Chapter 10
The City/Introductions/Spirited Away, My Friend
"hey, is that the town we're looking for? IT LOOKS PRETTY BIG TO BE JUST A TOWN." Orthel pointed at the large gathering of hives that stretched beyond both horizons.
'Woah…. That's a lot of hives….' My eyebrows flew into my bangs.
"Yeah. I think this would be many more than you're used to." Crabmom then paused. "Did you just use telepathy?" She raised an armored eyebrow.
'Er… Yes.' I cringed.
"I see you haven't changed much since I left, still as nervous around anybody as ever." She smiled and laughed. "I knew your mind was powerful." She put a claw on my shoulder.
"this is going to take a while. A CITY THIS BIG MUST HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM." Orthel deduced.
"Well, we're not getting anYwhere bY standing here gawking." I carefully said, barely keeping from switching to Crustacean.
"true. LET'S GET GOING." Orthel started down the hill with Goatsprite. I nodded at Crabmom and she followed me down too. I gestured for Duneblitz to come too.
"Crabmom, do you have any idea what the problem is in this city?" I asked in Crustacean. She merely shook her head.
"Even if I knew, I couldn't tell you. That's the down-side. I can, however, tell you that it's underground." Crabmom frowned. I simply nodded in understanding; she couldn't hold my hand through every trial. I then looked at Orthel, he grinned and put his hand on the ground. He placed a shiny board on the grass. I knew that the grass was a bit wet. He looked to me and offered his hand. I took it, curious at what he was thinking.
He then pulled me close on the board, as if he was going to guide me somewhere. I then felt the ground under our feet move. We started sliding down the hill to the city. The wet grass kept us sliding on the board. Suddenly, he lifted me up as if I weighed nothing, and placed me on his shoulder. He then jumped off the board, sliding to a stop and putting one hand on the ground. He set me down as the board went skidding onto the sidewalk. I saw Duneblitz glide down the hill with the two sprites close behind. He then stood up, bent down and helped me up.
"Wow, how did You think of that?" I asked, interested of how he came up with the idea. He just shrugged in reply and retrieved the board. Once he had gotten the board, we walked into the big city. Most of the black colored people, who looked like they had carapaces, went about their business and shambling along the road. A few glanced at us but they did not stop us. We were well into the city by now. We passed several alleys and stores before I finally asked the question that was on my mind.
I saw several stairways leading into the ground and several shady-looking people.
'Crabmom, who are these… People?' I asked in mentally in Crustacean.
"They are Carapacians. They usually reside on the planet 'Derse'. It seems that they also live here." Crabmom replied. I looked to the 'carapacians' as more and more began to stare.
'Duneblitz, what do You think of this?' I asked Duneblitz. I paused and waited for Duneblitz's response. I continued walking as I waited for her grub-ish voice to sound. I waited thirty seconds, a minute, a minute and a half. I grabbed Orthel's sleeve and pulled him back. I looked back and saw that Duneblitz wasn't following.
"what?" Orthel asked me, confused as to why I stopped him.
"Tell me Orthel, what's missing from this picture?" I quickly asked him.
"where's the little pegasus? I THOUGHT IT WAS RIGHT BEHIND US." Orthel looked around.
"ExactlY. We have to find Duneblitz!" I started to run back, looking in all the stores and alleys that we passed. I heard Orthel's pounding footsteps right behind me, when I realized that his footsteps sounded more familiar than I expected. I dismissed the thought as I continued frantically looking for Duneblitz. I looked in every alley to no avail.
That's when I saw three suspicious-looking carapacians with a large sack. Orthel's footsteps pounded behind me just a second longer, I tried to place them in the back of my mind, but I focused on the carapacians as they went down some stairs. The stairs led underground, the sign above took me but a moment to read. 'Subway' was what it said. A red sign that looked like it was placed on the sign said in white letters, 'Condemned'. I felt something in the bag; I felt a familiar mental fuzz in the bag. It was her.
"There! Follow me!" I grabbed Orthel's hand, his glove nearly coming off as I ran as fast as I could to the tunnel. He quickly recovered and ran next to me. I let go and dove down the stairs. The walls and wind rushed past me and the stairs came to a stop. I braced myself and curled up, as someone once taught me. The floor hit my back as I rolled to a stop. Orthel landed beside me in the same fashion as I did.
A black female carapacian blocked our path. I grinned at the challenge; she held a sword in her hand. My iron staff appeared in my hand and a barbed whip came to Orthel's hand. The carapacian took a defensive stance. I crouched, ready to strike. We stood, analyzing each other. I saw that the carapace that it had seemed extremely tough. I would have to pierce at the joints. A blunt object wouldn't do much. She seemed to stare at my staff for a moment, grinning.
Her eyes then wandered to Orthel's whip. She glanced at her own sword, unsure. I then charged. She brought her sword at me, but I feinted a duck before jumping. Her sword sliced the air below me as I switched my strife-specibus in mid-air. I yanked an arrow out of my quiver and drew back the string on my bow-kind weapon. Her face held a look of bewilderment as I shot at her exposed inner elbow. My arrow easily pierced the weak material, rendering her sword arm useless.
To my dismay, a shield appeared in her left hand. She barely blocked Orthel's whip as it lashed out. I finally landed, she was prepared. She thrust her shield into my side, knocking me to the ground. She was much stronger than she appeared. She then raised her shield to bring it down on my prone position.
That was her biggest mistake.
Orthel's barbed whip latched around her neck making her drop the shield. Orthel turned and hauled the whip over his shoulder, lunging forward. The next thing I knew, blue blood showered over me. The act decapitated the carapacian. I quickly stood up and was about to go further into the subways when Orthel grabbed my shoulder.
"are you alright?" He asked, concerned. Though, in my rage of Duneblitz being taken away I jerked my shoulder away.
"Alright? Alright?! I'm fine! Have You forgotten that mY friend has just been stuffed in a sack without me even having an inkling and that Duneblitz is considered such high prioritY that someone has even been put in our waY to distract and stall for time?! Do You even realize the gravitY of the situation WeYlin?!" I shouted, near tears and mad. Orthel looked directly into my sunglasses, trying to see through them to my eyes.
"yes. I DO UNDERSTAND. i've gone through it many times. HELL, I'M TRYING TO PREVENT IT RIGHT NOW!" He stared firmly into my eyes. "she has done many awful things to me and my friends. I DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN TO YOU TOO! do you know why you're still alive today without even being given a single broken bone?" He asked me.
"She? What are You talking about?" I asked inquisitively.
"my kismesis. VRISKA SERKET. don't you wonder why you are the only member of team charge that hasn't been permanently injured?" He asked.
"Well…. Yeah, sometimes." I was thrown by the change of subject. My question was, why would he mention our FLARP days?
"I was the only thing standing between her and you. WHEN SHE HURT TAVROS, I WAS ENRAGED. then she killed aradia. THEN SHE BLINDED TEREZI. i stood between her and you, knowing that you were next. THAT'S WHAT SHE ALWAYS DID. i introduced her to FLARP when i was your age. I NOW UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS A GRAVE MISTAKE. she killed entire FLARP teams. THE ONLY ONES SHE DIDN'T KILL WAS THE SEA-DWELLING TEAMS! don't ask how i breathed during those sessions, please." He slightly winced.
"I…." I started, but couldn't finish. He was used to Vriska being that way? "WhY…. WhY did You become her kismesis?" I asked.
"we both had quadrants to fill. I HATED HER AND SHE HATED ME. though now I think we're bordering on matespritship." He replied.
"So uh…. ReallY weird question here. Um…. You know, I'll save it for later." I stuttered.
"no, you can ask. YOU CAN ASK ME NEARLY ANYTHING. just don't ask how i breathed during FLARP sessions at sea." He grinned.
"Well…. I know that quadrants are romance. What I couldn't gleam from books is…. How do theY function, what is the pressing matters of having them filled, and what do buckets have to do with anYthing." I stared at the floor.
"what?" I could hear the shock in his voice.
"I wasn't really taught much about quadrants." I scraped my foot on the floor.
"what?" He repeated, still trying to recover from my questions. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WERE NOT TAUGHT ABOUT QUADRANTS?"
"I mean just that. Crabdad didn't teach me much of that sort of thing." I said. I then realized my mistake.
"crabdad? I THOUGHT YOU HAD CRABMOM." He was confused.
"Er… Slip of the tongue…?" I quickly turned around. "Come on, we gotta find Duneblitz." I could tell he didn't buy it. He wanted to continue the line of questioning.
"you and i both know that nobody would buy that." He said simply, disappointed. Why was he disappointed, you ask? He was disappointed of me lying to him. I felt guilty that I couldn't elaborate. But he told me never to tell any troll until some absolutely traumatic event.
I sadly sighed as I continued down the stairs of yet another section of the subway. Crabdad, well…. It's hard to explain. He isn't exactly a Crustacean. He was a hooded figure, I never actually saw his face. He's the only reason I'm alive today. I then realized that I had come at a crossroad. Literally.
"What the…." I started. I stopped as I processed the decision that had to be made.
"Go left." I heard a curt, short voice. I also realized that I couldn't hear it. It was more telepathy.
'Who are You?' I asked.
"I don't believe that matters right now. What does matter is you saving your friend.' The voice sounded female. She obviously wasn't going to introduce herself.
'Alright. I trust You.' I turned down the left path. "This waY." I guided Orthel to follow my footsteps. A few minutes later, the same problem occurred.
"Go straight." I did as the girl told me. This continued for quite a while as I ran through the dank caverns that were the condemned subway. Water was appearing on the floor.
"Prepare yourself for strife after turning right." She commanded.
"I have a feeling there's an enemY ahead, get Your strife weapon out." I told Orthel who was growing suspicious of how I seemed to know the way around.
Just as promised, there was indeed an enemy ahead. This one was a male carapacian. He chuckled at seeing us.
"So she couldn't handle herself, eh?" I was slightly surprised that it could speak. "I always knew she was a wimp. Anyways, yer not getting' past me, mate." He brandished a bardiche at his side. He was covered in armor, unlike his female accomplice.
"What?" I asked dangerously.
"I said, yer not getting' past me." He rolled his eyes.
"You disregard the death of a compatriot so easilY? Not even a 'Yarr! Yer gonna paY fer that!'" I tried to mimic his accent, but found it difficult. "Not even a blink, not even a thought." I felt force behind my eyes, forgetting all that had transpired in the last hour. "Just an 'Oh well. She had it comin'.'"
"So? It's none o' yer business what I thought of her." He shrugged, preparing to attack. That did it for me. I screeched in crustacean some choice words, to put it nicely.
I dare not repeat what I said, I'm pretty sure even Karkat would've cringed at the colorful language I was using. Orthel and the carapacian just stared at me as I clicked and screeched. As the language started I took out my staff and started beating the carapacian down to the ground while he was still in shock. His carapace buckled underneath the force of the iron staff, he was still stunned at my outburst. He finally rolled and got out from underneath me. Blue blood trickled down from his mouth as he launched himself at me. I held my staff out in front of me and a clang of metal rang out. Sparks flew as his metal bardiche slid down my metal staff. I twisted my staff in an attempt to disarm him. He got his bardiche out just in time and launched himself again. I managed to sidestep his attack, but just barely. Orthel managed to shake his head and get his whip out. Surprisingly, he didn't do anything.
As I glanced at him, the carapacian managed to tear my sleeve with the sharp bardiche. I glared at him and went for another blow; this time at the lower ribcage; right at the diaphragm. He saw where my eyes were and turned his sword with the point down. That's not which direction I was going to go though. The next second I was covered in blue blood. I had weakened his carapace enough to impale him on my staff. I was surprised that I was able to do it, but somehow I managed. It wasn't able to go through his back unfortunately. I knew he was still alive, so I was on top of him with my knees on his chest. I then spoke trollian.
"don't You ever saY anYthing like that. Do You understand whY?" I asked. His eyes were blurred with the pain that I inflicted on him. "You have forced mY hand. I didn't want anYone else being hurt bY Your crueltY." I then grinned maniacally. "I can't saY that I'm sorrY though." I then took the knife out of my specibus and got to the soft tissue underneath his throat. Orthel seemed slightly shocked that I said what I had said. His eyes then softened and put a hand on my shoulder.
"you did good. NOW NOONE CAN BE HURT BY HIM AGAIN." I could tell he was sober again but I didn't care. He seemed like an okay guy. He's helped me this far, right? I don't care if he is a Juggalo. Just because someone believes something doesn't mean they're bad. "you think i'm a subjugglator, don't you." He frowned, an indecipherable frown on his face.
"Well… Aren't You?" I asked.
"NO. i'm not. THEY ARE SERVENTS OF THE CONDENSE. i don't serve her. I DESPISE HER. i serve His Most Honorable Tyranny." He grinned.
"You do?" I skeptically asked. His Honorable Tyranny has been dead for uncountable sweeps.
"yes. HE IS VERY GOOD. he deserves the best alternia has to offer. THAT'S WHERE I COME IN."
"Then what are You called?" I inquired.
"I AM A JUGGLANAUGHT." He explained. "we serve the honorable tyranny. I WILL FIND HIS DESCENDENT SOME DAY. that, i vowed. NOW THAT ALTERNIA IS DESTROYED, I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO. unless by some miracle he survived in one of our teams." Orthel looked hopeful.
"Heh. That's so cute. Now can we get going? I can't stay much longer and you have a long way to go." The voice from earlier sounded rushed.
'What's wrong?' I inquired.
"You see, I'm still on Alternia. I'm kinda trying to get into the game. Do you mind just going along with it?" She sounded like she was in distress. "Oh shit." I was annoyed at the language, but tried to see past it.
'What happened?' I asked concerned.
"I'm fairly sure you don't want to know. Let's just say that Captor won't be available for a while and Peixes isn't here to take care of her Lusus. Good news is that the Condense's ship is now out of operation. Bad news is that I'm about to be culled by Peixes' lusus. Later." She sounded pained.
'Wait, what's Your name? Who's Peixes? What's her lusus? What happened to Sollux?' I frantically asked the questions that I wanted to ask.
"Fine. The name's Mortis. Don't forget it 'kay Sarona?" Mortis sounded much more relaxed before cutting the signal.
"How did she know mY name?" I wondered aloud.
"what do you mean?" Orthel raised an eyebrow.
"Someone's been helping me get through this maze. Bad news is that she's still on Alternia and she's trYing to get into the game." I then got a trollian message. I looked at who was trying to get ahold of me.
Khan began trolling ImaginaryFriend (IF) right now
Khan: hEy sAronA
(Me)IF: HeY Khaann. Trollian still not working for You?
I knew Khan well, a close friend, if you will. He was my one and only "Neighbor". Then again, he lived all the way at the top of the nearby mountain. It was called "The Lonely Mountain". It was strange how we met, he was hunting and a stray arrow hit my hive. I had hidden, but when he knocked at my door, I couldn't hold back my curiosity.
Khan: yEAh.
Khan: cAptor's stIll stumpEd. sAys thAt for somE rEAson EvEry computEr I own hAs thE sAmE glItch.
Khan: but thAt doEsn't mAttEr rIght now.
Khan: I hAvE to gIve you somE bAd nEws.
IF: And that would be?
Khan: sollux Is dEAd. ThE grEAt glub kIlled hIm.
IF: What?
Khan: I know It's A bIt of A shock, but stIck wIth mE.
Khan: I just hAd thE crAzIEst drEAm.
IF: Lemme guess. It was a golden planet with these weird white-carapaced-people who seemed like theY knew You and their queen talked to you and then you flew around to the other hives and saw different trolls in their recooprecoons.
Khan: no. but thAt's closE.
Khan: I wAs on A purplE plAnEt, And thErE wErE blAck-cArApAcEd-pEoplE.
IF: Oh, so You're a Derse dreamer… Kinda makes sense. I never saw You when I was flYing around.
IF: AnYwaY, what's this about Sollux? Please tell me You're pulling mY leg here Khan.
Khan: I do not pull lEgs.
Khan: At lEAst, not wIth thIngs lIkE thIs.
IF: So, Officer Captor is trulY dead…
Khan: I'm AfrAId so ApprEntIcE.
IF: Have You told Chief?
Khan: not yEt.
Khan: I don't rEAlly wAnt to brEAk It to hEr.
Khan: shE doEsn't nEEd thAt kInd of strEss rIght now.
IF: True.
IF: Hold on a second, I need to do something.
Khan: And thAt would bE?
IF: Well, I'm actuallY trYing to save someone right now. She's a new friend, and trust me, she's worth saving.
IF: I'm on the case, I wish you were here, Khan
"Orthel, we need to get going. We need to get going fast." I quickly said. "We've wasted more time here than I would've liked."
"okay. GET ON MY BACK!" He exclaimed, and before I could even move he threw me on his back. A pair of wheels appeared under his shoes and he raced into the dark tunnels ahead.
A/N: Okay, I know you guys are probably really upset that I haven't updated in a while, and if you would like to hear why, read the paragraph below. If you just want to cut to the chase, don't read it. I will be slightly rambling.
Sarona's Excuses/Lamentations: 1.) School. I missed a few days and the teachers have been laying it down thick. There were piles of homework in every class. 2.) My Library Skills Teacher. She is possibly the most stern and most hateful teacher that I have. I asked a question once and she started yelling at me in the middle of class! She's been the one giving the most homework without any mercy. 3.) Detention. It's not my fault, I swear! The principal wasn't letting me know that I was tarty and all of a sudden, I have three hours of detention! 4.) Busy Proofreader. Yes, I do have a Proofreader although I haven't mentioned him much. His name is SilverTopHat and if you like MLP: FiM, he's your guy with my favorite My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic stories ever! I know him in person, and he's a nice guy. He's busy with a job that doesn't have definite hours but pays a lot. 5.) Anime. Anime is yet another one of my hobbies. I love to watch them all the time and I just got suggested some by my friend SilverTopHat. Soul Eater and Black Butler. Another friend of mine suggested that I watch Fairy Tail. So I've been watching them, and I can't find season 2 of Fairy Tail and it was driving me insane! Pathetic excuse, I know. 6.) Material Issues. You see, my two friends and I came up with this as a Role-Playing Scenario. My second friend has only recently made Khan; He had started out with someone else(Who will be showing up later). 7.) Time. It's all about time recently. Whenever I'm not reading someone else's work(which are amazing), doing homework, or watching anime I don't do much else. I periodically role-play with my friends to make sure I got their reactions right. 8.) Side Story. I've been working on a Side Story that will be in relation with Two Sides of One Coin. It will not be posted right now because it wouldn't make any sense yet. It takes place on the Three years on the meteor. It's silly, really. It will include some character development along with a little attempted romance. Mostly it's just going to be funny short stories to add on to the main story.
Okay, out of the way of long-winded explanations, let's go on. As you can see, I've introduced two new characters. Mortis and Khan.Justso that people know, Mortis is a girl. Mortis is just her last name. Explanation of Khan: As you've noticed, Khan only has four letters and he is a troll. My friend has asked me to do this so that Khan has a bit more diversion from the other trolls that I keep loading on. Luckily, I think I only have one more troll to introduce. Khan is also his last name.
Alright. Now for the reason I've decided to update. HOMESTUCK UPDATED! *woot woot* (Fangirl-ish squeals and gasping in the background) Yes. Finally Hussie updated! He's supposed to update again on 10/25/14! Which is why I'm also going to be trying to read it while I update the story. Okay, one thing to get out of the way. If I hate the way Homestuck ends, know that I will be changing it. I'm already thinking of having some trolls not die. (ex. Sollux, Eridan, Equius, Nepeta etc.) There will be a bit of death, but in comparison to Hussie's deaths, it won't be anything like that. At most, they're going to die, people will think they're dead, but they just ascended to God-Tier. There might be one exception, but I'm not sure about it. Another Warning- Kankri will be included and he will be one of the main characters that Sarona goes to for advice and information.
This story will be splitting from cannon, so don't kill me when I do. Other things will be included that will not be cannon at all (ex. Siren god-tier). So hopefully you'll like it. Anyway, happy Update and most of all, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!