A/N: I apologize for the wait, I was very busy with exams, but now I've graduated and summer has started! Short chapter, but I've had a terrible writer's block and had to force myself to write this chapter. But for those who wanted to see Equius, and for those who wanted more OC's, here you go! Please note, this is the last human that will be in the story. After that, there won't be any more OC's. Good news for people who only want the canon characters!
I don't have much to say about this chapter, other than it took awhile to write and I need to get some motivation. I hopefully got Equius in character, he's not a character I write for often (more like ever) but I tried!
Please review if you enjoyed the story!
== Be the troll who picked the fight
You are now Eridan Ampora. Stupid fuckin' landwellers don't know their place. The human Jade managed to get you to back off, but only because Gamzee was so OBVIOUSLY rude that you had to be the better man and back down. You said you deserved the last snoutbeast strip, and Gamzee protested that you'd already eaten more than half. You rightly deserved that strip, as your blood is higher than his, it's entitled to you. Still the fool protested, and you went off about how you deserve it. Eventually the petty disagreement turned into a full blown argument and Jade told you to both shut up, and promptly ate the last piece.
You're now sulking in your sorry excuse for a room, and with the permission of Jade you've been trying to renovate it to look like your old room. She said she didn't mind since you'd probably be spending the rest of your miserable sweeps there anyway. So far all you've managed to do was collect all the history books in her house, move your favourite rifles and weapons in there, and hang large purple curtains to block out the sun.
Your thoughts are interrupted by your laptop going off. You leave it on all the time, constantly charging it. Jade's grandfather is trying to convert it to solar power, but for now you just keep it plugged in 24/7. You sit down and click on the trollian icon, and you're surprised to see the familiar tyrian purple text appearing on your screen.
cuttlefishCuller [CC] began trolling caligulasAquarium [CA]
CC: )(ey -Eridan! 38)
CC: Are you t)(ere?
CA: yeah im here
CA: howw are you doin fef
CC: Finny, I was just about to ask t)(e same of you!
CC: I'm doing fin gilly, what aboat you?
CC: I )(eard you got to Jade's island first, is t)(at true?
CA: a course i got to the island first i was the closest fuckin one to the shore
CC: U)(-O)( is salmon in a bad mood?
CC: W)(hat's wrong?
CA: its somethin stupid
CA: i just got in an argument and im eeling kinda lonesome on this island
CA: gam and nep ignore me and wwhen they do talk to me i alwways end up fightin
CA: youre goin to be here soon right
CA: i dont think i can stand much longer being here wwith only a human and twwo other trolls wwho clearly wwant no part in talkin to me
CC: Oh no! -Eridan I'm saury to )(ear that! 38(
CC: I'm reely trying to get to t)(e island, skiff I could get t)(ere schnooner I would, trust me.
CC: W)(y naut talk to Jade, you'd like talking to her moar t)(an you t)(ink!
CA: wwhy would i waste my time talking to some goony landwwelin nerd
CC: But Jade is super nice! Give )(er a chance would you?
CC: And w)(y don't you try and talk to Gamzee and Nepeta directly, not just wait for them to talk to you! Or maybe you s)(ould apologize to Nepeta.
CA: all right all right ill glubbin talk to jade
CA: and wwhat do i havve to apologize for
CC: You know. . .
CA: i knoww wwhat
CC: Oh my cod -Eridan you are full of abalone!
CC: You know exactly w)(at I mean! 38(
CA: wwhale noww youre making me eel gillty
CA: god fef that happened so long ago its pointless apologizin noww
CA: you dont need to remind me
CA: besides its not my fault they dont talk to me
CA: neither a them get along wwith me in the first place
CA: jade is ok i guess
CA: ill try talkin to her like you said
CC: Good buoy
CC: I'm glad you turning a new wave! 38D
CA: thanks fef
CA: and i almost frigate to ask howw youre feelin
CA: are you shore youre doin fin
CC: Whale I am a little worried about my food situation, but t)(ere will be plenty once I swim somewhere with moar stoars.
CA: all right im glad youre okay
CA: i still care about you
CC: Awww -Eridan I care about you too! But you need to woarry aboat yourkelp moar often! I bait you won't message anyone unless t)(ey message you first.
CC: You need to stop acting like a clam and open t)(is s)(ell you've created to block ot)(ers out!
CC: No one else has reefceded into their own world like you have. 38(
CA: wwell i do havve my reasons
CA: no one but you has forgivven me for wwhat ivve done
CA: evven i dont think i deservve forgivveness
CA: i mean reelly fef do you think the rest of us wwill evver look at me the same wway
CA: i had a great moirailligence wwith you and a steady blackrom wwith vvris
CA: noww i ruined both and any other potential relationships
CA: wwhich i guess isnt vvery important givven our situation but noww that theres nothin to do on this damn island i spend a lot a time reflectin and shit
CA: and noww ivve gone and fuckin ranted to you again
CC: 38(
CC: Stop being so )(ard on yourkelp, t)(ey just need. . .some time! Give it some time and w)(en everyone gets to the island we'll all )(ave a nice party, and everyone can apologize to eac)(ot)(er for the terrible t)(ings t)(ey did! I don't t)(ink t)(ere was ONE troll w)(o didn't do somet)(ing t)(ey need to say t)(ey're saury foar.
CA: i doubt theyll do that fef
CA: i knoww youre tryin to be optimistic and kelp evveryone but its not as simple as you think
CA: evven if i or any of us apologizes its not just oh hey im sorry i krilled you are we cool
CA: and then magically they forgivve you and evverythin wworks out fine
CA: some of us did some terrible things
CA: not all of us havve somethin to apologize for
CA: you say evveryone has done somethin terrible but thats a filthy lie
CA: i wwish it could be that simple
CC: Okay, I give up. You're doing t)(e same exact t)(ing you did sweeps ago, completely ignoring my advice! I can't bereef you'd do t)(is again.
CA: im not ignorin your advvice im sayin it wwont help
CA: not that i dont appreciate wwhat youre tryin to do and evverything
CA: it wwont wwork
CC: You don't know t)(at!
CA: im pretty shore i do
CC: No you don't!
CA: yes i do
CC: Oh my cod you are so stubborn!
CA: youre actin stubborn too
CC: W)(ale fine, I won't bot)(er you anymore! 38(
CA: wwait no
CA: youre putting me in an awwkwward position here fef
CA: i dont agree wwith you but if i say i do then id be lyin an im not goin to lie to you
CA: wwhy dont you go talk to sol it looks like hes online
CA: hed probably listen better
CC: I was being optimistic! I don't care if you agree wit)( me or not, I want you to look forward to seaing all of our friends!
CA: i didnt say i wwasnt lookin forwward to seaing all a our friends
CA: im sayin it aint goin to be as happy and simple as youre makin it out to be
CA: youre bein optimistic im being realistic
CC: Maybe I will talk to Sollux, )(e's not always )(appy but )(e'd be a lot more optimistic t)(an you rig)(t now!
CA: fine
CA: do that then
CC: I will! Goodbye, -–Eridan!
cuttlefishCuller [CC] ceased trolling caligulasAquarium [CA]
And yet another emotionally exhausting conversation. That could have gone much better, and now you're feeling the bitter after effects of it. You still might have some feelings for Feferi deep down, even after a sweep of pushing them down. But her views on certain situations are far from being similar to yours. Especially in this case. You aren't perturbed by her optimism, it's her rash assumptions that get to you. You hadn't been trying to ignore her, or her advice at all.
But now she was angry at you, and there wasn't a way to repair the damage. Plus, that prick Sollux would get the chance to comfort her and you'd be completely swept under the metaphorical rug once again. You're now determined to apologize when you work up the nerve, even though you don't think you have much to say you're sorry for. She was probably simply stressed and feeling alone. Now you're falling into guilt and wallowing in self-loathing again; this time you don't have anyone to pick up your pieces and glue you back together.
You lean back in your chair, and close the log, not wanting to see it ever again. You get up, considering what she said. Talking Jade didn't seem like a bad idea, she was patient and nice most of the time. You look around your respiteblock, the one she willingly gave to you. You decide it would be a nice gesture to talk to Jade, maybe at the very least ask her to look for your lusus again. You reach for the door, gold rings matching the doorknob.
== Be the last troll
You are now Equius Zahhak. You have been ignored for far too long, but you are confused as to why you're thinking that. No one has ignored you so far.
== Take a look at your surroundings
You look around your temporary 'hive'. You are in an old human library. It was a Victorian styled play house, revamped to be a holder for old dusty books. None of them are in anyway new, and you assume that the humans who went here to check out books either loved old-fashioned things, or needed references for research papers. The place has two floors, the upstairs wing which was connected to the floor by two huge staircases. Because the foundation of the second floor was not supported by the two staircases, and did not make a complete floor, you easily smashed the staircases out. This created a zombie free environment, and whenever you want to go somewhere you simply open a window and jump down. This would hurt a normal troll, but your strong muscles protect your bones from the impact, preventing fractures, or complete breaks.
You also have noticed one human comes to visit the library occasionally. You were surprised to see a survivor, much less one who still read in their spare time. You haven't made contact with her, deciding your appearance would be startling to someone who is probably already very suspicious of things that look different.
You hear the familiar noise of the door creaking open, and you hide behind a book case instinctively. You peer around the corner, clutching a pistol you'd taken from a corpse. You have to be cautious when you use it though, the metal is iron and easily bendable. You see the human again, but she looks terrified, sprinting behind a book case and reloading a gun. You notice a banging noise, the wooden doors are shaking; you can see fingers at the bottom of the door curling up, trying to open it. You realize she's attracted zombies, and fled to the library to fight them off. You think that a library isn't the best place, there are many places to hide but it's easy to get cornered.
The doors open, and a crowd of zombies pour in. She frantically climbs up one of the shelves, and begins firing. Zombies drop, but she can only hit about 6 at a time. Curious, you walk forward to the edge of the floor, knowing she'll be too distracted. The zombies are running, some of them making laughing noises at the meat so close. The circle the shelf, hands reached upward shaking and reaching for her. She leaps, jumping to the next shelf and fires again. She's looking nervous now, clicking the trigger but nothing is being fired. She grabs a pack slung around her shoulder, and opens a box of bullets. There's nothing in it, and she throws it at the zombies in frustration.
She slumps down on the shelf, and looks at the undead in despair. You are now intrigued, someone who was strong enough to survive this long had given up so easily. You decide she won't last much longer, and load your pistol. Better to startle her than let her die. You carefully pull the trigger, another half dozen zombies drop. Her head snaps up, first at the zombies piling up, then at you. Her eyes widen, mouth agape in shock. You jump down, the ground cracking at your feet, and face the rest of the zombies head on. You crack necks, smash skulls, and bones snap. After a few moments of rage, there's no one standing. You slowly look up, the human still on the shelf petrified in fear.
She looks at you in confusion, but after awhile, she steps down, climbing down carefully. You get the first real look at her, she has straight dull brown hair, and it looked like it had been cut short sloppily. She's scrawny and has that gaunt look of hunger in her eyes. She looks to be about 15 or 16 Earth years.
There are some moments of silence, before you speak. "Are you injured?". She doesn't answer, but keeps staring at you. She holds your gaze, even though you're still wearing sunglasses and she can't see your eyes. Eventually you wave your hands in front of her face, trying to get some kind of response. She looks a little dreamy-eyed, and follows your hand.
"Why are you doing that?" She asks simply. You stop waving, and clear your throat.
"You didn't answer my question." You reply tautly. Her demeanor is that of one who's just woken up.
"The answer is obvious. There's no sign of pain in my expression and there's no fresh blood on my clothing. What are you?" She talks slowly, and it gets on your nerves.
"Right. I'm sure after what happened to your race you'll believe me, so to put it bluntly I'm what you call an alien."
"Oh. You don't look very alien. Other than the horns and grey skin. Do you have a name? Do aliens have names? Do all aliens have horns? Why is yours broken? Did the zombies eat it? They look like candy corn, can you eat them?" She begins bombarding you with questions, finally she pauses to take a break.
"My name is Equius Zahhak, and my broken horn is none of your concern. Asking such questions is rude."
"So you're sensitive about it, huh? Don't worry, I won't ask again. Why did you come to Earth? We don't have much to offer."
"I didn't come here of my free will, believe me, if I could I would leave immediately." You say, gritting your teeth. You didn't think one could be so nosy.
She just tilts her head, then looks at the floor above. "I was wondering why the stairs had been knocked out. Have you been hiding up there?" You nod in response. "That's a perfect place to hide, can you take me up there? We could be a team. Two is better than one, and I can repay you for saving me."
You aren't sure you want to spend any more time answering her questions. But she did have a point, and her assistance could be useful to you, she could tell you what human foods are safe to eat, or watch for zombies.
"Fine. But don't ask me any more questions unless it's necessary."
"Okay!" She says enthusiastically. With that, you jump onto one of the shelves, and from there jump to the second floor. She climbs onto one of the shelves, and waits there. You consider how you're going to get her up there. You walk over to one of the windows and rip the navy blue tapestry off, you twirl it into a rope, and hang it down. She grabs onto the end and you easily pull her up. She grins and thanks you for the help.
She pulls out a small blanket from her pack, and settles down on it. You look outside the window, the sky is turning black. You are beginning to get sleepy yourself, but decide to keep watch for a few more hours. There's no telling how many zombies were attracted by the noise of the gun shots.
- Featherain - Thank you!
- Taurus - Ah same, some of the fics I love haven't updated in months. It's not creepy, and I live in Illinois
- knightsVoided - I checked, but I didn't mix them up. Thanks!
- Hawkky - I'm sorry to hear that! My deviantART is GiroGal101, note me when you've posted it!
- Shadowcyrse - I know, fanart is difficult! Believe it or not I don't draw much of my otp, Gamzee is really hard for me to draw! If you finish it, I'd like a link though. Thanks!
- sylph of mind - Wow, thanks! I see a lot of that too, usually with fics that have good plot but everyone is terribly OOC. Oh, my school stuff went well! I got some nice grades, but luckily I won't have to worry about grades for awhile.
- mage of day 13 - I do actually, 3 or 4 times usually. The problem is I type/read so fast sometimes I miss things.
- Kyroma - Yep, sorry! I want to keep things realistic, it'd be surprising in real life if they made it. I looked him up, his last name is Rattmann and his first name is believed to be Doug. They have similar faces, but Max doesn't have a beard or dark brown hair. I haven't played Portal either, but it looks interesting!
- anon - Thank you! I actually haven't been shipping anything as much lately, guess I just got tired of shipping something that isn't canon! Making a Skype or Tumblr isn't that hard, if you really want to talk you can make an account in a few minutes! But if not, reviewing is fine too. I'll try not to stop in the middle, I already have the idea for the ending so stopping now would be surprising! And to answer your second review, you reviewed on Chapter 13 before. I am stuck in a rut for no ideas, but I never have writers block for long, no worries!
- zoe-3 - I heard about the attack yes, supposedly it was a new type of powerful drug named Bath Salts. I don't think it's anything to be worried about, I haven't heard anything about it recently. Oh, I did update the first chapter. And it's fine, everyone has opinions, but I'm glad you decided to give it another try!