A/n: Holy shit. This took a long time to write. But I'm pretty happy, I exceeded my 4000 word goal. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it was interesting to write to say the least!
Disclaimer: I don't own MSPA. I'm obviously not Hussie, because why would I do this and not work on actually updating HS.

You wake up the next morning to a loud crashing sound from the next floor up. Ungraciously, you fall off of the couch, scrambling to untangle yourself from the blankets surrounding you. When you do, you start towards the stairs but falter. If something's going on, you might need your weapon and because of the short amount of time you've had you Strife Specibus, you don't know how to access it. But then the realization hits you that it functions in the exact same way that your Modus (if you had any control of it) works. You just have to will it to appear, and it will. After you summon up your hammer, you ascend the stairs.
The sight that meets you when you've gotten to the top of the stairs isn't a good one. Coming through the door to the roof are the government Imps. These non-human creatures made up the special police force that dealt with homosexuals or conspirators against the government. You knew this because you had read through more of the book you had stolen when you got the chance to. The reason the government used them, you had learned, is because they were not easily influenced. The only reason the government had any control over them was because they had taken the Imps' royalty captive.
There's the sound of banging coming from your door and Dave's door, and you suddenly know why when you see on of the stream of Imps touching the wall that the doors were on, using its strange powers to halt any movement on the wall. You realize that in order to free your friends so you can escape, you have to defeat the Imps. Alone. Using your weapon for the very first time with no practice. At least if if had been Dave, he had experience with swords, his brother had been a soldier for a while and had taught him how to use a blade if Dave were to ever get a Strife Specibus.
You're basically praying for a miracle as you faced the now 7 Imps. Shaking slightly, you hefted the hammer in your hands, readying yourself. And when one came close enough, you swing. There's a sickening crack, and you realize that you made impact with the Imp's head. Black blood spatters you and parts of the hallway. The disappears as though it was only a shadow, but its blood remained. And suddenly, you find the strength to take down the rest of them. Some charge at you asking for it, others you go after yourself and within four minutes, the only Imp remaining is the one keeping you from your friends. It goes down easily, not able to continue holding your friends and fight you off at the same time. When Dave and Jade join you in the hall, weapons ready, you stand alone, covered in black blood and breathing unevenly.
"Jesus fuck, we've got to leave. Now." Said Dave, scanning the hall for any other potential threats. You and Jade both nod in agreement and the three of you take off down the stairs. The plan was to leave through the garden as you had to go and steal the book, so you leave out of the sliding doors. You're half way through the garden when you freeze and remember something. You forgot to pack the god damn bunny Dave had sent you before you had met. It meant a lot to you and you were not going to leave it. Without missing a step, you turn around and dash back towards the apartment.
You only make it a few strides back towards the apartment when you find yourself being heckled by more Imps. In an effort to not waste time, you start out by just dodging them and continuing on. But this only hindered you, because the Imps that were behind you caught on to what you had done and began coming after you from behind. It doesn't take long and you're surrounded. You strike out with your hammer, destroying several Imps with one swing. But more take your place, and the others around them begin to attack you, cutting you with their claws. The adrenaline pumping through your veins kept the pain at bay, but you knew that your situation wasn't good. If you didn't do something soon, you were going to be captured. Or worse.
But you didn't have to do anything. Imps began falling of their own accord, slashed in half before they disappear into what you hope is oblivion. It takes your brain a moment to catch up with the fact that someone is helping you. You just don't know who. There's a flash of red in front of you as the Imp in front of you falls at the hands of your savior. Your mind is reeling and you turn to help them take out the remaining creatures.
When there are none of the black creatures remaining you stop, panting and trying to regain your breath. A familiar voice permeates the air and you feel a hand on your shoulder, "What the fuck do you think you're doing Egbert."
You turn to face Dave, guilt surging through you. So it had been him who had been your mysterious savior. It was kind of hard to believe that he could move with that speed and handle his sword with such ease. He wasn't kidding about the rooftop training with his brother. And the tone of his voice meant that the anger you heard in his voice wasn't a joke either, " I'm sorry! I forgot something really important back at the apartment and I didn't even think! It means a lot for me and I had to go back for it. And I realize now how stupid it was and I feel really bad, because I know you and Jade were probably freaking out because I disappeared so suddenly without telling anyone. Jeeze, I'm so stupid, I wouldn't have even known where to find you! Where's Jade? God, I can't even believe how stupid I was!"

"You're not stupid John." He says, "But you need to think. If you don't think from now on, there are bigger consequences than there were when you were just a normal citizen. But now's not the time for this, go get whatever it is that you forgot and hurry. We're going to meet up with Jade in a while. Now go, I'll watch your back."

You nod and hurry back to the apartment, Dave following you. He waits at the glass doors for you, poised to take on any Imps that would appear. You yourself hold your weapon at the ready as you slip up the stairs and into your room. It doesn't take you long to find and Captchalogue the bunny. Everything goes off without a hitch and you know that now you can leave.
Hastily, you return to where Dave is. He nods to acknowledge your presence and takes off at a pace far slower than the blinding one he had used while fighting. You know in the back of your head that he's doing this so you could follow. And you do, doing your best to keep up with him. You climb the wall when you get to it and then the two of you are on the streets. He seems to know where he's going and you can do nothing but follow closely. Some people give you odd looks, but you ignore them.
You make it to what seems to be your destination. You're at the outskirts of town in the shipping district. Dave leads you to a small building, set apart slightly from the others. He leads you around the back to a small door and opens it. The two of you step in to the building. It's dimly lit and a bit dusty, but as soon as you step in, you see the reason you're here. In the center of the room is a craft that you've never seen before. It reminds you of the Lightning Bug hover vehicles that were used for long distance travel, but it's different in the way that it looks like a regular motorcycle as well.
"Damn, Jade really hooked us up." Says Dave, "I didn't think any of these existed any more."
"What exactly is it?" You ask.
"It's a Nakodile hover-cycle." He says simply.
You have no clue what this is, but don't feel like asking about it. Instead, another question pops into your head, a more important question, "Dude, where's Jade?"
He looks around, visibly startled by the realization that Jade is indeed not present. You seem to realize it before he does, but something else seems to be missing along with Jade. The dust surrounding the hover vehicle was settled in a thin film on the floor. But next to it, a large portion of the floor isn't covered by dust. A space large enough for another, however, different vehicle. Realization strikes you and Dave at the same time and you groan in unison. He's the first to put words to your frustration, "She left without us."
You nod, dumbfounded at least slightly that she would do that. It amazes you to even think that she would go off alone. She knew just as well as you and Dave that this was dangerous. But she, like you when you went back to the apartment, didn't seem to care about the consequences. It reminds you how alike you are and you nearly forget what you're supposed to be doing while you think about it. But both you and Dave are roused to your senses when you hear a large sound that you quickly identify as an explosion when you feel the vibrations under your feet. You realize that it had to be the distraction Jade had asked her friend to set off. And that it was now or never that you and Dave were going to get the chance to leave.
Without a word Dave hurries to start the vehicle, while you push the switch that will open the large overhead door to let you out. He gets the Nakodile running and after you've opened the door, you're joining him on the back of it. It seems like he pauses to think for a second, but Dave quickly passes you a helmet and puts one on himself. You can't hear him well, but you think you hear a 'you'd better hold on', and you slip your arms around his waist and hold on as you accelerate from zero to sixty in three seconds flat.
It's exhilarating, you find, to ride on something so fast under such circumstances. The wind whips around you as you speed towards the wall that separates the city from the rest of the world. Sirens pierce the air and your helmet but they're going the opposite direction. You have no idea where you're going, but Dave seems to, and the fact that you're pressed right up against him is reassuring.

The wall looms closer as the seconds tick by and you wonder just how you're going to get out of the city. It's when you're less than fifty meters away that you realize that Dave hasn't slowed down. The physics you learned in school finally make sense in your head when you realize with your current velocity and the stopping distance in relevance to it, you wont be able to stop in time. You're scared as hell and you brace for the inevitable impact. It had never occurred to you that this would be the kind of thing that would put and end to your plan to save your friends. Getting caught, maybe, but not this. You close your eyes and wait for the end.
But the end doesn't come and even after the few moments you predict you had left you can still feel yourself firmly seated and holding on to Dave. Your eyes snap open and immediately go wide. The Nakodile is quite literally driving you up a wall. The wall to the outside world that is. A cheer bubbles up in your chest and you let it out. There was so much to be happy about right now that there was no point in holding it in. You're honestly just happy to just be alive. As you descend down the other side of the wall, you keep your eyes open to watch the maneuvers Dave uses to make sure you don't crash into the ground.
Then you're off, speeding over a desolate and barren stretch of land in what you are fairly certain is the right direction towards the camp Derse. You knew Prospit was in the north and Derse was in the south, and you knew that Derse was your destination by looking at the sun. The thing about starting at either camp, however, was that you had no clue who you would be able to free first. There were no clues as to who was carted off to which camp. Or, for that matter, which camp Jade had left for on her own. You hoped upon hope that you would reach both camps with plenty of time to spare before anyone else suffered.
You speed over the wasteland for hours, losing track of time as you went along. You watch the sky as you ride along. It makes you sad to think that the sky was the only thing with color here. The land itself had been drained of its color and life long ago when the human race had depleted much of the world's natural resources. 'That's how we got to be here, now,' you think. If the resources hadn't been used up, people wouldn't have had to switch over to synthetic resources. While, yes, it was more practical and inexpensive to just be able to use an alchemiter to retrieve products, but that's also how people had come into power. Those with the goods and means to access and create them rose to power and abused it. It made you shutter to think about how everyone had been blinded to how wrong it was that the people in power had used it to promote their own agenda.
Fog begins to creep across the land as the sun sets. It's chilling on your bare arms, and you being shivering. You ache places you never expected to ache in. But it's all explainable by the long period of time you had been riding the Nakodile. Not once did Dave stop or slow down, and you knew that it was for the better. The further away from the city you got, the less chance of you being caught. And the quicker you could help your friends. This doesn't do anything to help the exhaustion that threatens to overcome you.
Dave must have sensed the change in your grip around him, because before you realize it, he's slowed down to a stop. The landing from hovering several feet in the air is less than graceful, but you're glad when you can slip off of the vehicle and on to firm ground. You're legs nearly give out, but Dave is there to catch you and keep you upright. It takes a few moments, but you regain your composure enough to remove your helmet and to begin to search through your modus for the tent you know you packed. Dave's actions are similar, he pulls out wood and the materials to start a fire with relative ease, unlike you who accidentally ejects several items before the tent is released from the modus. You sigh and pull a few other things such as a hoodie that you'll need for the night and take a seat next to your friend by the fire where he is preparing a meal.
The two of you eat in complete silence, and remain silent even after. It's odd, the silence that stands between you. It's unlike the usual silence when you're home together and able to just enjoy each other's company without words. It's like a thick wall that you want to bust down with your hammer, but can't find the means by which to do so. But Dave surprises you by breaking down the wall himself, "Do you regret this yet?"
You're shocked a little at his question. The words that fall out of your mouth are indignant at first, but when you realize this, you soften them, "No! How could I? I mean, Dave, I came of my own accord, and I'm not about to turn back now. I would never just leave my friends like that. You guys are all really important to me, probably the most important thing in my life."

He's silent for a few moments, but you see the change as he goes from tense to relaxed before he speaks again, " Alright. Just making sure dude. Now that we have that shit taken care of, some other things need to be established. We can't have any secrets any more because while I trust you with my life, our trust has to be the most absolute thing. There can't be a single fuckin' doubt because this will work just about as well as a hot air balloon with a huge gaping hole if there is."
"Alright, what do we need to be honest about then?" You ask.
"First off," He says, "I need to know if there was anything during your Awakening that you need to tell me. Because I'm gonna tell you this flat out and lay my cards out on the table now. During my Awakening, the voice said some shit about being the rad puppet master over the hands of time, whatever that means. And dude, don't flip your shit or anything but..."
He stops, obviously nervous. You flash him a reassuring smile, "You can tell me Dave, I promise I wont freak out, no matter what it is."
Dave nods and pushes his sunglasses up to rest on top of his head. Just like he had done any other time he was frustrated with something, " I'll put it this way Egbert, if I had ended up being arrested, I would have been sent straight to Derse faster than you can come up with an excuse as to why Nic Cage is not a terribad actor."
It takes you a few moments to process what he's said. But when it hits you, it hits you like you imagine a Nakodile would at top speed, "So you're...you're a homosexual then?"
All he does is nod. He doesn't say a word. You let it soak in for a few seconds before you do what comes naturally; you move closer to him and hug him tightly. He stiffens in your arms, as if anticipating something else. But when he realizes that it's just a hug he relaxes. You don't know how much time passes while you sit like that, but it feels as though time passes by incredibly slowly.
If you didn't feel the need to say something, you would have just stayed like that, "Dave, you're really important to me. Something silly like that isn't going to make me not trust you or not want to be around you or some lame shit like that. What kind of dumpass friend would I be if I did something like that? Besides, what the hell do you think we're even doing out here? We're saving our other friends who are also homosexuals. Why would I treat you any different? I'm behind you 100%."
The firelight plays off of his eyes and you swear you see his lips twitch into a brief smile, "Thanks John. It means a lot to me."
"No problem Dave. You wanted to know about my Awakening, right? Well the voice told me that my friends would be important to me. One would be someone I can confide in, one will show up right when I need them, and that I'd find love with one of them. Which is kinda strange if you ask me. But anyways, it said something about me being the 'keeper of the wind' and going on a long journey but it couldn't talk about that. And it said something weird like that something that I feared was true, but I don't know what it meant by that. And that's basically the gist of it." You confide to him.
Upon hearing what you have to say, Dave becomes silent and seemingly lost in thought. Eventually the silence begins to lull you to sleep. You begin nodding off, reminding you just how tired you are. You stand and stretch, catching Dave's attention. He nods to acknowledge that he knows what you're doing and would be joining you shortly. Only moments later you're wrapped up in your blue sleeping bag and are sound asleep.

As John falls asleep, your viewpoint changes. You're now Dave Strider and you are contemplating what just went down. Over and over, your mind runs over every last bit of your conversation with John, trying to make the puzzle pieces fit together. Deep down, you're glad that he told you he'd stand by you. But right now, other things are bothering you.
The mystery of the relevance of time and wind strikes you as odd, and the mentions of a journey in John's Awakening. However, the last part that he had told you as well as the relationship between friends was what had your mind reeling. There was nothing that you knew of John feared. You recall every conversation you had with him before and after his Awakening and there's only one thing that relatively fits. You come to the realization of what it had meant when he himself couldn't. But you wouldn't tell him. He'd have to find out on his own.
As for the other part, you had your suspicions as well, especially with this new light that shone upon John's fate in your mind. Either he was going to make new friends to fill the spaces or you, Jade, and Rose fit the bill. And if that was so, well, the very thought did strange things to your heart. You could eliminate both Jade and Rose from the love interest category right off the bat considering Rose's predicament, what John had said about Jade being too like his sister, and the new information you had. It left only one person if your assumptions were right. And you make a decision right then and there.
You open your Modus and bring out a pen and a piece of paper. You write and write until your hand has all but stopped moving, until you're content with the flow of words on the paper. The sheet and the pen are quickly shoved back into your Modus with the promise to yourself that tomorrow you would make sure John received the page from you with very specific instructions. After that, you retire to the tent you share with him and curl up in your sleeping bag. But not without a quick whisper of good night into the object of you affection of the last few month's ear.

You wake up in the morning and you view the world once more as John Egbert. Dave is asleep next to you when you wake up. He looks so much more vulnerable in his sleep than when he's awake, and it brings a smile to your lips. Instead of waking him, you take the initiative to get up and start a fire. It takes a while, as you find you're not very good at making a fire at all, but eventually you're cooking something that resembles a decent breakfast over a small crackling fire.
The smell of food and smoke must have roused him, because soon Dave is seated next to you at the fire and accepting his ration of the food. You eat in silence, there's not much to talk about this early. But it isn't the sharp silence like the silence last night. It's back to the companionable silence that both of you need to get up and begin the day with. After you've eaten, you both pack up quickly ( again with some trouble controlling your Modus, which inspires a laugh on both your and Dave's parts) and you find yourself walking to the Nakodile for another day's ride.
Dave stops you before you can pull your helmet on and pulls a sheet of paper out of his Modus, "Listen close Egbert. I want you to put this into your modus. The only reason you should take it out and read it is if something's happened to me, you're in trouble, or you figure out what your Awakening meant. If you open it otherwise, I'll make sure that bunny of yours gets it. Got it?"
You nod and the two of you pull on your helmets as you return to your spot on the Nakodile to begin what you will always remember as the longest day of your life.