Oh please, I totally crashed that ship back there!"
"Because you were shot out of the damn sky! That could have happened to anyone one of us."
"Yeah, Dave." She bristles. "But it happened to me! Then you had to come help me and I don't blame you for that, not at all! What makes me mad is that you thought you had to lie to me!"
"Well you wouldn't have come with me if you'd known John and Rose were still in danger."
"Yeah, well... You! You SUCK!" She turns and starts to march away.
You heave a great sigh and trudge after her, keeping pace easily enough. Her chin is pointed so high it's a wonder that she can even see anything in front of her. Something about the sun shining off her profile makes you sweat just a little bit more too.
"Was that an argument back there?" You ask. "Because honestly I'm a little confused by what just happened."
"I'm just… I don't know, Dave." Jade slows to a stop and leans against a nearby rock. "I just need some time to think. I'm really feeling kind of pissy right now for some reason. Is it cool if we…"
You catch her before she reaches the ground. You'd never seen someone faint before and if it weren't for your ninja-like reflexes, Jade probably would have ended up with a mouthful of dirt.
"Harley?" You lower her to the ground, careful to rest her in the shade of the blue rock. "Yo, Jade! Now isn't the time for one of your narcoleptic spells. Wake up and smell the motor oil."
"Fuuuuh." Jade's eyes flutter open, but her gaze remains unfocused. "I'm bleeding." She says.
"What? Where?" You run your eyes over her body quickly. It's not a bad view. Jade's always been slim and tall, not to say she doesn't have curves in all the right YOU'RE GETTING DISTRACTED STRIDER!
She raises her left hand and waves it feebly once more. It's completely red and looks damp enough for you to probably wring it out like a wet sponge.
"Ah shit fuck." You reach up and yank off your hood. Wow you should have done that way earlier, you're a lot cooler this way. You're not taking off the cape though, that thing is too sweet to be off your shoulders. "Here, let's just wrap it up some more."
You do your best to delicately wrap her hand with the hood and she whimpers quietly when you jostle it slightly.
"That's not going to work." She breathes. "Not for long."
"Well it's the best I've got for the moment. Any other suggestions?" You snap your fingers twice in front of her eyes when they start to drift shut again. "Come on, Harley. Stay with me."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She blinks up at you sheepishly. "I'm just feeling super sleepy all the sudden."
"Well you can't sleep now." You drag her arm around your shoulders and help her to her feet. "The troll's base should just be a hop, skip, and jump away. You'll gonna be fine."
Jade doesn't respond, unless leaning into you and humming a song that sounds eerily similar to something you've heard before in "Space Jam" counts as a response.
You scoff at that shitty film, another one of John's attempts to educate you on the subject of incredibly poor cinematic endeavors. When the movie had finally ended, you'd felt older but no wiser and your love for Looney Toons was quickly eclipsed by your sympathy for Michael Jordan. Oh how the mighty shall fall…
You half-carry Jade down a rough path towards where you're pretty sure you'll salvation lies in wait. There are lots of oil puddles that you have to avoid, but other than that you're biggest problem is trying to not breathe too heavily whilst struggling under Jade's weight.
Have you mentioned how hot it is yet? It's hot as dicks out here.
You start to wonder if John's managed to save your ecto-sister by now, or if they've both suffered some terribly cruel and most likely painful death. Obviously you're silently praying for the former, but you've learned pretty recently that you shouldn't get your hopes up.
Jade's mumbling something.
"N-no." She says quietly.
"Jade?" You bump her with your elbow.
"No… No, Bec that's mine."
You smirk. Jade's muttering in her sleep. It would be adorable if she wasn't dreaming about her dead dog.
You look down at her hand again, which is hanging limply by her side. It's dripping droplets of blood and when you crane your neck to look behind you, you can see the trail of spots, like red bread crumbs you're leaving behind in you wake.
Growing up on an exotic island, Jade's always had a healthy tan. Right now she looks as pale as a ghost.
You're mulling over you options, choosing between calling Karkat for help or plowing ahead yourself, when you feel something land on your head with a dull splat.
"Da Fuk?" You pat at your hair and you feel something hot and sticky. For a second you're worried that your body has sprung a leak too and that now you're spewing your precious life blood out of the top of your head like some kind of land-whale, then you look up and see that it's started to rain.
It's started to rain oil.
"Fuck me, really?!" It almost seems too bad to be true. This literally has to be the shittiest day ever.
The drops come down hard and fast, slapping against the ground hard enough to make you wince. You and Jade need to find shelter fast, before you're both completely drenched in the heavy, flammable liquid.
"Leave it to John to have the worst land. Oil instead of water? What the fuck, dude?" You spot an alcove of blue rocks, looking a little unsteady but wonderfully dry, and shuffle over to it.
You flop Jade down onto the ground a little harder than you planned, but she barely seems to notice. Her eyes are closed and her breathing is labored. The hood you wrapped around her hand is doing a shit job of pretending to be a towel and is already sopping wet.
"I'm sorry, man. I hate to do this, but you know… desperate times." If you weren't a cool fucking dude, a single tear would probably run down your cheek as you quickly untie your cape and wrap it around Jade's hand.
Oh well, that thing was sweet while it lasted. Maybe your sweet mega-super-ultra-god powers include the ability to regenerate capes? You certainly hope so.
You're no doctor. All you know is that you should apply pressure to slow down the bleeding. So you sit on the hard ground and pull Jade's hand into your lap, pressing your cape around her wound. Her breathing hitches for a second and you're sure it's because of the pain. You keep the pressure on anyways though, since she's better hurting than dead.
"Well, Harley." You sigh. "Remember that one time we were like 'Hey let's play a video game! What can possibly go wrong?' and then we played the fucking game? Yeah, those were good times."
You lean against the far wall of the alcove and watch the black rain fall a couple of yards away from you. Right now you're dry, safe, and with Jade. That's what keeps you from truly descending into a depressed fit. You're just starting to nod off when you get a phone call.
= Be Rose Lalonde
You are now Rose Lalonde.
You are currently under the impression that you are dead. This seems like a safe deduction to make, as the last thing you remember is being stabbed to death by Bec Noir.
However, there's something about the surprising amount of warmth pressed against you and the feeling of wind blowing through your hair, which heavily implies otherwise. You've never associated death with warmth and wind before, and the possibility that you've shed you're earthy ties and transcended to another realm seems unlikely, since your research on the topic has given you the impression that the underworld is anything but warm and windy.
Cold and drafty maybe, but it must certainly not be this comfortable. It's almost as if you're flying.
You open your eyes.
"Hey, Rose! Good, you're finally awake."
You look from John's grinning face, to his arms cradling you to his chest, and then to the ground far below.
Much to your displeasure, a shrill 'eek' escapes from your lips and you throw you arms around John's neck, pulling yourself closer to him. You are, in all actuality, fully alive and currently in the process of flying without any recognizable source of propulsion or lift.
"John…" You squeak, swallow and try again. "John, I see that you have fully recognized your role as the Heir of Breath."
"Well it's nice see you too." He still smiling, and do you detect a hue of red coloring his cheeks?
"Ah, it appears that my ability to form coherent sentences has returned. Isn't that a relief?"
"Yeah, it's good to hear your real voice again, as opposed to whatever Klingon nonsense you were spouting earlier."
There's something about that statement that causes you to smile. You decide it's the fact that after everything that has happened, John is still the same old John.
"It's good to see death hasn't changed you, John. You still make dated pop culture references every opportunity you get."
"Star Trek is not dated." He argues. "It's timeless!"
"Of course, forgive me for not being appreciative of William Shatner's precious attempts at acting." He rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling. "Excuse me, John. But on an unrelated note, are you wearing my lipstick?"
Indeed, you've just noticed a distinct smudge of black across his mouth.
"What?" He asks, looking a little more than confused.
"You're lips, John. They're black."
"Oooh. I must have got some of it on me when I kissed you." He shrugs and you blink at him.
"When you kissed…" You echo quietly, then your brain kicks in. "Ah, I see. You kissed me in order to bring me back to life. Impressive, John. I had no idea that you'd taken the time to research some of the game's mechanics."
"Well actually it was Kanaya that told me about it." He admits. You appreciate John's honesty.
"I thank you anyways." You risk removing a hand from John's neck to pat him on the chest. "I would have remained dead if not for you actions. Therefore I appreciate it."
"It's no big deal."
That's John, innocently humble to a fault. You'll have to thank Kanaya too next time you talk to her, which will hopefully be in person. Before you were kidnapped by the imps (an event that was not only life-threatening, but incredibly embarrassing) you spent a great amount of time conversing with Kanaya, coming up with plans and learning about your session.
Her professional attitude and pleasant demeanor were a good change of pace compared to other trolls you've had the misfortune of conversing with. You look forward to more interactions with the vampire fashion queen.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind bringing us down to ground level for a moment?" You ask. "I'd like to stretch my legs, please."
"Oh, okay. No problem." John looks a little reluctant to end your flight but descends nonetheless.
You touch down and John lets you stumble out of his grasp. You're a little unsteady, but you feel a lot better with solid ground under your feet.
"I assume that we're on a course to the troll's base?" You ask as you brush the wrinkles from your dress and fix your hair as best as you can, adjusting your headband.
"Yeah, Karkat told us to head there." John finally wipes your lipstick from his mouth. "So, uh… you remember everything that happened after I found you in that castle?"
It's a bit of a random question, certainly unexpected but not really odd enough to ward you away from answering truthfully.
"Yes, I remember." He looks nervous, but you press on. "I'm sorry about your dad, John."
He nods.
"So, what happened when you were kidnapped? Were you hurt?"
It's a pretty sloppy way to change the subject, but you decide to let John get away with it, for now at least. Eventually he'll have to talk about what he saw on that spire. You resolve to be there when he's ready.
You proceed to tell John the details about your kidnapping by the imps and overview of your exposure to the Horrorterrors.
"I managed to escape however, through pure force of will." You explain. "But the damage was already done. I was, as you said, Grimdark."
"When I woke up, you were back to normal. So I guess dying is the cure to stubborn throes, huh?" He chuckles. "What was wrong with Jack Noir, by the way? I didn't know he was part wolf."
"I also found that to be troubling. When I was first brought before him, he did not have that appearance. It's my belief that underwent some sort of drastic transformation via dark magic to increase his power, whilst I was fighting for my life in the Horrorterror pit."
"Hmmmm." Something about the way he hums gives you the impression that he doesn't really understand. "I feel like I should apologize for that."
"For what?"
"Well, you were kind of being tortured by eldritch monsters while I was just wasting time. It took us a long time to get to you and I guess I'm sorry."
You watch John absent mindedly kick at a few loose rocks sprinkled over the ground. He's probably the only person in the entire world who'd feel bad for something out of his control. Even after busting into a castle, dealing with you in your Grimdark state, seeing his dead father, fighting by your side, and then dying, he feels like he owes you something.
"You came for me, John. No one else was there, but you." You wish he'd look at you. "I know that you came as soon as you could. You saved my life and I am in your debt."
"I don't know." Before you can react, he's stepped up and wrapped you in his arms. "I'm just really glad that you're okay, Rose."
You smile and hug him back.
"And vice versa."
His nose is buried in your hair, so you have to listen closely to what he says next.
"We'll find your Mom, Jade's Grandpa, and everyone else. No one else is going to die. I promise you that."
"I'm afraid that, with everything that has already happened and all that will come to pass, you might find that a hard promise to keep."
"I gotta set the bar high, right?"
"Yes," You close your eyes and listen to John's heart beat inches away from your own. "I suppose so."
You don't know for sure, but if it weren't for the sudden arrival of motor oil-rain, you're pretty sure that you and John would have stayed there forever.
"Damn!" John takes a glob of oil straight in the face when he looks up and you suppress a laugh.
"I think that finding shelter should be our next priority. I doubt flying would be much of an enjoyable experience in this…" You halt your speech to dodge out of the way of another black bullet, whisking your dress out of harm's way at the last second. John get's the gist of what you were trying to say though.
"Agreed. There's actually a salamander village nearby. Those guys are awesome, I'm sure they'll let us wait out the storm there."
John grabs your hand and the pair of you jog down a dirt path that you hadn't noticed until now. You suppose that it would make sense that John would be more familiar with his own land than you, but still it irks you that you're not being very observant at the moment.
You need to get focused. Right now it feels like your head is full of cotton. If you and your friends have any chance of beating this thing, you need to be at the peak of your game.
You head into the village and you aren't surprised that there are none of the yellow salamanders milling around outside. They're most likely seeking shelter such as you.
John leads you towards one house and throws the door open without so much as a knock. You see a hallway leading towards a kitchen and a living room off to the side where several salamanders, a family you suppose, are sitting in several armchairs. You notice that they have left the couch vacant.
The salamanders seem to not only know John; they appear to be terrified him. They're blabbering to each other loudly and as soon as they catch sight of you, they all but lose control.
"Hello." You wave and the entire salamander family jumps up and dashes from the house and into the rain.
"See, I told you they were really nice!" John moves towards the couch, but seems to think better of it and takes one of the now empty chairs.
"They appear to have recognized you." You move towards the wall, examining a messily drawn piece of salamander art. It looks like a monkey having intercourse with a coconut, but you decide to not judge the salamanders and their choice in décor.
"Well I've…" He scratches at a spot on the chair's armrest. "I've… been through here before."
"Recently?" He nods and you take the chair nearest your friend, turning to face him. "With Vriska?"
"Yeah." He blushes and continues talking quickly. "You were wrong about her by the way, Vriska's actually really cool. She helped me get to god tier."
"That's quite an accomplishment too, although I can't help but wonder what part she played in your rise to such high a level."
You notice several things as John chooses his next words. He's scratching at the arm rest again, he's biting his lower lip subtly, and his gaze points down and away, in short: he's about to lie.
"She just… told me what to do and stuff. Nothing overly violent or underhanded in the least." He chuckles and you frown.
"John, look at me." It takes a second before blue irises meet violet. "I can't help but think that Vriska did the exact opposite of what you've just said. From what I've heard about her, she's more than capable of violence and deceit."
"You haven't even met her yet."
"Did she kill you?"
He looks away and you watch his knuckles whiten on the armrests. You really hope he doesn't break any of the furniture, since you're sure all the salamanders made them by hand.
"I think..." He stands up. "I'm going to take a walk, okay?"
You watch him, but he doesn't move.
"Don't go far." You say and only then does he walk out of the house and back into the rain.
You take a deep breath and rest your chin on your palm. Sometimes the truth hurts, but how else is John going to learn that you have his best interests at heart, that Vriska is indeed a bad influence on him. She's dangerous, hot headed, and psychotic, at least that's what Kanaya said.
"What are you doing, Rose?"
You shiver even though it isn't cold.
"You think he appreciates having his brain picked apart all the time? You're not a friend, Rose. That's not how you treat friends."
"Is that so?" You grimace. "And I take it that you are a paragon of friendship?"
"Of course, we'll always be here for you, Rose."
"How wonderful. I've always wanted demonic voices to plague my mind every waking moment of my short, miserable…"
Someone is calling you.
You tap a finger against your headband and the tiny screen mounted to the side flicks out, positioning itself over your left eye.
"Hello." You answer.
"Rose?!" A voice replies.
"Dave?" You respond.
"Karkat!" A third voice calls. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, we can get down to brass tacks. This call is not about which one of us can manage to be the heftiest sack of shame globes to one another. It is not about which one of us will most likely escort the other 'to school' where they will receive a large helping of 'oh snap' rammed down their insatiable ignorant shafts. It's about an important topic which needs to be discussed before any one of us progress on anymore terribly sloppy quests."
You roll your eyes towards the heavens and silently curse your luck. This is not the first troll you wanted to converse with upon your escape from Bec Noir's castle.
"I'm sorry, Karkles." You can hear Dave's ignorant smirk over the airwaves. "As soon as you started talking, I just tuned you out. It was just a bunch of bluh bluh bluh's. It's like Charlie Browns teacher decided to drop me a line for no apparent reason."
"I WILL EAT YOUR FUCKING HUMAN BABIES!"
"I believe what Karkat is trying to say, is that we've just been though quite an ordeal and would like to discuss a rather pressing issue as painlessly as possible." It's a fourth infinitely smoother and more attractive voice now.
"Kanaya." You don't fight your smile. "It's wonderful to hear from you again. However, I'm troubled to hear that you've been dealing with some issues of your own."
"Hello, Rose. I appreciate your concern, but everything is resolved. Well, almost everything."
"Wow, will you two get a damn room already? Since when did this become 'Inter-species Relations: The Unabridged Audio Drama'?"
You roll your eyes again, but your heart isn't in it this time. You've honestly missed your ecto-brother a lot.
"I believe you started this rather unintentional meeting of the hormones when you started courting… forgive me, I believe her name is Terezi?" You rebuke.
You hear a harsh wheezing noise, which you guess is someone breathing heavily and resisting the urge to lose control. That must be Karkat.
"Ah yes, that fine piece of Alternian ass is still on my hit list, but you're mistaken in thinking that I started anything. Egbert's the one dancing the horizontal nudie waltz with Vriska." Dave says.
"What!" You shriek.
John would never… He couldn't… You need to collect yourself.
"I mean, what are you talking about, David?"
"One: Don't ever call me fucking David. And two: John totally had an intense bone session with Vriska ages ago, when you were busy playing damsel in distress."
"Kanaya?" You snap rather too quickly for your taste.
"Yes?" She responds instantly.
"Is this true?"
"Well… I doubt it's as revolting as Dave makes it out to be, but yes. John and Vriska are confirmed Matesprits."
"WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR NEXT TOPIC, IF YALL WILL STOP WITH ALL OF THIS DRAMATIC JIBBER JAB FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND!" Karkat's had enough.
You decide to shelve the issue of John's sex life for the time being, in favor of more pressing and less disturbing matters. The thought of John with anyone… you mean Vriska, just makes you feel… ill.
"I agree. This is a rather important matter that should be resolved quickly." Kanaya reminds all of you.
"Alright, good." You hear Karkat take several deep breaths. "Strider! Where the fuck is Jade?"
"Right here in my arms, Karkles. Why do you ask?"
"I phoned her too, why didn't she answer? Oh, and fuck you. Stop calling me 'Karkles'."
"She's unconscious from blood loss and she also left her ear muffs at your lame ass base. Oh, and fuck you too. Your name is Karkles now and forever."
Jade is unconscious from blood loss? That's news to you.
"What happened to Jade?" You ask.
"IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!" Karkat roars before Dave can answer. "WE ARE GETTING OFF TOPIC! WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT VRISKA BEING DEAD AS ALL FUCK AND WHETHER OR NOT JOHN SHOULD KNOW!"
You swear that your heart stops beating.
"No."
"YES!" Karkat's on a roll now he isn't about to stop. "She went crazy after John ditched her for you, and then she killed two of our own. Terezi killed her and now Vriska's slowly rotting on the roof because no one has gone up to bury her in a shallow grave yet!"
Both Dave and Kanaya are silent. All you can hear is Karkat's grating voice and the pounding of the rain outside. Somewhere out there is John, alone because you prodded a little too deep and reminded him that his relationship with his first real girlfriend was based on lies and murder and an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy.
You wish Karkat would stop talking, but he doesn't.
"I vote." He takes his first breath for a long time. "That we don't tell John, at least not for a while. He just lost his dad and I don't know how much more we can pile on him before he snaps in half."
"John's Dad is dead?" Dave echoes so quietly that you almost think you imagined it. The conversation doesn't stop though.
"I also think that we should proceed with caution here." Kanaya inputs. "John shouldn't know until the time is right."
"Naw, that's bullshit." Dave interjects louder this time. "I would want to know if my hot alien girlfriend died and I know that John would want to know too. If he doesn't find out from us, then how will he find out? It will be a lot more fucked up if he finds out on his own."
"What do you think, Rose?" Kanaya asks tentatively.
What do you think? For the first time in your life, you're struggling for something to say. There doesn't seem to be a right answer to this problem, no matter what you say or do, John is going to get hurt. What does it matter if it's right now or a few hours down the road?
"I think…" You squeeze the bridge of your nose between your fingers. "I think that John deserves to know. Preferably sooner rather than later."
"It looks like it's an even tie then!" Karkat groans. "Why can't anything ever be easy?"
"I don't know what the fuck you've been smoking, buddy, but it must be some radical shit if you think this vote is anywhere close to a tie." Dave sounds a little upset. "No offense Kanaya, but you and Douchebag McGee have absolutely no say in what our friend deserves to know or not. Especially is said knowledge directly concerns him."
"Listen you insufferable prick! Vriska was one of ours and we withhold the right to disclose information on her life/death status!"
"You didn't even like her!"
"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!"
"Yeah it does!"
"NO IT DOESN'T!"
"SHUT UP!" You're standing up now, pacing the room furiously. "I'm putting an end to this ridiculous bickering right now!"
Dave goes silent while Karkat's grumbles eventually fade into white noise.
"Alright," You continue. "Seeing as I'm currently with John, I will be the one to tell him about Vriska when I deem it appropriate. Does anyone have a problem with that? Speak up if you do, not that it would matter, since I'm going to tell him anyways."
No one speaks.
"If you think that's for the best, then by all means." Kanaya breaks the silence.
Dave also hums his approval.
"Well then, now that that's out of the way, you will all come back to the base as soon as possible." Karkat says.
"No." You're sill pacing. "John and I are going to get The Tumor and then use it to destroy The Green Sun. Dave will deliver Jade to the troll's base for treatment, before continuing on to initiate The Scratch."
There's a moment of silence, then:
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, ROSE LALONDE! YOU CAN'T DISPENSE ORDERS LIKE THAT!"
"Well, Karkat. It seems like I just did." You snap.
"Well fuck me then… just, FINE FUCKING FINE!" Karkat seems confused about how he should act. "I'M DONE BEING LEADER ANYWAYS! I'M SO FUCKING DONE!"
You hear a soft beep and assume that Karkat has exited the call. However you can still hear some muted shouts from Kanaya's end, giving you the impression that somewhere out there Karkat is still ranting.
"Promise that you will be careful, Rose." Kanaya's smooth tones ring in your ear. "We cannot risk you're capture again."
"I'll be fine. John is with me."
"Hmmmm. Well in that case, until we talk again, goodbye."
"Goodbye, Kanaya."
She hangs up too, leaving both you and Dave.
"Well, Lalonde." You hear a crackling sound and you assume Dave's just cracked his neck. "This has been a regular blast, but it seems like you have an incredibly awkward and painful talk to have with my best Bro. So good luck, I guess."
"Thank you. Take care of Jade as well."
"No problem. Strider, out!"
He leaves you alone as well.
You have to tell John. You just have to. He deserves to know.
You've already hurt him once tonight by taking him to see his dad. What's one more broken heart? You can do this. It has to be you. You're his best friend.
"Oh yes, Rose. You've done such a good job of being his friend before, why stop now?"
You sigh and stand up. You're going to tell John.
LET'S MAKE THIS HAPPEN.
You throw open the front door and step out into the rain.
= Be Bec Noir
You are now Bec Noir.
You are now a douche.
So, you honestly hadn't expected the human girl to be capable of fighting off the Horrorterrors. That had thrown you for a loop. It hadn't had any lasting percussions though, since you had ended up killing her anyway.
The real mistake was killing the Heir, which you sort of fucked up.
You had this whole scheme where you kidnapped their guardians, killed his father, tortured his friend, and finally goaded him into a fight where he would die by your hand. However you hadn't planned on him already being at God Tier level and dying like a chump bitch.
That's probably your fault though, seeing as you did stab him in the back.
No matter though, so your plans are a little delayed, so what? You'll still win in the end.
You look down at your minions. Only a handful of imps remain, along with the brother, and a new addition to your evil crew, a rather pleasant addition if you don't say so yourself.
What a wonderful surprise it had been for you to bump into the troll, Eridan Ampora, whilst heading towards your second castle in LOLAR. You had been slowly corrupting this troll over an extended period of time, talking to him through his headset and feeding him some bullshit about wizards or whatever.
You're tutelage has finally paid off though.
You're currently sitting in your second throne room, in your second castle in LOLAR. Eridan is telling you some useful information, information that he has withheld from you up to this point.
"It's a secret base," The troll says. "There's a blue boulder, you push it out of the way and then you're in. I'll draw you a map."
You nod and send the imps for some drawing supplies. You'll send the brother to dispatch the rest of the worthless trolls and discover the human's plans. It also might be a good idea to send Eridan to protect The Green Sun, the source of your power, since the human's most likely want it gone.
You allow yourself a rare and super fucking evil smile. It feels good to have all your plans laid before you and ready to go. Things have hit a snag, but now they're starting to look up.
You decide to celebrate.
You tell the imps to bring you the grandfather.
Well here we go, some more John and Rose interaction. I've always liked their pesterlogs and such where they interacted in Homestuck and if I'm being honest, Grimdorks is kind of my OTP.
For those who review: What's your OTP?
Thanks for reading.
- Mike