Dang, this story is almost over! Only three more chapters...it went by so fast! I'm going to miss posting this when it's over.
Chapter 25: Dave: Jump
Pa22word?
Begiinniing
When Dave opened his eyes, he was in an earlier time.
"Good," John said. "Now just what are we supposed to do about this?"
Dave reeled, trying to figure out just which moment he'd jumped to. He'd concentrated on more of a span of time, not a specific minute, so his exact location was a mystery. Looking around he saw that he was in the middle of the lab, John at one side, Sollux at the other. Sollux still had one of his eyes and his teeth, so it looked like it had worked. He was in the past.
His stomach lurched suddenly as the reality of that statement hit him. He was in the past. He was here, back before the shit hit the fan, and everyone was okay. Fuck, John was standing right there. He was close, behaving normally and watching him with that bright, determined expression, and Dave had to catch himself before he threw himself right into the arms of his best friend just because he was alive. He was alive, which meant everyone was alive, which meant that Karkat was alive. It was all he could do not to run off then and there, scrambling to find his matesprit and hold him close and reassure him that he wasn't going to die again. Dave thought he would sooner die himself than watch Karkat be torn apart again.
In the end, though, he knew that there was no way he could do such a thing. Running to Karkat or throwing himself at John would just let everyone know that something was off, something had gone horribly wrong in the future that required him travelling back to the past, and he refused to let them find out just how much pain they'd all been in when he'd been forced to leap back in time. He never wanted to see that devastated expression on Rose's face again, the one that had arisen as she'd realized that Kanaya was gone and they were all going to die. He never wanted to see the way Karkat's features had contorted in agony as he saw that his moirail was dead. He never again wanted to experience the sound of Dirk's anguished cry, torn forth from the core of his very being when he found Jake dead.
Unless he wanted to bring back those horrible emotions, see they way his friends watched him with wide, terrified eyes, he would have to stay silent. He would never allow them to know what had transpired in a future they would never see. Dave would be the only one who knew, aside from Aradia, travelling back to the past in order to prevent anyone from ever knowing. And speaking of time travel shenanigans…
He was the only Dave there. What the fuck?
Then someone else spoke, and Dave jolted as he remembered he may have been the only Dave present, but he wasn't the only one in the room.
"Fuck if I know," Sollux grumbled as if nothing had changed, as if he hadn't just been brutally mutilated by Eridan. And in this version of reality, he hadn't been. "We all love thith guy in differnet wayth, tho our coping techniqueth are all going to be different."
Dave blinked, disoriented. Weren't there supposed to be two of him? He'd jumped back in time, and normally that meant creating duplicates of himself. But here he was, standing exactly where he should be, no other version of himself in sight.
And he had all of his memories. Delightful.
John cocked his head to one side, eyes locked onto Sollux. "What are you going to do, then?"
"Eathy. I'm going to go thee if I can hunt down the athhole that did thith to KK."
"Oh, that sounds good!" John exclaimed. "Dave, you can take the western half of the town, and Sollux can take the east. Is that okay?"
And just like that, it all slid into place. Dave remembered when he was.
It was right after Karkat had been put into that horrible coma, and the three of them had stood around trying to decide how to handle the situation. Sollux had headed to the east, Dave had headed to the west, and it had ended with Sollux blind and powerless. This was the first moment he had to change. He had to make sure that Sollux was okay—but he also had to rescue Jake and Dirk, who at this moment were being attacked by Gamzee as a distraction. Gamzee had assumed that Dave would go to help his brother while Eridan took out Sollux.
This time, he was wrong.
"No, I'll take the east," Dave said. "Sollux can handle my asshole of a brother. Head straight to his house, would you?"
Sollux sneered. "Why would I lithten to you, smartath?"
He rolled his eyes. "Just trust me on this, you lispy bastard."
Sollux opened his mouth to snarl something else, but Dave was already flying out of the room towards the eastern half of town. He knew where Eridan, Equius, and Tavros were waiting to ambush him, and he was going to face them before they ever got the chance to take Sollux away.
†††
"It wasn't supposed to be you," Eridan sneered when Dave landed in front of him, sword held aloft. "It was supposed to be Sol. Where the fuck is Sol?"
"Otherwise occupied," Dave said shortly. He pointed his sword at the sea troll's face. "Now, should we get this over with? Why don't you call your little cronies out here so we can really get this thing going?"
Eridan raised a brow. Ahab's Crosshairs was held at his side, and Dave shuddered as he recalled how that weapon had taken so many of his friends out. "Well, if you're insistin'. Tav, Eq, let's show this human what we're made of!"
And this was the point where he was going to lose. Badly. He would be taken down in Sollux's turn—but they couldn't kill him, couldn't do it because they would never be able to force him into a heroic or just death without anyone else around. Dave would live, and soon Sollux would come and find him just as he had gone to find Sollux when this had first happened.
Eridan's gun glowed. Equius raised his fists. Tavros brandished his lance.
That's my cue to get out of here.
Dave shifted his consciousness, and the world went dark.
Password?
Home
Dave's world spotted back into existence. He hadn't exactly chosen where to go this time; he'd just jumped and trusted his instincts to take him to the right place—and sure enough, this felt right. Something had to be changed here.
It seemed that there really was only one of him, even when he jumped in time. This was more akin to the time travel he'd seen in shitty direct to DVD movies, where someone was able to just shift their consciousness from time to time, jumping without ever really moving their physical forms to another plane of existence. Perhaps it had something to do with no longer being in paradox space? Whatever it was, it was throwing his mind for a loop—because he remembered the pain of being torn apart by Eridan, remembered Sollux finding him and rushing him to the infirmary, remembered being pieced back together by Jane, and immediately he was struggling to figure out how time travel worked on this new world. He had the memories of that encounter despite having moved his consciousness to the future, which meant that at some point he had lived through it, but…
He blinked. Shook his head. If there was one thing he'd learned about time travel, it was that there was no use in overthinking it. It was better to just go with the flow.
Rose cleared her throat, and Dave looked up. He was in the main room of the lab, he realized, everyone gathered around him. When was this?
"So," Rose said brusquely. "We're all here. Shall we have that meeting we've been needing to have?"
There was a whiteboard behind her, the names of the souls written in neat, blocky letters, and something in Dave's mind clicked. He knew what was happening—Rose was making the plan that would decide who fought who and where.
What has to be changed? Dave watched through narrowed eyes as Rose started assigning teams to the various targets. There wasn't much different here from the first time, he noticed. Tavros and Karkat were with Tavros, Dirk with Nepeta, Roxy and Terezi with Equius, John and Dave with Gamzee, Rose and Kanaya with Feferi, and Eridan with Sollux and Jade. Sollux was the only change. Would that really be enough to make sure things didn't fall apart before Aradia and Vriska arrived? Would any of this be enough?
The original matchups worked well enough, he recalled. Our real problems began when we deviated from our original plan. So what is it that has to be altered here to prevent that?
"I can set up some of my transporters all over the village," Jane offered, a shy smile on her face. "That will help us travel much more swiftly between areas, and it will help me get to the injured fast enough to heal them."
Then it clicked, and Dave realized what he was supposed to be changing.
The locations of the teleporters.
"Actually," Dave said, "would you mind if I helped you out with that?"
Jane cocked her head. "Don't you want to stay here with Karkat?"
"Yeah," John threw in nervously, "what if he wakes up and you're not here? Dave, I really think you should—"
"Trust me on this," Dave interrupted. "I know where we need to put the transporters."
Rose shot him an odd, suspicious look, but said nothing.
"Well…" Jane glanced to Roxy. "Roxy, as long as you don't have a problem with it…"
"Oh no," she shrugged, "I'm fine. I'll just hang with Callie for a while. You two knock yourselves out."
"Um, right." Jane's eyes swung back to Dave. "Well then, I guess we should be off? Assuming that there's nothing else we need to discuss, of course!"
Dave shifted. Rose was still watching him, and it was making him uncomfortable.
"No," she said finally, softly. "Feel free to get on with your tasks, all of you."
The meeting began to break up. He remembered this part—Dirk would go and begin to hook up his thermal scanners, Rose and Kanaya would meet to work out battle strategies, and John would return to Karkat's side to keep watch.
This time would be a little different, though.
When Dave left with Jane to set up the teleporters, he knew exactly where to put them. He remembered the site of every battle, remembered where best to put them for easy travel. Six teleporters went up around the lab, each leading to a different part of the map. One rested to the north, above the home he'd built beside John's, where he knew Tavros would appear. Another went to the west, where Dirk would find Nepeta ready and waiting. Two lead to the south, one behind Karkat's house for Gamzee and one a few miles to the east for Feferi. And finally, two more angled to the east, one slightly southward to intercept Eridan, and one slightly northward to catch Equius.
When they were done there existed a perfect web of teleporters, each ready and waiting to bear one of their team to their target. There would be no excessive travel this way, no waiting for Jane to arrive and fly to their location. She could step through a teleporter and be entered immediately into the fray.
This will save us at least a little time, Dave thought once they returned to the lab and flew up to admire their handiwork. Not much, but…this along with Aradia's knowledge of the future and my attempts to freeze time will have to be enough.
And he hoped to god that it really was going to be enough.
password?
freeze
"You guys!" Dirk yelled, barging into the hallway and making sure that everyone within a five mile radius could hear him. "Guys, it's happening!"
Dave blinked, snapped suddenly into yet another moment in time. He shook his head repeatedly, struggling to orient himself in the current time. When was he this time?
"The souls aren't souls anymore!" Dirk called again. "They're solid, you guys, so get the fuck in here!"
And just like that, Dave's memories caught up with him. I remember…this is right when the battle is about to start! In a few minutes, everyone will leave and then I'll be left to say goodbye to John and Karkat. And after that…
He felt someone grab onto his arm. "Dave, why are you just standing there? Come on!"
Dave jumped, then cursed himself for being startled. He knew what was happening. He'd lived this before; he shouldn't be afraid.
"Come on!" John insisted again, and then he was pulling Dave along into the main room, where Rose was waiting to deliver her final speech.
We're about to fight, Dave thought as Rose went through her inspirational spiel. Which means that if anything has to be changed here, it's…
"Good luck to all of you," Rose said, dipping her head. "We'll see each other on the other side."
This is where I have to freeze time.
It all happened in slow motion. Everyone began to file out, one by one. Sollux said his goodbyes and vanished deep into the lab. John hugged Karkat, nearly in tears, and went to wait outside.
Then Dave and Karkat were alone again, and Dave felt his heart constricting in his chest. I'm not going to let you die this time, Karkat. I won't.
"Dave?" Karkat asked gruffly, looking concerned. "Are you okay? You seem a bit…pale."
He glanced to Karkat, then turned his head away. He couldn't look at him without seeing Gamzee's teeth in his throat, without seeing bight red blood pumping from deadly gouges in his flesh. Maybe Dirk was right.
"Dave?"
"I'm fine," he forced out. "Just look out for yourself, okay? Don't do anything stupid." Don't go near Gamzee.
He wanted to tell him everything. Wanted to let him know what was coming, what was possible, how everyone may die despite his best efforts. But he said nothing, knowing that to tell someone of the inevitable would do nothing but harm, and instead chose to suffer silently.
"Yeah…" Karkat said, looking entirely unconvinced. "Right. But only if you promise me you'll stay alive too, grubfucker."
He snorted at the insult. "Are you kidding me? This is going to be a piece of cake."
Karkat rolled his eyes. "Of course it is." Then he was moving forward, pulling Dave down by the collar and mashing their lips together for an all too brief moment. "Don't die," he reiterated. "Seriously. You've said some really fucking strange things the past few times we've spoken, and you're worrying the shit out of me."
He waved him off. "I'll be fine, dude. Now get out of here."
Karkat just stared for a moment, uncertain. But then he shrugged, turned, and vanished through the doorway.
I promise, Karkat, that things will end differently this time. Even if I have to jump in front of Gamzee myself.
But before any of that could happen, before he could save his matesprit, he had to stop time.
Okay, calm down…how am I supposed to do this, again? Aradia didn't exactly leave any instructions for me. Do I just…?
He straightened and squared his shoulders, arms hanging limp at his sides, his chin dipping to his chest. His eyes slid closed. What did he normally do when he used his powers? Let it build, slowly, churning in his chest and thrumming just beneath the skin. Let it swirl in the pit of his stomach and pulse beneath the pads of his fingertips. Let it coil like a snake ready to strike. Then let it snap outward, shove it through his skin and out into the world around him with all his strength, and just like that he would be in a different time.
This had to be the same thing, right?
He could already feel the familiar buildup of power in his stomach, twining out to wrap around his arms and lace down his spine. Yes, this was right, this was normal…so what did he change to freeze time rather than jump through it?
He recalled again how he would normally do things, letting the power snap within him. Such a huge surge of power released all at once was necessary in order to travel through time, but maybe freezingit called for a bit more…finesse.
Yeah…that was probably it.
He inhaled. Exhaled. Inhaled again. Forced his shoulders to relax. Forced the tension to drain out of him. Then he turned his eyes inwards, looked to his own power, and just sort of…let go.
He felt the power ooze from him slowly, leaking from his skin and exuding itself at a steady, leisurely pace, rippling in the air around him and crawling outward as if it didn't have a care in the world. It wasn't his usual snap of power, it was more of a hum—and it was working.
He could feel it. He felt the instant everything began to slow around him, and then he felt the instant everything just stopped.
Holy fuck, I'm doing it.
He was holding time still—but not without a great personal cost.
He wasn't used to this. He was used to expelling all his power at once, not tamping it down and letting it drain bit by bit. He didn't have the same self-control Aradia had, unable to freeze time at single moment for long, and he knew that he wouldn't last long. A few minutes, maybe. Maybe. And he had to take into consideration that he had to keep enough power to make several more jumps and fight Gamzee. He had to remember that even though he wasn't consciously living out the battle right after this moment due to his jumping around in time, he would still have to fight. He would still have to keep John alive, keep Karkat alive, and he had to have enough power left for that. He would have to be a very good judge of his own abilities.
He winced as the power tugged uncomfortably at his gut. It wasn't happy with him, controlling it so forcefully. Fuck, I can't…
His head was beginning to spin. I have to stop…fuck, I have to stop…but if I can get just a moment more…
Something was coiling in his chest, tightening around his heart and ready to crack. He had to hold it for just a moment more, for as long as he could.
And then, just like that, it was too much.
Dave gasped as his remaining power snapped, just as he'd known it would, and hurled him into the future.
passw0rd?
f0und
Aradia tore through the outer reaches of what remained of paradox space, wings fluttering as quickly as physically possible as she headed for where she knew Vriska was trapped. She remembered everything, remembered all of what had happened before she'd been cast back in time, and she knew that she had to get to Vriska now. Her friends' lives depended on it.
"Vriska!" she called. She was close. "Vriska, where are you? Come on, I know you're out here!" She darted around one meteor, then another. She was here. She was here somewhere.
Then she heard it.
"Hey! Hey, over here! Get me the hell off this thing!"
Just like the first time, Aradia's heart lurched, and she took off in the direction of the voice. "Vriska, keep talking!" she called. "Lead me to you!"
"Keep talking? Oh, that's just perfect! Do you have any idea how long I've been yelling for someone, anyone to figure out I was trapped here? I've been screaming my lungs out for sweeps, and now here you are and you want me to keep yelling?"
She tracked the voice further into the field, darting around asteroids whenever she remembered that one was about to come out of nowhere and clobber her. She'd heard it all, seen it all before.
"I mean, it's not like I totally saved the universe or anything; that's certainly not something that good ol' Vriska did for you saps! Not like I dropped everything and flew right the hell off to deal with some crazed maniac of a green douchebag and smacked him right upside the head with some of that poetic justice that Terezi just loves! Not like I—"
"Vriska!"
And there she was, just like last time, ankle lodged into a crack in the meteor. Aradia rounded the final corner and landed on the hunk of rock, already reaching for her trapped appendage. No time.
"Aradia!" Vriska exclaimed, eyes widening as she finally came into sight. "Fucking finally! I've been trapped on this chunk of garbage for so gogdamn long, I can't believe someone actually found me!"
Aradia scrabbled at the rock trapping Vriska in place, tearing away at it until it finally gave with a crackling crunch. Then the troll was free, fluttering upward and rubbing at her ankle with a distasteful snarl.
"I swear, it's been—"
"Come with me," Aradia demanded, taking Vriska's hand. "There's not much time."
Vriska yanked her hand away with a snarl. "Hold on just a minute! I just got out of that disaster of a situation, don't you want to explain a few things before you just go dragging me all around this gogforsaken place?"
Aradia's blood pusher fluttered with anger. They didn't have time for this. Dave had promised to do what he could, but he could only hold time in a single moment for so long. Every second was precious. Every moment could mean the life or death of one of her friends.
"Aradia, what's wrong with you?"
She jolted. Reached out and took the other troll's arm. "Do you want everyone to die?"
Vriska blinked. "What?"
"Do you want everyone to die?" she repeated. "Because if you do, then you're more than welcome to sit here and ask pointless questions. But if you want to save the lives of everyone you've ever known, then you'll come with me now."
"Aradia, what…?"
She tugged at her arm insistently. "Come with me. I'll explain along the way."
pASSWORD?
sWITCH
Dave regained awareness in mid-swing, sword deflecting off of one of Gamzee's clubs and angling into the ground. Glancing behind him, he saw John darting this way and that in his usual flighty manner, but no one else was with him. It was just the two of them against Gamzee, which meant that Karkat's arrival was still a ways off, if it was going to happen at all.
Okay, so what needs to be changed here? When am I, exactly?
He winced as his earpiece buzzed to life.
"Rothe is rethurrecting, tho I'm in charge of athignmentth while she's buthy being dead, got it?"
Dave blinked. Sollux? Wait…wasn't this around the beginning of the battle?
"Don't get thnippy with me!" Sollux snapped as someone (Dirk, most likely) made a sarcastic comment. "I'm more than capable of making thtrategic dethicionth, even if Eridan'th trying to blatht my head off!" There was the sound of a muffled yelp as if in confirmation. Then, "Lithten up, you mitherable lot! I'm making thome changeth to the rothter. Dirk, NP, you two are going for EQ. Dirk, you can figure out where he ith for yourthelf and get there without me holding your hand. Jake, you're on ED."
Dave's stomach flipped.
"What?" Jade and Jake gasped in unison.
"Look," Jade insisted, "I really don't think that's a good—!"
"Oh can it, it'll be fine!" Sollux snapped. "He won't be alone. TZ, I want you to thwitch targetth to ED as well. Cover Jake'th ath and make sure no one gets killed. Once Dirk and NP have reached your location, you can head over there. Understood?"
"Got it, boss," Terezi snickered, and everyone could feel her snarky grin.
Sollux continued. "TV, are you ready to take on an opponent?"
"Oh, um, I think that maybe I can, do that. If I, um, can be useful."
"Then KK, I want you to show him how the teleporterth work and get him to GZ."
His stomach flipped again, and he knew what he was supposed to be altering. "No."
A pause. Then, "What?"
"No," he repeated, and Sollux hissed angrily in response. "That isn't going to work. Send Tavros to Equius and Nepeta to Gamzee."
"Why the fuck would I do that?"
"Yeah," Dirk put in, "why? It seems that if we send the trolls to the people they had emotional connections with, they'll have a chance of swaying them back to our side before we have to kill them."
"Seems like it, doesn't it?" he muttered. "But that's not what's going to happen. It's just going to make them angrier, so send them to different targets! Nepeta has to go to Gamzee, and Tavros has to go to Equius!"
Silence. Deep, stunned silence. Then, "Is this one of your feelingth again, Dave?"
He snarled. Sollux was always needling at him, the bastard—why couldn't he listen to him just once?
"You have been spouting a lot of those weird premonition-esque statements lately," Jane agreed nervously. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
He couldn't deal with this right now. "No. Now get Nepeta and Tavros out there, and let's win this!"
No one responded. But a few minutes later, when the inevitable shift in the tide of battle didn't happen, he knew that they had listened.
So far so good. Maybe we can actually win this.
A smile on his face, insides twisting from the amount of power he was expelling, he shifted.
Passw8rd?
Arrival
Aradia burst from the gateway, Vriska in tow, and flew out into the middle of a battle in motion. Her blood pusher lurched with relief when she saw that the village was still intact, and there wasn't a spot of blood anywhere within her sights.
You've done it, Dave. I knew you could.
She decaptchalogued the earpiece she'd snagged from Dave before time had reset, clipping it on and sending out a broadcast.
"We're here," she announced. "Well done, Dave."
"Yeah," was the breathless response, "I'm pretty fucking amazing."
She smiled. "Yes, you are."
A pause. Then an explosion of noise as every single human and troll tried to ask the same questions at the same time.
"What the—?"
"Aradia, are you—?"
"Dave, what is…?"
Dave growled. "No time for confusion now. Aradia and Vriska are here to help us, so we're working them into our strategy now!"
"Yes," Aradia agreed. "Sollux, if you would be so kind as to direct Vriska to Eridan, I'm sure she can handle him alone while the current team assigned to him goes to fight someone else."
"Um, what the fuck? AA, you're…?"
"Here," she confirmed with a dip of the head. "But there's no time for talking! Sollux, Rose, you two should decide where the current team with Eridan would be best used. Vriska will handle Eridan solo, and I will go wherever you think I'll be the most useful."
"VK…you really think you can handle ED on your own?"
Vriska bared her fangs, biting out, "Fishface is as good as dead once I sink my claws into him."
"Fuck, VK, that'th…"
"Thank me later," she said. "Tell me how to get there now."
There was a brief moment of stunned silence. Then Sollux said, "I'm getting you into a theparate call with me. I'll direct you here."
Vriska nodded. A moment later she was taking off, Sollux's voice no doubt humming in her ear. When Sollux came back online a few minutes later, Aradia knew that Vriska had reached her location.
"Rothe?" Sollux asked. "Where do you think the retht of uth here should go?"
A pause. Then, "Jade, Sollux, Terezi, Jake—all of you are on Eridan right now, correct?"
The four murmured in confirmation.
"I see…then Jade, Sollux, I think you would be best suited to joining Kanaya and me with Feferi. Jake, Aradia, go to Equius. Terezi, to Gamzee."
A wise choice. As far as Aradia knew, that would leave Gamzee battling John, Dave, Nepeta, and Terezi. Feferi would be dealing with Rose, Kanaya, Sollux, and Jade. Eridan was with Vriska, obviously, which meant that Equius would be left with Dirk, Jake, Roxy, Tavros, and Aradia herself. Karkat would be somewhere near the lab, if she wasn't mistaken. The group had never begun to lose, so it hadn't been necessary to throw the weakened troll into battle.
"I expect an explanation for this later," Rose said. "But for now, let's do our best to win this battle."
Aradia nodded. "Understood. And Dave?"
"Yeah?"
"No more jumping around in time. The fabric of this universe is already strained to its breaking point. This will have to be enough."
He chuckled. "Don't think I could jump again if I tried."
Aradia smiled. She knew the feeling. "Good luck to you all."
"Good luck, Aradia."
†††
After that, things just…fell into place.
Equius went down easy. Aradia arrived and froze him mid moment, and while such a spell would normally have been easy for such a powerful troll to break out of, he was so stunned that he paused just long enough for Jake to get a few bullets into his brain, and for Roxy to clamp down on him with one of her constructs, and for Tavros to run him straight through the chest with his lance.
Equius just stared for a moment, eyes wide, blue blood drooling out around Tavros's lance. Then he staggered back, and Tavros yanked the weapon out of him with the sickening sound of metal sliding on torn flesh. The highblood was on the ground a moment later, and only a moment after that he was still.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Vriska had Eridan on his knees.
The sea troll glared up at Vriska, a mixture of blood and saliva dripping down his chin, one eye taken out by a quick slash of the blue blood's cutlass.
"This is it, huh?" Vriska cackled. "This is the best that the great Eridan Ampora has to offer?"
Eridan sneered. Lunged forward. But he was weak from blood loss, beaten and battered by a furious Vriska Serket and already on the edge of death. Fighting was useless.
"Stay down, seadweller scum!" she snarled. She was still holding that cutlass she loved so much, a set of dice clenched in the fingers of her other hand as she dodged cleanly to one side and stomped down on Eridan's back. "You should have died a long time ago; I'm just delivering you to your destiny."
Eridan tried to say something, but blood gurgled in his throat and made his words indistinguishable.
"What, nothing to say?"
He snarled furiously. Choked on his own blood.
Vriska shrugged, twirling her sword theatrically. "Oh well. I tried."
She rolled a perfect ten.
And meanwhile, not too far away, Feferi was taken down in tandem.
This, too, was fast.
Sollux lashed out with his powers, grabbed onto every part of Feferi he could reach, and squeezed. It hadn't been enough to trap Eridan, and it wasn't enough to trap Feferi—but what it was enough to do was surprise her, jolt her with shock just as Aradia had managed to shock Equius—and that shock was just enough to turn the tides.
Jade got her pinned by turning a pebble into a boulder and smashing it down on her leg. A blast of white magic from Rose sent her trident flying. Kanaya lunged forward and slashed with all her strength across her chest, dealing her a grievous wound that left her blood pusher torn in two.
And just like that, Feferi was gone as well.
At the same time, Jane made her rounds. She went to Eridan first, as per Vriska's request, and got the seadweller back on his feet. He'd been violent for all of two seconds before Vriska had smacked him over the head and snarled at him, and then he seemed content to head for Feferi and watch as Jane revived her. Feferi had understood the situation in a heartbeat, and one word from her was all it took to make sure Eridan never turned on them again. Jane jumped to Equius next, revived him in a flash, and then there was only one left.
Gamzee Makara.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, that fight wasn't going as well as it should have been.
And even more unfortunately, no one was going to make it in time.
†††
Karkat paced back and forth in the lab, fingers itching to grasp onto his sickles and swing at something. He'd been locked up ever since defeating Tavros, stomping around as Callie sat at the monitor, eyes locked onto the glowing dots. They didn't need him, Sollux had said. They didn't need his help; there were plenty of them out there to handle things. Plenty of people that could fight far better than he could.
Well, at least things were going well. Judging from the dots on the screen and the way his friends were chattering, it sounded like they were winning. Equius, Eridan, and Feferi were all on the ropes, either dying or on their way there, outnumbered severely. Gamzee, though…
Karkat eyed the dots around Gamzee's location. They'd been flickering in and out frequently, signifying the repeated deaths of his friends, then their resurrections. It wasn't going well. Even with four people on him, it wasn't going well. It was a miracle that Nepeta, someone who couldn't afford to die, and Terezi, who could only die once, were still on their feet.
Karkat flicked his eyes over to the other sites of battle. Equius's dot was starting to waver as his body temperature dropped. He must have been dead, or nearly there, for his already cool temperature to drop far enough to register on the scanners. Feferi still looked to be going strong. Eridan was wavering.
Are they going to be okay? Karkat thought nervously, looking back to Gamzee. The highblood showed no signs of weakening from what he could see, and he didn't dare to contact John and Dave for risk of distracting them. He was worried, though. Desperately worried. His moirail and his matesprit were fighting for their lives out there, and he was doing nothing.
Surely I can help. Surely there's something I can do.
Karkat shifted from side to side.
One jump. There's a portal that leads right to the site of battle. If I go there, I can help. I can help, or…
Or Gamzee would just kill him. Growl at him and put him on the ground. Yeah…going was a bad idea.
Fuck, he really wanted to go.
Terezi's dot flickered. Nepeta's stuttered.
Are they in trouble?
If they were in trouble, then…
Then I'll go.
†††
I've done well, Dave thought, listening to Roxy's cry of triumph as she reported that Equius was down. We're winning.
This battle was a far cry from the nightmare he'd lived out the first time. Something was different; he could feel it in the air. Unlike the haze of hopelessness that had surrounded him the first time, this time he felt hopeful.
Though, he'd feel more hopeful if Gamzee would just fucking die already.
Gamzee roared as if he'd heard Dave's thoughts, and he found himself staring at Terezi's back as she stepped in to catch the incoming club with her blades. Nepeta was there a heartbeat later, claws sinking into the clown troll's back and ripping down at full strength, and John appeared only a moment after that to slam his hammer into the side of his skull.
Gamzee roared again, staggered. How was he even still on his feet? He'd lost so much blood, it should have been impossible.
"We have to be close to getting him down," John panted.
"Think again, motherfuckers!" Gamzee lashed out, caught John with a club, and sent him sprawling to one side.
"John!" Terezi was there in an instant, slashing at Gamzee's flesh before he could go running after the boy he'd just knocked into the ground. Nepeta's claws locked into his ankles to keep him still.
"We have to be close," John repeated in a low, choking moan. "Come on, let's just…"
"Finish this," Terezi repeated in a snarl. "Dave, get in here!"
He did. He was too weak to jump through time, too weak to freeze Gamzee in place long enough to do anything to him—but he still had his sword, and that was what he used to lash out at Gamzee with all his strength.
You killed John.
He stabbed his sword into the tough skin at Gamzee's shoulder and bore down with all his strength.
You killed Karkat.
He kicked at Gamzee as he struggled, indigo blood gushing out from around the point of his blade.
You killed my matesprit.
He tore his blade to the side as hard as he could, relishing the pained cry that arose from his victim.
You're going to pay.
Nepeta was back. Her claws stabbed into Gamzee's back, her weight tugging him towards the ground. He staggered.
I'm going to make you pay.
Terezi flickered back into sight. Her blades pierced Gamzee's ankles, one to each, and pinned him down even as he swayed as if he were about to fall.
You'll die like this. I'll kill you.
John darted forward in a whirlwind of breeze, planted a foot to Gamzee's unoccupied shoulder, and pushed.
Make him pay make him pay make him pay
Gamzee shrieked, flailing desperately as blood fountained from the multiple wounds on his body. Fell, nearly crushing Nepeta in the process, taking Dave with him as the blade drove in further, deeper, harder. Hissed as he landed on his back, wounds ripping open further.
MAKE HIM PAY!
Gamzee twitched. Spluttered, spurting blood. Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he was still.
Is it over?
Dave stared down in shock at those glassy orbs, hands still fixed to the sword sticking out of Gamzee's shoulder. Someone shifted behind him, and he realized Terezi was pulling her blades out of Gamzee's flesh and stepping back to admire what they'd done together. John flew back, eyes wide, weapon dangling at his fingertips. Nepeta crouched, claws caked thick with gore.
Is this it?
"Is it over?" John whispered. "Is he dead?"
Dave stepped back as if in a dream. His fingers slid from the hilt of his blade, letting it stick there without support. Gamzee was still, pale. Was he really dead? Was it possible?"
It had to be over. He was so still.
"It is," Terezi murmured, staring down at Gamzee, eyes wide. "John, we—"
Then Gamzee growled, and Dave's stomach lurched straight through the ground as he realized how wrong they all were.
"Nice try, motherfuckers, but I'm not gonna die just yet!"
Gamzee whipped up, sword still jutting from his shoulder, a vicious look on his face. He was dripping blood and gore, visibly weak to the knees, but he was alive. And as Dave watched, he wrenched the blade out of his shoulder and wielded it as his own.
Oh, fuck.
Gamzee moved with a speed impossible for one that was half dead. He turned on heel, club already whirling in Nepeta's direction, sword already flashing towards Terezi.
"Terezi—!"
Terezi shrieked as the sword slashed across her chest, dark blood welling up in a gash far too deep for any hope of survival. She staggered back, a shocked look on her face, then collapsed to the ground in a puddle of teal. Dead until Jane could get to them. Not two feet away there was an answering screech, then choking silence as the club Gamzee had thrown smashed into Nepeta's forehead and put her on the ground. Not dead, but unconscious.
Dave jolted in shock. Jane. I have to call Jane.
He reached for his earpiece, but was cut off by Gamzee lunging at him with a snarl. He took Dave to the ground with little effort using his weight alone, and the next moment the human was grapping with someone far stronger than himself as fingers pulled at his shirt, his hair, his fingers. He tried to fight, tried to struggle, but Gamzee was so strong, and where the fuck was John?
"I've got you!" John called, but Gamzee had already wrenched off his earpiece and crushed it into dust. And when John swooped in, weapon in hand, Gamzee simply knocked him to one side and grabbed the earpiece from him as well, snapping it in two.
Communications have been cut off.
And that meant that unless Jane looked down and noticed that Terezi had gone offline (unlikely in all the chaos), they were on their own.
Fuck…this is just like last time. John and me against Gamzee…
Gamzee snarled, and one hand lashed out to catch John as he tried to right himself and dash away. The troll's claws caught in his shirt, dragged him close, and a single jerk of Gamzee's arms snapped John's neck.
"John!"
He fell to the ground, limp and lifeless. It would take a few minutes for him to resurrect.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! How did this fall apart so quickly? John, wake up…and Jane, get over here!
"Looks like it's just the two of us, motherfucker," Gamzee sneered. He was spattered horrifyingly with blood, shaking and weak, but he was still plenty strong enough to take him down if he wasn't careful.
At least it's not as bad as last time, Dave thought. If he kills me and gets away, someone else will be there to catch him. But still, I'll do everything I can to stop him here and now. I don't want him to hurt anyone else!
Gamzee twirled his clubs. "Let's dance, motherfucker!"
He swung, Dave dove out of the way, and their dance begun.
†††
Karkat sucked in a horrified gasp when he saw Terezi's dot go flat, then Nepeta's flicker until it was barely lit. And then—and then—
Karkat had to hold back a cry as John's stuttered, then went out. His moirail had been killed, and he had no idea if it was permanent or temporary.
"Dave!" he called, putting out a signal in an attempt to contact his matesprit.
Nothing.
"Dave," he tried again, "Come the fuck on, can you hear me? Come in!"
Nothing.
Karkat hissed through his teeth, Callie shooting him a nervous look at his obvious anger. "Fuck! Either he's ignoring me, or his fucking earpiece is gone!"
This is the time to decide, Vantas. Your matesprit is out there, facing Gamzee alone—and while he may not be able to die permanently unless it's heroic or just, he can certainly be mutilated horribly and brought to the brink of insanity through pain alone. So, what do you do? Do you stay here and cower, or do you go and help him?
"I'm sure he's fine," Callie attempted. "John should be back up in a moment, and then Jane will—"
Make a choice. Help your matesprit, or cower while he's torn apart.
And when it was put like that, he knew exactly what his choice would be.
"Karkat!" Callie called out in alarm as he went tearing for the lab entrance. "Karkat, what are you doing?"
He didn't respond. He just ran, movements only slightly shaky from the fact that he still wasn't up to full strength after being put in a coma for a week, and darted towards the teleporter that would take him right to his matesprit.
He should have done anything else. He should have remembered how resilient Dave was, remembered that even if Gamzee tortured him for hours, he would be able to pull himself back. He should have called Rose, called Sollux, called Jane, called anyone about what was happening. He should have remembered that there were others among them that could risk their lives without fear of really dying, and that they were the ones that should be going to intercept Gamzee. All of this, he should have remembered.
But he didn't remember. All he knew was that Dave was out there, Dave was in pain and bleeding, and if he could do anything to help him then he was going to do it, no matter what. There was much he overlooked in that frantic dash for the teleporters—but one thing he didn't overlook was the memory of how terrified he'd been when Gamzee had pinned him down and snapped his fingers, raked his claws across his flesh, and how that experience had haunted him ever since its occurrence. He would never forget it.
And now, the same thing could be happening to Dave. It could be happening to his matesprit, scarring him forever, and he had the chance to stop it.
Hang on, Dave. I'm coming for you.
He leapt into the thing, and the world blurred around him.
†††
When things settled back down and Karkat's vision sharpened again, he found himself facing his worst nightmare.
"D-Dave…?"
Gamzee whirled around, blood dripping from his jaws as he bent low over Dave's prone form. From the way Gamzee was crouched over him, he couldn't see much—but he could hear everything, and the way Dave was groaning told him that he was not okay.
It felt so familiar. Why did it feel familiar?
"Karbro," Gamzee chuckled, sitting back on Dave's hips and looking back to offer his former moirail a bloody grin. "So glad you could all up and motherfucking join us!" He jostled, and Dave whimpered.
Like…a reversal of something that's happened before.
"Get off of him," Karkat snarled, prowling just slightly closer. He didn't want to cause Gamzee to do anything foolish. But the closer he got the more he could see of what had been done to Dave, the more he could see a flicker of blue in the background where John was collapsed in a pool of his own blood, and the more furious he became.
"Like it?" Gamzee asked, wiping gore from his lips. "I thought of you while I did it, best friend."
Karkat shook with anger as he looked down at the bloody mess before him. Gamzee had fucking mutilated his matesprit, teeth and claws pulling and tearing and slashing at his throat, his face, his stomach, his chest, his arms, until he was limp and motionless beneath him. The evidence of what Gamzee had done was written all over his face, painted there in scarlet.
"Dave," Karkat whispered, taking a step closer. "Dave, can you hear me?"
The human groaned, fingers curling in on nothing.
It had only been a moment. He'd only left Dave and Gamzee alone for a moment while he raced for the teleporter. How had this happened so quickly?
Gamzee flicked his fingers, and a mixture of indigo and scarlet blood sprayed out across the earth. "Well, I think it's safe to say that he's not gonna be all up and goin' anywhere." He stood. "What do you say, motherfucking best friend? Is it your turn?"
Gamzee took a step towards him, and Dave snarled weakly in protest. He opened his mouth to talk, but just ended up choking on a mouthful of blood.
Karkat paused. His stomach was twisting with fear, blood pusher lurching with uncertainty, but he knew that this was his responsibility. He was supposed to keep Gamzee away from Dave until Jane could get there and heal him, and until John woke up to help. I have to hold my ground.
"I'll take that as a yes," Gamzee chuckled, and both clubs were back in his hands, twirling with deadly precision. Then he was lashing out with a roar, and Karkat found himself reliving every moment of what had happened in the relaxation block, back when Gamzee was still intangible as a spirit.
"K-Kar…!" Dave rasped. "Karkat, f-fight!"
His sickles were in his hands, then, and his body followed Dave's command before he even knew he was doing it. He dove to one side as Gamzee's club bashed into the ground at his side, scrabbling to his feet and hooking one of Gamzee's legs with his sickle as he overextended himself in his attempt to smash his head in.
He's weak, Karkat realized with a jolt. He's lost a lot of blood already. If I can just get him with a few well-placed blows, then maybe I won't have to wait for Jane. Maybe I can end this myself.
Gamzee staggered as a sickle tore through his flesh, sending him recoiling with a deep snarl.
Damn, he's even weaker than I thought. I bet even a growl couldn't affect me right now.
"Motherfucker!" Gamzee shrieked. "I'll motherfucking end you!"
Then he did growl, and Karkat's entire being jolted as the sound thrummed through him. He waited, then, for his entire body to go weak and jelly-like, but…nothing happened.
He'd been right. Gamzee was so weak, had lost so much blood, that he wasn't able to growl properly.
Fuck…maybe I really can end this.
Filled with new determination, Karkat squared his shoulders to his opponent. His sickles gleamed wickedly at his sides, muscles tense and ready to snap outwards at the first sign of real combat. He wasn't a fighter. Never had been. But if he was protecting his matesprit, then he would do whatever it took. He would make sure he never felt pain again.
"Is that all you've got?" Karkat taunted, stepping cleanly out of the way as Gamzee barreled past him. "I expected more, Makara, after all that talk!"
Gamzee snarled furiously, whirling around and chucking one of his juggling clubs at Karkat with all his strength. Luckily the smaller troll was ready for it, and a single roll took him well out of range.
"Weak," Karkat sneered. Gamzee threw his other club, and he leapt over it with only a twinge of discomfort. "Pathetic."
Gamzee's eyes flashed, smoke practically curling up from his nostrils in his fury. He said nothing, though, just snatched two more clubs from his sylladex and lunged for Karkat in a flicker of green, white, and red.
Oh, fuck. Karkat yelped as he suddenly found himself facing down a brick wall. And okay, maybe Gamzee wasn't quite as weak as he'd hoped, because it was taking every scrap of his energy to keep the killer clown from bashing his pan in. Deflecting the strikes with his sickles was impossible, he soon found. The one time he tried he nearly ended up shattering all the bones in his wrist from the shock of the blow. After that he decided to stick to dodging and lashing out whenever he saw an opening.
Unfortunately, that wasn't very often.
Gamzee was weaker than usual, there was no doubt of that. But Karkat was also weaker than usual, putting him far below Gamzee's level, and Gamzee was still so fast. It was all Karkat could do to distract him from Dave without being killed himself.
It couldn't last forever, though. Soon enough, he messed up.
He didn't see it coming. He just felt the lash of a club across the back of his shoulder blade, audibly cracking the bone but not quite breaking it. He tried to scream, but Gamzee took the opportunity to jab the but of his club into his chest and steal his breath away. He thought he heard Dave rasping out a cry of alarm. His ears seemed to have shut off, though, shut of as Gamzee sneered triumphantly and swept his feet out from under him with a single, clean swipe of a red-striped club. He rolled to one side just in time to avoid having his pan crushed, rolled as the other club tried to snap him into unconsciousness, but couldn't move fast enough to dodge the set of claws that raked suddenly across his shoulder, then his chest, then his cheek. Gamzee had dropped one of his clubs, then the other, just to dive atop him and try to carve into him like a roasted featherbeast. Again, he thought Dave was calling out.
"Still think you can take me, motherfucker?" Gamzee growled. "Or are you ready to just lie down and die?"
Karkat thrashed furiously. His sickles were still in his hands, and he used them to slash deep furrows into the backs of Gamzee's shoulders. The highblood roared, swiping down with his claws, but the pain was just blinding enough for the smaller troll to throw him off and scramble to his feet. He wanted to take advantage of Gamzee's pained state, to leap forward and drive his sickles into his throat, but he was forced to use the short break in an attempt to regain his breath.
There was another cry from Dave. He wasn't sure, but he though that his matesprit might have been trying to say run.
Gamzee was back on his feet now. Indigo oozed from between his teeth as he bared them at his victim, eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm motherfucking sick of you motherfuckers beating me right the motherfuck up! We're ending this, Karbro!"
He barely had time to blink before a set of clawed hands closed around his upper arms and threw him back. Gamzee's clubs were back in his hands, claws still dripping with scarlet as he advanced. He kept moving forward, pressing Karkat back with every step, teeth bared in a threat that was anything but empty.
Karkat backed himself up bit by bit, mirroring his former moirail. He wasn't sure what he was up to, but—
His heels scraped the edge of the cliff.
Oh.
Gamzee laughed, low and rasping. The clown troll's injuries were beginning to take their toll. He was trembling lightly, spilling even more blood than Karkat, eyes wide and glassy. But he was still on his feet, still dangerous—and as he held up a club, pointing it in Karkat's direction, he realized that he was trapped. He was trapped, held between a crazed clown and a deadly drop, and no one was coming to help him. John was still out cold, Dave was bleeding out only a few feet away, and Jane was nowhere in sight.
Gamzee raised his club with a snarl. "Any last words, motherfucking best friend?"
Karkat tried to step back, then winced. His heels were right at the edge of the cliff, and rock crumbled off into the ocean when he put too much weight on them. There was no backing up, no fleeing to one side. No flying away. He looked down, and below them a series of rocks jutted out of the ocean. It was a long drop, and even if he survived it the rocks would surely kill him. It would kill anyone that hit them.
Something in his pan clicked.
Those rocks…would kill anyone that hit them.
He looked up at Gamzee. The troll was standing there, teeth bared, club raised, ready to kill. "No getting out of this one, best friend."
There wasn't. He either jumped to his death or let Gamzee beat his brains in; there was no way around that now. He had to choose.
And…looking over at Dave, seeing those wide, terrified eyes locked onto his…he knew what he would do.
"Are you gonna jump?" Gamzee taunted, no doubt seeing the way he was looking down at the ocean. "Or are you gonna let me smash your skull right in?"
He knew who he was.
"Well, Karbro? What's it gonna be?"
He knew what choice he would make to save them.
"Time's running short, best friend."
Either way, he was fucked. But if he could help his matesprit…
"Karbro…"
When the time comes, you will know what to do.
There was only one thing to do.
Karkat snarled, cutting his former moirail off. "Don't fucking talk to me, grubfucker! You've killed my moirail a dozen times, tormented my matesprit…you have no right to fucking antagonize me!"
Gamzee smirked. "That doesn't answer my question. How are you gonna go out?"
His stomach clenched. Unclenched. Clenched again. "Fucking heroically."
Gamzee paused. "What—?"
Karkat didn't think about what he did next. He didn't think about the way Dave was screaming for him. He didn't think about the way John was just starting to wake up, bright blue eyes flickering to life in the dark. He didn't think about the way he was lurching forward, hands reaching out to hook around Gamzee's neck. He didn't think about the way that harsh, unforgiving club was digging into his stomach as he pulled his former moirail close and pressed their bodies together. He didn't think about the way he stepped back, weight shifting with Gamzee atop him.
He certainly didn't think about the way he fell, Gamzee along with him, careening towards the bottom of the cliff.
If I'm going to die…I'm taking you with me.