Chapter 8

Mystery of the Black Text

Before I stepped into the portal behind Duneblitz I heard that booming voice in my head, only, he seemed calmer. "Thank you, Siren of Blood… I shall reward you for your actions." I stepped through to the new land.

It was nighttime, the moon was low to the horizon. Orthel seemed to notice that I was exhausted. He seemed to reach into the air and suddenly there was a bundle in his hand. He felt around the ground and looked at our surroundings. We were in a field, not a tree in sight. We were in the bend of two hills. He nodded and dumped the contents of the bundle out. Clanging metal sounded from the contents. "Go ahead and sit down over there." He pointed to the hillside. I nodded and went to the hillside. Do you know that feeling when you're about to wake up? I got that feeling and I was out like a light.

I sat up and got out of my recooprecoon to the golden room I had awoken in a while ago. "Here again…" I shrugged. "Could be much worse…" I got out and turned intangible to get the goop off of me.

FIF (Future Imaginary Friend) stared trolling (Past Imaginary Friend)

(Future Me)FIF: Sarona! WhY didn't You listen to me?! I was trYing to set You free!

(Me)CIF: Future me? What's wrong?

FIF: Thanks to You it didn't work! Now Dave has another reason to smirk!

CIF: What didn't work? Who's Dave?

FIF: That dragon was right You know. You have no intelligence to show!

CIF: Sarona! Calm down. What didn't work?

FIF: You didn't heed mY warning long ago. I will NOT let this go!

CIF: Warning?

FIF: You don't even remember! How You were nearlY dismembered?!

CIF: Speak clearlY! Stop speaking in riddles! Tell me what's wrong!

FIF: What's wrong?! WHAT'S WRONG?! This WON'T take long!

FIF: I told You earlier in this log. Now go and read it and it'll clear the smog.

CIF: Something about that Dragon? Is this what has made You fall off the wagon?!

CIF: You're telling me something that You aren't explaining. Now tell me what's wrong, mY patience is waning.

FIF: I was the feeling, the feeling You disregarded. Do You understand now? WhY I am so disheartened?

CIF: The feeling? The one that told me to run? OkaY, now I'm waiting for the pun.

FIF: There is no pun. I'm telling the truth. WhY in the world would I lie to my youth?

CIF: I don't have an answer.

FIF: I shall tell You exactlY what happened, so please take a seat and let the story unfold. About what happened not so long ago.

CIF: This is it, you go ahead, I'm not sure if I want to see him. Duneblitz looked nervous, should I be too? I looked at the building again, it seemed more imposing now, lanterns hanging from the roof, a fire burning on the top of the roof, smoke surrounding it… Yeah… I think I should be scared. I nervously knocked on the door of the ominous building. The bad feeling was stronger than ever, it seemed to be saying, 'Don't go in! Please, don't go in!'. Maybe I shouldn't go in, maybe my feeling is right. No, I won't be controlled by my fears. I will face them. Head on.

"Enter." Said a booming voice. I cautiously opened the large door. There were piles of shimmering gold from the light outside. The feeling was seeming to say, 'Turn back! It's not too late! Please! Go back or Your life will be ruined bY this mistake!' That's funny, it sounds just like me. It's right though, it's not too late to turn back. If I just walk out the door, then I won't have to worry. If I leave this village and go on with the game then I won't have to worry. No, that would mean that I'm a fraidy-pawbeast. Plus, I wouldn't be able to help this town.

"State your business." It boomed impatiently. 'Stop!' The feeling said.

"I am Sarona; I'm here to trY to help You with this town. If it doesn't get outside help soon, it will fall apart." I managed to keep a level voice.

"How would you help?" The ominous voice questioned. 'Don't tell him!' I looked around the pitch black room and replied,

"I think I can help You, I know that if You drink salt water, it would kill You, however, if it is ten percent salt water with the rest being fresh-water it won't kill You. MaYbe You could build up a resistance to salt-water." I explained my idea. 'Don't!' the feeling said again.

"Fool! Do you think I have not already tried that? I have tried everything to keep this island from falling to ruin! I have asked the other islands for help and they have refused!" The voice boomed loudly. 'NO! Stop! Please! I beg of You!' The feeling yelled.

"I-I apologize, but, uh… WhY won't theY share their freshwater? Is there a conflict between You and the other islands? You might want to trY diplomacY, maYbe trY signing a peace treatY?" I suggested. 'WhY?! WhY did You have to saY that!?' The feeling screamed.

"A peace treaty?! A PEACE TREATY?! Do you take me as an idiot? You Stupid girl! I will not tolerate your ignorance any longer! Neither will any of your race either!" It boomed angrily as the ground shook. 'Run! Run awaY now! Burst out the door and leave town forever! Please!' The feeling sounded as if it was about to break down into tears. The gold shifted violently and I saw two red, rage filled eyes glare at me before a bright light consumed my vision. My eyes burned and my head felt as if a dagger had been driven into it. I clutched my head and bit my tongue before a huge weight slammed me in the gut, knocking the air out of me and launching me through the wooden door. I heard splinters hitting the ground as a few of them imbedded themselves into my back. I hit the ground hard on my back and drove the splinters further in. There had to be more than five as long as my index finger. My eyes slid closed as I faded into the numb feeling of unconsciousness.

Sarona! I heard Duneblitz shout. 'that's what you get for trying to change the past.' I heard a different voice. 'Stupid me!' I heard the feeling cry out at me before I blacked out.

FIF: That is what happened so long ago, whY I'm so frustrated and sad.

FIF: If it weren't for our pride then we might not have done it.

CIF: You told me to run, to flee… Now I see what's become of me.

CIF: WhY didn't I listen, whY didn't I run? Now I've seen what's been done.

FIF: I wish I could help more, reallY I do. UnfortunatelY, it's all up to You.

FIF: For now, look to the future, that's all You might be able to change. There are manY choices, a great range!

CIF: WhY are You still rhYming?

FIF: TrulY, there is nothing else to do here with mY time. So I've taken practice to start to rhYme.

CIF: Don't You ever get bored of it?

FIF: No. Just let it go.

FIF: I'm sorrY for Yelling, for getting mad at You. That's just what I've been going through.

FIF: The stress has gotten to me, now You see whY I wanted You to be free.

CIF: I do. I see whY. I see whY You wanted to save me.

FIF: DAMN IT SARONA WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!

CIF: ?

FIF: Get Your own keYboard Karkat!

FIF: I CAN'T! SOLLUX IS REFUSING TO FIX IT!

FIF: Then deal with it and stop breaking Your keYboard!

FIF: THAT'S REAL MATURE SARONA! HOW IN THE EVERLIVING FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO TYPE WITHOUT A KEYBOARD?!

FIF: Past me, You can get off this lgo

I'm pretty sure she meant log. Meh, it doesn't matter. Probably fighting with Karkat for control of the keyboard. Either way, what will I do today? I wish I knew the answer. Maybe I can shape my dreams like I usually do? Probably not. After all, it's not often that I have the same dream twice. Well, I could look at the clouds, that would give me something to do. I walked over to my window and flew out of it. I landed on my roof and took a comfortable position. On the clouds furthest to the left I saw Chief, at least, I think it's her. She's trolling Vriska by the looks of it. The ones above me showed Orthel, making a campfire and setting up a tent. He laid a warm blanket on top of my sleeping body and patted me on the head smiling. After that he went back to tending the fire.

The clouds to the far right troubled me, however. I saw a glimpse of something and I floated up. I went at top speed and nearly blew my sunglasses off. I stared at the clouds that were now above me. I saw destruction. The Land of Islands and Fantasy was in flames, Discord was desperately trying to put them out as he yelled for people to evacuate. Mythical creatures were running every direction to get away from what seemed like a forest fire until I noticed something. Meteors were raining from the heavens and destroying homes and hitting the fleeing creatures. I saw three pegasi frantically searching for something. The child was crying and holding a doll while the older two were whinnying loudly. I realized they were screaming Duneblitz's name. That must be her family. I looked away and sped further to the right.

Now above me, a more disturbing picture showed itself. It was Prospit. A strange looking creature that looked mixture of different beasts held a sword. I saw Karkat, he looked as if he just woke up. Terezi was scared, she didn't know what to do. Tavros saw through his window, trying to figure out what was going on. Sollux was surprised awake and he looked out the window, it seemed as if he saw this before. The strange looking troll who I assumed was a jade-blood just woke up and was also looking out the window. Gamzee just woke up but even he was looking out his window. He held it high then snarled and brought it down with force, carapacians were running around frantically but they didn't stand a chance. The entire moon exploded into almost nothing, it goes without saying that there were no survivors on Prospit. I stared at that cloud, will that really happen?

Once again I heard the ping of trollian and pulled out my combooker.

(?)MS: hey

MS: Sarona

MS: Orthel's wondering where you are.

I stared at the eerie black text as it continued trolling.

(?)MS: Come on

MS: You usually always reply.

MS: Am I on the wrong point of the timeline?

(Me)IF: That depends, who are You?

MS: I think I might be at the wrong point, you usually say: "HeY SOD! How are You?" When I 'troll' You.

IF: What does SOD stand for?

MS: oh shit.

MS: wrong point.

MS: forget I even pestered you.

I wonder what SOD stands for…. Is it something like those Godtiers? I shook my head, 'Their name doesn't matter. It's who theY are. But who are theY? That black text doesn't give me any blood color to work with. Either waY, it was a mess up. Now what? Do I just float here until daY comes? I started on my way back to my tower trying to forget what I saw in the clouds. That's just what could happen, it might not happen if we make the right choices.

I woke up to the sleeping figure of Orthel right next to me. I blushed as I realized what he was doing, he was hugging me. I tried to pry his arms off of me but they just gripped tighter.

'Um…. This is….. Not preferable….. Duneblitz? Are You awake?' I telepathically asked Duneblitz.

Wha…..? She groggily asked.

'Could Ya help me out here?' I asked her.

Uh…. Yeah….. Sure…. She shakily got up and turned around to look at me. When she saw my predicament she just managed to hold back laughter.

'Th-This isn't funnY Duneblitz!' I shouted at her through mind power.

Alright, don't get angry. I hope you pay me back for this… She wriggled between me and Orthel. Somehow, Orthel held onto both of us. After a minute or two his arm slipped as he hugged Duneblitz tighter and let me go. I shot up and ran to the other side of the campfire. As I calmed down I got some fruits out that I got from around my hive and asked Duneblitz,

'Alright, Duneblitz. Do You want plums, strawberries, or wild cherries?' I asked Duneblitz.

Strawberries please! She replied.

'AlrightY then. Strawberries it is.' I took out a small fruit knife and started cutting the strawberries into a bowl that I placed with my sylladex. I eventually got the bowl half-filled and set it in front of Duneblitz. 'Here, You deserve it.'

I nearly got you killed! Duneblitz hung her head.

'But You helped me, I would've been lost, confused, and I would still be back there.' I jerked my head towards the portal. I shook my head. 'Heh, now that I think about it, I would be dead. Despite my strange looks compared to the people normallY around You, You led me to Your village and helped me.'

"hey there. WHATCHA DOIN' HERE?" Orthel gently said to Duneblitz, surprising me.

"Oh! Orthel, You're awake." I hurriedly got another bowl out. "Um….. Wild plums or cherries?" I asked him.

"cherries would be fine." He replied as he sat up. I started cutting cherries into the bowl.

'I wonder about what I saw in Skaia's clouds though…. Would that reallY happen? What if it did? What if nobodY believes me? I mean…. It sounds a bit far-fetched. "HeY guYs! I just wanted to tell You that a place called Prospit and a purple version of it are going to blow up in the far future, taking all of us with it!"' I sighed heavily. 'Geez, even I wouldn't believe me. But what if it will happen? No matter how stupid I sound should I still tell them? No…. The future's not set in stone. It might not happen…. MaYbe I should speak to the queen, she might know what to do. After all, she has made manY decisions and has lived and seen the clouds of Skaia….' I rambled on and on in my mind, not knowing that Duneblitz was listening to all of this.

Did you know that you worry and over-analyze a lot? Duneblitz interjected.

'Oh…. SorrY…. I didn't know I was making You listen to me.' I paused my cutting but quickly continued.

It's fine. What's all this about Skaia and Prospit and all of it blowing up? She asked me.

'Skaia's clouds predict the future, tells what's going on now, and tells what happened in the past. I flew as far to the future as I could and saw Prospit, the planet I was on, explode. That's prettY much the gist of it.' I explained myself. I passed the bowl to Orthel.

"thanks sarona. IS SOMETHING ON YOUR MIND? you seem distracted." Orthel was concerned.

"Oh, nothing much…. Just…. Stuff…." I still wasn't entirely sure if I should tell him. I started cutting the bitter wild plums into the bowl in front of me. I was silent as I cut. 'His lusus is gone now too. Everyone's.' I thought. My mind drifted but… I stopped when I remembered Crabmom. I shook my head quickly and stared at the plums. 'I wonder what Discord meant by "Reward"…' I thought to myself. I quickly resumed cutting the plums. 'WhY did I have to choose a staff of all weapons? If I chose a dagger or something then I would've been able to kill some of those fast animals around mY hive.' I reflected on yesterday, 'What was Karkat trYing to saY to me? Maybe I should read over that log again.' I pulled out my Combooker and read over it again up to the point where I closed my laptop yesterday.

(Karkat)CG: SARONA

CG: SARONA, WOULD YOU JUST TELL ME WHAT THE LIVING HELL I DID TO MAKE YOU SO MAD?

CG: LOOK

CG: WHATEVER THE FUCK I DID, I PROBABLY DIDN'T MEAN TO.

'What? He was trying to apologize?' That made me feel even more guilty. 'Maybe I should talk to him….'

(Me)IF: Karkat?

(Karkat)CG: WHAT THE FUCK IS IT SARONA.

IF: I'm sorrY for blowing up at You.

IF: Some friend I turned out to be.

CG: I'M GLAD YOU REALIZED THAT.

CG: IT TOOK YOU FOREVER TO FIGURE IT OUT BUT I GUESS IT'S BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

IF: Aren't You going to apologize too?

CG: WHY WOULD I NEED TO?

'OkaY, before I lose mY patience I'm just going to stop here.' Luckily, he didn't answer back. I started to eat the bitter plums I had cut up and thought some more. 'Now…. What else do I have to do? I alreadY thanked Aradia for warning me, oh dear…. I forgot to check up on Tavros!' I quickly got my combooker back out and frantically trolled him.

(Me)IF: Tavros!

IF: Tavros are You okaY?!

(Tavros)AT: uH… s-sARONA?

AT: iS SOMETHING WRONG?

IF: Thank goodness!

IF: I was afraid that You were still on Alternia.

AT: i'M NOT THERE ANYMORE, tHOUGH i WOULDN'T SAY i'M BETTER OFF…..

IF: What?

IF: Where are You?

AT: iT'S NOT WHERE i AM THAT BOTHERS ME,

AT: iT'S WHO i'M WITH.

IF: Who are You with?

IF: Are You in trouble?

IF: If theY so much as laY a harmful finger on You I'll gut them mYself!

AT: wOAH!

AT: c-cALM DOWN SARONA!

AT: i'M JUST WITH VRISKA….

'And I thought that Karkat was bad…. I remember Vriska from mY FLARPing daYs with Tavros and Aradia. Terezi and Vriska called themselves the 'Scourge Sisters' while I kept on hearing how Orthel was also a part of their team. He was into the FLARPing and I hear he was an even more serious gamer with it before I got into the picture. He was the one that usuallY hosted the games…. Of course…. Vriska always found a waY to ruin the game. Orthel backed out of it and got sopered just a little before I came in. He was still there but I never saw him.'

'That was about half a sweep ago. Now…. Vriska still isn't letting it go about wanting to be a pirate like her 'Ancestor'. ApparentlY she looks just like her, horn-type and all. It makes me jealous that she could match up with her Ancestor so easilY. I don't match up with the Signless at all….' I thought idly. Then, I heard a muted *thump* beside my leg. I looked at the sound and it was the journal. 'WhY did that journal fall out of mY imaginarY modus?' I questioned myself.

IF: That's still bad.

IF: Just let me know if she so much as threatens You.

IF: She'll get a piece of mY mind!

IF: Good luck, mY good friend.

AT: yOU TOO sARONA.

A/N: Hey, early update 'cause I'm not going to be around my computer tomorrow because of a car trip with friends. (However few there are) It's not as long as I like but I feel like it was an okay place to leave off. I would like to thank the following people.

cannibalisticReaper - For reviewing, Favoriting, and Following

Blueshift12 - For Following

Oreoo - For Following

aritisalltome - For Following

shotasayswhat - For Following

Seriously guys, thank you so much. In other news, School starts next Tuesday for me. This will be the last update before School. I'll try to keep up on this story as best as I can. See you next Saturday!