Work has kicked my ass all week due to a fair being in town. I'm outright exhausted, so sorry if the quality suffers a bit in this chapter. I wanted to do a few things different, but here we are.

I hope you enjoy it either way!

The situation with that biker couple may not have started out exactly as he planned, but Oberon couldn't argue with the results. A good thing for them too, since he would've likely gotten rid of them if they had ended up truly useless.

He hadn't been able to catch everything about the fight, but he'd seen enough to know that Vantas had won it quite easily. His son had done a good chunk of beating Johnny and his little pet back, which did earn a little pride, but considering how Kitty had set the other halfa off, it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

Eridan had arrived homes lightly traumatized, which was to be expected after seeing a ghost and/or halfa go into an obsession state. Didn't even dare talk about it, probably as a way to make sure he could still hang out with the boy. If his son hadn't intervened, there was a good chance Johnny and Kitty would've been killed, something he no doubt realized. Just one step in separating the two and getting his own son on his side.

This experience showed him something that he hadn't thought up before too; he could try to manipulate Phantom's obsession.

Sure, he'd been doing that implicitly by encouraging ghosts with ill intention out into Amity Park, but not to a proper extent. Ghosts were led by emotion, and so were halfa's. And Vantas had a very manipulable obsession. And even if what he was cooking up didn't work

The only problem is that he had to make a call to a very unpleasant associate.

Oberon frowned, the worn book of names on his desk opened to a particular page. He'd made sure to not interfere with that man for years, but here he was, asking him to work on something he would've loved to do himself.

…It wouldn't get any easier if he just sat here, he supposed.

Oberon let out a breath, a groan sneaking out as he dialed the number. After three rings, the phone was picked up, and he could hear that dreadful music being played in the background.

"This is Barry's BBQ and Grill, you kill 'em, we grill 'em." A gravelly, lilting voice on the other end said in a laugh. "Ah, I'm just screwing with you. Who the fuck is calling?"

Oberon closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose before a tired sigh left him.

"Oh come on, you have to find that funny. Or normal people fucking would if they had a sense of humor." The laughter came again, which was honestly worse than hearing the music. "But I think you were disqualified from normalcy a long time ago, Dualscar."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you have a working memory. I figured the secondhand pot smoke from your son would damage it." Oberon wanted to get right to business, and he supposed that was his way in. "I'm cashing in a favor. I'm planning something and I think you might be a good fit."

"You're asking for my help? Wow, the world really is going to hell. Last I checked, you didn't want to hang out." The joking tone vanished a second later, the change abrupt. "What do you want, Dualscar? Desperation ain't a good look for you."

"It's less desperation then wanting to speed something up. I've been trying to finish a plan for a good while now, but a roadblock occurred." Oberon licked his teeth, snarling. Vantas really needed to go, and soon. "I'm assuming you know of Amity Park?"

"Everyone knows Amity Park. Scientist breaks open a dimension that I've been trying to get full access to instead of picking up random ghosts off the street." There was irritation there but seemed tamed by some level of respect. "Got to admit, didn't think anyone academic like that would try it. Must be some kind of nuts."

"Well, I'm trying to kill him. However, one particular ghost has decided to play superhero and is actively keeping him alive." Oberon decided to leave out the fact the halfa issue. He didn't want him getting any ideas. "And yes, I did say 'superhero.' Out of all types of obsessions, this particular one had to crop up now."

"Superhero. Weird." Chuckling again, the gravelly voice upturning again. "And what's stopping you from killing the guy wearing tights?"

"He's a Blood Aspect, and apparently he's good at making deals. I had to make one so he wouldn't get the government on me for multiple different things." That deal was always going to nag at him, but he'd heard the consequences of breaking one. It never ended well. "I've gone through other avenues and loopholes, but I think you'll be able to speed up the process."

"Ah, you flatter me. Have to admit, it does sound like fun. Not every day you get to kill a wannabe vigilante." There was a pause. "I'm guessing that ain't all, though."

"I can't tell you exactly to kill him, but I can tell you to cause some chaos while you're here. Except towards me and the Peixes, of course." Better to not let Feferi get hit again. Eridan would worry himself sick. "Preferably the kind that ends with endangerment of life and property damage."

"You act like you need to convince me! I'd do it for free, but I would like to get rid of that fucking debt." A hum came and went, faux contemplation slipping into the conversation. "And what if I try to 'recruit' this one?"

"You can try. If it works out, I think you know what I'd want you to do right after." Oberon doubted that the usual methods would work, but results were results. "I hope to hear from you soon."

"Who said you won't hear from me today?"

The call cut off then, Oberon switching from it. The grown halfa sighed again, leaning back into his chair.

The Makara's was always such pain to deal with. Especially that damned patriarch.

The secrets Feferi had to explain to Kanaya were certainly… numerous. And complicated.

When Feferi had finally been discharged after it was determined nothing was wrong with her in any way, they'd made sure to talk as much as possible that way there wasn't any gaps. And there turned out to be plenty of it that needed to be communicated properly.

That didn't mean that a lot of the concepts thrown at Kanaya weren't terrifying.

"This is somehow better, yet worse than I thought." Kanaya squeezed a stress ball she'd been carrying since they met up, and it was honestly on its last legs. Impressive, since the thing had been brand new this morning. "Are you sure you remember everything correctly? I don't doubt your honesty, but the brain can be a faulty thing sometimes."

"Trust me. I don't exactly want to believe anything that happened either." Feferi hadn't been 'conscious' per se, but she had been able to fight enough to remember it. Even if it meant realizing what had happened to her much sooner. "Karkat is something called a halfa, and Eridan is definitely human either. That fish ghost looked way too familiar to be a coincidence."

"All of this is completely beyond what I was expecting. Being dead was one thing, but the comic book life is another." Kanaya had been expecting it to be a possibility, but confirmation didn't make anything better. There was also another prevalent issue. "I do have to ask, but why didn't you say anything about the possession to the police? Or to Karkat?"

"There were too many people there for me to talk to him, and I figured it would be better to wait until the police were done talking. By the time they did, he was gone." Feferi sighed. That had been eating at her since, and it'd been several days after. "I didn't want to either get his identity thrown out there for everyone to see, or worse, get accused of something. Maybe it's a good thing too. There really isn't a good way to say I know his identity."

"We might have to tell him at some point, though. Even if it might end up upsetting him in the long run." Kanaya wasn't looking forward to that possibility either, especially since the investigation was her idea. She hadn't thought of the consequences of knowing the secret, much less dealing with the secretive party themselves. "I got you into this mess, so I'll let you decide on what to do here."

The two got quiet. The implications behind everything weighed down on them and it wasn't going to get any easier by doing nothing.

"Your mom did schedule that stuff for the daycare today, right?" Feferi had asked and the place was getting a security system in order to deal with ghosts. "It would probably be best to talk to him there. I can't help but guess he's trying to forget about what happened."

"True. We're not that far, so maybe we can catch him while he and his father are on break." Kanaya wasn't sure if they'd actually do this today, but it would be worth a shot. "If anything, it would be nice to check up on him. Make sure he isn't blaming himself."

"Doesn't that always happen to a superhero? Blaming themselves for everything?"

Kanaya had to pause, realizing that was true. What a strange world she lived in.

The day involving the waterpark wasn't his fault. Karkat had to repeat that a lot since the incident, otherwise Aradia would've beat it into him herself.

That didn't make him feel better about what happened.

Feferi had gone nearly an entire day under someone else's control, and somehow no one knew about it. He, the fucking halfa himself, didn't somehow realize it. Sure, possession is tricky and hard to detect, but that didn't make the guilt any easier.

That didn't even mention the fact he nearly killed Johnny and Kitty during their altercation. He at the very least wanted to, and Eridan had to see him go full on obsession-crazy too. He barely had any idea how he could keep him out of harm's way thanks to his dad, but if he had to keep him away from himself, that would lead to more issues.

Should he also keep anyone not directly involved with the ghost stuff at arm's length too? It didn't work for Feferi, so it would probably end up happening to Kanaya, to his dad, and probably anyone else he interacts with. He wouldn't turn Aradia and Sollux away since they were involved with this too, but that didn't mean they weren't invincible…

"Kid, you're about to drop another scanner."

Karkat snapped himself out of his thoughts, moving to grab the tilting device to set it right. Couldn't let that shit go sideways. Bronya and Rosa did want the place to have the best equipment possible.

"Are you alright, kid? You've been kind of out of it all day." Spades moved some of the other equipment around, making sure whatever they needed was put up front. "I get it if you're tired, but that does mean you should probably take a step back from this."

"What- no, I'm fine. I just need to catch up on some sleep after this." Karkat rubbed at his eyes, trying to hide the fact they were red. He wanted to get this system set up so that this place could be safe without him around. "Let's just get this up and running. Can't have any of the kids in danger."

"That's a nice goal, but shoddy workmanship tends to cause more problems. Seriously, take a nap in the car." Spades looked his son over before sighing, running a hand down his face. "This is about Peixes getting possessed, isn't it?"

"No!" Karkat realized that the instant denial wasn't doing anything to save face. Especially since it was a little too loud. "...Okay, maybe a little bit. It's nothing major, though. Just losing a bit of sleep over it."

"I get that. Possession is a scary ass thing, and I've only heard stories about it until now." Spades wasn't too great at trying to comfort other people, but he did do his best. "At the very least Feferi got out okay, right? Usually people get out a lot less lucky."

Karkat remembered the threat Kitty made about using Feferi's body for her own gains and felt something coil in him again. His obsession would still flare up, even if he rightly knew that Kitty was going to serve serious time for what she did.

"If it makes you- or hell, Feferi and Crocker feel any better, I'm making some new tech that might help prevent that. Crocker commissioned it right after the whole thing was over." Spades clapped his kid on the shoulder. It didn't make him stumble like it used to. "And she sure as hell doesn't blame you and your friends either. And trust me, she can hold grudges longer than anybody."

"Wanna bet?" Karkat snorted, thinking about how Dualscar wanted to literally murder his dad. It wasn't really funny, but God was it almost ironic. "Any idea how you're going to handle any other ghosts that show up?"

"No idea. At this point, I'm just following reports about that Phantom spirit." Spades grumbled as he got to thinking about that weird ghost running around. He wasn't sure what to make of anything involving that guy. "Ghost steals one of my inventions and uses it to parade a superhero. Not really sure how to feel about that."

...Yeah, double lives were weird. Hopefully his dad's investigations wouldn't lead to him getting shot, but Karkat wasn't sure how far his luck would hold.

"Hey, Karcrab!"

And it just ran out, didn't it?

The halfa did his best to ignore Spades' bewilderment and comments about fish puns being hereditary (which was just confusing) to turn and see Feferi and Kanaya heading his way. This was going to be interesting, especially with the amateur psychologist hanging around.

"Sorry if we happen to be interrupting, but we were hoping to talk to your son for just a second?" Kanaya pleaded in the most subtle way she could, even if it wasn't that subtle. "It won't take long, I assure you. Just need to go over some things."

Karkat mentally pleaded for his father to say no.

"Sure." Spades looked between all of them, having the rare amount of common sense to realize he probably shouldn't get involved in this too much. "As long as it doesn't take too long."

Dammit.

"If you two want any weapons in the future, feel free to ask!" Spades moved towards the building. He figured that they'd sort their differences soon enough, at least with some tough love. "I even got chainsaws if you think that'll work."

"I actually wouldn't mind having a chainsaw…" Kanaya mumbled before snapping out of that thought. No way in hell her mother would approve of her having that. "Never mind. I really do hope this isn't a bad time."

"I wouldn't call it that." No time was good right now, honestly, so Karkat figured getting it out of the way would be good. "You feeling alright Feferi? I didn't exactly get enough time to check, and I figured you'd need space after the whole thing."

"I'm fine, I guess." Feferi was a little scarred, but at least she knew that the situation was handled. At least, she knew Karkat handled it. That was probably going to be the first thing she asked if they were able to clear things up. "I wanted to know how everyone else was doing. I can't imagine a ghost shooting out of me was a fun thing to see."

"I think you're worrying about the wrong people here." Karakt laughed, but his eyes shifted away from theirs. "Seriously, do you think about yourself at all, or is it just everyone else?"

"Alright, can we all agree that what happened wasn't a fun experience for anybody." Kanaya probably shouldn't interject, but the cycle of blame and concern was going to become exhausting. "We actually have a few questions- well, a few things to talk about."

"If it's about how often possession happens, you don't need to worry about it. Dad said he might have a way to help prevent it from happening again." It still didn't feel like a solid assurance, but Karkat figured it was better than nothing. "I don't know how long it'll take, but it'll be fine."

"That's not it, but I guess that is really good news." Feferi made a note to grab one of those when they came out. "I'm talking more about what happened while I was under. I may remember a-"

HONK

The trio covered their ears instantly at the loud sound, eyes closing and nearly missing the cars that passed on by quickly. If they had the time to give a proper look, they would've noticed the strange looks of the trucks passing by, and the decorations it had.

"Jesus fuck, did they want to wake the whole neighborhood with that?" Karkat rubbed at his ears. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel like that hurt him more than it should. "Or are they just giving the hearing aid business a leg up?"

"I'm not sure, but they really need to slow down. I can't imagine that's very safe." Kanaya sighed, already mentally moving past it. "Now, if we could get back to the topic at hand-"

"Kid!" Spades called out from the daycare, sounding kind of frantic. "I might need some help in here!"

"Fuck. Dad probably almost dropped a vial of pure ectoplasm again." Karkat started running towards the building without a second thought, waving behind him. "We'll talk later! I need to make sure this place doesn't become quarantined!"

"Wait! We still need to talk about the- dammit!" Feferi stomped her foot as Karkat disappeared into the building. She figured they could follow him, but that would mean talking to him in front of too many prying eyes. "We had him right here, too!"

Kanaya ran a hand down her face. This was going to be harder than they thought.

"AA, I don't think this is the best thing we could be doing with our time."

"Sollux, I need to figure out if this is a cult or not, and you are going to help me."

Sollux and Aradia didn't exactly have a lot of time to go one-on-one with each other, but that was usually okay. But considering the recent events with the possession, they figured they'd need to give Karkat some space for today before checking on him. They were starting to get used to the hero complex, but that also meant letting it run its course.

"I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be a cult. I know our luck has been pretty bad, but even I think that's a bit out there." Sollux did take a moment to brush his hand across the tattoo on his neck. "We also aren't exactly ones to talk about cult shit."

"That's an actual religion, though! Remember, it's practiced by nearly every ghost we've met." Sure, Aradia knew it didn't have any actual gods, but that didn't mean people weren't doing some form of worship to it. "That Signless guy is pretty much a preacher that can't preach according to Terezi. Which would be funny if it wasn't a little sad."

"We really need to meet that guy. I wonder if he knows how to wright so we can figure out more about those 'gods." Sollux adjusted his glasses. He wasn't scared of the woods leading toward where those vehicles had gone, but it wasn't a pretty place either. "…You think we should've left Karakt alone today? He still seems upset about what happened."

"Karkat will never say what's wrong with him voluntarily. It's like pulling teeth. Remember when he had the flu one day but powered through it because he didn't want to be babied by Spades?" Aradia moved some brush out of the way, focusing on the task at hand. "Besides, he kinda had his heart broken. At least a little bit."

"I just feel like things are constantly getting worse." Sollux didn't exactly want to voice this, but he it was starting to spill out. "You think if the portal never turned on, there wouldn't be any of this shit happening?"

"Dualscar wouldn't happened no matter what, I think. Maybe he would've come later, but he still would've appeared." Aradia certainly believed that. In one way, it was a positive out of a sea of negatives. "What is this really about?"

"…Do you think he still doesn't blame us for what happened?"

"I don't think so. He's a forgiving guy for the most part." Except if you tried to murder someone, but hey, Aradia figured there would have to be a deal breaker somewhere. "It's not like he'd ever think it long either, if he ever does."

"…do you blame yourself?"

Aradia did pause at that, but it answered the question, even if she didn't. Sollux sighed, moving ahead without a second thought. He did too, but he was starting to regret bringing it up.

"Let's find that stupid cult. I think I hear music, actually." Sollux hummed to the tune that played on the wind, doing his best to hide his footsteps from the regular noise of the forest. "Maybe you were onto something after all."

It didn't take much longer to actually find what they were looking for. It wasn't a cult, per se, but they saw a bunch of circus tents set up across an open field, rides slowly being put up. It was a lot more gothic than most circuses than any fair Amity Park had ever had, but it was still obvious what it was supposed to be.

"Okay, not a cult, but a circus is close." Aradia didn't see any sings or logos, but she doubted it would be anything she'd recognize anyway. It wasn't like she followed circus routes like some people probably did. "Creepy as hell too. What do you think the clowns are like?"

"I don't think I'd want to meet them if this is how they present the place." Sollux scratched the back of his neck. The damn tattoo felt like it was burning, but he figured that was his imagination. "We should probably leave. It doesn't look like they're finished setting up."

"Aw, and it looked like you were enjoying yourselves already."

The two whirled around, searching for the voice as they reached for their weapons. Sollux felt especially threatened, while Aradia honestly felt a little excited for a fight right now. The only thing preventing them from shooting everything in sight was the fact no one was even nearby.

"Up here."

They looked up near the top of a truck, noting the lanky, and extremely relaxed, looking guy their age. He had some face paint on his face, smile carefree as he watched them both with a lazy kind of interest. The only reason they didn't think of him as a full-on clown was due to the black t-shirt and gray paints he wore.

The boy smiled down at them, bloodshot eyes moving from one to the other slowly.

"Well," He drawled out, chuckling all the while. "Isn't this a motherfucking surprise?"

I'm not going to complain about chapter quality anymore, otherwise I'm never going to be satisfied. It's good that it's finished, and that's all that matters.

I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next chapter! Remember to send me any ideas, fanart, or whatever else you made for this fic too!