"VRISKA?"

"Oh, so you do recognize me? That's good to hear."

Karkat looked her over again. "DID YOU ... JOIN THE PIRATES?"

She laughed. "No, they joined me! I go 8y captain now, if you will."

She knelt to pick up a hat, which she must've dropped earlier. A single blue feather was neatly tucked in it. But Karkat paid more attention to her left arm. He blinked a couple of times to make sure his eyes weren't messing with him. Vriska's arm was made of metal. So, she was missing an eye and an arm? That couldn't be from hers and Terezi's fight, could it? It didn't matter. Right now it looked like someone was going to lose more body parts. Terezi sneered at her.

"1 COULDN'T C4R3 L3SS 4BOUT WH4T YOU GO BY! 1F YOU DON'T G3T OUT OF H3R3 R1GHT NOW, 1'LL ..."

"You'll what? Our last fight didn't go so well, as you can see. Oh, w8 ..." She grinned. "No, you can't."

Karkat put his arms around Terezi's waist to prevent her from charging at Vriska.

"VRISKA, YOU SHOULD JUST GO. WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING HERE?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I told you, I just stopped 8y for a visit."

"YEAH, AND TRY TO KILL ME WHILE YOU'RE AT IT!."

She waved her hand. "I didn't recognize you, okay? I just saw Terezi and decided to have some fun."

Of course killing people was her idea of fun. She squinted her one eye. "There are more trolls around, aren't there?"

Karkat stared at her. How did she know?

"No need to answer. I can feel it. Just tell me, are they with you," She raised her sword again. "Or do I need to get rid of them?"

"VRISKA, NO. THEY ..." No turning back now. "THEY'RE WITH US. JUST THIS ONE FUCKING TIME, PLEASE DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT WOULD TEAR US ALL FURTHER APART."

She frowned at him. "I've changed, Karkat. I'm aware of the fact that my past actions weren't exactly ... well, nice. You're my friends. Right?"

Karkat didn't want to answer that. He still wasn't sure about this. Vriska continued before Terezi could protest.

"Why don't you tell me what you are doing here? Friends trust each other, right?"

Her sword was still raised and not that far from Karkat's neck. He swallowed. He didn't want to get on her bad side. He needed to protect his friends. If Terezi and him fell right now, what would stop Vriska from killing the others? They wouldn't stand a chance against her. Three of them were injured. He believed that Nepeta would put up a fight, maybe Gamzee, too. What about Kanaya and Eridan? And what if Vriska's pirate crew was hiding in the bushes right now? No, he just had to play along for now. If Vriska decided to make a move, they would have to try their best and fight. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"VRISKA, WE ..." Terezi shot him an angry glance, which he tried to ignore. "WE'VE ESCAPED FROM THE ARX."

Her eye widened.

"THERE ARE SEVEN MORE TROLLS HIDING CLOSE BY." He really shouldn't be telling her so much, but he couldn't stop himself. "YOU REMEMBER OUR OLD GROUP? ALMOST EVERYONE IS HERE."

She twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers. "Is that so? You're telling me that nine trolls have managed to escape from the Arx?"

"IT'S THE TRUTH!" He could tell the information didn't faze her. But he knew the next part would. "WE'RE GOING TO TAKE DOWN THE EMPRESS."

That did it. She stared at him for a long time. Then a smile crept on her face. "You know, I could help you with that."

Terezi tried to free herself from Karkat's tight grip. Fuck, she was strong. "W3 DO NOT N33D YOUR H3LP! NOW, 3XCUS3 US FOR 4 M1NUT3."

She and Karkat stepped away from her. Karkat was pretty sure she couldn't hear them from there, but they whispered just to be safe. Terezi shook her head.

"K4RK4T, WH4T W3R3 YOU TH1NH1NG? WHY WOULD YOU T3LL H3R TH1S STUFF? 4ND S1NC3 WH3N 4R3 W3 PLANN1NG TO T4K3 DOWN TH3 3MPR3SS?"

She was right. That was a stupid thing to say. It had popped in his mind and he just blurted it out. But when he thought about it, it didn't seem like such a bad idea. He could see to a change on Alternia. He had no idea how they could do that, though.

"I KNOW, I'M SORRY. IT WAS A STUPID IDEA. RIGHT NOW WE JUST NEED TO GET RID OF HER."

Vriska tapped her foot. "Well? What do you say?"

Terezi walked up to her. "1 4LR34DY TOLD YOU. W3 DON'T N33D YOUR "H3LP". W3 C4N'T 4FFORD 4NY MOR3 1NJUR13S."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you think, if I had any intentions to hurt any of you, I would have done it already? I could just take control. I could get it over with in less than a minute. You remember, right?"

Terezi clenched her teeth. Was this how Vriska had blinded her? By mind control? Karkat shuddered at the thought. But she had a point. She had the power to kill them right there. So, why didn't she?

"My ships sail in a week. I'm offering you help. You don't have much time to decide."

Terezi took another step closer. They were now standing face to face. "NO."

Vriska shrugged. "As you wish. Good luck on winning without me." She turned around and started walking away. "You're going to need it."

Terezi and Karkat made their way back to the cave. Karkat just hoped they had made the right choice.

"C4N YOU B3L13V3 TH3 N3RV3 SH3 H4S?" Terezi grumbled. She turned to Karkat. "4ND T3LL M3 4G41N, W3R3 YOU B31NG S3R1OUS? 4BOUT TH3 F1GHT?"

Karkat rubbed his temple. "FUCK, I DON'T KNOW. BUT THINK ABOUT IT. WHAT IF WE MANAGED TO DO IT? THEN FEFERI WOULD BE THE EMPRESS. WE COULD FIX ALL OF THIS."

She bit her bottom lip. "1 ST1LL DON'T KNOW ... W3 SHOULD 4T L34ST W41T UNT1L 4LL OF US 4R3 H34L3D."

"OF COURSE. I DIDN'T EVEN SAY WE'LL ACTUALLY DO IT. WE'LL SEE ABOUT IT."

They had to speak with the others about this. They would discuss it while they waited for things to get better. Even if they couldn't go through with it, there is nothing wrong with dreaming, is there?