Still Breathing
Chapter 7
Runaway
000
Notes: Here we go a new chapter. I've been dealing with medical and real world responsibilities so my writing has suffered. But now things are settling down so I hopefully will be getting to a schedule again.
Likely not daily as I was with Relearning, but I hope at least weekly. We'll see!
As a rather important note I seem to have to make every couple chapters.
This story is literately 'in the raw' I do a basic spellcheck and a few things that my spellchecker hasn't noticed or refuses to adapt to I have to just sigh and work on. Now, if you wish to beta this fic and send me the files that includes everything -including the chapter titles and notes-, then I will happily post them. Otherwise if it's JUST the main body of text then it will take too much time for me on a project that is not paying me a dime. I have other books and projects that pay money for their completion and so they will get more of my time and get the 'polished finished look' because those also go to my editor to go over with a fine tooth comb for loose grammar and spelling errors.
So in short. Complain of the spelling errors all you want, I will be ignoring them because this is fanfic and I'm not being PAID for this. My only payment is your comments. And if you like the story despite the errors then yay.
As another brief note, I will have some slightly better basic beta'd chaps going up on AO3, as I am working on artwork as well for that one.
If anyone would like to have a piece featured for chapter art for Relearning and Still, feel free to draw and submit something! Colored, black and white, long as it is finished work I will be delighted to accept.
I'll be tracking stillbreathing and relearningtobreathe on the tags in tumblr. Or let me know about it!
000
They had a bit of a camp set up. Waiting for Gamzee and Nepeta's return. This would be the third airport they were scoping out.
Karkat sighed the longer this went on the more he was pretty sure they were going to be making their way back home on foot. Which, rather ticked him off. That was an incredibly long journey. But the last two airports (one a tiny little private place) had been crawling with trolls trying to find Feferi.
"Maybe we can try by boat." Hope suddenly said.
Karkat looked up, it was still almost odd to have a coherent Hope who made sense. She could still go off in ancient troll languages now and then, but it was more of the old Hope they use to know.
"There are cruise liners, smaller private yachts and stuff, we could likely find something, hell if we can get a hold of the Highblood he might even arrange something. Might take a bit longer but depending on the route and the boat, we might even be able to sail right on home." She offered. "According to the Mothergrub she said that those who were talking in her cavern seemed to be focused on the air, since it's the faster way to travel, and on the Panama Canal as that's the smallest land crossing point."
The others blinked at Hope as if she was talking in ancient languages again.
The human sighed "Common guys! You gotta be use to me being pretty much normal again."
"No, it's just odd hearing that the Mothergrub can understand us" Beleza said.
This made Hope snort "I'm sure laying all those eggs takes it out of her, but she use to be a troll like you. All mothergrubs were. If the Lusus don't lose their minds for the most part when they go from troll to lusus then why would the mothergrub?"
Karkat poked the Queen who gave him a dirty look "She's got a point." He said, admittedly he never really thought about it. All the Mothergrubs remained cloistered away from everyone that there was no reason to not think that they were not treated as well if not better than any of the Queens.
But it seemed there was a difference between having every need looked towards and given thought to whether one still had a mind.
Beleza pursed her lips "I, will not be able to go back to that Hive when this is done with, so, I will not be able to apologize to her for how I thought of her." She said softly.
Hope grinned "She knows. And said she actually didn't mind when you'd come down and just talk at her. When you said you thought she was responding and listening she was."
Beleza blinked and wrapped her arms around herself. "Did, she have a name?" she asked.
"Mother." Hope responded "It is their names, all of them. They don't remember other names. And they aren't lonely. Don't worry about that, most the mothergrubs can talk to each other. It's the psychic link they have. Though, there are so very few of them now. But they are enjoying the dreams this mother can give to them now."
"Dreams?" Karkat asked.
Hope nodded "I'm only in contact with this hive's mother and the one from our Hive."
"But, she died?"
Hope shrugged "its, confusing she did die but because she'd formed a link with me to try and help I guess to say her 'spirit' or 'essence' kinda hitched a ride. It was what was causing so much trouble. My mind was rejecting her, being she was something alien to me and she was trying to help and not damage me. There was kind of a battle going on between us. Neither of us fully aware it was happening even. So this Mother just sort of stepped in and mediated between us. Got it sorted out. So, we're separate but both still here. She just kind of has a little 'bubble' she is in now that's still closely connected to me."
"Dreambubbles." Karkat said and Jade who'd been listening raised a brow.
"Dreamwhatsit?" she asked.
"Dreambubbles, sort of a Troll 'afterlife' you might say." Beleza told the other human. "We believe that when we die, those not ready to move on will reside in bubbles. All the bubbles are connected and we can then meet up with loved ones again, or hated enemies. Whichever one prefers."
"Kind of like heaven, only the living can also visit in their dreams." Hope offered up. Having gotten a similar explanation while the others were talking and finding the comparisons "Or hell, its made by the person's mind and they shape it. And when they are ready they move on to like, feed the universe or something like that."
"Well one branch of our faiths believe that. But most believe at least in the dreambubbles." Karkat said "When we dream and we see those we love, often it is because we are visiting their bubbles so we can be with them again."
Jade grinned "I like that."
"I didn't think Humans could visit." Beleza commented.
Hope gave a bit of a shrug "Actually the Mothers think we have our own version of something similar, more of a 'collective' a sort of mass consciousness that mixes and merges. That there are some of us who can tap into it and when many people start having a 'bad feeling' or 'off day' right before a massive disaster? That's because we've tapped into it and are getting feedback from the stuff brewing in that area. I'm still not sure about it, seems kinda weird like magic or something but they are showing me some more about it and all. We're just sort of trying to figure it out. Seems a lot of us humans have powers of our own, it's just on a slightly different wavelength than the trolls."
Beleza nodded "And from what I've read, many of you have rejected all thought of such powers as false so you have not developed or worked on it as we have."
Jade gave a nod "Yeah, that's about the way of it. I always wondered if people would stop trying to measure things or find new ways to measure things if we ourselves would not start to develop in more interesting ways."
"The mothers think that the trolls have kind of become a catalyst for us. That in the next few generations with the changing of views and the fact that trolls DO have ways to measure and develop their powers if we won't start doing the same." Hope sat on a rock glancing back, the kids were currently all napping on various parts of Sirius. The large lusus resting with his head on his paws. Grubs and children resting. Ana and Tavros were piled together with a couple of the grubs and draped over Sirius' long forearms his ear twitching slightly with one of the grub's buzzing snores. Eridan, Eric and Feferi where snuggled together, the little mutant sleeping on Feferi's head, his face buried in the girl's hair. The jade blood Vierge had elected to stay with the children and had actually also fallen asleep. Out of all the adults in the group it was clear he had felt the most out of place and been having the hardest time dealing. Which had the odd effect of making Hope feel pretty chipper. Jade had asked her and she only shrugged with the adage of "misery loves company".
"Makes sense. Humans always have liked competition." Jade replied. She checked her rifle, with the walk through the jungles she was concerned with moisture getting into her guns and then she had to worry about misfire or even worse.
"Hopefully it can stay a healthy rivalry" Karkat said as he could see were even this could turn nasty.
"Well, long as there are people like us doing our best to help keep things friendly." Jade said to him. "In a few years no one will even think that this is weird with us sharing home space. We'll have our problems still and hate groups on both sides, but we keep working at it, and it'll work out."
"Or we find another planet and our species separate." Beleza said with a shrug.
Karkat snorted "Well I doubt that would happen completely, we already have those who've become too entwined."
Hope nodded, the idea that she could suddenly loose Tavros, Karkat, or Gamzee? To end up alone again.
She would have her dreams, but that's just not the same as being able to hug someone who was right here.
Nepeta came into view and blinked "Why everyone looking down?" she asked.
Karkat chuckled "It's nothing, we're just ruminating on might be's."
"Well we all have some other things to motherfucking worry about. Nepeta and I found a small town, doesn't seem to have anyone been through, but they haven't ever seen trolls there at all, so if we go in, we're going to be motherfucking remembered." Gamzee said leaning on the same perch Hope was seated on.
"We need supplies" Jade said "Water, food. And a chance to either charge our phones or use a local line to call home. Hope came up with another alternative we can look into."
"Oh?" Nepeta perched up on a rock and tilted her head. She stretched herself out in a cat-like way that either left one envious of her limberness or cringing on just near double jointed she was.
Karkat seemed to be in the envy as he watched her but shrugged "Hope suggested we might try for a port. Take a boat home. Be shorter than trying to make our way on foot and from information she has available one of our land crossings is going to b e watched closely because it's not very big. It'll bottleneck us."
Gamzee moved over and gave Hope a hug the girl hugging him back, which seemed to make him happy. Her responding to his attentions again.
Beleza crossed her arms "I rather vote for the town, even if we are remembered, long as we're gone it can give us a chance to regroup and clean up. Being able to charge our portables is definitely a good idea, even if we can't use them too far into the jungles." She'd grown irritated early on with the lack of reception. Karkat's phone had reception nearly anywhere, but then his was a satellite carrier he had through his company and not reliant on towers to boost the signal. It would be weaker, but he'd still have a bar or two pretty much anywhere. Nepeta and Beleza didn't have phones, Jade still had her laptop that she could piggy pack on Karkat's signal, Hope's phone never came with them and Gamzee's was a cheap track phone that worked well enough for most things but had been useless outside the country already.
But wandering through a hot jungle had already rendered pretty much every piece of electronics utterly useless. Hope's laptop had gotten wet somehow (they were still trying to figure out how) and was ruined. Jade's lost power. Karkat's phone was dead, Gamzee's still had power but that was only because it had been off most the time for the simple fact it didn't make calls outside the US. Jade left her phone back at the house they'd been staying at and neither Nepeta or Beleza had much of any sort of communication device as they both worked at the hive. As Nepeta said she only traveled into town to eat and sleep, sometimes enjoy some entertainments, but she only needed the communicator with the hive, and neither Beleza nor Vierge needed anything having lived in the hive never leaving for more than at most an afternoon now and then.
Out of the two Beleza had been doing the best in the jungle. Maybe it was just her blood showing. That strength the blue bloods were known for. She had shrugged when asked about it and only said she had been raised in a similar environment before it was discovered she was a Queen and been taken to the hives at a young age.
A few years later she'd been loaded to the ships with the mothergrub. She and a half dozen other Queens packed into a small chamber defending the Mother from other trolls gone crazed after the loss of their home world.
Thousands of ships had fled their home world, loaded to capacity with trolls, but only a few hundred made it to Earth.
Those had not been good times and it was no wonder the trolls who survived often didn't talk about those times in more than a few phrases. The few scant years since that time had helped, the shock of having to live side by side with another race had also helped.
But it was going to take time to heal.
"Well if we are going to go, then let's go." Karkat said and everyone nodded following his lead.
000
They reached the town. People stared at them. Not just for the fact that a group of people coming out of the forest, but for the fact that most the group were troll with only three humans and the Lusus.
Children being the endlessly curious creatures they were recovered first and Sirius, bless his heart, started acting like a huge puppy. Once the humans children were soon mixing with loud screams, laughter and a gargle of mixed languages the adults started to relax.
They still watched them, but they at least went back to pretending this was normal enough.
"Is that one of those Lusus?" a man at the small gas station who had agreed to let them plug in their electronics asked as a game of Hide and seek formed, and seemed Sirius was currently 'it'. His head hidden under paws as he let out small 'ruffs' as if counting while children scattered.
Karkat gave a small nod.
"We've been seeing a few creatures kinda like him. My boy claimed he saw a white dragon who gave him a piece of fruit in the forest a few months back."
Karkat grinned "I'm surprised she was this far from the Hives. The dragons tend to stay close to the egg hives." He was surprised one was here at all, from what he heard none of the Dragons made it off their home world. They had been among the most valiant. Gathering up those who had been far away and bringing them to the ships to escape. Had helped the queens gather the mothergrubs and as many of the young ones as they could. But also being among some of the largest of the Lusus, they had not opted to get onto the ships. They had stayed behind.
Maybe she was cooned on the ships or on earth then, Karkat wondered.
The man laughed handing Karkat a drink "Get this, my boy claimed she said that she was mad at the hives and so was living out here in protest!"
Karkat blinked, another human who understood the lusus? "Which is your boy?" Karkat asked, wanting to get this child in mind and get a name. If this kid had some of the same skills as like Hope, he had a feeling the Grand Highblood would want to know.
The man pointed out the child. A tall boy who was currently helping some of the smaller children into a tree and other hiding places before he was going to hide himself.
Interesting.
"He's not the smartest boy, but he's got a big heart." The man said with a sad smile.
Karkat wondered what that meant but his phone dinged with waiting messages so he picked it up, careful to keep it plugged as he listened. Most were word from work, some from the Highblood, usually through Sollux.
But the last message had him frowning.
It was from the Highblood in person. The Empress was confirmed. She was in the hands currently of a group who had been turning a bit extremist, and the troll who ran the Egg hive they left was with them.
They needed to keep Feferi hidden until she was safely back in the Grand Highblood's territory. If they got her now, they would likely kill her to try and reestablish the old Empress's reign.
They wanted to start a war on the humans.
Karkat restrained himself from cursing, from hitting something, well pretty much from showing anything other than the slight frown. It was a force of will, but he managed.
He checked the power and disconnected the phone from the wall and walked off to make him call where he was not going to be easily overheard.
He dialed for the Highblood and waited a few minutes. There was an answer shortly. It was the Highblood himself.
"Better be motherfucking important." The voice growled in a way that said he'd been interrupted.
Karkat decided not to attempt to think on what. A female voice of Unique though that was fairly close said "Be nice."
He just didn't want to think. Pretend it was innocent. A meeting or something. La de da da.
"Highblood." He greeted and there was a shifting sound.
"Karkat, glad to hear from you." The highblood's voice went from threatening to cordial fairly quickly, but Karkat breathed a sigh of relief, at least he wasn't going to be dealing with a grumpy Highblood.
"We're currently in a small village. All the airports are being watched and from what we've been able to gather, so is the land crossings through Panama. We're going to be having a rather difficult time making this on foot."
"Nor do we have the time for that; the longer Feferi is out of communication the stronger position the Empress has."
Karkat sighed "Well, Hope suggested we try by boat. But we're not going to have the money for buying one, and I'm not sure about passage."
"A boat huh, Love you, alright on it? That's what I love about you." Karkat grinned at the affection in the other's voice towards Unique. But his voice came back to Karkat "We'll get you booked onto something. Give me your current location." Karkat rattled it off along with whatever else he could think of. But as the phone beeped a warning he ended up hanging up. The Highblood would call them back soon.
So he went back and plugged in the phone. Sirius mimicking a real dog as the two of them bounced about each other much to the children's amusement when he returned. Karkat snickered at the scene as the children who were laughing at Sirius' antics were giving away their locations.
Nepeta and Hope were seated together over drinks. Gamzee leaning against the wall nearby the stall they were at. Beleza was holding a rope for a group easily holding up the wall that other humans were quickly trying to nail into place so the Blue blood could release. There were others who looked rather impressed.
Vierge was talking with a couple mothers. The way they looked amused and his avid curiosity meant he was getting information likely about human child rearing tactics.
"I have to say" the man at the counter said to Karkat who looked back at him "You lot are the most exciting thing we've had around here in ages." Most everyone spoke the local language, which Vierge, Nepeta, and Beleza also spoke, but this fellow's English was incredibly good. Karkat wondered if he studied in the States at one point.
"Hopefully we'll stay the only exciting thing." He said with a sigh and the fellow laughed.
"Yes, I rather hope that too." The man commented.
The phone rang and Karkat picked up. It was Unique on the other side. "We have a boat booked and a location to get there. There is one of the carnival cruise lines that will be heading back up to the states. Better if we could get a private boat, but hopefully the cruise will help you escape notice. The Highblood has also forwarded quite a bit more funds into your accounts. Basically he wants you guys to play tourists.
Karkat nodded, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he's been holding this whole time. "Right well give me the location and date we need to be there by." He said. Looking up he smiled at the man who held out a notebook and pen so he could write down the information the other human over the phone was telling him.
He nodded as he got it all down, glancing at the calendar. Two days was not a lot of time.
"Do you know how far this is?" he asked the man as he hung up.
The fellow looked it over and grimaced "Well if you are going to go on foot it'll take a week, there are mountains between here and there."
Karkat groaned "We got to be there in two days."
"Well, here I got an idea, I was going to be making a trip that direction soon anyway. My son has an appointment with a doctor in that direction. If we just head out today we can get you there in time no problem. It'll only be a couple days early for us."
Karkat smiled "We would be appreciative."
"Although, I don't think we could carry that large animal friend of yours." He pointed towards Sirius who was leaning up a tree and fetching out a little girl who squealed at being picked up.
"Don't worry about him, keeping up with a car is not a problem."
"Damn, seems too bad he couldn't carry you."
"One or two of us. The kids, he can do that." Karkat said "But much more and it starts going too far off his shoulders and he gets slowed down."
"Makes sense. His build is like one of those greyhounds." And the man straightened up "I'm Luan, my boy, that's Jose."
"Karkat, the lusus is Sirius, that's Gamzee over there with Hope and Nepeta, Beleza is single handedly pulling that stump over there" he was amused as it seemed there was a friendly competition. About 4 humans were attempting to pull a stump and Beleza was pulling out another, seemed she was one her third. Luan laughed seeing the sight and shaking his head "And that chatty fellow with the mothers and buried in babies is Vierge." This point the shop keeper laughed. As the jade blood was currently holding at least two children with a couple more settling on him while the two young mother's he was talking to seemed to find him charming and adorable.
"Our bunch of kids is Fef, Eric, Eridan, Ari, and Tavros." He shortened up Feferi's name in hope to make it less distinct.
Luan grinned "Well should be quite a trip. It's going to be a little crowded, but we can pile the children in the back and so long as the Ladies don't mind sitting on laps we'll fit."
"At the moment, we'll just be glad to have the ride and be able to make our destination on time."
"Well I'll go tell my wife, you see about gathering your bunch. We'll be ready to head out in the hour."
"I can't thank you enough."
He waved him off "A bit of gas money would be appreciated."
Karkat laughed "Definitely doable."