"Yeth!" Sollux pumped his fist in the air, an unusual display of emotion for him. He deserved it though.

It was two in the morning, and the only light in the cramped apartment was the glow of the computer lighting up his dropping eyelids and fatigued face. His apartment was one room, his bed shoved to the corner, week old pizza boxes cluttered around the floor. While Sollux thought that the human food was revolting, its convenience outweighed his tastes. Even though that was likely the reason why he was so sickly, not enough nutrients for his particular troll physique.

While this seemed like an odd place for a troll to stay, it was perfect. The agents after the trolls wouldn't suspect one living in a city, with so many people. And as long as he didn't go out, no one suspected him. He ordered takeout, hiding in a hoodie every time he opened the door. No one would disturb him. Well, almost no one.

He felt a cold presence wash over his mind, and his smile widened.

"Aradia! I found the algorithm! All we need to do is thend it!" Aradias spirit moved away, and she radiated discontent. She was the first of troll to die on this planet, her low blood caste couldn't resist the powerful human diseases. Sollux had always been able to see the dead, so their relationship had continued, but in a strange way.

"I can thave you Aradia, don't you underthtand? I miss you tho much." Aradias presence was still cautious, but she radiated warmth at that statement. While she couldn't talk to him, she tried to stay in relation to him. She pitied him, after all.

Sollux smiled in her direction.

"I love you too"

XXXXX

John quickly stepped inside, the bright white light in the room making him squint. The door quickly slid shut. A John stood with the tray, Karkat immediately looked up.

"What the fuck do you want?" He asked in a sour tone, but his heart wasn't into it. Despite that, he snarled at John, as if daring him to come closer. John smiled dorkily at him and walked over to the small white table to put down the tray of food.

"To get you acquainted with the facility, of course" He smiled widely at Karkat, careful to not let his guard down.

"And why the fuck would you do that? Aren't I just some prisoner now?!" Karkat jumped up and walked over to John, his eyes glinting dangerously. To John's surprise, Karkat was shorter than him. John was already a short guy, and to have a notorious killer be so small was ironic. Still, John was not worried, even when Karkat took his shirt by the collar and shoved him up against the wall. John just smiled down at him, but not in a friendly way.

"Let go" He said in a calm yet serious tone. Karkat only smirked, clearly believing that he had the upper hand.

"I don't know what's wrong with your fucking think pan to just walk in here and think that you wouldn't get killed. Do you know who I am?" He barked out a laugh. Then set his cold gaze on John, who was unamused. His smile disappeared as his face went stone cold.

"This is the last time I will warn you. Let go" Karkat snarled, apparently ticked off at John not taking him seriously. He shoved him into the wall with more force.

"Did you not hear me or are you really a fucking idiot? I will crush you, watch as you yell in agony begging me to end your pitiful life!" John just rolled his eyes.

"Don't say I didn't warn you" With that, John quickly grabbed Karkats wrists and twisted him around, throwing him to the ground. In an instant John had his knee to Karkats back, all the while holding Karkats wrists back at a painful angle as Karkat wriggled beneath him, shocked that John had been able to do such a thing.

"Wha- what just fucking happened?!" Karkat stammered out, thrashing beneath John violently. John leaned down and got close to Karkats ear.

"Did you really expect me to be such a weak person, the one in charge of keeping you criminals in line? I was trained for this position, so don't you dare underestimate me. Understood?" Karkat went still underneath him, as if contemplating. Stiffly, he nodded.

John smiled once again, and let Karkat up. Karkat quickly hopped up and went over to sit on his bed, obviously furious and slightly embarrassed that his guard had so easily detained him.

"Let's start over. My name is John, and I will be your guard. As long as you keep in line, we should have no problems" Karkat scoffed at that, looking at John with disgust. He was just another weak, ignorant human. How could he be stronger than Karkat? Granted, he hadn't held him to the wall that hard; he didn't think he would have to. John saw how Karkat was still furious at the situation.

"Aw, don't worry, it was partially my strength, and partially the drugs in your system that makes you weak" Karkat looked at him with horror.

"What fucking drugs?!" John laughed.

"Didn't you notice when Dave injected you? It's for safer transport. Also there are drugs in your food to make you weaker here to more easily detain you. And before you think about not eating, you will have to eat sometime. The lack of food would make you weaker then the drugs can" Karkat glared more hatefully at John, if that was even possible.

"Well, shall we move on to other things now?" John began to explain the schedule of the facility, show Karkat the amenities in the room, and the downloaded trollian on his computer. Even though Karkat wanted to show he didn't care, he reluctantly listened to the human. Even though John was just a human, Karkat found an unwelcome respect for him in his mind. Any human that had the strength to take him down was granted the reluctant respect from Karkat, even though he was weaker. He had even more disgruntled admiration for the fact that John seemed like a weak scrawny human but in reality he was strong.

As Karkat was thinking he didn't notice as John had finished his shpeel and was looking at Karkat expectantly.

"Well?" John raised his eyebrows at Karkat.

"What?" Karkats hands clenched on his knees as he snarled at John. The human sighed exasperated.

"I asked if you have any questions? I won't see you until tomorrow so now's the time to ask" At this Karkat snapped his head, anger raging forth again.

"Why would I have any fucking questions for you!? This is a fucking prison, not a five star resort! What the fuck is wrong with humans think pans to want to treat us trolls nicely? We want to fucking destroy your planet!" Karkat stood up clenching his fists, his nails digging into his flesh, yet he did not move closer to John. He knew he would just be put in his place again.

"You're all idiots! As stupid as fucking wrigglers!" Karkat huffed and glared at John, who had a serious look of concern on his face. John slowly sighed and contemplated what his response would be.

"Karkat…things are different on this planet. People don't have to be cruel to others, even when others happen to be murderers. Humans, we believe in second chances. And while we may not be letting you out of here, that doesn't mean that we're not going to treat you like a person." Karkat just looked dumbfounded, silenced by the strange concept John was spouting.

As John turned to punch the code into the door lock, he looked back at Karkat and gave him a warm smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow" with that John left, leaving a still shocked Karkat behind. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. Kindness had always been a sign of weakness on Alternia, and the trolls who displayed that trait didn't last long. So even the idea of this concept startled Karkat, even frightened him. And John, he was so compassionate and kind, yet at the same time strong and willful. How could that even be a combination in a person? This was a puzzle that would keep his mind busy in a place like this for a while.

XXXXX

A/N Ok, I know this was a very delayed update, I'm sorry! I will try to keep up with it more. I was going to add more to this chapter, but I figured I would get this up so it wouldn't take even longer. Thank you everyone who reviewed! You are amazing! Please leave another, and I might have the next chap up by Friday! :D