Dave stared blankly at his house, or what was left of it. It still stood on all fours, but the windows were shattered, some bricks were damaged, and entire walls were in graffiti. Furniture was peeking through the busted windows and the door that swung loosely on it's hinges. The green grass was decorated with holes, and toilet paper swung in the burnt down tree branches.

Dirk gasped at the sight. His face frowned, and he watched Dave closely. "Dude..." He muttered, but the blonde didn't answer. His red eyes were locked on the scene. This was making Dirk feel uneasy. "Dave, listen I-" But Dave cut him off. "No." Dave shook his head. "No, no. Don't blame yourself, bro. It's just that..." He said with a sigh, and brushed a trembling hand through his golden locks.

Dave began walking towards what he believed was the entrance, and Dirk followed him. They both maneuvered through the front porch, stepping over glass and rubble. Dirk eyed the damage, and cursed below his breath.

Shit. And this is all my fault. Fuck!

The both men squeezed through the tight opening to get inside. The interior was no better than the exterior. Wallpaper was torn to shreds along with couple of chairs, and a sofa that lied upside down. A lamp was thrown to shatter a TV, and taps were constantly running hot water. Any frames that once were nailed to the wall, were now being stepped on below feet. The carpet was painted with oil, and dishes were now only colorful shards that of a confetti.

"Holy shit." Exclaimed Dirk. Dave only kept quiet, gaze glued to a staircase that lead to the second floor. Both only dreaded the scene that awaited them both upstairs. Dirk placed a firm hand on Dave's shoulder as a sign of reassurance, and Dave finally nodded his head, acknowledging his feelings. "Yeah." Muttered the shorter blonde, and Dirk nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Dave began to climb upstairs, Dirk following suit. The carpet was wet and stained, and it squeaked under the pressure, but that didn't bother the two anymore. When up, Dave made his way to a specific room, overlooking all the wreckage around him. His pace quickened, and he placed his pale hands on a wooden door at the end of a hall. He gave it a little push and it fell forward with a loud bang.

The room seemed to be a bedroom, or what used to be one. It had a bed that was broken in three pieces, and the sheets hanging outside an open window. Magazines and game cases were wet from the water that leaked inside from the open taps. Pillows were nailed to walls with large butcher knives, and a laptop was snapped in two, the two parts stacked on each other.

Dave gasped and ran towards the bed. He fell to his knees and rummaged under it, searching for something. Dirk didn't know what to say, he was left wondering if his house was in the same state. He brought a hand to his face, and rubbed his sweaty face on it. After a while he heard Dave exclaim, and he looked up to see the male standing up. "No, NO!" Dave turned around, revealing he was holding a metal box. It's lock was busted, and the lid had a slight dent in it.

"What?" Dirk asked. "What's in the box?" He slowly stepped forward to stand besides Dave. The blonde opened the box, revealing only a torn picture. "NO!" Dave shouted, grabbed the two pieces and threw the box across the room. "NO NO NO! NOT THE FUCKING PICTURE! SHIT!" He placed the two pieces together along the tear, and revealed an image. Two teens, hands slung over each other's shoulder. One with messy black hair and geeky glasses, wore a smile up to his hears. Besides him stood a blonde with shades who kept a poker face, but a smile was visible in the corner of his mouth.

Dirk pointed at the shaded teen. "That's you, right?" He inspected the background, which was filled with balloons and two other kids who were blurry. "It's a party." Stated Dirk, and Dave sighed. "Yeah, my thirteenth." He said, hands shaking. Dirk moved his finger over the other boy. "Who is he?" He asked, and Dave answered almost immediately. "That's John, my best bro." The two stayed quiet for a bit, which was broken by Dave continuing to talk.

"He was the one who got me these cool, ironic shades. It was the best gift I was given, besides-" He cut short when realization struck him. "Besides my bro... Oh hell no!" Dave shoved the two pieces in his pocket, and pushed Dirk out of his way. Dirk didn't mind it, as he knew Dave wasn't in the best moods now. He watched as the blonde pushed a wardrobe that blocked a door. Slight smoke was coming out of it.

Dave pulled the door open, and a pile of burning clothes fell all over him. Dirk gasped, but Dave shrugged the burning cloths off, and the fire went off as the clothes fell onto the soggy floor. He watched as Dave kicked open a wall, and pull out a katana.

"Oh thank gog." Dave breathed out, as he saw the katana received no damage to it. Dirk watched as the blonde sheathed it, and hung it over his shoulder. The two stared at each other, expecting one to say something. But when Dave saw that Dirk wasn't going to talk, he stepped up. "Welp." He shrugged. "There's nothing more to do here." He sighed. "Might as well move on." The red eyed male walked past Dirk, and stepped out of the room. Dirk shook his head in disbelief, and began walking too.

On the way out, Dirk scanned for any other images that were on the floor. He only saw ones of Dave alone, presenting various achievements. A typical bunch of images. When near the exit, one frame caught Dirk's eye. It was bright red, and held an image of a young blonde, hugging a taller one. The man was dressed in a white shirt, wore similar glasses to Dirk, and a gray hat.

It seemed as an important picture to Dirk, but it din't seem as Dave was searching for it as he was the last two, or three, objects. He was pondering whether to say anything, or not. Dave noticed his lag, and took a step back. "Yo, Dirk." He called out. "It's no use staying in this dump any longer, are you coming?"

"What about that?" Dirk pointed at the frame, and Dave followed the direction. He froze as his eyes met the frame. He swallowed hard, and turned around to walk. "So what of it? Leave it be." Dirk frowned, but did as he was told, and left it.

Karkat tugged at his body as he made his way through dark halls. He begged that no one saw him in this sorry state. The Cancer finally stopped before a door that bore his Zodiac sign. He opened his room, and slumped his body inside, kicking the door behind him shut. He grunted as his body hit the cold floor, and gasped as he heard a yelp.

"Holy shit, Karkat is that you?" A female voice asked. "Fuck, you scared me!" She seemed to cross her arms and pull a lip. Karkat jagged his body around, but sighed and slumped back down when he saw who was talking with him. "Fuck you, Terezi." He thanked the Gods that she was blind, and wasn't able to see him like this. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He asked, and watched Terezi shrug her shoulders.

"I don't know!" She answered playfully. "Am I not allowed to visit my precious Karkat?" She swayed on Karkat's bed side to side. She moved her hand about, searching for her friend. "Where are you?" She asked, concern swaying in her voice.

Karkat slowly sat up, hissing at the pain. "Ah, fuck!" He exclaimed, and then threw a hand in front of his mouth to silence himself. Terezi might be blind, but she has relied on sound to figure out her surroundings. "Karkat?" She reached out in the direction his voice came from. "Are you okay? Are you hurt by any chance?"

Karkat didn't know what to do. He trusted the Libra, but he loved her too much to worry her. "I'm fine!" He slapped Terezi's hand away, and she rubbed the red mark now forming on her pale skin. "Wow. Karkat. Really?" She sighed, and listened to Karkat swear at the pain. He stood up, and walked over to a mirror that was hung in his room. He watched as blood dripped from his mouth and nose, staining his black shirt, and covering his gray Cancer sign.

Terezi jumped out of the bed, and made her way across the room. She was long familiar with the surroundings, so it was no challenge to find Karkat. "Karkat, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She placed her hand on his chest, but pulled away when she felt something sticky. Karkat panicked, and pushed her away. "No, Terezi don't!" The Libra stumbled on her feet, bout regained her balance.

"What is this?" She rubbed the sticky substance with her sleek fingers, and brought it to her trustworthy nose. "Is this-" She sniffed it several times, and concluded. "Blood?" Karkat was breathing heavily, and Terezi tried to calm him down.

"N-No! I-I just.." The Cancer tried to cover up, but Terezi wouldn't have any of it. "Karkat, did he hurt you?" Asked Terezi, as she wrapped her hands around Karkat's. "H-He... Yes... Caliborn brought out his mighty rage on a lowly fuckass like me." Karkat finally gave in. "I can't take this rumpus anymore!" He snapped, causing the Libra to gasp. "Terezi, are you not feeling any regret at all? Not a single glimpse of sympathy?" He shook his hands, and Terezi's face grimaced.

"Of course I do!" She answered. "But we don't have any other way out! If we try to rebel, we'll all be hanged!" She sighed, and Karkat held back his tears. "I know it's hard, but now that Caliborn rules over us, we have no other choice!" She said.

"I can't take that taintchafing insipid shitbagel anymore! That green bastard is manipulating us all with money!" His grip around Terezi's hands tightened, and a shiver ran down his spine. "I-I can't! I was supposed to be the leader! I was going to make the Zodiacs a better gang, but then that crotchstained insufferable tomfucker got tangled in my plans!" Terezi shooshed her friend, and patted on his back.

Dirk and Dave made their way towards Dirk's house in silence. Not a single word was uttered between the two the whole time. Both were ready to experience a dejavu; to see Dirk's house in the same sorry state. Only their shoes squeaked at every step from the moisture in Dave's house.

Time passed slowly, and the walking tired out both men. Dave was dragging his feet at the back, as he didn't know where to go exactly. "Are we nearly there?" He finally spoke up, surprising Dirk. "Are you alright lil man?" The blonde turned his head to send a glance towards Dave, who raised his eyebrows. "Yeah? I'm just tired of walking." He answered and Dirk shook his head. "No, that's not what I mean!"

Dirk's statement only further confused Dave. "What? What do you mean then?" He asked, and sprinted towards Dirk to walk by his side. "Are you not phased at all? I mean, after all that bullshit." Explained the taller male. "I know I would." He added, and Dave shrugged. "I don't know." Claimed Dave. "I mean, yeah it hurt my feelings, but... I mean you have to move on."

Dirk didn't understand him. How could he shrug this off? "You keep saying that, 'you have to move on' phrase. Did someone say that to you?" He asked, and watched as Dave's gaze fell to the floor. With a shrug, Dave answered. "Yeah, my bro used to say it." With that statement, it all became clear to Dirk.

His brother. That's the reason. I guess he was raised that way, to stay strong. His brother raised him to move on and not dwell on the past, then. Admirable.

"So that guy." Dirk jerked his head. "In the picture I mean, was that your brother?" He asked, and Dave nodded. "Yup. Sure was." Dirk then frowned, and questioned the shaded man more. "Then how come you didn't take his picture? He was your family. What about your parents?" Dave only shook his head. "I don't know what happened to my parents. Bro raised me alone in a flat in Texas. After an accident, I moved houses to here."

No matter how hard he tried, Dirk couldn't make Dave open up entirely. He could not figure out the red eyed man. "Accident?" He kept questioning, but this time Dave refused to give further information. "Doesn't matter." He waved his hand, dismissing the thoughts, and kept walking. Dirk didn't understand why. Why was Dave so cold?

"And what's it to you anyways?" Dave spoke up in a rude tone. "Why are you so clingy to the idea of safekeeping every single thing?" Dirk knew exactly why, and he was going to share his mind. "It's because I don't have any family. The idea of love is just so anomalous to me. If I had a family, I would want to keep the thought of it with me, constantly." He rambled on like a machine. "Don't you feel that way? Or is it me who's out of line? I guess I was not raised properly, thus I don't understand the concept of 'family'." His words came across as a shock to Dave. "Bro. That's deep." Was the only thing Dave could utter, but Dirk only shrugged.

By now, Dirk knew they were close to his house. He let Dave knew that it's just down the road, and to left. With this information, Dave ran down the street, leaving Dirk behind. "Hey!" Dirk called after him, and watched as Dave disappeared around the corner. Dirk picked up his pace, made a turn around the corner and stopped right behind Dave. They both watched as Dirk's house burnt down to ashes.

"Shit bro." Dave muttered, and turned to see Dirk's reaction. The blonde kept a straight face, and breathed in deep. He opened his mouth, and words rolled out of it sorrowfully. "Well, it's only a memory now."