Author's Note: So I am in a bit of a dilemma. There are a couple of the ancestors I want to introduce, but they only have titles. Fortunately, The Dolorosa is easy to extract a real name from. Is Rosa a good name for Kanaya's mother? Porrim is obviously her sister. I am not planning on naming or describing Karkat's dad; I want to leave him in shadow, just like Mrs. Noir/ Sn0wman (She needed a last name). By the way, Equius is an AMERICAN football player, in case anyone was confused. Feel free to review! Anyways, thanks for the support. I hope you enjoy it!

Karkat backpedaled as fast as he could away from Equius. The large football player made no move to pursue him however. Probably because he doesn't want to be seen by God knows how many people beating up a tiny freshman. Oh well, safe for now. He resumed his journey home. As he walked past Equius, the junior only shouldered past him on his way to get… wherever he was going. Equius only meant it as a disrespectful gesture, but he didn't realize that Karkat was suffering from two badly broken bones.

Karkat slumped against the wall while the pain subsided. When it had dulled to only a moderately unbearable ache, he got off the wall and continued on his way. Squaring his shoulders, he felt the back of his hoodie crackle with the dried blood that had saturated it that morning. His route was about five miles, traversing a rather hilly part of town.

When he got into the parking lot of his apartment complex, he noticed something decidedly odd: his dad's car was not there. What? Where is he? Ah well, at least there won't be any 'activities' tonight. Oh, god my head… Stumbling over a pothole, his pain-drunk mind nearly let him fall before reacting. He unlocked the gate leading into the complex proper, walked up three flights of narrow, steep stairs and walked to his door. Digging around for his key, he realized he had left it in his room. Dammit!

He was so preoccupied by his situation that he didn't notice footsteps behind him. "Kaaaaaaaarkat," A cold, slightly seductive female voice called. He jerked upright and turned around.

"Vriska, what the hell?"

She held up a key on a ring, dangling it from one finger. "Your dad left a while ago and you knoooooooow how he always locks the doors. Fortunately, I have a spare." Her voice lost its seductive quality, now becoming frigid, "I could let you have mine… but maybe I won't." She grinned, "Maybe I'll let you wait out here for a while, until he gets back. That's always fun to listen to."

"GIVE ME THAT DAMN KEY BITCH!" Karkat was nearly fainting with agony now, compounded by the fear of his dad.

Vriska started twirling the key ring on her long, slim finger as she spoke, "Oh, such language Karkat!" she exclaimed in mock horror, "I guess you caaaaaaaan have it. Just… go and get it!" With her final words, she let the ring fly off her finger, which carried it over the balcony and down into the rocks.

Karkat moaned as she threw it over, but was at least thankful that he could get at it. He walked back down the stairs, retrieved the key, and returned upstairs. When he inserted it into the lock and turned it, he discovered that the door wasn't ever locked! Vriska was lounging on the balcony rails, smiling cruelly at him. He gave her a few choice swear words, and a few rude gestures before letting himself in.

The rooms were dark, but that was no different from how it usually was. Karkat knew that his dad was gone because there was no malevolent feel to the air. It just smelled like rubbing alcohol mixed with blood. My blood. He turned on a ceiling light and went to his room. He opened the door, expecting the worst, but nothing was broken, not even the chair. He stuffed his pile of papers into his backpack, forgotten that morning before his brief flight.

He then walked over to the bathroom, stripped, and got into the shower. He turned the water on cold to relax his body after being stuffed in a thick hoodie all day in 95° weather. He watched as the water running off his hair turned red, staying like that for about three minutes before turning pink, and then clear. The cold water slowly reduced the swelling on his rib, wrist, and head.

He lathered up his sweat and blood-covered body in the foul smelling, industrial-strength soap. He didn't think anything of it though, as it was the only stuff he'd ever used. He took caution not to get it in his eyes, as they would sting and burn for hours if it got in them. The soap still stung and burned his skin, but only for about half an hour. It left his skin not a healthy pink, but a bright, angry red when it was rinsed off. He suspected his dad used a different soap than he did, but did not dare go into his room to check.

The last time he had gone into his dad's room, he was nearly blind for a week from getting his soap shoved into his eyes. That was four years ago, in the summer. He never went in there again. The memory of that white-hot pain in his eyes was nearly enough even now to make him cower in fear.

Now finally cleaned of the pains of the day, he dried off and crept back to his room. He pulled his mattress away from the wall and reached into a little hole in the drywall. This contained his most valuable possession: a large bottle of Ibuprofen pills. Looking at the label on the back it read, among other things: DO NOT TAKE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. Normally, Karkat would not be able to take it because of this, but he remembered that he had actually eaten lunch. He could still feel some remaining food in his stomach, so he took four pills before returning the bottle to its hollow.

Sliding the mattress back into place, he yawned and looked at his alarm clock. It read 5:45 P.M. Damn, still that early? But I can't stay awake. Oh well, it'll be a long day tomorrow. He slipped onto his bed, careful to lie on his back. He could feel the pain medicine beginning to take effect, soothing his various wounds. For the first time that day, he felt no pain. With that cessation, he fell into a deep sleep.

He stood in the grassy walkway as a female figure in a golden dress spun and leaped around him. How long he watched her, he could not tell. Looking down, he saw he was dressed in an obsidian-colored tuxedo. His head and rib were mended, and his body filled the suit, still slim, but no longer emaciated. He looked back at the dancer, who had been joined by many others. He was the only one standing still; everyone else was twirling in complex patterns around him. "Come and join me!" the first dancer cried out. Karkat realized it was Kanaya.

"I can't!" he called back to her, "I don't know how…"

"I can teach you!" Kanaya laughed merrily, "Just join me!"

"I don't know how to dance!"

"This isn't a dance! This is life! You're the one missing out."

When he heard "This is life" Karkat thought about what life entailed to him. As he thought, the golden-garbed dancers faded, until only Kanaya was left. She stopped dancing and the world went dark. He could still see Kanaya, but she transformed into his dad, who grinned manically.

"That's the life other people get. They deserve it, but you deserve nothing!" The shadowy figure walked toward him. Karkat noticed that his suit was gone, replaced by rags. His body was too thin once again. "You only deserve pain and fear. You don't get happiness, or joy, or friends. You drove them all away; everyone hates you!"

"That's not true!" Karkat yelled, "Kanaya doesn't!" But even as he said it, doubt sprouted in his mind. Does she? Does she actually care about me? Can she even bring herself so low to lift me up? As he thought, the world turned darker still, until he could only see his dad's maniac smile. The teeth lunged forward and Karkat felt a red-hot knife in his ribs, and his head split open once more. He screamed and cried in pain until the dream faded.

Karkat opened his eyes and bolted upright. There was no shadowy figure in his room, no knife stuck between his ribs. He groaned: the pain pills had run their course. Glancing over to his alarm clock, he saw it was one minute before it was set to go off. He got out of bed and walked over to it. It went off right as he reached it, so he turned it off immediately. His body hurt, but it was slightly more bearable than yesterday.

He re-bound his rib and dressed himself, taking only a few minutes this time. Fortunately, he had a spare hoodie, but it was far thinner. I guess the Ibuprofen isn't quite gone yet. He retrieved the bottle from its hiding spot and removed four more. He put these in the hoodie's pocket before cautiously opening his door. Strangely, the light he had left on the previous evening was still on. Dad must not have even been home last night. Weird.

He still walked carefully, not wanting to make any noise. He retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator and downed half of it in a gulp. He took another one, and then ate a granola bar from the pantry. Now feeling slightly more awake, he went back to his room. It was still an hour before he had to leave, but he had no computer, no TV, no cell phone to text friends with, or friends to text. Well, I'll fall asleep if I stay here, so I might as well leave.

He grabbed his backpack and left his apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him. As Karkat walked down the stairs, he was shocked at the temperature. There must be a cold front moving through. Yesterday was 95°, today it'll be only 75°. If that! Sure am glad I've got this hoodie on. Exiting the complex, he noticed that his dad's car was still gone. Okay, now this is just freaky. Flipping his hood up, he retraced his steps from yesterday, back to school. He glanced at his watch: 5:45A.M. I'll get there by 7:15, so I'll need to find a place to wait. The grassy area might be nice.