A/N: whooooo, chapter 7. A lot of shit goes down here. I hope you guys like this! Feel free to comment all you want, because comments make my heart go doki doki. Yes, I know I'll be shot for that later. It's nearly 4 am, I have work in the morning, and right now IDGAF.
Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Homestuck.

It's black. Everything. You know your eyes are open, but you can't see one damn thing. When you move, you find that your wrists and feet are bound. Everything about this screams 'notgoodnotgoodnotgood'. It takes a lot of effort, but you sit up with a groan. Your head hurts, it's worse than anything you've ever felt, and so does the rest of your body. It takes all of the restraint you have not to cry out in pain, because you don't know what will happen if you do.
After a while, you find a way to ignore the throbbing of your head and the soreness of every other part of your body. You also come to the realization that while you may be sitting, you're moving. The floor under you shakes and you've felt the occasional bump penetrate your perception of the movement of where you are. It's not a good sign. In fact, it's probably a really bad sign. You're not sure where you're being taken, you don't know who's taking you there, and probably the worst thing, you have absolutely no clue where Dave is. Which by ever single definition means that your mission has failed.
You're trying to remember exactly what went wrong. What you could have done to have kept this from happening. It would benefit you to start from the time when you first saw Derse's towers come in to view. You close your eyes and let yourself slip into the memory.

It had been several hours since you and Dave had set out once more across the bleak, barren land. The air was still thick with the ever-present fog that seemed to cling to any and every foreign object that passed through it. Even with the extra layers you had put on, you find your dampened clothing sticking to your skin. It's one of the worst sensations and you've begun to resent the white clouding that surrounds you. Occasionally you just close your eyes and think about the warm sunlight and playful breeze of your once home city.
As the time passes by, you start to notice things. The first, which brings you back out of your fantasy, is when you feel the fog around you become substantially lighter now than it had before when it pressed against you. When you open your eyes and look around, you can actually see for several meters out, something you had not been able to do since the day before. What you see now is also different. Small areas, barely even visual as you pass by, are covered by wispy blades of grass. Although it was only small, this sign of life gave you hope that maybe, just maybe, you were getting close. Dave must sense it too, because he slows the Nakodile down a bit. Within 20 minutes of your discovery of grass, you see it.
You went into this not having any clue what to expect when you reached Derse. But it certainly wasn't this. The towers and archway made of purple stone amaze you. The architecture is beautiful, and it looks just like the pictures of the cities of old that you had read about. From where you were, it didn't look like it could possibly be a camp for those treasonous to the government's laws at all. In fact, it might have been one of the most beautiful things you had ever seen. And to top the glory of Derse off, when you looked at it, you didn't look straight ahead. Bound to the land by chains that glittered in the sunlight that pierced the clouds, Derse floated a good 200 meters above the ground.
It's only a glimpse of seeing the floating city that you're able to see before you once again can only see fog. A protest rises in your throat, but falls silent when Dave brings the craft to a stop. The landing is a lot smoother than the last time, and as you slide off of the Nakodile, you give him a small nod of approval. In only a matter of minutes, both of you have extricated yourselves from the bike, your helmets, and your damp clothing in exchange for sitting next to the vehicle in warm, clean clothing that you had put in your Modus, while a panel on the Nakodile opened so that it could recharge itself on the few rays of sunlight that by chance pierced the area you had stopped in.
"We need a plan." Dave says a few minutes after you've begun to unwind from the hours you had spent on the vehicle.
You nod in agreement. There was no way that you could get to Derse without a plan and a way to infiltrate without detection, "Well. Climbing one of the chains is definitely out of the question. Do you have anything in mind? I mean, this is more your area of expertise than mine."
"Well," he says, pausing and taking a deep breath, "There's an option that I've been contemplating. But I only want it to come to that as a last resort. Otherwise, I'm still formulating how the hell we're going to pull this off. I mean seriously, dude, did you know it was going to be a flying city? If your answer is yes, than your a filthy liar Egbert. Woe is me, I'd be a poor maiden trapped out here with a man I can't even trust."
He smirks a bit and you can't help but to let out a string of laughs and give his arm a light punch. He laughs too, and it makes the moment even better. Even in the face of danger, you're glad he's the same friend you've known for such a long time. He recovers from laughing first, and when you settle down as well, you finally reply to him, "No way! I mean, it's like something out of a movie! I didn't even think there was the technology to do something like that. It's like taking our hover-tech to a whole new level! Dave did you even see those buildings? They were pretty much right out of our textbook. Maybe we found the wrong place, because it doesn't look like it could be a place they'd send people to be punished at all!"
"No, it doesn't, does it?" he asks, his voice dropping.
The small smile that he had worn for a few minutes drops from his face. The frown that replaces it plays at your heartstrings and causes you to pull him into a hug. You know he's taking the whole situation harder than you are given his...own situation for lack of better idea of what to file it as in your mind, and you want to do everything to comfort him, "Everything is going to turn out just fine Dave, I promise."

"But what if it doesn't?" he asks you, "What if it doesn't and we can't help anyone? What if we end up in a worse situation trying to right this than they are now? Part of me wishes it had been me rather than Lalonde, Dirk, English, or Lalonde's girlfriend. But the other part screams over that, because if it had been me up there in the floating city, then someone else who means a lot to me would suffer too. To be honest with you Egbert, I'm just fuckin' scared that we're going to trash this and all of our efforts are going to go to hell. I'm scared that I can't save anybody."
You look at him, astounded at his statement, "Dave, jeeze. Cut it out. First off, I know that we're not going to fail. It's just a feeling I get, but there's no way we're going to fail at this. It means too much to both of us, and Jade, and it will to the others when they find out to fail. And next, I'm glad it wasn't you. It doesn't make me happy that any of our friends are in this situation to begin with, but I don't think I could do any of this without you. We're going to save everyone Dave, that's a thing that is definitely going to happen. You're not in this alone."
For a moment he stays as he was before he moves to return your hug rather than his stiff acceptance of it. His head finds its way to your shoulder and you hold him there. You can tell he's not crying, which you figure is a good thing. The two of you stay like that for several minutes before he pulls back from the hug, "I guess if we don't know what we're doing with this just yet that we should probably just put up camp here until we think of something, right?"
"Well yeah." you agree, "Sounds pretty good. But before I get unpacking shit from my Modus, would you tell me what your backup plan is? I really want to know in case we have to do that."
"All I can tell you," he says slowly, "is that it has to do with that letter I gave you. If we have to do it, I'll have you read the letter and we'll go from there, alright?"
You nod and both you and he get down to the business of setting up shop for the night. You have to fuck around with your modus again, and the act of building your camp feels almost normal as you go about your business and Dave goes about his. And when you're both done, you seat yourself on the ground to relax. He joins you for a little while, but you're both restless and can't stay in one spot. It starts with him standing and pacing. Next you joined him by just standing and leaning on the Nakodile. But finally neither of you could take it, and he mumbled something about going to check out the chains that kept Derse from floating away, and you mumbling about taking a walk in return. He leaves in one direction and you go in the other. Before you leave, you take a wad of blue string out of your Modus and tie it to the firmly grounded Nakodile so that you could find your way back.
It's calming for you to just walk. You don't have to think about anything except putting one foot in front of the other. And you don't. All you focus on is walking until you find a patch of grass. It makes you smile when you reach down to touch the plant, like a reassurance that even here, life was possible. You had known for a while that you weren't going to be able to return to the city you grew up in after everything, and the time that you had spent watching the barren ground go by made you wistful of your past life there. It was as if the land had given up hope, but with the grass you knew there was hope, because despite the odds, it was trying. Just like you. Because back at the apartment, you had no clue if you were even cut out for this, in fact, you know you aren't.
You take a seat on the grass and look towards the sky to try and find more relief there. But it the sky isn't visible from where you sit, obscured by fog. The position and lack of movement on your part bring back the thoughts you had tried to keep at bay. Not a single idea for a plan to get to Derse comes to your mind. You find yourself wondering what Dave's backup plan was. And you realize that if you want to know, there's a simple way to find out. It's sitting right in your Modus, and the temptation is so great. You can't even handle it, and you have no option. Dave is going to be angry at you later, but you'll handle that when it comes.
For once, your modus doesn't fuck up when you pull the note out of it. It comes out just as you had put it in, and for a few moments it just rests in your hands. It's all you can take to not unfold it and read it right away. Your hands shake a little as you run your fingers over the folds of the sheet as if opening straight away is a bad idea. It's a short lived notion however, and you being to unfold the crease.
A red flash darts out in front of you and you find that the letter has been whisked away into the hands of its author, who stands not even two feet from where you're seated with a grim look on his face, " Egbert, I'm not dead and nothing's happened. I thought we had an agreement that you wouldn't open it unless that happened, or I gave you permission? Way to go jackass, there goes a bit of my trust."
" I couldn't help it!" you say indignantly, "I mean, seriously Dave, you give me a letter of some sort and tell me not to read it unless those circumstances happen. And then you go and say that one of the only options you came up with had to do with me reading whatever you wrote! That's pretty much just asking me to read it! I don't want to be on the side of a plan like that where I'm the last to know what the hell is going on! I trust you without a doubt Dave Strider, and I want you to trust me enough to include me in things like this before it's imperative that I know them!"
"I can't let you read this yet. I'm sorry John, I just can't. I can't risk you reacting to it just yet. There's a reason behind the way this has to be, so just fucking deal with it, alright?" He snapped back.
Both of you are silent for a few moments. You hadn't expected this to happen, and you knew he couldn't have either. You want to apologize, but you know you're right. This is something you need to know, and he has to stop hiding things if you want any plan to free your friends to work out. But if what he's saying is true, you know you have to trust him with this, because it might me the success or failure of the mission.
You are the first to speak up, the bad feeling that welled up in the pit of your stomach finally getting to you, "I'm sorry Dave. I won't look again unless I can meet those requirements. I'm just kind of stressed when it comes to something that could potentially make or break this. That is unless you suddenly have a different plan."
"Actually, I do." he says. The frown on his face has turned into a straight, thin line of stoicism that you were used to, and it made you hope that everything would be okay between you, " Derse is kept in the air with a magnet system. If we take our the lower magnet, it'll come crashing down. Obviously no one would get hurt, because gravity wouldn't allow anyone to exist on the lower half without them falling the insane distance back to the ground, so don't worry your pretty head about that."
You grin at him, hope blossoming in your chest, "That's brilliant Dave! It's perfect, because that'll cause enough of a distraction for us to get in and others to get out!"
"There's only one problem." He says.
"What?" you ask. Of course it wouldn't be that simple it was never...
" Well, the control station for the magnets is seriously fucking guarded. Dude, there are these huge god damn Imps guarding it. They're massive."
" We can take them." You say with resolve, "I know we could take on the world together. A couple of big Imps are a pain in the ass, but I know we can do it!"
He smiles at you and nods in agreement, "We strike at dawn?"
"We strike at dawn." you agree.
"Sweet." he says. He extends his hand that's still holding the note to you and you take it, "You'd better not try and read it until the time is right this time Egbert. Got it?"
You nod, and that's the end of the conversation. Both of you follow your blue string back to your tent ( which is how he found you in the first place, he informs you), and relax for the rest of your waking hours; just talking, eating a meal prepared over the fire he built, and eventually falling asleep in your respective sleeping bags.

The next morning you wake up and you're on the move again right away. You get up, pack anything that's not being used and cook, waking Dave up hastily after you've finished cooking so that you can sit down, eat, and pack up everything else. You've finished within a matter of a half of an hour, and you're soon hurdling through fog on the Nakodile towards Derse and the control building. It doesn't take long considering that Dave walked almost completely there the evening before, but when the small building comes into view, you gasp, only audible to you because of the helmet you wear. The Imps are gargantuan, standing taller than the building they guarded and together nearly the length of said facility. This wasn't at all what you'd expected they would be, and you're nervous as hell, but you resolve to not let that stop you.
You and Dave dismount the Nakodile before the Imps see you, and make your way quickly to a vantage point around the corner of where one of the two is standing. You know that the element of surprise will be key to taking down the first Imp, and the second one would be sheer skill and luck after that. On Dave's first signal, you bring your hammer out of your Strife Specibus, and on his second, you round the corner with him and begin your assault. Unlike his practiced blows with his sword, you rely on luck that your hammer will do damage. Somehow, your and Dave's skills are an effective combination on the first Imp, because it goes down without a hitch. You gain some black stains of the creatures blood on your clothes and face, but it isn't a concern, because the second one comes around the gray building, presumably having smelled it's comrade's defeat. The creature let out a deafening roar, but after the defeat of the first one, you're no longer scared.
This one puts up much a better fight. When Dave goes to attack it, his speed seems to do very little for him, as although it's blinding to you, the Imp seems to be able to fend off every single attack. You charge in to help him out, swinging your hammer at the creature and hoping to do damage to it. It's sudden, but you hear a sickening crack, only to look over to find Dave slumped against the wall. You know that the Imp must have gotten hold of him and had thrown him. It makes you go white with rage, and suddenly your wild swings are charged with even more power than before. When there's an opening when the creature tries to take a swing at you, you take it, bringing the hammer to bash down over its head and more of the black blood drenches you as the damned thing disappears. There was the urge to let out a cry of triumph, but something in your gut wretches when you remember how lifeless Dave looked slumped against the wall.
You make it over to him in less than five steps, turning him so he's completely his back so you can assess the damage. He has a few cuts on his face, and his back will probably bruise up, but you're more concerned about the blood, red and so different from that of the Imp's, covers the hand you move to lift up the back of his head with. Internally you're freaking the fuck out, but the more rational part of your brain picks up the slack and forces your body into movement. You can't stay out here and you know it, so you pick him up as gently as you can and locate the door to the building, opening it and entering. Ever so gently, you set him down before barricading the door with a near by table for good measure. Then you rush back over to him, pulling all of the medical supplies out of your Modus and bandaging the areas he's bleeding from quickly and efficiently. After that, your mind goes back to worry mode, and you find yourself crying with his head in your lap.
Every bit of your mind wishes it was you and not him that had been hurt. It scares the hell out of you to see him lying with his head in your lap, motionless. You check his pulse, and it's still there, weaker than usual, but a good sign none the less. A few tears drop on to his cheek from your face, and you wipe them away quickly. It forces you to notice that his shades were gone, probably on the ground somewhere, potentially smashed to bits. You know when he wakes up that it will annoy him to no end, but now you just want him to wake up. For a while you just sit there with your head in your hands, crying.
You try to calm down a bit, forcing the sobs you'd let out into hiccups. It's been nearly 25 minutes and he hasn't woken up, and it scares the hell out of you. At this point you don't care how you get reassurance that everything is going to be okay, but you need it. The situation completely deems the actions you take as a plausible reason for it. You open your Modus and take out the letter he gave you. Your hands really shake this time, in fear rather than the nervousness of being caught the last time. The paper unfolds with ease, and you read the red letters scrawled across the page in Dave's handwriting:

Dear John,
If you're reading this, either something happened or I finally had the balls to tell you to read this. It's probably the first one, and that fucking sucks. First off dude, calm down and stop panicking. It's not going to get you anywhere right now. Next, take a deep breath and if you're not sitting down, I suggest it, because what you're about to read is going to be a lot to handle.

You follow the advice written on the page before going on reading.

So the reason I'm writing this is because I'm too much of a lameass to actually tell you it. But here goes nothing. Remember when we talked before you underwent your Awakening about how it was either you or Harley that were going to worm your girlish ways into my cold, irony filled heart? And do you remember when I told you about my Awakening and how I'm definitely a homo? Dude, if you haven't caught on already, I've just seriously lowered the playing-field down for you Egbert. That's right, even if you haven't guessed it, it's you who wormed your way into my heart, dumpass. I love you Egbert, I have for a while now. I didn't want to tell you because I knew that even before your Awakening you were afraid of the possibility of being gay. But after you told me about your awakening, I knew I could tell you. I love you and for now that's all I have to say about that. If you want to stay best bro, fine, if not, that's cool too. But the ball is in your court now. Keep your head up no matter what you're going through while reading this. I'll be there for you no matter what.
Love,
Dave Stider.

Tears threaten to well up in your eyes again. He loves you. He loves you and he didn't tell you. He kept it a secret because he cared about you and didn't want to lose you. And now, there he lay, in your lap, his breathing faint and his eyes still closed. A million emotions pass through you in the moment. The most prominent of these being one you can't name. But despite your fear and anger at the situation, you feel this warm feeling building in you and taking over. And there you make a conscious decision. You move your head down and kiss him so very, very softly on the lips. Tears stream down your face again, but for a different reason this time.
It's amazing, and it feels just right. Motion stirs you out of the complete grasp of your emotions, and you feel him waking below you and waking to kiss you back. You nearly sob in relief and break this kiss to wipe your eyes of the tears. He smiles weakly at you and opens his mouth to speak, "Why the waterworks Egbert? I'm alive dude, no need to act like I've gone to join the Devil in the innermost depths of hell. And hell, I won't complain about waking up to being kissed, but I'm kind of wondering about that too."
You let out a shaky laugh, "God, I was so scared. You looked like you were nearly dead and it scared me so much Dave. That Imp threw you against the wall and knocked you out and you were bleeding. I didn't know what to do, so I read your letter. You're so fucking stupid you know that. You should have just told me, and everything would have been just fine. Jesus Dave. I don't know just yet if I can tell you that I love you back, but I'm willing to try. Is that alright?"
"More than alright," he says, "It's fan-fucking-tastic."
You both laugh a little and you move in for another short kiss before you realize that you really need to get back on task, Dave becoming what you guess is your boyfriend or not, "I know I'm asking you when you're just waking up and shit, but dude, we've got to do this and get out of here. Do you think with some help you can stand and show me what we need to do?"
He nods and you do just that. You get up and help him to his feet, slinging one of his arms around your shoulders to handle some of his weight for him. He points to each switch or button and tells you what you need to do, and finally you progress to the last button. You bring yourself to press it and bring Derse down from the sky, but as you do there's a splintering sound as the front door is broken down. Small Imps rush in to the building, and there isn't a damn thing you or Dave can do about it. You're swimming in a sea of black, and one of those black masses must have had something with it, because you feel something heavy hit the back of your head before you pass out.

A/N: Yes, a second note. This was inspired by this lovely fanart and some of my favorite artists and fans who give me a kick in the pants to get me to work:
capricious-chai(dot)tumblr(dot)com/post/15997424769