"Sollux?" Called Karkat through the door, knocking on it.

Again, there was no answer, which is how it had been all morning. Karkat sighed, attributing it to Sollux's quirkiness as he felt he should. It just bothered him for some reason. How had Sollux known Aradia's name? Was it right to cover for him like that?

He was just about to make himself food and forget about all this when he got a call on his cell phone from Tavros.

"What do you want Nitram?" He asked, which was his typical way of answering the phone.

"How's your roommate doing?" Asked Tavros in his usual smug voice.

Karkat glanced at Sollux's closed door. "Hasn't talked to me or come out of his room since we got back to our hive from your stadium. Why?"

"Do you know what he did last night after the fight?"

"Umm. . .no. He just said he had to go to the bathroom. Otherwise he just followed me around. Why?"

"Well Aradia told me he came up to her, told her he knew her, and kissed her."

Karkat tensed. "He did what?"

"I called the authorities on him, so expect them sometime today. Did he say anything about having a history with touchups?"

A chill ran down Karkat's spine, but he forced his composure. "Yeah. He said he's had seven."

"Explains why he's such a nut. Thanks for humoring me Vantas. I hope they don't tear you up too much when they interrogate you. You looked pretty awful already last night."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "Whatever Nitram. Thanks for the heads up anyway."

"Yeah, yeah. Later, slut."

"Bye, nooksucker."

Karkat hung up the phone and walked out of the kitchen, suddenly not hungry. He hated the very idea of touchups, They were terrifying, and turned people into practical zombies. He went out of his way to avoid everything having to do with them and yet here he was caught in the middle of things. What a pain.

Sighing, he went to Sollux's door and knocked on it again.

"Hey Sollux, Nitram just called me saying he reported you. The authorities will come to take you in for a touchup sometime today. Just thought you'd want to know."

"What?" Came Sollux's voice, shrilly. "Oh no. Oh no no no, please. Please, Kk, don't let them in when they come. I can't take it another time, please."

Karkat felt a twinge of pain in his empty heart at Sollux's pleading voice, but he didn't bend to it. "Listen, you know I can't do that. They'd arrest me too. . .and that's the last thing I need on my record."

"And this is the last thing I need for my sanity. It's not going to last long, Kk. Soon they'll lock me up after I have my tenth. I can't handle that. Not in the state I'm in. Kk please. Please help me."

Karkat's hands clenched at his sides, recognizing, to his surprise, the nickname. "This will help you more than staving it off." He argued weakly, not believing his own words.

"Don't be so blind. It will only screw me up more. Don't do this, Kk. I considered you my best friend once."

Karkat clapped his hands over his ears and leaned against the wall. "No. I don't want to hear what we were. I already told you I wouldn't stand for it, I'm not that person anymore. Listen, I'm not your friend Sollux. I've barely spent any time with you, and I'm not risking a touchup for you. When they come, I'm not going to stop them." He sighed and matched back to the couch without another word, feeling guilt and frustration bubble inside him, which he fought to hold back.

The authorities were impatient for Karkat to answer the door. They barged in, all drones and white uniforms. Karkat obediently let them pass through and ID him, masking his guilt. This was what was best for Sollux, at least that's what he'd be taught to believe.

"You'll be coming with us." Said a female troll stiffly as she took his ID.

Karkat tensed. "Why? I haven't done anything."

"We need to question you to gain additional information the subject and ensure you are safe to release into the public after having direct contact with him. Do not worry. If it all checks out, you will be back before curfew. Of course, if you do not come willingly, we'll need to arrest you and take you by force."

Karkat nodded. "Right. . .just let me grab my jacket."

Inside the bedroom, Sollux burrowed under the blankets. He could hear them knocking on the door, pushing through his makeshift barracade. Them getting in was inevitable. Karkat wasn't any help. Sollux couldn't say he was angry at him for it, in fact he understood. Touchups were terrifying.

The barricade broke and Sollux struggled as he was dragged from the safety of his burrow. They held him down as they extracted yellow blood and administered the first of the drugs. He was helpless against their white-sleeved arms. His mind became cloudy, his body weak. They laid him out on a stretcher, and strapped him into it before toting him out.

Karkat managed to get a peak into Sollux's room, but the images on the walls made his head hurt and he turned away.

He followed the procession out of the apartment, to the white truck in which they'd come. He felt his stomach drop as they loaded a heavily drugged Sollux into the back section, and opened the door to the back seat for Karkat.

"Hurry up." Complained one of the troll when he hesitated.

Karkat forced himself to look away from Sollux, then got into the truck.

0o0o0o0o

"So how long have you known Sollux Captor?" asked the bored, portly troll sitting across form Karkat.

Karkat shook his wrist, which was handcuffed to the table. "Since I moved in with him a couple weeks ago."

"And what brought you to the Public Hive Division?"

Karkat shrugged. "Kept getting into trouble here and there. Got caught after curfew a few times. They kicked me out of the dump I was living in before. Bad luck."

"And you have a history with trouble?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

The interrogator nodded thoughtfully. "While living with Sollux, did you notice any strange behavior?"

"Yeah, a lot actually. He knew my name and age, would stare at the static on the TV, and he kept talking about this game called Sburb."

The interrogator's face fell at the mention of the last word. "Did it trigger any memories?"

"No." Said Karkat simply.

"Did you ever go in his bedroom?"

"He never let me in."

"Did you ever see inside?"

"For a minute, yeah, right before we left."

"Did that trigger anything?"

"Not really. . .just gave me a headache."

"Did he claim to have a relationship of any kind with you?"

"He said we used to be best friends."

The interrogator nodded. "I think it would be unwise for you to continue staying with Sollux. Do you have anyone else you can stay with? A moirail perhaps?"

Karkat sighed, self-consciously rubbing the hickeys on his neck. "I have my kismesis."

"That will do."

"Yeah. . .I've lived with her and her matesprit before. She would agree to it." He said flatly, though he disliked the idea. Living with them had been hell. He quietly wondered if risking the touchup or prison would be so bad, but he knew they wouldn't give him that option first.

"Here." the interrogator handed him a plain silver cell phone. "Ask her. All she would need to do it sign the consent forms. You and her matesprit would need to do the same."

"Can't I just move in?"

"It's government ordered. Because you have been so exposed, we need someone to hold custody over you until you've proven to be stable and a fuctioning member of our society.

Karkat groaned internally. Nitram was gonna pay for dragging him into this.

"Alright." He said, and dialed Terezi's number.

"Yeah?" Came Terezi's voice through the phone.

"Hey snot-face, I need a favor." Answered Karkat flatly, and the interrogator flashed him a look.

Terezi chuckled. "Well now if it isn't my little slut calling from a government number. What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time?"

"Surprisingly it wasn't me. Nitram reported my nutcase roommate, and they took me in for questioning. Now I have to move. . .and they need someone to hold custody of me until I'm proven stable enough to support myself and not gain memory back."

This made Terezi laugh. "Ohhh, I always knew you'd come crawling back to me someday Vantas. Listen, I'll be nice and say yes, because rubbing this in your face is going to be way too much fun, but I have some conditions."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Well first, you have to admit that I'm right, and also you have to follow all my rules, no matter how ridiculous. That includes consenting whenever I'm in the mood, and letting Kanaya feed on you at least once a week."

"But. . ."

"Do you want a roof over your head or not? I don't think they'd give you that much freedom in prison."

Karkat tensed. "Fine. You're right. You're all I have."

"Good boy. Do I need to sign anything?"

"Just a consent form. Kanaya needs to sign it too. . .if she even can. I'll bring them to you."

"Fine. See you soon, baby. It will be nice to have a punching bad at my own home again."

0o0o0o0o0

Karkat was driven home with a bag of drugs in his lap. They weren't for him, but for Sollux, who was riding in the back, half conscious, doomed to be forcibly medicated and closely supervised. Nurses helped Sollux out of the van, into their apartment, and into bed. Karkat noticed that the walls were scrubbed clean of the graffiti that had been there before.

He waited until they were gone before settling on the couch. Soon this mess would be over. Soon. . .he'd be Terezi's blackrom sex slave again. He sighed, convincing himself that if he could do it once, he could survive a few more week of it. Finally he stood, got himself a snack, and went to bed himself.