As Gamzee opened his eyes and they adjusted to the darkness, he saw everyone. All of his friends and the people that he loved, they were all there, having a party and being happy, and as he scans the room with his smile growing, he sees Karkat's body on the ground. He stands and runs over to embrace Karkat in the biggest hug he can muster, along with the biggest smile he's ever smiled. When Karkat's eyes flutter open, he thinks that his friends face may rip in half because of how much he's smiling.
"G-gamzee? Where the hell are we?"
"KaRkAt! EvErYtHiNgS oKaY nOw! SeE wE'Re AlRiGhT," Gamzee looked around at everyone mingling and looked back at Karkat, "I, uH, tHiNk We'Re At A PaRtY." As he finished talking Sollux appeared and yelled, "Y0u dead m0therfucker2 better get u2ed two it," and went back to talking with Aradia.
"HOW THE FUCK IS THIS A FUCKING PARTY? AREN'T WE ALL FUCKING DEAD," Karkat said as his voice came back to him, getting louder as his anger returned as well.
"We'Re DeAd," Gamzee hugged Karkat, his smile softening, "It WoRkEd OuT. YoU sAiD wE wOuLd Be FiNe, We ArE aNd So Is EvErYoNe ElSe.
"YOU CRAZY MOTHERFUCKING JUGGALO," sayed Karkat as he returned Gamzee's hug with all the strength in his body and began to cry.
As Gamzee started to look around again he saw a bowl of punch and, not wanting to let go of Karkat, picked him up and went over to the punch bowl. When he reached the bowl, he pulled out a bottle of Faygo and dumped it into the bowl. Karkat started whining and tried to get out of the vice like grip that Gamzee had him in, but the clown was too strong.
"WhAt Do YoU eXpEcT bRo? Im StIlL mE."
"I KNOW FUCKASS, BUT DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT SO THAT EVERYONE NOW HAS TO DRINK THAT THINK PAN ROTTING SHIT," Karkat replied grumpily and tried to turn his body so that he didn't have to look at Gamzee, though he was unsuccessful.
"We ArEn'T aBlE tO gEt HuRt HeRe BrO, tHaT's HoW tHe DeAd WoRkS, I tHiNk."
"WELL IT STULL TASTES THE SAME. SHITTY," commented Karkat as he took a sip of the Faygo infected punch.
"HoNk," Gamzee said with a smile growing on his face again.
"OH GOG GAMEE! ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING HONKING! WE GET IT, YOU'RE A STUPID FUCKING CLOWN! SO JUST STOP IT," Karkat said as his voice started to muffle because he was starting to take another drink of the infected punch. As he started to take the cup away from his lips, he felt his mind start to buzz. He became a bit dizzy as Gamzee set him down and some of his words started to slur a bit, but only a little. "THANK YOU. GOG, DID YOU SERIOUSLY HAVE TO HOLD ME FOR THAT LONG," he growled at Gamzee, taking another drink from the cup, thinking to himself, damn this shit shit starts to grow on you.
Gamzee stood up and went over to the bowl of punch once more. But this time he picked it up and chugged the whole thing. "JEGUS, COULD YOU HAVE DRUNK THAT ANY FASTER," Karkat asked as Gamzee began to lick the bowl clean.
"WhErE tHe MoThErFuCk Is JeGuS aNd GoG?"
"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW. WHY DON'T YOU GO LOOK for them?" Karkat gestured to the large crowd of humans and trolls.
"NaH bRo, I'm HaNgInG wItH yOu."
"GREAT, BECAUSE I TOTALLY WANT TO BE AROUND PEOPLE WHEN I'M GETTING USED TO BEING DEAD, RIGHT," Karkat made sure that there was enough sarcastic emphasis on every word that, hopefully, the fool of a clown that was his friend would know that he didn't mean what he was saying. But, of course, the clown was too drunk to realize that his friend was kidding.
"YeAh, NoThInG lIkE bEiNg WiTh YoUr BrO's AnD siS's AgAiN iN a WiCkEd PlAcE lIkE tHiS."
GAMZEE, PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME GO NEAR THAT BIG MOB OF PEOPLE. MY SENSES ARE ALL FUCKED UP AND MY CHEST HURTS BECAUSE I JUST GOT STABBED, SO I REALLY DON'T WANT TO BE AROUND ANYONE, BESIDES YOU, I GUESS."
"I'm MoThErFuCkInG sOrRy BrO, bUt We'Ll FeLl BeTtEr SoOn."
"YOU BETTER BE FUCKING RIGHT," Karkat said as he playfully punched Gamzee in the shoulder. Both of them laid down on the large pile of horns that felt like home to both of them, and Gamzee gently shoosh papped Karkat's chest and made the pain go away. Karkat mumbled a small thanks and Gamzee took a sniff out of the air, causing the small troll next to him to give him a puzzled look.
"SmElLs LiKe MoThErFuCkInG mIrAcLeS."
"YOU MEAN THERE ARE FUCKING DRUGS IN THE AIR I'M BREATHING," Karkat's head started to spin and he laid his head down whispering, "OH SHIT."
"NaH iT's ThIs MiRaClE pLaCe."
"SHIT! WHY DID YOU KILL US? I WOULD RATHER BE BACK HOME, WHERE WE WERE, ALIVE. I DON'T LIKE THIS PLACE GAMZEE, " Karkat said into the clowns ear as all of the bad memories started to flow back into his mind. Gamzee stayed silent and his smile soon disappeared from his face as he became sad and started to feel awful about what he had done, no matter how happy everyone was now. "I'M SORRY GAMZEE, I DIDN'T MEAN TO YELL AT YOU LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S JUST TOO MANY BAD MEMORIES AND NOT ENOUGH GOOD ONES," as Karkat said that he wrapped his arms around Gamzee. Sobs began to wrack his body, and he shook like he did before he was killed by his best friend. Gamzee put his chin on top of Karkat's head and saw that there was a door on the opposite wall, and he soon got up, went to the door, opened it, and starred at what he saw. As Karkat felt the warmth of his friend leave, he looked up and followed Gamzee as he strode down the main road seeing, and recognizing, everything because it seemed to be his home planet, with all of the buildings, even the streets, the same as he remembered them before the game started and their lusus's all died. There were no bodies and no blood, leaving no memory of what had happened when they all started the game. As Gamzee began to get a sense of feeling for where he was, he started to walk home, to his hive. Even though his legs start to feel like jelly, Karkat still follows Gamzee, craving the warmth that that his friend gave him.
"KaRbRo, It'S lIkE hOmE," Gamzee said as he turned and ran through the grass, towards Karkat, who embraced him in another hug, feeling ever safer in his moirails arms. Gamzee returned as Karkat said, "I-IT IS. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, HOW DID WE END UP BACK HERE?"
"I gUeSs ThIs Is LiKe A cLoNe Of HoMe, Or A bAcK-uP cOpY...FuCkInG mIrClEs."
"W-WE CAN BE HAPPY HERE. IT'S HOME AND THERE ARE A LOT OF HAPPY MEMORIES HERE, FROM BEFORE ALL OF THIS SHIT S-STARTED."
As Karkat smiled at him, Gamzee walked back to the door and yelled to everyone that he had found the trolls home and they could all go back to their hives. He took a step back to reveal their old home and as he did so, everyone left, including the humans, and went to their hives, where all of their lusus's were, waiting for them.
"HaPpY bRo? It WoN't Be HoMe WiThOuT oUr MoThErFuCkInG FrIeNdS."
"NO, I GUESS IT WON'T BE," Karkat looked back to Gamzee, a serious look taking over his features, "GAMZEE, WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE WE DIED? WHY DID YOU DO THOSE THINGS?" As Karkat finishes his questions Gamzee begins to push him away, ending their hug, and turns away from Karkat, a dark hue taking hold on part of his iris's.
"That wasn't me...I didn't hurt my friends...I was sober, and it wasn't me screaming at you bro...It was a demon...Lies, all he said was lies, don't believe anything it said. I'm happy with you guys," Gamzee paused as he wrapped his long, lanky arms around Karkat, tears going down his cheeks, "but, I was aware of what I was doing, it was like sleep walking, and I couldn't control myself, I couldn't stop it. But it's okay now, bro. It's all back to normal, and it'll stay that way."
"NO, I MEAN BEFORE THAT, BEFORE YOU KILLED EQUIOUS AND NEPETA, AND EVERYONE ELSE. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TRYING TO DO," Karkat said in a tone that worried Gamzee, because it was far too calm for Karkat, who was always loud and had some form of agitation in his voice, only now, it was only his voice, there was nothing else.
"I wAs SlEePiNg AnD hAvInG a BaD dReAm, I dOn'T rEmEmBeR iT tHoUgH."
"OH, UM, NEVERMIND THEN," Karkat said as he remembered the feeling that he had felt when his hand touched Gamzee's bulge, and though he would never admit it, he had liked it.
"HoNk," said Gamzee as he picked up Karkat and took them to Karkat's hive, where Crab dad was and Karkat could feel the tears slid down his cheeks again. "FUCK, I'M CRYING AGAIN," he sniffled and tried to turn away. Gamzee started to walk back, away from Karkat's hive, and towards his own hive. He reached a hand up and brushed the tears off of Karkat's face.
"It'S oKaY bRo."
"THIS IS THE ONLY TIME YOU'RE GONNA SEE ME CRY FUCKASS," Karkat said with a short laugh and tightened the grip he had on the front of Gamzee's shirt.
"HaHa, It'S oKaY bRo."
"I'M SORRY GAMZEE, I'M SORRY FOR BEING SUCH AN ASSHOLE TO YOU, TO EVERYONE, ALL THE GOG DAMN TIME," Karkat hold his knees to his chest as soon as Gamzee sat him down on the ground of his seaside hive.
"YoU wErE bEiNg KaRkAt, AnD I LoVe ThAt AbOuT yOu. KeEp Up ThE gOoD wOrK," Gamzee said as he walked out of his hive, and out to the sandy beach.
Karkat slowly got up and went down to the beach as well, not getting as close to the water as Gamzee did, and sat back down. He gave a small laugh and looked at Gamzee, who was staring at the ocean. "YOU WERE THE ONLY PERSON WHO EVER DID," Karkat had a small grin on his face and he turned to look at the ocean. "I sTiLl Do," Gamzee said and then became distant,"GoAt DaD iSn'T dEaD."
"YOU DON'T THINK HE'S OUT THERE," Karkat asked as the rhythm of the waves lapping on the beach started to sooth him and draw him in.
"GoAt DaD's BaCk On ThE rEaL pLaNeT."
"WHERE DO YOU THINK HE WOULD BE HAPPIEST?"
"He LoVeS me, AnD I LoVe HiM, aNd We BoTh WaNt ThE bEsT fOr EaCh OtHeR, sO I DoN't KnOw."
"THAT'S NICE, YOU ARE QUITE THE NICE CLOWN OF A TROLL, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT? WHAT YOU DID WASN'T YOU, YOU AREN'T THAT...THING...AND WE ALL KNOW THAT."
"SuRe," Gamzee said as he took off his shirt and pants, leaving on his boxers, and ran into the water. Karkat jumped up and ran to grab his arm, afraid that the clown might drown because he didn't know how to swim, Karkat, however, didn't know how to either, so being in the three foot deep water scared him. "GAMZEE?!"
"KaRbRo! ThE wAtEr'S oNlY fOuR fEeT dEeP," at that, Gamzee splashed Karkat's face with the water, "nO mOrE wOrRiEs."
Karkat tugged on his arm and said, "GAMZEE, STOP, I DON'T GIVE A FUCK HOW LITTLE WATER THERE IS, NEITHER OF US KNOW HOW TO SWIM, SO, PLEASE JUST GET OUT OF THE FUCKING WATER. IT'LL MAKE ME FEEL BETTER." But with one quick tug, Gamzee pulled them both under the water, swimming out deeper, without even taking a breath before they went under. "HeY KArBrO," Gamzee said, breathing in the water like air, since they couldn't get hurt anymore.
"G-GAMZEE PLEASE TAKE ME BACK UP TO THE SURFACE," Karkat said with wide eyes. Though they were underwater, Karkat started to cry because he was afraid of how easily the ocean could erase him.
"KaRbRo, We'Re FiNe. PlUs, I tHoUgHt YoU sAiD I CoUlDn'T sWiM."
"YOU'RE SUCH AN ASSHOLE! PLEASE JUST TAKE ME BACK UP TO THE SURFACE," he could feel himself start to scream, but Karkat didn't care. Gamzee knew he was afraid of the ocean, and now he wasn't going to take him back to the beach. Gamzee started to kick his feet and took them back up to the shore, where Karkat immediately crawled to where the water wouldn't touch him, turned his back toward Gamzee, and scowled at the ground.
"KaRbRo YoU dOn'T uNdErStAnD. We CaN't GeT hUrT, oR dIe. We'Re GhOsT's BrO."
"I DON'T CARE! I TOLD YOU I'M FUCKING SCARED OF THE OCEAN, AND YOU DECIDED TO BE AN ASS AND TAKE ME UNDER THE GOG DAMN FUCKING WATER!"
"ThIs Is ThE pLaCe To FaCe YoUr FeArS AnD rEaLiZe ThEy'Re UsElEsS nOw...HeRe I hAte...UmM...WhAt Do I hAtE?"
"I DON'T KNOW BECAUSE YOU WERE ALWAYS TOO HIGH ON THAT FUCKING SOPOR SLIME TO EVER TELL ME SHIT."
"Uh, I hAtE tHe DeMoNs."
"THE ONES THAT MADE YOU-?"
"Shh"
"WHAT?"
"It DiDn'T hApPeN, fOrGeT aBoUt It KaRbRo."
"BUT HOW THE FUCK CAN I FORGET, WHEN THAT'S THE REASON THAT WE'RE HERE?"
"I hAtE bAd MeMoRiEs, BuT wE'rE hApPy HeRe."
"WHATEVER GAMZEE," Karkat rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"BuT I LiKe GoOd MeMoRiEs."
"WHAT GOOD MEMORIES?"
As Karkat finished his question, he was surprised to feel Gamzee's lips against his own. He felt Gamzee's shirtless chest brush against his own, their finger's link together. Karkat closed his eyes and felt the same feeling as when Gamzee had come into his respite block, before he killed everyone, including them. "I aLsO lIkE nEw MeMoRiEs."
