It was early morning as a group of shadows crept along in the pre-dawn light. They had a long way to go and a very small window of time to do it in. Gritting his teeth, one of the men paused in his hurried footsteps to check behind him. Had Tav still not gotten used to walking? He was being so slow. Turning around he moved back to where his friend was. "COME ON, FUCKASS, YOU'RE GOING TO GET US CAUGHT."

The long-horned male looked up, wincing at the harsh hiss of the other's voice. "sORRY, kARKAT, i STILL CAN'T GET USED TO, uHM, uSING MY LEGS PROPERLY, iT'S BEEN SO LONG, yOU KNOW?"

"WELL IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP, YOU'RE GOING TO GET US ALL CAUGHT. COME ON." Slinging one of his friend's arms over his shoulder, Karkat half-dragged Tavros the rest of the way to the ship. According to the one at the head of the pack, this ship would get them safely off-world and into the good hands of people who would hide them. He could only hope that this was true. Making up their lost ground as best he could, he caught up with the leader. "HEY, TEREZI. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS PLAN OF YOURS?"

The young Legislacerator glanced over to him, a small frown on her lips. "WH4T, DO YOU NOT TRUST M3, K4RK4T? Y3S, 1'M SUR3. TH3 P3OPL3 1'V3 CONT4CT3D 4R3 4LL13S. TH3Y W1LL T4K3 C4R3 OF YOU 4LL."

Sighing, Karkat had no other choice but to trust what she was saying. It was another few long, agonizing minutes before they were at the hangar. Pointing at the ship that they would use, Terezi stopped Karkat for a moment. "YOU H4V3 TO PROM1S3 M3 SOM3TH1NG…" She didn't give him a chance to say anything as she pulled him into a quick kiss. "DON'T G3T YOURS3LF K1LL3D."

Nodding softly, Karkat hugged her close, his eyes closed. "YOU HAVE TO PROMISE THE SAME THING. DON'T YOU DIE ON ME." Her giggle did little to stop his heart from shattering as he looked at her. This would be the last time he could see her, perhaps ever. But no; Feferi was turning eight soon. Surely she could turn everything around, just like she kept saying she wanted to. She had to. She promised.

Glancing around, he caught sight of Sollux and Aradia exchanging goodbyes. Aradia was clinging to his chest, asking him to stay safe. Sollux finally managed to pull away from her with a promise that he would return to her soon. With their farewells finished, they headed for the ship. What they didn't expect was the bang as the door to the bay swung off its hinges.

A ruffianhialator had found them. Karkat was about to turn to fight him off when Terezi jumped between them. "G3T ON TH3 SH1P! GO, K4RK4T!"

"DON'T BE STUPID, I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE TO FIGHT HIM OFF ALONE."

Unfortunately, he didn't get much more chance to argue, as Nepeta ran back to him and began to shove him into the ship. He could only watch as Terezi leveled her cane at the other. "B4CK OFF."

The ruffianhialator stopped then, reaching up to take off his helmet. "Terezi?"

"3QU1US…?" Terezi lowered her weapon. Nepeta, hearing his voice froze, looking back at him with a mix of fear, longing, and dread. Karkat had frozen, stunned. Was he going to get ratted out by one of his friends? "3QU1US, PL34S3… DON'T DO TH1S."

As Equius took a step forward, Karkat took a wavering step back, prompted by Nepeta's renewed shoving. Within a few more steps, they were in the ship. Equius took one look at Karkat, and nodded to him, a silent request to keep Nepeta safe. Karkat replied in kind, and Equius pushed the hatch closed, putting a good-sized dent in the door. "I tried to stop them." He turned around, nodding to Terezi and Aradia. "I never saw you. Either of you."

Aradia was about to say something dumb, but Terezi cut her off. "TH4NK YOU 3QU1US…. TH4NK YOU."

That was the last Karkat could hear before the ship took off, carrying him and his followers away from Alternia. As the ship left the world, he went to the bridge, wanting to find out who was helping him out like this. He was about to speak, when the whole ship shuddered. He was knocked to the ground by the force of something impacting the back of the ship. They were being shot at. No….

Another shockwave rattled through the ship-

-making Karkat's eyes fly open as he knocked his own recuperacoon over, spilling both slime and himself all over the floor. Looking around, it took him a minute to remember what had happened. That's right. They had gotten safely off-world. He was just dreaming. A knock at the door had him scrambling to his feet, "YEAH?"

The door opened to reveal Nepeta, her eyes downcast and her shoulders shaking. "Sorry to bug you, Kar, but I can't sleep. I miss home. I miss Alternia. I miss Equius…."

She wasn't even doing her usual irritating role-play shit. She was seriously upset. "IT'S FINE. I COULDN'T REALLY GET ANY SLEEP EITHER." He motioned for her to walk in and close the door, which she did after a moment or two. Bringing her into a hug, he sighed softly against her hair. "I MISS HOME TOO, NEPETA. BUT YOU HAVE TO STAY STRONG. WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO HOME, WE JUSTNEED TO WORK A LITTLE HARDER FOR IT, OKAY?"

A soft sniffle and a nod were his only signs that she understood. Standing there, arms around the girl, his mind did what he could only imagine hers was doing: wandering back to home, wondering how everyone else was doing. He knew he would be able to see them again, he just didn't know when.