Everything was in ruins, pieces of broken machinery and stuffing from the elaborate furniture Kanaya and Rose had set up in the space was strewn everywhere. There were also minute spatters of red blood dispersed throughout, and it was immediately clear where the blood was coming from. Noir was bleeding from the gash in his shoulder where Rose had stabbed him with her needles. From the way it looked it seemed as though they had managed to legitimately wound him, and this was only backed up by the slight impairment of the right side of his body as he fended off the white demon's attacks. Everyone who had entered the room before him was staring dumbfounded at the strange scene. Everyone, that is, except Jade.

Jade was above the ground, her entire body enveloped in green energy that pulsated slowly as she focused on Noir. She was manipulating him again, as was obvious by the way he flickered like a dying light bulb as he attempted to teleport away from the onslaught. Her interference was allowing the other creature to land significant blows on him, breaking away at his defense as he shuddered with each impact. Jade did not even seem to register the appearance of her allies as she fought, all of her energy spent on Noir and their fight. Dave could not help but notice the way her limbs shook slightly as she fought to keep her control, her hair still damp and her skin too deeply flushed.

"Terezi!" Karkat screamed, and Dave turned his head to face the sound. His stomach twisted up when he saw the trail of Terezi's blood leading to the corner of the room where she sat slumped against the wall. She was gripping her shoulder, her hand soaked in a teal mess. She looked up at Karkat as he ran to her, a smile on her face, a little strained at the edges but uplifting to see nonetheless.

"Don't go freak out okay? I'm fine. This won't kill me." Her voice was similarly weaker than usual, but her resolve was unyielding as she pushed herself up further against the wall, aided only slightly by Karkat's hand on her good shoulder.

"This isn't a good fucking time to be brave Terezi! Just let me-"

"Karkat! I am not arguing with you right now! Jack smells weak; his blood's rotten scent is all over this room! This is our best chance to get him for good."

"FINE. You hear that you gogdamn bulgestain? We're going to FUCKING DESTROY YOU!" Karkat spun around, his weapon ready in his hand. There was also look of genuine anger on his face, which was surprisingly rare considering how often he acted as such. His blood was on fire as he charged Noir and sliced at him with impressive speed and accuracy. Dave had been staring at Terezi, but when Karkat ran into the fray he snapped out of it and followed suite. Rose had already joined Jade, and she had managed to tangle his limbs in the thread from her needles, assisting in hindering his ability to block and allowing their blows to hit him as they attacked relentlessly. The white demon swung her sword at Noir's neck, but he managed to barely dodge the blow and her slice hit open air.

Dave looked up toward Jade from time to time, watching to be sure that nothing would happen to her. She seemed to be completely transfixed with the battle, and he understood how she could have been taken by surprise. Her focus never faltered, even as she fought against Noir's own power. She remained calm and resolved, but she shut herself off to everything else. She was beginning to look tired, as well, and it made him nervous as he caught a quick glance at the very visible scar on her neck from the day before. Suddenly Jade shuddered, and he heard a loud crack emanating from the center of the room. Jack had finally managed to escape her grip and abscond from the crowded space, leaving them alone with the white stranger before it teleported with another loud crack. Then, before anyone could even register what had happened, Jade disappeared as well, and Dave did not even look at the others as he ran for the transporter in the center of the room.

"HEY IDIOT, wait a fucking second." Karkat's voice was the last he heard as his feet hit the pad.

He ran through the halls, listening hard for the sound of fighting. He did not hear anything, though, and he was completely unsure what direction he should be running in. Noir would probably have been trying to abscond; they had gotten a lot of hits on him, so maybe he had headed outside of the lab. He turned around and headed to the exit, hoping his hunch was the right one.

As he exited the lab, the first thing he saw was WV, having finally emerged from the lab to look mesmerized up at the dark sky. Above him, he saw four figures. Noir and his white twin were still locked in battle as Jade a John surrounded him, a visible stream of air whirling around his figure as John focused his powers. Without thought Dave launched himself into the air, his sword poised for attack in his strong but pliable grip. As he approached Noir, the demon spun around with sword in hand and Dave had to literally drop midair to avoid a major laceration across his uncovered chest.

"Hey man!" John yelled at him from the other side of Noir, taking his hand away from his hammer for a split second to wave at him. Before Dave could respond to this idiotic gesture, John already had his grip back on the weapon and was readying to land what he assumed would be a devastating blow on Noir.

"Not the time, bro." Dave said, shooting forward again with another attack. "Harley, you holdin' up?" Jade didn't answer him, but he saw her nod her head slightly and he took it as a yes. She seemed to be shaking more now, though, and a thin sheen of sweat was visible on her uncovered skin. The white creature was attacking Noir with vigorous relentlessness, and as it raised its arms to lay a blow on him, Noir shot backwards at Jade. Dropping her hands as she dodged out of the way, Noir was released from her grip and took the opportunity to teleport quickly away from their position, heading back into the empty void beyond the meteor

Looking as if it were about to go after him, the white creature hesitated as it looked down, catching WV's eyes for a moment. They both raised their hands to one another in a gesture of greeting.

"Huh. You know him?" Dave asked, face straight despite his genuine surprise. It looked back at him, and there was a look of unmistakable gratitude on its face.

"Please keep him safe," she said simply, turning around in the direction Noir had headed and disappearing with a loud crack.

"What." Dave said, and it sounded like more of a statement than a question.

"Jade!" He heard John's distressed voice and turned quick to see Jade losing altitude, the green light around her flickering erratically. He dove toward her, arms outstretched toward her lithe body. He caught up with her, his arms moving gently around her form as he matched her speed before slowing down, not wanting to cause any impact shock. When he felt his feet hit the ground, he gently lowered her as well, one arm secured around her waist, and the other around her shoulders. When he felt her balance herself, he loosened his grip and she pulled herself away from him, pressing her hand to her head.

"Haha, don't worry, I'm okay!" She smiled, but her eyelids drooped and she swayed a little on her feet.

"Sure." He said, not convinced but respecting her enough not to say it. He had his hands in his pockets then, and she walked toward their group of friends that had just emerged from the lab.

"What happened? Where the fuck's Jack?" Karkat snapped, one arm around Terezi holding her up against him. She was grinning in her usual way despite the obviously significant amount of help she needed from Karkat to stay upright.

"Karkat don't be so tactless!" Terezi scolded. He turned his head to grimace at her, but his face softened as soon as he registered the teal blood on her.

"He absconded again." Dave said monotonously. "Couldn't take the beating we were handing out. Understandably. That white lady followed him. At least I think she was a lady. Sure as hell sounded like one. Seemed to be tight with The Mayor, too."

"Ugh. Fuck." Karkat's grimace deepened. "What the fuck ever."

Dave looked around, and he could no longer see Jade anywhere. "Where's Harley?"

"She went inside; I told her she could sleep in my room. She did not look well." Rose responded, pointing toward the entrance back into the lab. Without a word, Dave left to re-enter the lab, fatigue and soreness setting in. As he approached Rose's room, he hesitated at the door, and decided to knock before barging in. There was no response, so he slowly opened the door and looked in. Jade was collapsed on the bed, eyes closed and her round glasses askew on her flushed face. He moved silently to the side of the bed, crouching down beside her on the floor as he reached his hand out to push her dark, tangled hair away from her face.

"You are such a gigantic idiot, Dave." She said suddenly, eyes still closed as she pulled her knees and arms closer to her body, not pulling away from his hand as he continued to draw light circles against her hairline.

"Yeah. Why am I an idiot, then." He responded, neither his movements nor his expression changing as he did so.

"You think I want you to die for me? Well I don't. You're so fucking reckless. Do you even think before you run into a fight? Maybe it's not even for me. Maybe you're just so convinced that you'll be fine, that you'll bail yourself out with time travel or… something else just as ridiculous or fucking convoluted. Or maybe you're just so cool and unconcerned about it that it doesn't even cross your mind. Maybe you legitimately don't care. Maybe you just believe Dave Motherfucking Strider can't be killed. Well he can. I've seen it." He stopped moving, his fingers hovering just above her skin and he could feel the heat emanating from it. He was transfixed by what she was saying to him, her eyes opening to stare right at him, right where his eyes were behind his shades.

"Jade."

"Well I care, okay?" she finished, her eyes now reticent to find his. Dave pulled away from her, expressionless, and stood up to face away from her. After a moment, he began to walk back to the end of the bed, and Jade's eyes widened. "Where are you going?" she asked, worry apparent in her voice. He did not answer, but instead made his way silently around the bed, getting in on the other side and pressing himself against her back as he wrapped his long arms around her small frame. She tangled her legs with his as he pressed his face against her neck.

"Nowhere, that's kind of the point." He said simply.

Aw man, he got away again.

Damn it.

Anyway, a huge thanks to all those who commented on the last chapter, it really made me happy to read them all. A special shout out to Air-Head-Ry, I hope you recover fast from your head injury! I can't believe you commented on my story despite the fact that you could barely read. I almost cried when I realized what you had written! I am flattered, but I want you to take care of yourself okay? Anyway, again, your support is wonderful and then reason I keep writing, so thank you so much.

-CS