A/N: School has taken over my life more than usual, augh! And whoa, I wasn't expecting that surge of reviews last chapter but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I decided to take a different route than the usual ones I read. But most of you guessed correctly as to what happened to Kanny. Yay for you~!

Karkat's POV

This was surreal in a way with all that's happened in the past few hours.

From the fight with Vriska to the argument I had with Kankri that resulted in us being in the hospital with him. And now he was acting like a child, all smiles and innocent giggles as he played with Porrim's hair. I furrowed a brow and leaned in a bit to gain his attention again. It worked thankfully as he shifted his vision towards me.

"Hey Kankri? Are you feeling okay?"

"Well duh! Of course I am Karky. How could I not be okay? I mean besides the fact that we're in a hospital which is really weird cause I don't remember getting hurt or anything but haha, here I am all with band aids on my head. Isn't that kind of funny how stuff happens withou-"

I rested my hand over his mouth. Even if he did act like a kid, he was still a chatterbox. I didn't like this new personality in front of me right now. It was too happy and loud and just not like Kankri at all. I would've yelled at him to quit playing jokes. But 1, I was the reason he was even in the hospital in the first place. 2, yelling at him when he was in this condition was a low blow and I didn't want to give everyone another reason to rip me a new one and 3, his attitude and the way he reacted to things made me hesitant. My irritated look softened though as I stared into his eyes. They were so different. I didn't know what could have went on when he fell to cause this. But I do know that now I'm even more racked with guilt than before.

It was at that moment that the doctor had strode in and we all looked at him, some more eager than most. And by some, I meant all of us except Kankri. I stood up from my seat as he examined the clipboard in his hand and then directing a small smile at us.

Kankri waved cheerfully at the doctor, "Hi Dr. Scratch!"

He chuckled, "Well now look who's awake. Hello Kankri. I trust you are doing well?"

"Mhm! Look, my little brother and my papa and Porrim and Cro all came to see me~!"

"Isn't that good news to hear?"

Kankri giggled and his attention shifted off to the stuffed animal on his bed which gave us a chance to find out what happened. I walked over to Dr. Scratch, wringing my hands nervously and biting my lip.

"Hey.. Dr. Scratch? So what happened to Kankri? Why's he like...this?"

He looked over at me, the smile still remaining though it seemed to carry some stress. Adjusting his glasses, he set the clipboard on the hook at the foot of the bed and readjusted his glasses before stuffing his hands into his coat. A heavy sigh escaped him.

"It's a bit hard to explain. But I will try the best I can to make it clear and understandable to you all. Now Kankri's injuries were quite dangerous, what with him falling down the stairs. He sustained a very terrible head injury which will keep him here for a few days more. His arm was dislocated also but we managed to fix that injury also."

Alright, so everything seems sort of okay..

"But.."

Oh fuck, he said 'but.' Here comes the bad news..

"It seems that the main concern of Kankri is not his physical condition but his mental condition. His brainwaves as we've recorded is more erratic and whimsical than one would expect of a person of his age. It seems that before the fall, he had suffered a shock of some sort and as he fell, his mind stuck to the thought that kept him in this state until he awoke here. As a result, his mind has shifted from the attitude of a teenager to that of a child. A 7 year old child to be exact."

What?

"Wait, what are you talking about doc?" Cronus stood up from his seat along with Porrim.

Dad stayed seated in his chair with a look of surprise and worry on his face as he glanced at Kankri. But he kept his attention balanced of us as well to hear more.

"What I mean is that he is suffering from a condition that is known as repression. It is a common mental shield of some sorts activated by large amounts of stress and shock that reverts the adult or teen of this manner to a younger state of mind to deal with situation. Kankri was in enough dismay to turn to this state as he fell and remained unconscious until he awoke a while back."

He lifted a hand to fix the collar of his shirt, probably to take some of the tension away.

"He was afraid of dealing with whatever had happened and his mind seemed to obey a wish of some sort and default to the person he is right now. He doesn't remember anything that conspired today. In fact, he does not remember anything past the age he is now, 7. And until he is triggered back to his original mental well being, he will continue to act this way. If he is never triggered by a natural mean, he will stay this way forever. Forced to grow up once more."

I wobbled a bit as I took a step back. The room was silent, shock beginning to settle in throughout the room as everyone registered what was just said. Porrim shook her head in disbelief, taking another step towards the doctor. She, like everyone else, didn't want this to be true.

"B-But this can't be...you can't change him back?"

"I apologize miss, but there is nothing I can do. It is out of my jurisdiction. I pray that whatever," His green eyes narrowed as he looked in my direction, "or whoever had caused this dilemma will help along in the healing."

I felt everyone's eyes on me and shrunk in on myself a bit. God, just when I thought things had a chance to get better and everyone to slowly get over this, it had to go wrong. I didn't know how I could make Kankri himself again. It was clear a simple apology wasn't going to fix this.

"Ah, well I see you have things to work out. I will be back soon when visiting hours are close to over. Good evening to you all."

He turned around and left the room quickly, barely making a noise as the door shut. I pursed my lips and my shoulders slumped visibly as I turned to face the others. They were all giving me disapproving looks. Except for Kankri who gauged everyone's critiquing looks and making a sound of confusion.

"Hey, hey! Why's everybody staring at Karky? Did he do something bad?"

"You could say that Kankri.." Dad gave him a weary stare, visibly upset by this new development.

"Oh no! Karkat, what did you do? Did you be mean to someone again?"

"Oh Kanny, you have no idea..but it'll be alright, he'll make it better just like we will okay dear?" She smiled weakly at Kankri who cocked his head to the side before grinning brightly.

"Oh mkay!"

I just turned my attention to the ground, seeing as it was the only thing that didn't reek of utter disappointment and slight anger and glare at me like I was the most insufferable human being on the planet.

"Karkat?.."

I didn't want to look up. Because I knew he'd give me that curious yet concerned eye he always did. I hated it when we were younger, felt terrible when I received it these days and sure as hell couldn't take it now. A shifting sound accompanied by small gasps from the bed me look up. Kankri was moving towards the edge of the bed where I was, carefully to not move his injured arm to much. There was worry evident in his eyes as he reached me. I winced when he lifted a hand and laid it on my head. Before I even opened my mouth, he tugged me into a tight hug and I didn't bother struggling this time. Despite my guilt and not wanting to even touch him from all the guilt that washed over me in waves, I really needed a hug right now.

"It's gonna be okay Karky. I know it's really stupid when you get in trouble a lot. But I'll be here to help like a big bro should, kay~?"

I let out a bitter chuckle, my face buried in his shoulder as I slowly hugged him back in some sad want for comfort.

"Yeah..."

"Hehe good. I love you Karky."

I felt a strange sensation of warmth in my chest when he said that and it made me squeeze him all the more tighter. Even when everyone was upset with me, he never actually followed their lead. Not once in childhood and not when we were grown teens arguing every day.

I fucked up real bad with how I acted and what I caused. But at that moment...when he gave me a hug that I actually returned, I promised no matter how long it took, I'd redeem myself and bring the old Kankri back. Not just because I felt obliged to, but I really didn't want this outcome to happen..I won't admit but looking at this new Kankri and thinking of the old one, I wanted the old one back.

To give him a real apology for what I did and said and maybe start fresh..

A/N: I'm sorry for not updating but school and senior junk. Blargh! I apologize for the somewhat shitty chapter and I will attempt to get back to trying my hand at weekly updates~