"Aw, why so green, Karkat?" Mindfang said, standing right behind me. I'm going to be sick. Correction, I am already sick. And besides, I can't turn green. I hurled over the side of the boat for the hundredth time.
"Fuck off," I said, wiping my mouth. This is going to be a long night.
"There's no negotiating with the Grand Highblood, Terezi," Redglare said.
I groaned loud and long in the most exaggerated way I could. "That's what the elder at the other village said," I told her. "Are you sure?"
"Why couldn't we go with the others, Fef?" Eridan nervously asked his moirail. He was on Seahorsedad while she rode on one of Gl'Bgolyb's many tendrils. They were going pretty fast, and in another direction entirely from the others. Feferi hadn't told him anything, but he trusted her nonetheless.
"I'm going to glub to one that can kelp!" she answered. "My ancestor is dangerous, but she'll know what to do."
By her brief silence, I could tell that she was looking at me like I had suddenly developed scales and grown wings.
"I already tried what you're thinking, and he became even angrier than before." She sighed. "Instead, I have focused on sustaining Alternia's dragon population."
"They haven't been discovered yet," Mom told me. I agreed, but it was only a matter of time in my mind.
"And are you going to keep doing it?" I asked. "Despite all the turmoil going on?"
"Unfortunately, I have to. For the good of the dragons. When they get to a certain number, or if they are discovered here, then I will fight back."
So many things were going through my mind right now. I'd stopped being one who doesn't fight back the day I decided to quit being Mindfang's smithshop apprentice. I researched. I made traps. I trained with my weapon. If I didn't do any of that, I'd be spending my days regretting everything and being alone. I wouldn't have been friends with anyone besides Vriska. I decided that if I didn't put myself out there, I'd be considered a coward fit for culling.
"Listen, Terezi." I heard her step closer until she was right in front of me. "I know I'm acting like a coward, but sometimes it's better to take time and be prepared than to rush into things." I let out a short breath, then hung my head.
"I'm just saying we could do better," I said. And I'm going to. As soon as I can get my ancestor to realize that, too.
"Terezi, what are you planning?" Mom asked.
"Something injudicious, probably," I thought back to her. She growled with concern. But if Redglare wasn't going to do anything, I would.
"Before you leave, I would like to show you something else." Redglare then took my hand and I followed her deeper into the naturally protected forest.
I decided not to leave the main deck for fear of hurling inside Mindfang's ship. Gamzee, who apparently can't handle seafaring vessels, did that a few hours ago and now he's hanging upside-down off the port bow by his ankles. I've had to chase Crabdad away on multiple occasions because he kept wanting to cut the rope. Unfortunately, we need all the power we can get, so I couldn't just let my lusus do that to Gamzee. It's like society is making us take on these lusi to force our generation to build character.
Thankfully, a mountainous island appears in the distance. I was pretty sure Terezi and I hadn't mapped it yet, so this might be a good place to start. I rushed to Mindfang at the helm and yelled, "Land ahoy or something!
"I know, I've been heading towards it on purpose," she answered with a hint of snark. Did she know it was there or something?
"How?"
"I've been sailing since before you were hatched, I know an island on the horizon when I see one, young one." She chuckled.
I decided to be the mature one for once and wobbled back to my place, trying to keep Gamzee from a watery grave. As soon as we got close enough, I whistled for Crabdad and we dove into the water. He was waiting for me on the rocky shore. I thank Kanaya for the waterproofing oil she soaked my clothes and leather in when she made them, because being heavy with water is annoying as fuck.
"I'm scouting ahead!" I shouted behind me.
"Oh, no you're not!" Kanaya yelled. I rolled my eyes. I stopped Crabdad and turned to see Kanaya and Mindfang lowering a lifeboat. I changed my mind. I turned back around and prepared to brave the wilderness. They'll catch up.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a perfectly round boulder twice as tall as Crabdad at the base of the closest cliff. None of the other rocks around it matched, which were all coarse and angled. I headed toward it.
As I approached it, I saw what was behind it: a cave. It was just big enough for Mom to get through. I'm pretty fucking sure this was where I needed to go. Further evidence showed claw marks and scorched walls. And that's all the evidence I need. I have no time for this shit.
Eridan's going to be sick. That troll she's talking about makes him nervous, ever since he first learned about her during oral training. She's supposedly very beautiful, but as Feferi said, very dangerous.
"Maybe she already knows?" he suggested.
"She de-fin-itely does!"
"Then why—"
"Because we're in a small village and we're victims, too! She has the entire planet to worry about, and if no one reports us, then whale be goners for shore!"
She has a point, he thought to himself. He took his eyes off her and saw a ship dead ahead. He signaled to her and she saw it, too. In the fog, it had dark orange sails and was facing away from them. They must be headed to the empress, too. Something was weird about this ship, though. It was missing the flag of the empress. As he looked closer at the sails, he saw no signs on them. If they had no signs, then they were pirates. He flew down to Feferi to report this.
"Let's follow them anyway!"
"Why?!" Eridan exclaimed.
"To catch them by surprise!" she said with a smile.
"That's a terrible idea, Fef."
"No it's not! It'll be fin!"
"More like we'll be fin-ished."
"Fin-fished!" she corrected him.
"I don't care!" He let seahorsedad fly high behind Feferi. "You lead, then."
"Don't mind if I do!" she huffed, facing forward. When they got closer, she waved him down and said, "Give me a ride."
"Shore, why not?" he muttered. As she grabbed his hand, he moved forward so she would have room to sit. His lusus strained slightly, but managed to carry both of them.
Feferi turned back to her lusus and waves her hand, motioning her to go back down. Eridan hoped she'll be they're backup if things go awry. He doesn't think he's ready to face off with whoever owns that ship yet.
Eridan commanded Seahorsedad to flank the ship, but as they were passing over, Feferi gasps. "Fef, what?"
"He's…"
"Fef?"
"He's so hot."
He looked down. Some winged troll with horns that looked like Tavros' horns was at the helm, alone. Oh, fuck no. He looked back at Feferi, who was trying to swing both of her legs to the same side. "Fef, what the fuck are you doin'?" She slid off the saddle. "Fef!" he shouts after her.
At the sound of his voice, the other troll looked up to see Feferi falling straight for him. He took his hands off the wheel and flies up to catch her. Eridan rolls his eyes. He immediately led his lusus down to the boat and landed right after the pirate troll did.
"Are you alright, miss?" he asked. Eridan wanted to vomit. Who was this guy anyway?
"Fef, get down, we're busy," Eridan said as soon as more crew members started to reveal themselves. These people were dangerous. They could be working for the Grand Highblood. Didn't Terezi say that the guy who took Tinkerbull had wings?
"No we're not," she said, obviously distracted.
Eridan didn't have time for this. "We hawe to help the others, remember?"
"What's your name?" she asked the guy. Eridan facepalms.
"I am the Summoner, my lady," the guy replied. At least he knows how to speak to a highblood. "Where did you come from?"
"The ocean," she said dreamily. Then she batted her eyelashes. Some of the crew started whooping.
"I mean what village, my dear?"
"Oh! Whale, we're from—"
"And we're just going back!" Eridan interrupted, escaping the circle of pirates surrounding them. "We have a job to do." He tugs at Feferi's arm and the Summoner guy puts her down.
The Summoner quirked a brow. "A job? Well, don't let me keep you, then," he said with a wink.
Feferi practically swooned at that.
Eridan pulls her away and lifts her back onto his lusus and whispered, "Fef, we have to see your ancestor, remember?"
"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed a little too loud. She turned to the Summoner and waved with her fingers. "When we get back from Her Imperious, call me!"
"Her Imperious?" the Summoner asked. "Well, why didn't you say so? We're off to see her right now! Right, gentletrolls?" He turned to the crew, who nodded and approved vocally. He gave his attention back to Eridan and Feferi. "Why don't we stay together? Give your lusus a rest?"
"No thanks!" Eridan said. "My lusus can handle this trip just fine!"
"Eridan!" Feferi exclaimed. "Let's at least stay for some food."
He almost asked her, "Food for who exactly?"
"Then it's settled!" the Summoner said with a fake smile. Maybe Eridan was biased, but this guy looked like he was up to no good. "Let's get them settled in!" he ordered the crew.
And just like that, Eridan, Feferi, and Seahorsedad were captured.
"Where are we going?" I asked. Redglare still said nothing, trying to lead me through the smoothest path possible, dodging roots and rocks and crevices. I heard mom and Firefleet following us, breaking branches and pushing past leaves. Mom was cursing all the bushes. We don't have gardens in our village. We have trees and ferns, grass, and cobblestone. Nothing really as dense as whatever these were called.
"We're almost there," she finally said. A few moments later, we stopped at the mouth of a cave that was shaped like a large bowl. I felt the humidity and could tell there was something, rather, a lot of somethings, further in. "This is the incubation chamber."
My eyes widened. Every single egg was no bigger than my head, and I could smell hundreds of them. I could only imagine how many were farther in than I could smell. They were in various colors and had a glossy sheen, almost transparent like precious stones. I took a bigger whiff and got a glimpse of the entire cave, confirming hundreds of eggs leading into a tunnel straight ahead. It wasn't a lot, comparatively speaking.
"We had to move them last year because some were lost in a flood." I remembered that one of the memories that flashed through my mind when I first landed was the pain of losing those eggs.
"You're right," I said. Redglare had a duty here. If the Grand Highblood had that many trolls to fight for him, which might be most of the planet at this point for all we know, how would we defeat them? Not all of the dragons here were as strong or as trained to kill as Firefleet and mom.
Before I could ask Redglare about training the dragons that were already here, a familiar voice made my ear twitch.
"What the hell are these things?" the voice yelled.
"Karkat?" I whispered. I started heading towards the voice, stepping around the eggs and tapping my cane to echolocate. "Karkat!"
"Terezi!" he called back. He cursed under his breath as he came to me. "Are you okay? Did the pirates get you? And what the hell are we stepping over?" He wrapped me in a tight hug, and I hugged back.
I grinned, letting out a chuckle. "Yes, kind of, and… dragon eggs." I waited for his response, still grinning into his shoulder. He held me at arm's length. I sniffed lightly just to see his face, and what I saw was priceless.
"No way." I felt him look around, his hands still on my shoulders. "Well, whatever, we found you, and now we're going home to strategize."
"Um…" I looked back at mom and she was back at the mouth of the cave. "Before we make any rash decisions, I want you to meet someone." I brushed him away, taking one of his arms and dragging him back.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Karkat, you little imp! We told you to wait for backup!" Was that Mindfang?!
I stopped dead in my tracks and grabbed his shoulder. "You brought Mindfang?!" I asked in a harsh whisper.
It was his turn to brush me off. "We were desperate! You were gone an entire day!" he harshly whispered back. "Kanaya, Vriska, Nepeta, Equius, and Gamzee make up the rest of us, including Crabdad." Splendid! A motley crew of ignorant children! "You could have at least hired mercenaries!"
"We had no time!" He paused. "Who's that?"
I sniffed the air. Redglare had silently joined us, standing behind me. I didn't even smell her coming. For some reason, I felt uncomfortably modest. My ancestor and my matesprit, actually meeting each other.
I cleared my throat and faced her. "Karkat, this is my ancestor Redglare. Redglare, this is my m—" I couldn't say it. "My m—" Why is this happening?
Karkat sighed exasperatedly and took my hand. "Karkat Vantas. Her matesprit," he bluntly finished for me. My face flushed on its own volition. Would she approve of this courtship? Why was I even worrying about this at such a pressing time? The world was about to be taken over by a deranged laughsassin juggalo and I'm worried about whether my idyllic-yet-absent ancestor approves of my choice of quadrants!
"Hmm," was all Redglare said. I couldn't tell if that was bad or good.
At this point, Mindfang's derogatory monologue had reached the ears of normal troll hearing and I heard Redglare stiffen and take in a short breath behind me. Considering their relationship before, I expected she would be surprised or maybe nervous. I dragged Karkat aside and held my cane out in front of him so he wouldn't interfere.
What the hell is going on here? I finally found Terezi and she yelled at me? At least she introduced me to her ancestor. I was sweating bullets. I kept my cool somehow.
"Terezi, what's going on?" I asked her as Mindfang came into view. I looked at Redglare as it happened. She stayed silent, looking down her nose at the pirate. I couldn't read her expression. I looked at Mindfang and she just stared.
"Redglare?" she muttered.
Terezi turned to me slightly and whispered, "They had a complicated past." She swallows. "She was black with Mindfang and… that's how I was created."
Oh. "Fuck…" That's really fucking complicated. "Did you know?" Dolorosa said that sometimes, adult trolls form bonds with grubs that they don't even comprehend.
Terezi shook her head. "I only just found out." She faced toward the pair again, head tilted slightly forward. I looked between the two. I could have cut the tension with my sickle.
"Mindfang," Redglare stated simply. The ex-pirate-queen approached as the ex-lagislacerator spoke. "It's certainly been a while since you tried to steal my lusus for your own."
Mindfang just shrugged.
"What is she talking about?" I asked Terezi in a hushed tone. She shushed me harshly in return.
Redglare continued. "Any reason why you stole my descendant from a worthy guardian? I requested her specifically, so you most likely convinced her in your own special way to give her to you instead." Mindfang was almost right in front of her, still somehow speechless. "Although I have to hand it to you, you made her hate you without my help. Congratulations."
Then Mindfang did the unpredictable. She actually attempted to make Redglare swoon from my point of view, like one would initiate a pailing.
Redglare wasn't having any of it. As soon as Mindfang got close, Redglare grabbed her coat with one hand, swinging her behind her, and punched her right in the face with the other, sending the blueblood flying into the light.
"Yeah!" Terezi cheered. I stifled a laugh. She chased after them to get closer.
Before I could move, I heard something insignificant. "Karbro!" I heard Gamzee call out. I narrowed my eyes and frowned, grimacing. I turned to him slowly, watching him awkwardly dodge the eggs by stumbling in every direction. One-by-one, the others revealed themselves through the tunnel.
"Oh yeah, you're all here, too."
Eridan struggled in his binds. This was no way to treat a seadweller, and this brownblood knew it! Feferi was too shocked to be angry, but they will feel her wrath soon enough. His, too. He looked to Seahorsedad, who was immediately sedated. Eridan felt another twinge of anger in his entrails. They're going to pay for this.
"So captain, what do ye think he'll go fer?" a crewman asked the Summoner.
"Hmm," he said, rubbing his chin, appraising the lusus. Eridan gritted his teeth. "Depends where we go. If we were to travel inland, then he'll be worth our Gl'bgolyb's weight in gold." He glanced at Eridan. "Kid, what's your blood color?"
"Fuck you!" Eridan retorted. He felt his face flushing with anger.
The Summoner puckered his lips triumphantly. "Violet, looks like."
"Violet?!" the crewman exclaimed. Good. Violet blood should strike fear into the hearts of trolls everywhere. "What if his guardian comes lookin' fer him!"
"Pssht!" Summoner scoffed. "He's hanging out with a tyrian! He has no guardian." That much was true. "The real question is, what's the descendant of our dear empress doing living in such a small village?" He sauntered to Feferi. "Young lady?"
"Stay away from her!" Eridan yelled.
The Summoner pouted at him. "She can speak for herself." He takes her chin between his fingers, and she broke out of her trance. "Where's your lusus?"
"Don't worry about my lusus!" she spat, then smirked. "My lusus eats chum like you for breakfast. Besides, we have dragons!"
Eridan drops his head. "Damn it, Fef!" he muttered under his breath.
"Dragons?!" The Summoner said with feigned worry. "Why didn't you say so!" He stood up, calling for another crew member, a highblood juggalo. "Beguiler, your time has come." He nodded and saluted. What the hell.
The Summoner whistled and a giant bird-lusus swooped in from above and took the skyward hand, taking him to god-knows-where.
"Glubbin' perfect," Eridan mumbled.
"Psst!" Feferi whispered. He looked up to see her grinning. "Duck."
No need to tell him twice. As soon as he did, about twelve tentacles came up from the sides of the boat to grab every single crew member but the Summoner and fling them overboard. Eridan could hear their spines snapping.
"What in the fu—!" The Summoner was interrupted by an tendril grabbing him and shaking him about like seaweed out of water. Feferi had cut herself loose and was working on untying Eridan. As soon as they were free, they freed a still-sleeping Seahorse lusus and Gl'bgolyb gently lifted him up and away.
"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Eridan asked as they climbed onto the ledge of the ship.
"Sorry!" she said. She held him back and turned to the water, then shouted, "I told you to only kill five of them!" The ocean rumbled in response. She put her hand down and they dove in together.
"So what are we goin' to do about that juggalo?" Eridan asked as soon as they broke the surface.
Feferi turned gray. "Dam!"