Your name is Sollux Captor, and you are feeling very left out. Which is ironic, because being "out" is probably the best thing to happen to you in recent memory. You're currently sitting on the shore of a small cove, secluded from unfriendly eyes, and watching your companions enjoy themselves. You knew Feferi would be drawn to the water, but even Eridan, who swims less than any sea-troll you've ever heard of, is relishing the water.
You've spent your entire life inside, in the middle of a city far away from any seadweller, a conscious decision made as a wiggler, so you know absolutely nothing about swimming. Back on Alternia you kept your distance from anybody who would want to make use of you for your psionics, and you know doing anything else would be completely idiotic. Still, when you see your matesprit in the water enjoying herself for the first time in months, you wish you had learned to swim.
After a while you grow tired of waiting around for the two of them to come out of the water, so you wander further back into the cove. You chose to spend time here when it became apparent that the place didn't see a lot of people, but you haven't fully explored the area. Feferi was so excited to be near an ocean again that you didn't have the heart to delay her. But since you can't swim, you figure you might as well make yourself useful.
The cove itself is pretty open. The whole area is shaped like a bowl, with steep cliffs forming a wall around the outside, so that you had to levitate in. The back of the cove is covered by a sparse stretch of sandy beach, and the sides are filled with tide pools. The only interesting thing to note in the cove is a small cave set at the back of the beach. The only thing that needed checking in the area, and you didn't do so because your matesprit wanted to swim. Love has made you a fucking idiot. And for some odd reason you're not completely against this.
The cave looks very unassuming, but you know it's best to make sure everything is safe before somebody gets killed. Though you have to admit since coming to earth the number of voices you've heard has been far less than what you heard back on Alternia. It's a nice change of pace.
It's okay Sollux, this isn't your fault.
Aradia's voice flashes through your mind suddenly, and you shake your head in a pointless effort to forget. It's always been your curse to hear the voices of the imminently deceased. But the curse of having your dead ex-girlfriend's voice playing in your head two seconds before you vaporized her is relatively recent. It started happening approximately two seconds before you vaporized her. Her voice has been stuck playing in your head like a shitty web ad you can't turn off ever since. And unfortunately you can't hack your brain to deal with things like you did with your old husktop.
You really fucking miss computers.
You haven't been able to use a computer in close to a sweep by now; not counting the ship computer you let Karkat wire you into. And without a keyboard beneath your fingertips you are incomplete.
That doesn't make it any less terrible when you walk around a corner in the cave and find a room full of computers.
You look around the room in alarm, seeing nobody around, but you know this many computers wouldn't be around if something big wasn't going on in here. And anything big on this planet involves a shitload of humans.
Your curiosity gets the better of you though, and you decide to look around the room since there's no sign of people at the moment. Most of the screens are filled with a spirograph pattern, and tapping a few buttons doesn't change anything. You decide to focus on computers with information already available.
The most eye-catching thing in the room is a series of monitors on the far wall, with a human displayed on each. The humans are only children, barely past the larval stage. Or was it babies? Who cares, humans are fucked up no matter what you call them. These humans seem to be more fucked up than most though. There's a long list of statistics cycling along to the right of each human, each listing a way they have been tampered with, and the effect this has led to. Aerokinesis, precognition, intangibility, soul destruction… these humans have more fucked up powers than you do.
You decide to probe deeper into these altered humans, and start tampering with the computer their monitors are attached to. This computer is tough to crack into, even for you, but there's never been a firewall you couldn't snuff out. After about forty seconds you're in. That's definitely longer than most security systems take you to destroy. These humans aren't as hopeless as you thought. Two out of ten.
The next file readily available is a duo of strange creatures, one lithe and angry looking, the other looking like a strange mix of human and wolf. Both have pale white eyes and are pitch black in color. These appear to be the previous experiments before the humans. One is called Spades, the other Jack. Pretty stupid names, as far as you're concerned.
After the two… things, the next file is for a pure white barkbeast, one that reminds you of the lusus back on Alternia. It seems to have teleportation capabilities, but was deemed a failure due to being dangerously radioactive.
There is one thing these creatures all have in common. They are completely beyond the means of human beings as far as creation is concerned. You have seen human technology. It's shit. Creating creatures with power like this is something far beyond what even trolls can accomplish. There is clearly a source for all of this, and you are sure that source is not on earth. You need to be doubly sure though.
You start to dig deeper and deeper into the computer's files, past thousands of experiments, most barely able to survive a few minutes. The computer is filled with enough freak shows to start a carnival so messed up it would make Gamzee scream. But at the same time, the further back you go, the more it seems like you recognize these creatures. This one has heterochromia like you, this one has giant pincers, this one… is a shapeless blob, but the next one has long curly horns that remind you of something you don't want to think about.
Finally you strike gold. The source of all of the familiarity. You have found an alternian ship hidden in the depths of this shitty human computer. And this alternian ship was carrying a biologist's wet dream. You have found the fucking mother lode. And the mother lode seems to be indicating that you and your friends are in far deeper shit than you ever imagined. You need to report this to Feferi.
You turn away from the computer, and come face to face with the barrel of a gun.
"Well met, lad. Now put your hands above your bloody head before I make your head bloody."
Your name is Feferi Peixes, and it's been ages since you felt this alive. You haven't known the feeling of being submerged in water in ages, and now that you're here, you're not sure you ever want to leave. Even Eridan has decided to join you, though you think that may be partly so that he can leave Sollux alone on the beach. Eridan has some very strange ideas about kismesissitude sometimes. But he seems content with his strategies, so you figure this is something you shouldn't pry into.
"Man, I wish seahorse dad was here for this." Eridan says with a grin as he swims along beside you. You'd never know looking at him now that he spends his time out of the water; his form is impeccable. "I mean, this ocean is pretty glubbing polluted compared to Alternia, but it'd be nice to swim with my lusus all the same. Don't you think so, Fef?"
You look at him with a grin. "Shell yeah! It'd be great to have your lusus here!"
Eridan rolls his eyes. "Well duh, of course seahorse dad would be great to have here, he's pretty much the best lusus ever. But I did kinda mean that we should both have our lusus along for this."
Oh.
"Yeah, that'd sure be great!" You grin as widely as possible. "Too bad it can't happen. Oh well, let's just focus on making the most of this."
Eridan stares at you for several seconds, eyes narrowed, and you realize that you won't be able to change the subject that easily now that he's taking your moirallegiance so seriously. "Fef. Talk to me." He says with a frown.
"Nothing to talk about."
"You said sure just now instead of shore. You wouldn't miss such an obvious pun unless something was bothering you. Do you miss your lusus that much?" Eridan is clearly far better at pale relationships than you realized, he is completely on to you.
"Yes, that's it, I definitely just miss Gl'bgolyb a whole lot and wonder how she's doing back on Alternia." You sniffle a bit for show, and look into the water and pray he accepts this as the reason behind your attitude.
You hear the water moving as Eridan swims lazily around you, moving in a circle as he examines you from all angles. "You know, there's something that I've been wondering about. How is it that Gl'bgolyb is all right alone back on Alternia? After all, I'm not there to kill things for her, and you're not there to comfort her. She should probably have become upset by now, don't you think?"
He's on to you. "Don't be silly Eridan, I told you all before we left that I had the situation with Gl'bgolyb well under control! I wouldn't let the vast glub happen so easily!" You laugh and start to swim away.
Eridan's hand catches your arm immediately, and while you're far stronger than him, his grip seems to freeze you in your tracks. He stares sharply into your eyes, and you can feel his gaze boring into you. "How?"
"What?"
"How did you stop the vast glub?"
"I… I asked her not to glub while I'm away…" It's feeble, and you know it. But you don't want to tell anybody about your actions back on Alternia, not even to Eridan.
Eridan will not be deterred however. "Gl'bgolyb wouldn't stay quiet just because you asked her. All she cares about is eating. And with us here her meal ticket is gone. She'd freak the fuck out." Eridan is being very perceptive and you want him to stop.
He doesn't.
"Slow poison, I'm guessing."
"What did you just say?"
"Slow acting poison. It's the only way I can think of to kill Gl'bgolyb without upsetting her and unleashing a mass genocide. A slow toxin would take effect gradually, until she'd be too weak to speak. Then, she'd die quietly."
"How could you possibly-"
Eridan scoffs at you. "Please, Feferi, I take your security very seriously. Do you think I wouldn't have a plan for the monster lusus that you share with the most sadistic bitch in the universe?"
You sigh, letting yourself sink down to the bottom of the cove, where you sit on the sand. Eridan trails after you, dropping in front of you and staring you right in the eyes. "You did what you had to, Fef."
"No, I didn't." You've tried using that excuse on yourself before. It failed miserably though, because you clearly didn't have to do what you did. "I could have just stayed back on Alternia, and let you all leave. I didn't have to kill my mother, but I just wanted to get away from it all so badly!"
"If you stayed, The Condesce would have killed you. You did what you needed to do to survive." Eridan paps you a few times and stands up on the seafloor. "Now then, let's get back up to the surface before Sol thinks we've run off on him." A smirk creeps across his face. "Then again, it could be alright to stay down here for a while longer, just to make him sweat."
You smile at this. "Eridan, I'm not just going to flounder around down here to help you flirt with your fishmesis. Let's go, I feel much beta now."
"Really? Because the school of fish-puns didn't tip me off at all!" Eridan grins and follows you to the surface. You find yourself thinking how lucky you are that you have a moirail like Eridan, even if he only started helping you recently. And you still can't shake that feeling of guilt. But you do feel better now, and that's what matters.
You reach the surface and look around for a moment in confusion. "Where's Sollux?" you ask Eridan as he breaches the surface. He seems to be as confused as you are.
Suddenly the back of the cove explodes. You turn to see rocks flying through the air, with Sollux in the middle of it all. Three humans are running for cover away from the mess. You rush for the beach and narrowly avoid a chunk of rock nearly twice your size. You look and see the humans hiding behind another rock. They appear to be arguing amongst each other.
"This is why I tell you two not to use guns as a solution for everything!" The speaker is a girl, and she is arguing with the others, who appear to be looking rather ashamed of themselves. "You don't just introduce yourself by sticking a gun in somebody's face and telling them to surrender to your fucking machismo! There's a time and place for a simple 'good morning!' and you never seem to be aware of it!"
The other two humans are both male, one wearing shorts and a green jacket, the other dressed up in simple gear with a bushy moustache. Both are armed, but they seem to be no match for the girl, who has a rifle on her back but doesn't seem to deem it necessary for dealing with her cohorts.
"What the glubbing fuck is going on here!" Eridan yells out as he dodges another rock. "Why is Captor going insane again?"
The girl turns to you two and gasps in shock. "Oh geez, you're friends of his, aren't you? I am so sorry about this, it's a complete misunderstanding, my family just completely acted out of line."
"Jade dear, it is hardly out of line for a man to stand his ground against foreign invaders." The older man protests, but Jade turns back to him and gives him a withering glare that silences him immediately. You think you like Jade.
You stand up and walk out into the maelstrom. Eridan curses and tries to follow you, but has to retreat as another boulder flies at him. A small rock flies at your head, but you draw out your double-ended trident and smash it easily. "Sollux! Get it together before you get us all killed." You roar up at him, but the rush of air caused by so many flying rocks drowns you out.
You decide you've had quite enough of this, and swat a rock through the air. It flies up and hits Sollux directly in the temple. The rocks crash to the ground, and Sollux drifts slowly to the ground, cursing and grabbing his head.
"FF, what the hell? I wasn't going to hit you." Sollux lands on the ground and stumbles around in a daze. He falls to the ground in a heap.
"That's a bunch of bullshit, you nearly took my head off." Eridan spits out as he walks forward, "and you dropped a rock on my cape." He gestures behind him at the corner of his cape sticking out from under a rock, where he left it to go swimming. Sollux snickers at that.
Suddenly Jade bursts into the middle of your group. "Hello everyone, is your friend okay?"
"No I'm not okay, I nearly got my head taken off!" Eridan hisses.
"I was talking about the one who got hit by a rock, jackass." Jade deadpans back at him. She turns to Sollux. "I am so sorry about your head, my grandpa likes to act rashly, and thinks with his gun, but I swear he's not a bad person!"
"He threatened to blow my head off." Sollux says with a wince, as he continues to rub his head. You're starting to feel bad about the rock. "That is not good person behavior."
"You were trespassing and intruding into my bloody computer!" The older man protests as he approaches.
"Shut up grandpa!"
"How dare you take that tone of voice with your grandfather, I raised a better girl than that! Jake, did I raise her to act like that?"
"Grandpa, I am staying out of this one." The younger man adjusts his collar and clears his throat nervously. "Jade has bally well made her point."
Jade takes their distraction as an opportunity to lead you all inside. "You guys are going to stay the night, it's the least I can do for all the trouble. We have all kinds of seafood and game, I shot some of them myself!"
Oh yes. You definitely like Jade.
Notes:
Well, here we see the beginning of the explanation as to why the humans have their powers. As well as an explanation as to how Feferi managed to leave Alternia without upsetting her Lusus. She's dead! =D
Feferi is a rather interesting character in that she has the weight of the world thrust upon her as soon as she's born. She has so many responsibilities she needs to live up to, as the only person capable of fixing the damage her ancestor's done, and while she tries to take it in stride, it's apparent from the start that she doesn't really know what she's getting into. She seems to be aware of this herself on some level, but it's hard to say for sure because Hussie killed her off. His priorities are terrible.