I really need to work on updating faster... Here's the next chapter. I'm still trying to set up the plot...
Karkat hopped up from his computer in a hurry, not even bothering to close Trollian, and threw his blanket to the floor. He quickly grabbed some clothes from him closet, not caring what he pulled out considering all his clothes were the same. In total something that usually took him 45 minutes only took him 10 minutes this time. In that time frame he managed to shower, get dressed, brush his teeth, run out the door, and nearly trip dashing down the front stairs. Even that impressive feat was not enough to get him to the bus on time though and he was stuck sprinting to the town square in the middle of the city.
When he got there the whole town had already arrived, in fact they'd been there for about 15 whole minutes already. At first Karkat thought he was late so he ran a frustrated hand through his hair and checked his watch. His eyes widened when he saw the time; he was still a few minutes early! What was with the crowd?
The mayor of the city came out of the town hall and got up on the stage. He tapped the mic, causing a harsh noise to emit from the speakers. With his other hand the man tugged at one of his horns nervously. He looked out over the crowd and began speaking into the mic, "Um... I'm very glad to see all of you gathered here today! Hehe... Unfortunately..." he stopped and tugged at his collar, "Unfortunately this meeting was only suppose to be held between the city council and the God Tiers... I'm afraid I'll have to ask you all to... return to your homes... And... uh... await further news."
The citizens were all either confused or upset by this. They started shouting questions at the poor mayor and murmured amongst each other about what could be happening. The God Tiers were revered by the people of Arthia, even by the city officials. Everybody knew what they'd all been through and tried their best to just let them be. They were celebrated and everybody loved them, but it was universally understood that they'd put in a lot of work. The peopled didn't bother them to help with their affairs unless it was of grave importance.
Karkat knew this as well. Since they arrived they'd just been "taking it easy" and living their lives. It was nice, but he knew all too well that nice things never last. Something was obviously going on now and he wondered what it was.
The mayor sighed and continued, "Please, everyone. Calm down. I'd like to ask that all the God Tiers join me in the conference room in Town Hall."
After finishing he stepped off the stage and headed back inside. The crowd stirred as the 32 God Tiers, well 31 because John wasn't there, made their way to the large building, Karkat included. They walked up the stairs and through the automatic doors, which made whoosh sound as they opened and closed. Dirk walked next to him as the group made its way down the hall. Only a couple of them were actually wearing their god rags. Dirk turned to to look at Karkat with his stupid anime shades and whispered, "Do you know what's happenin' here, bro?"
Karkat snorted, "No. Why the fuck would I know?"
Dirk shrugged and continued their conversation, "Hey man, no need to bite my head off. Where's your boyfriend?"
Karkat glared at him and growled, "John's NOT my fucking boyfriend! Why the fuck don't you fucking go bother yours?"
He pointed a finger at Jake, who was ahead of them a little ways boring Jane to death probably talking about movies. Dirk's expression morphed into one of disdain and a slight tone of anger entered his voice, "No way, dude. I'm done with Jake. After a hundred years of dating off and on and dealing with his bullshit I've had enough. English is out of my life for good."
Karkat crossed his arms and huffed, "Great for you, Fuckass."
"Why are you always in such a pissy mood? I'm just trying to talk to you, dude."
Karkat thought for a moment. Am I really that bad? He wondered. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try to have a conversation...
He sighed, defeated, and answered the question, "I hate it when John's gone, ok? It really bothers me but I don't want to tell him that. He likes to go off on missions and be an adventurer and I don't want to ruin that for him."
Dirk looked sympathetic, and Karkat noticed that. Even though they were related, Dirk and Dave were really different. Karkat had befriend Dave on a three year journey to Dirk's session, and hadn't really thought about either of them that much. They were both cool kids, and that was the most he put into it.
Dirk shrugged and said, "That's cool, bro. I get that."
Karkat looked at him, somberly, wearing a stoic expression, "Really? I find that hard to believe."
"Its true though. When me and Jake were dating sometimes he'd be gone for days or weeks and not say a word. It was frustrating as all hell."
"That's how it is with John. He just leaves me a note on our meal vault saying he left then I don't hear from him for eons, but when he gets back its like he never left."
Dirk laced his fingers behind his head and laughed a little, "God, we sure know to pick 'em!"
Karkat laughed too, "Tell me about it!"
By then everybody had reached the conference room. Karkat and Dirk filtered in last and took a seat in the large room. The tall hexagonal windows went from floor to ceiling and were placed all along the outside wall. Every one of them was dimmed to black so no light could come in and more importantly, nobody could see inside. The room was well lit and had a pattern of blue neon strips in the metal wall panels, like pretty much every building on Arthia. The room was eerily quiet as the 31 God Tiers and the five City Council Members waited for everybody to find their seats.
After everybody was situated the mayor cleared his throat to get their attention. All eyes turned to him. Meenah spoke before he could get a word out, "What's the deal calling us here?"
The mayor, usually a confident man, was nervous and shaking he sighed, "Yes... I was going to get to that. Erm... I've called you all here because there has been some distressing... eh... developments."
Rose chimed in, "What kind of distressing developments?"
Another council member spoke up, this time a human woman, "We've recently received a strange message from an unknown source."
She clicked a button on the remote she was holding and the holographic screen on the wall appeared. No picture came through, but a frantic voice could be heard through the static, "Hello? Is anybody there? I-I need help! - English-Its happening again! He's - and her- If anybody finds this you have to - something to stop them! - AHH! NO! PLEASE!-"
The teens stared in disbelieve, not too sure what they just heard. The woman council member pursed her lips, her voice portraying no emotions, "As you can see we can't decipher the message due to all the interference, but due to it nature we've determined that something horrible is happening, something that has happened before."
The mayor was fidgeting with his tie, "Um.. yes! We believe it may have something to do with... The Forbidden Game..."
Aradia spoke up for the first time since entering the room, "The game? It can't be... we erased all records of it! Nobody even knows it exists!"
Vriska looked at Aradia and said, "Well, it looks like somebody found the records we erased. All our hard work, for nothing!"
Kanaya tried to calm them down, "Calm down, Vriska, Aradia. We don't even know for sure if that's what's happening!"
Rose nodded and looked at the girls, "Kanaya is right. The message didn't say any specific details. It could mean anything."
A third council member spoke, a male with a deep voice, "You have an excellent point, Rose. We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions."
He stared pointedly at the female with the remote as he said the last sentence. She shot a poisonous glare at him and said, "Even so, you should be on your guard and keep an eye out for anything. All of you know better than we do what to look for."
Rose nodded, "Of course."
The meeting ended with everybody frazzled. They all left the building with different opinions of the situation. Dirk casually strolled along next to Karkat as they spoke about the meeting.
Dirk asked, "So what did you think of that? Seemed pretty serious."
Karkat snorted, "It seemed like a load of hoofbeast manure. They just need something so they don't get bored."
"Wow. So your not worried about it?"
"No fuck way!"
Dirk shrugged, "Whatever, bro. Hey, if you want to come over later, you know, talk about shit, your welcome to."
Karkat looked at him, his anger dissipating for a moment, and nodded. They reached the edge of the Town squared and Dirk had to go the opposite way. He said a simple "Later, Bro." before turning and leaving, waving over his shoulder.
Karkat waved back halfheartedly and walked in the direction of his house. He reached his front door and pulled out his key. The doors lock automatically. He fumbled in his jean's pocket for a few minutes before retrieving his key. He was about to put it in the locket when he froze. There was a cold breath on his neck and he felt somebody standing behind him. The person spoke, barely a whisper. His voice sounded smooth, but dark, "Be ever vigilant. They're coming."
Breathing hard, mostly out of fear, Karkat whipped around, but nobody was there.