TW: character death, death, death, death, ALL THE DEATHS ALL

Like holy shit

So much death

Gamzee being a creeper (my personal take on the sober Gamzee. I apologize if it clashes with your headcanon. Hard to please everyone)

CHARACTER DEATH

MAJOR DEATH

Angst

Because of the character death

Uh

Triggering chapter yeah

The canon came out of nowhere, and, you don't even try to deny it, scared the living shit out of you.

You first impulse was to make sure it wasn't Sollux- it was stupid, he was just a couple of steps away, you would have noticed if he was shot dead or whatever happened- and by the way he grabbed your shoulders when you spun around, you realised his brain went down that road too. You give him a small smile, and then another wave of nauseating worry washes over you, and you are both running for the camp, not worrying about the noise or anything but your remaining team mates.

Dave and Terezi are both on their feet, and she is clutching to his forearm, and when he notices you coming out of the forest his face widens into the biggest smile you've ever seen.
"It wasn't them!" He screams, and with a victory yell Terezi runs forward, wrapping you both in a bone-crushing hug. Sollux snickers, and you feel your lips widen into a smile.

"Alright, alright, enough with the emotional bullshit." Dave walks over to your side. "Lets figure out who the dead bastard is."

A brief discussion leaves you and Terezi in the camp, while Sollux and Dave go to investigate- and, ultimately, find out where the other tributes are, because that's what you're supposed to be doing. Terezi quickly sits down, and you join her, careful to make as little noise as possible- you see she's focused on something, and don't want to distract her.

You almost doze off- the Games are pretty tiring, and you aren't exactly getting enough rest- when she grips your forearm, and you sit up straight, suddenly alert.

"Somebody's coming." She whispers, voice hushed. "One person. I think it's Serket."

You don't ask how she knows- she just does- and get to your feet, tightening your grip on the sickle. Terezi stands up too, her only weapon a crude walking stick made out of a charred, but still strong, branch- she refused anything else, saying she's charred and seemingly useless too- "And it's not like I couldn't kick all of your asses with a branch". No one was in a mood to argue (plus, she could totally kick all of your asses with a branch).

A person emerges from the trees. You groan.

"It's Serket."

She cackles, and Vriska returns the grin. Her hair is shorter than it was, but she's unharmed, and the huge axe in her hands does little to comfort you. You gulp.

"She has a big ass axe." You whisper to Terezi. She shrugs.

"Lost your cane in the fire?" Vriska taunts, voice mock friendliness.

"Correct." Terezi tilts her head to the side. "Why do you smell like burnt hair and anticipation?"

A small laugh escapes your lips.
"Vantas." Vriska suddenly turns to you. "Don't get offended, but you are sort of interrupting something."

"Oh, never mind me." You snarl. "I'll just sit here, with my big-ass sickle, enjoying the view, rolling your corpse away once Terezi is done."

Terezi gives you a wide grin. "Thanks, Karkles."

"Kinda hoped the canon was you." Vriska is talking to you again. "Like, maybe juggalo finally made his move."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"He'll kill you sooner or later, though, you know that?" She smirks. "And if what I've seen is any indicator, he'll take his time."

You frown. "Wow, that was so fucking insightful, colour me enlightened, now can we please cut the crap and get this god damn mockery over with?"

She smiles, and turns her eyes back to Terezi. "Easy now." Another step forward. "I'm taking my time."

***ooo***

You reach the clearing just in time to see the corpse being carried away. Sollux releases an impressed whistle.
"So I suppose she is taken care of, then."

You nod. "It's was the Clown."

"I figured."

It was Feferi Peixes- the canon, it was for her- you just broke onto the clearing in time to witness her bruised, bleeding body, neck twisted in an unnatural angle, arm practically torn off, and, far most disturbing detail, fresh bite-marks covering her neck.

"And you thought I fucked up." You mutter. Sollux' laugh is humourless.

That's when another canon shakes the arena- and with one mutual panicked glance, you are running back to the camp.

***ooo***

You weren't really going to stand back- the moment Vriska launched herself at Terezi, you intervened, because you could still remember the dark teal gash on Terezi's skin and you weren't about to risk anything like that again- but she seemed to be expecting that too, catching you off-guard, slamming the numb side of the axe into your temple, making everything go dark.

You were woken up by violent shaking, and you cracked your eyes open with a groan, and there he was, Dave Strider, tears welling up in his crimson eyes. The moment he notices your stirring, he stops in his tracks, and then pulls you into a hug, his entire frame shaking.

"Strider." You groan again. "Strider, stop!"

"No." He mutters into your shoulder. "Oh my god, Karkat, you scared me, you scared us both, we thought maybe you died at the same time so they only fired once I-"

Your brain stops dead for a second- you who?- and then the memories hit you and you are wriggling out of his arms and towards-

"Oh." Breath is sucked out of your lungs. Ground rushes up to meet you, and only Sollux's iron grip keeps you apart. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God."

Terezi. Oh God, it's Terezi. Terezi Pyrope, the girl you've met over internet six years ago, who teased you about your candy red blood (in such a way that you couldn't bring yourself to really mind), who got blinded in a freak accident and just hopped right back on her feet, the girl that liked red and drawing and plush toys and pretended to be a lawyer and threatened to hang you that one time you got high-

"Oh g-god." The voice can't belong to you- it's broken, it's high pitched, it's desperate and not yours but it escaped your throat and voiced your thoughts and you crumble to your knees, and crawl over to Terezi's body, and grasp her face and shake it, gently at first, movements turning more violent with each moment because she's not responding oh god oh god oh god-

"Karkat, stop." Sollux whispers, but you show him off, tears making your vision foggy. Someone is sobbing. It might be you. "KK, please."

"NO!" You scream, a lot louder than necessary. "She's- not- dead! She's not!"

Sollux is crying too- you now realise. "KK, please-"

You finally release your grasp, and are pulled away, and the next thing you know, you are in the tent, and Sollux is curled up next to you, and Dave is outside-

"Terezi is dead." You mutter. Sollux rolls around.
"I know."

You sniff loudly. He reaches over and grabs your hand. You tighten the hold, and that's how you fall asleep, and for a moment you can pretend that Terezi is in the tent with you, and for the moment you do, and you imagine you can hear her silent sleepy mutters.

You fall asleep holding Sollux's hand. It doesn't keep the nightmares away, but at least it keeps him close.

***ooo***

You are now Vriska Serket. You are afraid.

You aren't going to win. You know that now. You've realised that once Terezi Pyrope's corpse fell to the ground, and you sneaked a look at her team mate, and realised he was bleeding- not enough to die, or even get harmed, but bleeding- Gamzee had warned you-

"Do not touch Karkat Vantas." He was straddling you, both hands pinned to the ground, and his clown make up was almost completely gone, ruined by rain and sweat and blood, and he was leaning in so close you could smell his breath. "Or I will have to pay you an early visit, sister."

And then he left. Just like that. He took nothing. He needed nothing. You smirked, for the sake of the cameras, and embraced the fact that he will be a hard gem to kill. Once you saw the state of Feferi's corpse, you felt relieved- he wasn't going to win, not after doing that- and you decided to stay out of his way until Vantas' team mates finished him for sodomising their dead friend, or whatever he planned on doing with the candy red midget.

And then you made the little fucker bleed.

Gamzee had a thing for blood. And he also really, really liked red.

You'd feel sorry for Karkat, if you weren't so busy feeling sorry for yourself.

At least you got to finish Terezi Pyrope off.

You've kept your eye on her from the beginning of the games- she liked to play clueless, but the way she held herself when she thought no one was looking gave her away- and you knew she'd put up a proper fight.

And she did. You were impressed.

Your plan was to land harmless punches until she got too tired to think, to knock her feet under her and watch her face as she accepts her death- but she kept blocking your punches, attacking you with her makeshift cane, keeping you on the edge the entire time- the deadly blow ended up being in self defence, an axe buried deep into her chest, teal exploding over you the moment you pulled it free. She died without a scream.

You hoped you could find the strength to go the same way.
You didn't want to think about it, but it was hard. He'd find you any minute now. And then-

Footsteps, behind you. You spin around. He grins. You consider attacking him, but decide against it.

"We had an agreement, sister." He says. You nod.
"We had a motherfucking deal." He's closer now. He's soaked in Feferi Peixes' blood. Soon, yours be covering him too.
You don't flinch as he comes closer. Serkets don't flinch.

His fingers ghost under your chin.

"A motherfucking deal." He whispers.

You are a little offended at how quick your death was.

***ooo***

"Morning."

You look up- Karkat is standing over you, his eyes red from crying, face tear stained. You give him a little smile.

"Morning to you too."

"You kept watch all night yourself." It's not a question, but you nod. "Why?"

You shrug. "You allowed me to sleep when Rose died. The least I could do."

He scowls. "It's like, what, us, Serket and Juggalo now- you shouldn't be doing this."

"One all-nighter won't kill me." You shrug. "Plus, if I start pulling a no-sleep deal, maybe we get some actual caffeinated beverages- that'd be a first, I think, first in the history, we'd be remembered forever."

He rolls his eyes. "God fucking damn it, just go get some sleep."

You consider protesting, but are so fucking tired, so you yawn, nod, and crawl into the tent.

"Oh, and by the way." You arch your neck. "There was a canon. Someone's done and over with."

Sollux sits up at that- his eyes are crusted in yellow, and you suppose it's what his tears look like.

"One more, and then it's the three of us." You say, slumping to the tent floor. "Good nigh."

***ooo***

The Capitol decided that today was a day for bacon- you got bacon, actual bacon, freshly fried bacon- you had a laughing fit so severe Sollux shoved a strip into your mouth- "We don't need to alert whoever the fuck is still alive we're here, asshole."

"They're sending us bacon." You finally say, once you've chewed the force-fed strip down. "Fucking bacon. Like, 'sorry your friend got killed, have some hangover food'."

Sollux shrugs. "I never had a hang over."

That drops your mood. "Me neither."

"I did." Strider announces, exiting the tent, and Sollux groans.

"Doesn't surprise me, for some reason."

Dave ignores him, going for the food. "It was for John's fourteenth birthday- we raided the Lalonde mansion and found like, shitton of heavy stuff, and decided to play drinking games, and nobody really remembers what happened but I woke up in my bedroom and Bro was pissed. It was the only time he bothered with vacuuming." His laugh is heavy with nostalgia. "He still made me bacon, though- it was greasy as fuck, but he said it'll help- he blasted the speakers while I ate, until I threatened to gut him, and then he just laughed and told me I'm too much like him."

You are both quiet for a while.

"Mituna sometimes forgets my name." Sollux burst out of nowhere. "And he can't use the computer any more, because of the hand tremors."

Dave looks up at that, and you bite your lip- you know what happened to Mituna, a little too well.

"He was in that train accident, right?"

Sollux gives a grim nod. "Yeah."

Dave nods in understanding. "Sucks."

Another nod.

"He's with your other brother now, right?" Strider asks through a mouthful of bacon- bless him and his ability to make everything sound harmless and casual. You can't believe his volunteering was ever a problem- he could probably have killed the Ampora during the interview and would be able to brush it off as a joke.

"Psi, yeah." Sollux puts his plate down. "Haven't seen either of them in a while."

You all busy yourself with food for a while, and then Dave turns to you.

"How's having Kankri Vantas for a brother?" He asks. You frown.

"Much like having Dirk Strider." You reply. "Just with more talking and less face-to-face contact."

He grins. "He won a while ago, didn't he?"

You nod. "Probably the only victor that out-talked the interviewer."

He grins. "He looks a lot like you."

You scowl. "You look a lot like Dirk."

"Nah." He winks at the camera. "I'm cuter."

"Also, you have Satan eyes." Sollux adds. Dave seems taken aback for a moment, before he breaks down laughing.

"Better the Devil you know, I guess." He finally says.

"Not like yours are any better." You add. He smirks back.

"Defending your blood colour?" He asks, leaning back. "It's okay, I accept you despite your mutation."

"Shut your mouth." You scoff. "Terezi, tell him-"

The words die on your tongue. Sollux's breathing hitches. Dave looks down, failing to hide his overly-expressive eyes.

"Shit." You grit your teeth.

You focus back on your food. No one attempts to revive the conversation.

***ooo***

You spend the day preparing- the final showdown is going down tonight, like it or not- the games should be over by tomorrow. You'll either be dead or a victor- and, whatever Dave has planned, you're not planning on being the victor.

It'll be either him or Sollux. You'll let them battle it out, because you can't hurt either- suicide is now a very real possibility, and your whole body is screaming that you don't want to die, but you don't want them to die either, and you most definitely don't want to live in a world without the both of them.

Then your brain goes back to the promise you made to Kankri. You tell it to shut the fuck up.

At one point, Sollux pulls out a shuriken, and hits a bird. It falls to the ground, and he throws it in your general direction.

"Jesus, Captor." You say, unimpressed. "You're coming off kind of strong."

"Only the best for you." He winks- or you assume so, it's hard to tell behind those stupid shades of his- and then goes over to pull the Shuriken out, since he only has three left, and wipes it off on his jeans. The bird is now bleeding, it's blood colour matching yours. Your tired, grieving brain finds it hilarious.

"Caw caw." You mutter. Sollux looks up, confused, before a grin spreads over his face.

"Indeed."

Dave is silent for the most of the day, and when the sun finally starts setting, you have a quick dinner-nobody is really hungry- and sit down and watch the sky, waiting to see the face of the last night's victim flash over the arena. You reach out and squeeze both of their hands, and you know you're all praying it's Juggalo- Vriska is dangerous, but Gamzee scares you more than she ever could.

Finally, a face is shown- Dave is the only one to curse out loud.

It's Vriska.

"Up for some clown-hunting?" Sollux finally asks, and you nod, before getting to your feet. Armed, you leave the tent behind- you won't be needing it any more.

Sollux leads the way- "lets find a clearing, shall we, he has a thing for trees"- and Dave is still silent. You finally break onto the meadow- cornucopia glistening in the moonlight, and you hear him snicker.

"Full circle." Is his only explanation. Sollux laughs next, and you join in.

"We're going to die tonight." Sollux finally says. "We might all die, tonight."

"Yeah." Dave says. Sollux keeps staring at him.

"Nothing we do can change that much." He goes on. They keep eye contact for another second, and you start to feel uneasy. Finally, Dave nods.

"Uh, guys-" And that's when you're shushed, in the most amazing way possible, with Dave's lips pressed against yours, his hands cupping your face, and you grasp the front of his shirt, and he pressed his tongue against your lips, and you part them, ever so slightly, and he moans, and your hands run up, into his hair, and you press yourself against him, taking in as much as you can, his smell, his taste, the feel of his burning skin under your fingers-

Sollux clears his throat, and you pull away, panting slightly.
"It was never for the cameras." He whispers. You nod.

"I wish I could be your baker." Another chaste kiss. He laughs- it's empty, and he's clinging desperately to your shoulders.
"Oh my god, I don't want this." Another kiss. "I-" Another. Longer. You melt into it, and when you part, raise a sickle to your chest and salute him. He does the same, and then it's Sollux' turn.

"This is shit." He says. "Our lives are shit." He turns to the camera. "Capitol is shit."

You share a look with Dave- his eyes are tinged with worry- and Sollux laughs, louder than necessary.

"CAPITOL" He screams. "IS SHIT!"

And that's when he falls silent, and all you do is wait.

***ooo***

Gamzee shows up, fifteen minutes later. He walks slowly, lazily, smirk on his face.

"'Sup." Dave acknowledges him first, pulling up his katana. Gamzee laughs.

That's when the screaming starts.

You weren't expecting it, and you jump back, eyes wide. It's coming from nowhere, and everywhere, and the voice keeps changing, and at one point Sollux bolts, and you realise it was Aradia's voice, but then it's Terezi, and then it's Vriska Serket, and then it's all of them at the same time, and then the voices are saying things-

"Jesus Christ." Dave mutters, voice as calm as ever, despite the terror in his crimson irises. "Mental torture. So 75th."

Sollux chuckles, and you realise he fell to his knees at one point- and that's when you start making sense of the words, and you realise it's a lisped voice begging for help-

"Mituna?" You ask, and he nods. You look at Dave.

"It's not real." He grabs Sollux' shoulder, and hoists him back to his feet. "It's not real. They made him talk into a microphone and then edited it- they can't torture a Captor and get away with it-"

"They're getting away with it, right fucking now!" Sollux screams- there are tears in his eyes- and Dave slaps him, hard. Sollux stumbles, before regaining his posture, and breathing a quick 'thank you'.

That's when Gamzee takes his chance- he doesn't seem particularly bothered by the screaming, go figure- and he hauls a large bat into the back of your head, making your vision go black for a second, and the next thing you know, you're several feet above the ground, pressed against a charred, rough surface of one of the thicker trees. Gamzee is sitting on top of you, knees holding your hands down, and you're pretty sure your ankle is broken, and the screaming is still there, but now you can hear Dave and Sollux too-

They're not dead they're-

Nope, they are just panicking because you've just been fucking kidnapped by a murderous juggalo-

Guess your plan worked then. You won't have to see either of them die.

"Get this over with." You groan, and Gamzee only grins wider.

"Your blood is red." He runs a hand through your hair, bringing it to his lips once he is done- his fingers are coated in your blood, and as he sucks it off, you suddenly realise there is a reason you've been brought this high.

He'll take his time.

The realisation must have been written across your face, because he grins wider, and your blood is on his teeth, and you shiver. "Just like candy."

"Get. This. Over with." You groan, but then he grabs a fistful of your hair, and bares your neck, and you really don't know what to expect, but when he brings his lips down to suck on it, it definitely comes as a surprise.

You feel his tongue on your skin, and then he bites into it, and you hold back a scream, because, shit, his teeth are sharp, and as he pulls away, there is more red on his lips, and he grins again.

"Just wait." He whispers. "I'll hear your screams yet."

He pulls your head even further back, and bites your neck again, moving up to your jaw, until he finally settles on your lips, taking the lower one between his teeth and biting, hard. You know what it must look like, but it's anything but sexual- it's disturbing, it's degrading, it's fucking painful, but you still refuse to scream. You'll bleed out and have your body vandalised by a fucking mental case, but you're not going to scream, Kankri doesn't have to hear you scream-

Suddenly, the weight is off your chest, and you almost fall of the branch, wrapping your arms around it in the final second- and you look up to see Dave, Dave Strider, his eyes ablaze with rage, one hand tangled in Gamzee's hair, other holding a katana to his throat.

"I bleed candy red too, you know." He whispers. "Too bad you can't make me."

"Oh, brother." Gamzee snickers, and you realise too late what he's about to do. "You are wrong about that."

And just like that, he leans into Dave- well, throws himself would be more appropriate- and Dave barely gets to make the deadly cut over the juggalo's throat before they're both falling, rushing towards the ground in a way that you know is impossible to survive.

You have no idea how you got down alive, but you did. Dave is dead by the time you reach his corpse- two canons fired out, barely a second apart- you roll Gamzee's corpse off him, and lean in to cup his face- crimson irises staring up blindly, pale blonde hair tainted by the damned, candy red blood.

***ooo***

You watch Karkat limp towards the Strider, and as he cups the dead boy's face, you can see the panic written all over his face. You pull out a Shuriken- it is the last one you have left- and take a step forward. Kk is mumbling now, and there are tears in his eyes- he is bleeding, badly, and left unattended, he'd probably pass out and bleed to death.

That's why you need to hurry up. This is the last time you'll ever see him, and you don't want to remember a passed out Karkat. You teased him about his shouting a lot, but god damn it, you grew to love his angry outbursts.

Breathing hurts. Everything hurts.

I don't want to do this.

He's too shaken, too caught up with trying to get Dave to move, to realise you're coming closer. It's only when you place a hand to his shoulder that he turns around, eyes wide.

"Sollux…" He looks at the shuriken in your hand, and the look in his eyes makes you want to laugh. He thinks he has it figured out.

"Karkat." You bite back tears. He won't remember you crying. He won't. You won't let it happen. "Congrats."

He sniffs, forced smirk on his face. "I did nothing-"

"You won." You interrupt, and the way his entire expression changes is priceless. He looks back up to your face, eyes wide and pleading. "You won the Games, you tiny asshole."

"No- no!" He screams, but it's too late.

You place a Shuriken to your throat- you know where to slice, you know how to slice, you are a Captor, for fuck's sake, Captors know things- and make the final cut.

*A/N* Hi again!

Congratulations, KK.

Please drop me a review, telling me whether this was any good.

This isn't the last chapter, so we'll see each other again!

I'm actually really sad now, so I'll go eat some chocolate or something, and pray for some reviews, yeah?

You're all cute as fuck.

-BBT