(Vriska) stands in the middle of the server room for the Rebellion's caverns. Her legs have finally healed enough that Kanaya will allow her to walk, though she still has a splint on her ankle, and her right arm's still in a sling. She's eating a piece of toast.
She's standing in front of a fenestrated plane, jury-rigged with a variety of cables to a fuse box. Kanaya stands off to the side with Vriska, holding Rose's message. Sollux is by the far wall, standing next to a comically oversized lever.
It's 4:09 am, nearly 4 days and 13 hours since Sollux pointed out that it would be. (Vriska) has been up since 10 am yesterday. She's tired, but there's no way she'll show it.
Vriska yawns and stretches. She complained earlier that "The only reason I'm Awake is 8ecause Mom made a Giant Ruckus!" but refused to return to the flat.
Kanaya looks at (Vriska). "You Understand How Risky This Excursion Is Correct"
(Vriska) shoves the last of the toast in her mouth. "Yeah, yeah, I get it."
"It Is A Matter Of Life Or Death Not Of Apathy"
"Relax. I'm god-tier, remem8er? And dying this way would 8e really stupid."
"You Might Be Permanently Stranded In The Furthest Ring If Something Went Wrong"
"I have faith in Rose's predictions and in Sollux and Roxy's calcul8ions."
"As They Made Abundantly Clear This Is A One Way Trip" Kanaya makes eye contact with (Vriska). "Are You Still Sure You Want To Go Through With It"
(Vriska) inhales and exhales slowly before responding. "Yes. I'm certain."
She's going home. She's not going to mess this up.
Kanaya places a gentle hand on (Vriska's) shoulder. "You Really Do Love Her Dont You"
(Vriska) frowns. "No. I me8n, w8. Like, wh8t do you ev8n m8an? W8're moir8ils. 8ctually, not ev8n th8t 8nymore. I don't n8ed some ult8rior m8tive or 8nything. What 8re you try8ng to 8mply?"
Kanaya chuckles. "Oh Nothing"
The side of (Vriska's) mouth quirks up. She pulls out her phone. "Here. You guys oughta hang onto this. I mean, it's the only proven means of communic8ion 8etween timelines."
Kanaya accepts the phone, then takes Rose's old wedding ring out of her pocket. "I Have A Feeling That The Other Rose Needs This More Than I Do"
(Vriska) pockets the ring with a smile. Kanaya pulls her into a semi-unwilling hug. Once released, she's become significantly more willing to leave this stupid candy-crust planet.
Vriska steps over. "Hey, Dum8axe. It was Nice to finally Meet me."
"Me too. I'll miss me. Honourary Scourge Sister?"
Vriska carefully wraps her arm around her ancestor. "Honourary Scourge Sister."
Last of all, (Vriska) turns to Sollux. "You sure you don't want to come with?"
"i'm sure. i c0uld stand t0 remain irrelevant f0r a while l0nger." Sollux hesitates. "plus, i feel like aradia's g0t her 0wn plan t0 get me 0ut 0f here."
(Vriska) grins. She gives Sollux a fistbump, then hobbles to the fenestrated plane.
"Remember" says Kanaya, "You Need To Enter As Soon As I Give The Order"
She addresses Sollux. "And You Need To Pull The Switch At The Same Time"
Sollux sighs. "i get it. n0w let's get this schist 0ver with."
Kanaya stares intently at her phone for what feels like half an hour but is probably only half a minute.
(Vriska) steels herself. She's going home. She's going home. No need to be afraid.
"Now"
Sollux flips the switch. A bolt of electricity surges into the plane with a loud snap. The lights in the room short out. Vriska flinches.
"See ya, forkers!"
(Vriska) blows a kiss and raises her middle finger as she leaps through the plane.
She's going home.
The sound of shattering glass echoes through the corridors of Dirk's former spaceship. Roxy hears the noise from the bridge and immediately knows what caused it. He darts to the storage room and unlocks the door.
"vriska!"
(Vriska) is… no, she's just Vriska now. Vriska is lying on the floor, brushing glass fragments out of her hair. Though the rough landing aggravated her half-healed injuries, she's grinning like a maniac. She's home.
Roxy extends a hand and helps her up.
"Roxy, you 8rilliant son of a 8irch…"
The rogue and the thief bro-hug. Vriska winces; Roxy's not gentle.
"Where is every8ody?" she asks.
"im right here!" Jade answers, having teleported behind Roxy half a second ago. Vriska and Roxy both jump. "i think everyone else is in the kitchen"
"then lets head over rn" Roxy starts to walk away.
"wait this ways quicker!" says Jade. She takes Roxy and Vriska by the arms. The world blurs for a second; then the three materialise in the nutritionblock.
Vriska suppresses the bile rising in her throat. She makes a mental note to never let Jade teleport her anywhere ever again.
Karkat and Kanaya have just finished an arm-wrestling match, in which the latter is victorious. (Given prior knowledge, Vriska assumes that the match only just began, too.) Rose and Dave sit at the other end of the table, reading and listening to music respectively. Terezi's nowhere to be seen. Vriska doesn't dwell on it; in fact, she's almost grateful that she doesn't have to face her yet.
Everybody looks up when Roxy, Jade, and Vriska make their presence known. Kanaya's face shifts from surprise to excitement. Given that it's Kanaya, the change isn't very noticeable.
"Well Look Who Finally Decided To Drop In" she says. She stands up, and the two trolls hug it out.
"I'm staying for good, haven't you heard?"
"I Have But Its Nicer To Hear It From You In Person"
"Good to know you're still a sentimental fool. A young fool, but a fool nevertheless."
"That Was An Extremely Strange Sentiment About Fools"
Rose sets down her book and walks over. "Kanaya may be a fool, but she's my fool."
Vriska smirks. "Good to see you too, Lalonde. Hey, word of warning, don't ever adopt a descendant of me, 8ecause that'll 8e awkward for everyone in your friend group."
"I know, since I've seen all the possible ramifications of that decision."
"Ahhhhhhhh, right, Ultimate Self weirdness." Vriska groans inwardly. She can feel a rant coming on.
"You will almost certainly get there at some point. It is a fate which befalls all god-tier players after many years pass, but it strikes some much more rapidly than others. It depends on your classpect, I believe, though I have yet to-"
"Oh, w8, I have something for you," Vriska interrupts, thankful that she has a reason to stop Rose's endless torrent of exposition. She fishes the wedding ring out of her pocket and presents it to her. "The other Kanaya said you needed this more than she did."
A taken aback Rose accepts the ring and slides it onto her finger. All she can do for several seconds is stare at it.
"We, we scoured this spacecraft for days, looking for this ring, but we couldn't find it. I-I fear that Dirk may have destroyed the original, or perhaps, maybe he had it captchalogued when I threw his corpse from the ship. Regardless, I… well, it's just that, uh…"
Kanaya lays a hand on her shoulder. "She Means To Say Thank You" she finishes. Rose nods in agreement.
Vriska shrugs, feeling almost sheepish. "No pro8lem."
Dave gives a wry grin. He holds out his fist for a fistbump. "i havent seen rose look so caught off guard since john admitted that he used to have a crush on her"
Vriska leaves him hanging. "W8, really? I teased him a8out that a couple times, 8ut I didn't think-"
"its true!" Jade confirms. "he never told me but i put two and two together :)"
"Let's not gossip overmuch about the dead," Rose says, waving her hands to dispel the conversation.
Vriska nods. Despite her best efforts, she's still fixating on the absence of Terezi. She's torn between her anxiety about finally facing her and her longing to be reunited with her.
"Where's Terezi?" she asks.
Dave shrugs. "i havent seen her since three days ago" He smiles to himself. "we chucked her in the pool"
Roxy grins. "good times"
"She Hasnt Left Her Block Much Over The Past Four Weeks And We Are Concerned About Her Wellbeing" adds Kanaya.
Roxy raises his eyebrows. "might b cuz u didnt nebtion that u were stil lalive"
Vriska suddenly finds her shoelaces enthralling. "Oh, I completely forgot a8out that."
"take it up w terexi not w us"
"Very well then! I shall 8arge in and apologise!" Vriska heads to the door.
Karkat stands up. "WHAT, YOU'RE NOT EVEN GONNA GIVE ME THE MOST PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE HELLO YOU CAN POSSIBLY FORKING MANAGE BEFORE YOU DASH OFF TO GREET YOUR FLUSHED CRUSH? THAT'S A NEW LOW, EVEN FOR YOU!"
"Ah, yes, I knew I was forgetting something. Hello, Shouty McNu8s. Now kindly fork off."
"I HATE YOU." Karkat looks and sounds even more annoyed than he normally does.
"Noooooooo you don't. You secretly har8our powerful pale feelings for every single one of us. You're just too damp shy to admit it. 8ut I can see through you, you whorail. We ALL can!"
"GOD DAMPIT VRISKA, I WISH YOU HAD PERISHED IN THE BLACK AXEHOLE THAT VORED LORD ENGLISH TO DEATH AND DUMPED OUT ALL THE SCHIST THAT REMAINED ON THAT LOAD GAPER OF A PLANET WHERE YOU ENDED UP."
Vriska rolls her eyes and ignores his continuing cascade of inventive imprecations. She limps out of the block and down the corridor, looking for Terezi's respiteblock.
After a couple minutes, she comes across a door that's covered with chalk scribbles. A crude cartoon dragon with green and red scales roars out a speech bubble that reads, "PL34S3 KNOCK". So Vriska raises her fist to knock.
But she doesn't. She feels torn. She's finally home, after all this time, one step away from her Scourge Sister… but should she be here? Does she deserve it? Shouldn't she just send herself back out into the void, to stop others from getting hurt?
Well, she's here now, she tells herself. She might as well make the most of it.
Vriska still can't bring herself to knock. Her fist hovers half a foot from the door. It's so tempting, and yet so terrifying? What, is she afraid?
No, she's not afraid of anything!
Vriska raps on the door thrice. An agonisingly silent second passes, then a voice comes from inside.
"WH4DDY4 W4NT"
Vriska finds herself in need of a reevaluation of her previous claim. She freezes.
After a moment passes, the door opens on an eyesore of a room that is unmistakably Terezi's. Vriska can't analyse it properly, because her eyes are drawn to the astonished troll standing stock-still just past the threshold.
Terezi's face slowly spreads into a wide grin. She practically launches herself at Vriska, wrapping her in the glomp to end all glomps. Vriska stumbles into the far wall from the force of the tacklepounce. Her broken bones are screaming at her, but she doesn't care.
"YOUR3 B4CK!"
Vriska nods and puts her unbroken arm around her. She's not sure if she's tearing up because she's finally home or because her ribcage is being crushed.
Terezi finally puts her feet back on the ground and releases her. Vriska's legs feel like wet paper. All they can do is stare at each other, suppressing either laughter or sobs. She doesn't know which. For all she knows, it could be both.
Vriska's legs give way after a minute. She crumples sideways. Terezi grabs for her but misses.
"OH FORK, 1M SORRY" Terezi helps her to her feet. Vriska is barely able to stand. "H3R3, L3TS G3T YOU 1NS1D3 SO YOU C4N S1T DOWN"
"Thanks. My legs feel like they're a8out to fall off."
Vriska puts her arm around Terezi's shoulders, and together, they make their way into her room.
It's a right mess inside. The floor is strewn with dirty laundry, including a pair of glittering red shoes. Chalk and saliva stain the walls in saturated colours. A fuzzy blanket lies half on the ground, half on the small human cocoon. A wallet is somehow stuck to the side of the dresser. The atmosphere is reminiscent of that of Terezi's old treehive home. It feels familiar and comforting, despite being so lurid.
They sit shoulder to shoulder on Terezi's cocoon, their feet dangling inches above the floor. They don't talk for a good long while; they just enjoy each other's presence. It feels so nice to not be alone.
Sometimes, the best way to spend time with someone is to ignore each other in the same room. But every time that Vriska glances at Terezi, she finds that she's looking right back at her.
After spending several minutes inside her own confused head, she finds the need to talk, to at the very least apologise for not calling or texting.
"Listen," she begins, "I'm sorry a8out not letting you know I was still alive."
Terezi smiles warmly. "1 DONT C4R3. 1M JUST SO GL4D YOUR3 H3R3"
"Y-you don't have to pretend you're not ir8 with me."
"1M NOT M4D. 1 W4S JUST WORR13D S1CK 4ND 1 COULDNT B34R TO C4LL TO F1ND OUT. SO 1TS R34LLY 4S MUCH MY F4ULT 4S YOURS"
Terezi slouches a bit and exhales. She puts an arm around her back. Vriska shies from her touch without thinking about it, but relaxes.
She still worries that she shouldn't be here, and she decides to explain why.
"And….. I'm sorry for 8eing so schisty to you, and to pretty much every8ody, 8ut mostly you. I think I've hurt you more than any8ody, which is REALLY s8ying something! I'm not the, I'm not the friend y8u deserve. You deserve so much 8etter than me. I, I, I sh8uld have st8yed 8ehind, I shouldn't h8ve come 8ack, I should h8ve let you 8e. With8ut me. 8ecause, 8ec8use….." She sniffles. "I'm a 8ad pers8n. Y-you d8n't need me….."
With that, a valve inside her gives out, and Vriska breaks down into tears. Terezi holds her close, comforts her, gives her somebody to lean on. It feels better, having her there. She's so lucky to have a friend like her.
When Vriska's sobs subside, Terezi pushes her away and holds her at arm's length. She stares deep into her eyes, even through her shades.
"VR1SK4, 1 DONT HON3STLY G1V3 4 SCH1ST. 1 KNOW TH4T 1 COULD DO B3TT3R TH4N YOU. 1T 4LMOST GO3S W1THOUT S4Y1NG. BUT 1 DONT FORK1NG C4R3. 1 DONT W4NT P3RF3CT1ON, 1 W4NT YOU"
Vriska smiles despite herself. Actually, she's not sure what it's in spite of. Her thinkpan is still a jumbled mess. "T-th8nks," she manages.
"SHUT UP. 1M NOT DON3. 1 N33D YOU, 4ND 1 KNOW YOU N33D M3 TOO. 1 S34RCH3D FOR YOU B3C4US3 1 M1SS3D YOU, 4ND YOU C4M3 B4CK B3C4US3 YOU M1SS3D M3. BUT…" Terezi lets out a chuckle. "NOW YOUR3 HOM3. 4ND TH3R3S NO W4Y 1N H3LL TH4T 1M L3TT1NG YOU G3T 4W4Y FROM M3 4G41N"
Vriska tries to respond, though she doesn't know what she needs to say. But all of a sudden, Terezi's kissing her, and Vriska is bewildered at first but something finally clicks in her mind, and now she's kissing her back and she's pulled her as close as she can and Terezi's hands are in her hair and her nails are digging into her scalp and Vriska's head is throbbing in time with the rapid beat of her heart but she doesn't care. She doesn't care about anything else.
They stop to catch their breath. Terezi's cheeks are bright teal, and Vriska's own face feels flushed, but neither of them can stop grinning. They feel so at peace all of a sudden. A tension is gone that they didn't know was there. Terezi rests her chin on her shoulder and leans into her. Vriska holds her in the way that a starving man would hang onto his last bit of bread. She doesn't want to let go. Not now. Not again. Not ever.
Terezi rights herself after a long, comforting minute. She moves her thumb to Vriska's face and wipes away a stray tear.
Vriska can't stop staring at her. She can't believe she's never noticed how freaking cute Terezi is. That alone is just about enough to make everything worthwhile. She feels an overwhelming urge to kiss her again. In fact, she's about to do so when she breaks into a giant yawn. Terezi snickers. "WH4T, 4R3 YOU T1R3D 4LR34DY? 1TS ONLY 31GHT PM"
Vriska rubs her eyes. "Yeah, 8ut it was 4 am when I left. I've 8een up for like 18 hours."
Terezi nods. "WHY DONT YOU G3T SOM3 R3ST TH3N?"
"Kanaya? Is that you?"
"L13 DOWN 1D1OT" Terezi shoves her sideways so that she topples onto the cocoon.
Vriska props herself up on her elbow and gives her an amused look. "Wow, moving quickly, are we?"
Terezi shakes her head in disapproval, trying and failing to disguise her giggles. "SHUT UP 4ND SCOOCH OV3R"
With an effort, Vriska swings her feet onto the cocoon. They feel leaden. She's so freaking tired, but she's home now. She can finally rest.
Terezi kicks off her Crocs and lies down next to her. Vriska can hardly keep her eyes open, but she still manages to lean over and give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.
It's so comforting, just being there with her, knowing it's all over, knowing that she can relax and let her mind drift off as she sinks into exhaustion…
"YOU KNOW, YOUR3 4 MUCH B3TT3R K1SS3R TH4N JOHN" Terezi muses.
Vriska is pleasantly surprised by this information. "Oh thank God!"
They both burst out laughing.
For the first time in what seems like forever, Vriska feels whole inside. Not even that; her heart feels full nearly to bursting. It's the best feeling she's ever had.
After all, what better feeling is there than being in love with your best friend?
TH3 3ND
Beep beep, long A/N coming through!
This fic has been a ride. A simple idea based off a miscomprehension of the Epilogues grew into this big alternate universe. It's awesome that this happened, but, like, I cannot write up a 48-player session without help. It can't be done.
Well, I don't know anyone else into Homestuck, so I'll ask you guys for help! Please, help! Shoot me a PM or a message on Tumblr (same username) if you're interested!
I do have a little follow-up epilogue or three that I want to share, but I'm not going to do that here, because it would be image-based and hyperlinks don't work on FFN. So, if you wanna see a postscript (and some minor edits to correct chronology issues), please check out this fic on Archive of Our Own!
Thanks for reading, and I wish you only the best!