Here's the next chapter to Mutated Ectoplasm! Sorry this took a little longer then usual, my sleep schedule kind of got messed up due to a bout of insomnia. However, it is still up at a consistent time, so I still think I did goo.

This one was a weird one to right since I wanted to tackle a specific issue with one of Karkat's powers, though I only scratch the surface with it. I think I'll expand on it within the next chapters.

Also, I have something kinda special for you guys, but I'll link to it at the end of the chapter. I hope you all enjoy!

Terezi wasn't one to get much sleep, but she looked positively peaceful sleeping in that old chair they'd put her in. Nepeta couldn't remember the last time she was worked into exhaustion, but she figured that considering today's events would've knocked her out cold. It was nice to see her so relaxed.

But they were on a time crunch, so she might as well throw some water on her.

Karkat splashed the water on her quick, waking her up with a splutter. Terezi thankfully didn't immediately lash out, but did float to the top of the ceiling, hitting her head on it. Floating towards the ground, she groaned softly.

Nepeta moved next to her, rubbing her back. "Hey, hey, Terezi, relax. It's me. You haven't really been yourself today, so you might be feeling a bit funny."

"I feel like someone hit my with a truck. Multiple times." The scaled girl got up, blinking, and sniffing at the air. "I think my sense of smell is screwed. Everything smells wrong for some reason."

"I wouldn't say that." Nepeta rubbed the back of her head. "You're just in a really different place. It's a little hard to explain, I was going to tell you about it after we messed around with the amulet…"

"Nepeta," Terezi wouldn't have minded the stream of words coming out of her friends' mouth, but she was in so much pain right now. "Just tell me where I am right now."

"Welcome to Earth."

Karkat's voice caused both of them to jump, Terezi pulling out her cane and waving it around. "Who the fuck said that?!"

"Me. You know, the guy that stopped you from causing a forest fire?" Karkat rolled his eyes, watching the girl closely while staying as far away from her as possible. "You're in the human world. I wish that it were under better circumstances, but I guess we've both got shit luck for that to happen."

"The human world?" The scaly girl looked like she'd been struck for a second before shaking her head. "No. That's bullshit. How fuck would I get into the human world?"

"It's a long story." Nepeta patter her on the back, putting her back into the old chair carefully. "He is telling the truth through. There's kind of a portal- you know what, I'll tell you later."

Terezi sniffed at the air, growling before eventually settling in. Her senses never steered her wrong before and they were telling her she wasn't in the Infinite Realms anymore. Not to mention Nepeta wouldn't really lie to her unless it was for something small.

Not to mention that the other ghost in here smelled… off to her.

"Let's pretend that I believe you for a second that I'm in the human world," She started off slowly, hands gripping the cane carefully. She was ready to pull the sword out of its case if she needed to. "How exactly did I get here?"

"A scientist here was able to create an actual portal between the Ghost Zone and the human world not that long ago. You slipped through it after Skulker did something to you, with your amulet turning you into a dragon at the same time." Karkat felt a twinge of sympathy as her face darkened at the mention of the robot ghost. "I'm guessing you're not a fan of his?"

"No, my mom's been trying to arrest him for poaching for years. That explains why I don't remember anything, I guess." She rubbed hear forehead, head pounding. "I didn't do too much damage, right?"

"A few fires, but that's it." Nepeta waved it off, despite the fact that it was a pretty big deal that a few fires were started at all. "I don't think any humans saw you, so we're good on that front."

"Ok." Terezi immediately tried to grip something around her neck, but when a look of panic flitted across her face. "Where the hell is my amulet?"

"We were planning to look for it after we figured out if you calmed down or not." Karkat stated, floating closer to her. He couldn't help but feel a bit concerned at the genuine amount of fear that entered her expression. "Is something wrong?"

"There might be if we don't figure out where the amulet is." Terezi was remarkably taking it all in stride, though she did look ready to get into a panic attack at any moment. "I don't know how that thing will react to humans, but I also really don't want to figure out what could happen if it does."

"Great." Karkat sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Just another problem to put on the rest of the ones dropping into his lap lately. "Just what we needed. Another insane thing to deal with." He floated towards the ceiling of the abandoned house. "I'd suggest staying here for now, so no humans see you. I'd only suggest leaving in a couple of hours or if you hear anyone coming your way. There's ghost hunters around and you don't want to run into one of them."

"Wait!" Terezi shouted, but it was too late as Karkat slipped through the ceiling before she could say anything more. She growled but moved back into the seat. She hoped her healing factor would kick in to get rid of her headache. "Nice friend you have there, Nepeta. Smells weird too. Just what's that guy's deal."

"Don't worry about him, he's actually pretty cool! He's just trying to make sure nobody gets hurt." Nepeta floated around her, laughing to herself. "He's good friends with Muelin and Horuss, so he's not bad. Besides, he's half human, so he's not exactly up to date on ghost etiquette just yet."

Terezi nodded along, only half listening. She eventually stopped, turning her head towards her friend, confusion evident on her face. "I'm sorry, he's what?"

"And her I thought ghosts were going to be the weirdest things we'd ever deal with." Aradia huffed, walking towards Karkat's house. She looked exhausted after dealing with the fire drill and getting prepared for tomorrows dance. "Now we have cursed amulets to deal with. This is just all so weird."

"Is the amulet really cursed if it's doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing?" Sollux, in a rare twist, was trying to alleviate the tension. He wasn't used to it, though, so it wasn't exactly working. "I mean, the amulet was made to make her a dragon sometimes, it sounds like it's working just fine."

"It's cursed if it's in the wrong fucking hands, Captor." Karkat was mulling over the information they had on them currently. "The thing is, we don't actually know if it works with humans. If anything, it might be useless in the long run. That doesn't mean we can ignore it either."

"Plus, we don't exactly want a pissed off ghost looking around the place either." Aradia knew that everything was set off by Skulker, but she also didn't want to make Terezi and legitimate enemy. "So, finding it is a good idea, no matter what. Which'll be a nightmare if we don't get it done soon."

"Yeah, nice going there, KK." Sollux smiled at the offended look from his friend. At least if he was ticked off, he wasn't stressed.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to stop a forest fire. Next time a dragon shows up in town, you'll be the first I call, fuckass." Karkat punched the other teen in the arm, eyes rolling at the insult. "If I had to guess where I threw the thing, it's probably near the school. Maybe someone put it in the lost and found. If not, they probably tried to sell it to a pawn shop."

"We can try and look during the dance tomorrow." At her friend's groans, Megido rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that. It's a good way to get to the school after hours, plus nearly everyone will be there. If some didn't put it in the lost and found, then they might have it at the dance."

"I know, but dances suck usually." Sollux kicked at the ground, frowning. "Everyone is judging you based on how you're dressed, either nobody's dancing or they're out grinding on the dance floor, and we all know Tethis is going to be there."

"God, dances are when she's at her worst." Karkat remembered nearly every middle school dance Aradia had dragged them too and remembered the amount of pink Trizza would wear every year. He sighed, though. "But that is a good plan. Maybe we'll luck out with the lost and found, but our lucks not that good."

"Fuck." Captor deflated a bit, realizing he was fighting a futile battle. "I guess I can find something in my closet good enough to go to a dance in."

"I think I have a spare suit or two in my closet. If not, I'll borrow one of my dad's." Karkat mumbled. A thought occurred. "We were probably going to have to attend the dance anyway. I think my dad wants to a be chaperone."

"Crap, the school's letting him do it this year?" Aradia's surprise wasn't unwarranted. While Spades had admittedly behaved during those dances, that doesn't mean he didn't cause an incident or two in the past. "They must not have had a lot of volunteers lately."

"I think the incidents happening around town are scaring them off. You'd think they'd want to attend to keep an eye on their kids, but I guess not." Sollux moved his backpack, face looking uneasy. "Both of my dads have been worried about the stuff going on too. I don't think they believe Spades when he says it's ghosts, but they are wondering just what the hell is going on."

"My dad and stepmom are worried too, but they think it's all just accidents. I don't know what Heido's thinking, but she hasn't mentioned anything about ghosts since the Lunch Lady incident." Aradia's mind drifted to the field trip and other crap they'd gone through. "If they did know, I doubt they'd be happy knowing the town might be haunted."

"If we get the portal shut down, then it won't be." Karkat really hoped the gamble with Horuss would work out. "They only know about that, but they haven't seen anything. And if everything works out, then no one will."

"We can only hope on that." Aradia started to run ahead, heading towards her own home. "I'll you guys tomorrow. Meet up at my place with the ghosts and we'll figure out how to find that thing together. And put some effort into what you're wearing."

"Yes ma'am." They both sarcastically saluted, though she was already far gone by now. The boys looked at each other before sighing deeply.

"This dance is going to suck, isn't it?"

"Fuck yeah it is."

The next school day was uneventful, even with the chatter about the fire the day before. Most of the focus was on the dance that night, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Ardata was vlogging about it to her followers, mostly to tease about whatever she and Tethis were wearing that night.

Karkat had to ignore the urge to puke.

"I see you scrounged up something fancy for the occasion." Sollux caught up to him, strolling confidently beside him. He was wearing a red dress shirt with a blue tie, khakis, and his running shoes. His hair wasn't gelled or anything, but it was neater than it usually was.

"And I almost detect a hint of effort in your outfit. Somebody your looking to impress?" Karkat himself didn't exactly dress up too much for it. He basically found an old suit that didn't fit his dad anymore, consisting of a simple black overcoat, slacks, and a white dress shirt. He was actually wearing dress shoes since he could turn into his Phantom form to get past the limited movement it gave him.

"Don't even start." Captor sent a swift punch to his friends' arm, face burning. "You've heard from Nepeta and her friend yet? Can't really start any of this without them."

"They've been hanging out at the abandoned house all day and Nepeta's been updating me on Terezi's recovery. They should be meeting us here pretty soon." Karkat looked over the recent Ghostian log, putting it away after noting there were no more updates. "Just have to hope they get here fast enough."

It didn't take long to get to Aradia's house. Karkat swallowed up his dread while Sollux did his best to settle his nerves. It didn't work since Vantas had to be the one to knock on the door. They heard Aradia's voice shout to wait before the clunk of footsteps rushed towards the door.

Aradia was dressed in a simple black dress that went down to her feet. Her hair looked slightly combed for once, but only put on a little makeup for the occasion. The fact she wasn't walking funny probably meant she was wearing sneakers under her dress too in case things went south. She closed the door behind her, twirling around with a smirk. "How do I look?"

Karkat nodded appreciatively while Sollux looked ready to turn into a tomato.

"For a bunch of losers, we actually clean up nicely." Karkat joked, elbowing Sollux to get him out of his stupor. His expression turned serious, voice lowering so no one would hear them. "We all have our weapons, right? Just in case?"

"I have my ecto-gun on an ankle holster. Couldn't bring the bigger one, though." Sollux stuttered out, almost wincing at how high his voice got. He cleared his throat, getting it back under control. "I did bring a taser, but I don't know how well that'll work."

"Same here. I do have my whip on me, though." She lifted up her dress a little, showing that a small amount of the while was around her ankle. "Again, don't know how that'll work against a dragon, but it's better than nothing."

"It helped defeat a mech, so I'm not complaining." The ghostly teen felt a puff of smoke flow out of his body, looking upwards. "And it looks like the rest of our party is here on time."

Nepeta cheerfully floated ahead, holding Terezi's hand. The scaly ghost in question sniffed the air and 'looked' at every one of the humans present before her. She floated closer to Karkat, sniffing him down for a second, narrowing her eyes at him.

Then she licked his face.

A moment of stunned silence followed after that, everyone but Nepeta watching Terezi with disbelief as she contemplated something. She nodded, turning to the cat girl ghost. "He's half human alright. I'll be damned."

"Wha- You needed to lick me to figure that out?!" Karkat wasn't sure how to feel about that, so he went with the first outburst he could. He wiped the saliva off his face with his sleeve as fast as he could. "You could've fucking asked before licking me!"

"Now that's just no fun. Besides, I need to do that to see." Terezi looked around at the rest of them with a sharp toothed smile. "I'm guessing the rest of you are here to help get my amulet back?"

"Pretty much." Sollux kept an eye on her so she wouldn't lick him too. Her sniffing at him didn't soothe that worry in the slightest. "Figured it landed at the school and we'll search in some places first before going around the building. Better to start with that."

"His dad is chaperoning, though. Most likely he'll have something that could sniff you out, so there's a good chance we might need you to sit this one out." Aradia looked at them both carefully. "Unless either of you have a way to go hide from an ecto-detector, it might be best if you sit this one out."

"Um," Nepeta started, looking nervously between the three of them. "We might have an idea, actually."

"You ever heard of overshadowing yet?" Terezi piped. When she was met with silence, she shrugged and started to explain. "Ghosts can sort of 'shift' into other people and take themselves along for the ride."

"Wait, are you talking about possession?" Sollux sounded somewhat alarmed at the prospect. "Don't you need to ask me out for dinner before getting inside me?"

Terezi narrowed her red eyes at the boy and pointed at him. "Just for that, I'm calling dibs on your body."

"It's not like we'll be controlling your body." Nepeta started, trying to defend the idea. "I mean, we can, but we can take a back seat. It'll probably be enough to get under Phantom's dad's radar."

"What about just slipping into my body then?" Karkat tried to get them out of it. He didn't like the idea either, but he could live with that. "I mean, if they don't want to-"

"We appreciate the sentiment, Phantom, but we don't know what exactly what would happen if we tried that." Terezi interrupted him. The scaled girl did look somewhat apologetic. "Ghosts can't overshadow each other. Considering you're only half human, we can't risk that shit."

The conversation was halted as they heard footsteps coming from Aradia's house. Heido was most likely coming out to drive them to the school. The group started to panic, realizing they didn't have much time.

"Fuck it," Aradia gritted her teeth, moving her hand out to Nepeta. "Come on in. Be careful in there, okay?"

"I'll do my best." Nepeta smiled toothily, grabbing the girl's hand. She dissipated moments later, seemingly moving into the girl with ease. Aradia's eyes flashed the same color green as the ghosts for a second before it disappeared with a quick blink.

Sollux sighed, repeating the gesture to Terezi. The scaled girl slipped into him as well, causing him to tense up for a second, his own eyes flashing red. He eventually relaxed, the red switching back to its usual heterochromatic colors.

Heido opened the door up a second later. She looked over the teens briefly, none the wiser that there were two ghosts present a few seconds ago. "You kids ready to head out?"

"Yeah," Karkat looked over at his friends, watching them nod along silently. They didn't seem any different than they were a second ago, which was a slightly disturbing thought. "We're good."

For a second, he wondered if he could do that. He pushed the thought out of his brain before it could blossom further.

The ride was thankfully short. Karkat had been keeping an eye on Sollux and Aradia, but they didn't act strange other than the fact that they remained silent the entire time. If it wasn't for the supernatural shit, he would've assumed he was third wheeling on a very awkward date.

He would've preferred that if he was honest. He really didn't like the idea that they were possessed in the slightest, even if he could at least trust Nepeta not to do anything wrong with their bodies.

Arriving near the entrance of the school, they all let out a collective breath. Aradia took the lead, grabbing Sollux's arm in the process.

"We'll go and hang on the dancefloor, see if we can spot that amulet on anyone. Karkat, make sure to check out the lost and found." Aradia thankfully sounded like herself enough to calm Karkat's nerves. "If you run into anything, message us quick."

"Yes ma'am." Karkat gave her a quick salute, moving out as fast as his legs could take him. He sent a look back to their retreating forms.

He really hoped they were okay with all of this.

Sollux, to his credit, was taking the possession thing fairly well. He felt like he pretty much in control of himself and it looked like Aradia was holding herself together. Her eyes were scanning people around them as she led them through the crowd, dancing softly to some bullshit slow song.

Admittedly, that was what he was freaking out about.

"Can you please calm down your hormones for about ten seconds? It's getting sweaty in here."

Sollux nearly jumped out of his skin hearing a voice in the back of his head. It sounded like Terezi, though, so he forced the fear down for a second.

"There's such a thing as being a backseat driving you know." He responded mentally. "I don't need you tell me what to do here."

"I beg to differ. I haven't been around here long enough to know what humans are normally like, but I know what awkward moments are like." The snark was to be expected, though he still didn't appreciate it. "At least say something to her. She's probably feeling as awkward as you are."

"And how am I supposed to trust your advice on this?" Sollux almost raised a literal eyebrow at her statement.

"Because if you don't, I'll take over and make you start licking random crap around here." Terezi deadpanned.

"Fuck sakes, fine, I'll say something." Sollux cleared his throat, catching Aradia's attention. He realized he should have prepared something beforehand when she looked expectantly at him. "See anything interesting yet?"

"Smooth."

"Nothing yet." Aradia looked like she wasn't sure to be irritated or relieved by that fact. "Karkat hasn't messaged either of us either, so I'm assuming he hasn't seen anything either. We might have to comb over the grounds later over the weekend."

"There goes our weekend plans." He muttered. Damn ghost crap was starting to get really annoying, but at least this was relatively low risk. "And the whole possession thing? Terezi's been threatening to make me lick things if she keeps being bored."

"Is that why you looked annoyed a few minutes ago?" The girl laughed, eyes glittering in amusement. "Nepeta's been chattering about all the couple around us. She has some strong opinions about some of them, apparently."

"Really? Didn't take her as a gossip." That was a surprising thing. Karkat did most of the talking with the ghosts, which maybe was a mistake.

"Less of a gossip, more a shipper." Aradia subtly pointed at a couple swaying awkwardly, neither of them looking like they wanted to be there. "She says they're pretty cute together, but she has a pretty good idea that one of them is gay and the other is their 'beard.' The guys been eyeing that dude in red all night."

"Huh." Now that it was pointed out, he couldn't help but agree with her. They both looked a little uncomfortable and that guy in red did seem to throw his own glances their way. "Probably doesn't know any of the groups he could join. We can contact one of them to see if they can help him out."

"Probably." Aradia chuckled again, though it was a little subdued. She learned her head against Sollux's shoulder. "We really are getting into the whole superhero mindset, aren't we?"

"Yeah." The depressing thought outweighed any embarrassment he could've felt from this. "It's not a bad gig, really. I mean, who else can say they've taken down a mech with the help of the undead."

"Fair. They can't say they had to find a magical amulet too, so I'd say we win at life." She got a curious look on her face. "Do you think before we disable the portal that Karkat would let me go around in those ruins we saw? Interdimensional archeology would be an interesting thing to add to my resume."

"You'd be miles ahead every other person in your field." Sollux relaxed fully. Why was he worried before? This was Aradia, there wasn't going to be any awkward shit. "I doubt it, though. He's been really overprotective lately."

"True." Aradia squeezed Sollux's hand. She still smiled, though her eyes wandered around the area once more in search of the amulet.

"I ship it." Nepeta whispered in her head.

"Shh." She mentally whispered back.

"For crying out loud," Karkat muttered, throwing the last of the items off into the bin. "Who the fuck brings a horse mask to school? Goddam lunatics, that's who."

He didn't really know why he was speaking out loud, but it made him feel better to complain about it. He hadn't got a message either, so he was definitely feeling on edge. If he didn't find that amulet soon, he didn't want to know what would happen.

"Maybe some idiot dropped it in the bathrooms." He moved towards the boys and hoped to whatever God let him live through that portal accident that he wouldn't have to search any longer. It'd be pretty fucking creepy if he had to float around the girl's bathroom.

He was turning a corner to do just that when he had the unfortunate luck to run into Trizza fucking Tethis.

"Watch where you're going you- oh. It's you." Trizza had the gall to glare at him, even though Karkat was the one that had the right of way. "I'm surprised you even showed your face here. Megido drag you out here?"

"I came here because I wanted to, thank you." Karkat bit back any insult he could've thought up of considering how much time he may have had. "I'm also in a goddam hurry. I don't have time for your melodrama."

"You know, this is actually the perfect time. I've been trying to talk to you and your dumbass friends for a while now and you've been avoiding me." She attempted to move in front of him, making Karkat nearly growl at her.

"If this is about whatever my dad is doing, he's just doing another presentation on his invention. Now would you kindly fuck off?" Karkat barely wanted to look at the sickeningly pink dress she had on, but his eyes wandered anyway. "Unless you want to follow into the boys-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as he finally saw the amulet.

Around Trizza fucking Tethis's neck.

Of fucking course.

"Follow you where?" Trizza crossed her arms, looking into Karkat's eyes with a glare of her own. "I ain't going anywhere, especially with you."

The ghostly teen snapped his mouth shut, turning the corner quickly. He made sure to speed walk towards the boy's bathroom, slipping into it, and locking the door behind him before she could react. He heard some stomping and small shriek, followed by retreating footsteps.

Karkat never pulled out his phone so fast before in his life.

CG: GUYS, I FOUND THE AMULET.

TA: 2eriiou2ly? thank chrii2t, ii wa2 2tartiing two thiink we'd be 2pendiing the weekend at 2chool.

AA: did y0u find it in the l0st and f0und?

CG: NO, IT'S WORSE. TETHIS HAS IT.

There was a moment where no one typed anything, causing him to stew in bathroom. The Ghostian log then beeped with two new messages.

TA: 2ay 2iike riight now.

AA: please tell me that this is a j0ke.

CG: WHY THE FUCK WOULD I JOKE ABOUT THIS?! I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE GOT IT, BUT SHE DOES.

TA: then get iit off her! god know2 what 2he'd do iif 2he had a hii22y fiit duriing the dance.

AA: it's never a party until tethis l0ses her mind 0ver s0mething small. and we're well past her usual rec0rd.

CG: ALRIGHT, I'LL GET TO IT. JUST BE READY TO RUN ON OVER HERE IF THINGS GO SOUTH.

AA: aye, aye, captain!

TA: don't get caught!

"Nice words of encouragement guys." Karkat unlocked the door, going intangible and slipping through it. "Really feeling the love here."

He remained invisible, attempting to keep his ghost powers to a minimum so it didn't trip off any of his dad's alarms. The invisible teen moved slowly through the hallway where he saw Tethis last, guessing she couldn't have gotten far. Heels didn't exactly make you quick and Trizza wouldn't be caught dead not wearing them.

It didn't take long to find her considering she was as loud as he usually is. Thankfully, it looked like she was just talking to Ardata, so maybe he could get away with taking the thing unnoticed.

"So, any of your pics getting votes on Instagram right now?" Trizza looked closely at the other girl's phone. "I can feel everyone there dying with envy already."

"I can't really tell. The school's Wi-Fi is acting like shit tonight. Doesn't help that your flooding my inbox with your meme crap." Ardata tapped on her phones keyboard, huffing angrily. "Some bots are fucking up the algorithm too. And not in the good way."

"Hm. At least we it'll get posted in the morning." Trizza shifted at her feet anxiously. "Let's at least get back to the party. Better than waiting it out here."

"Fair enough." Ardata put away the phone and started to head towards the gym. "Least we can laugh at any of those idiots that try to flirt with us."

"Damn right. You remember how that one guy in middle school tried to-"

Tethis had to stop what she was saying after the doors to the gym opened wide, a couple stumbling through. Trizza would've stepped aside, but she wasn't quick enough to dodge the two's drinks, spilling all over her dress.

Karkat felt himself choke, stifling a cross between laughter and gasping. On any other day, he would've laughed his off at this, but he really wished it had to wait until a lot later.

Trizza didn't seem to react for a moment, ignoring the obviously drunk couple as they moved down the hallway. Ardata seemed ready to panic as well, watching the couple pass on by and inching away from Tethis.

"You okay? Jesus Christ, that shit got all over you." She started, trying to laugh it off. She shivered as Trizza only gave her a blank stare in response. "Okay, this is an Omega Level kind of anger. Not good. I'll go get you something to get that off, just wait right here."

Ardata did the wisest thing she could've (unwittingly) done and moved farther into the school. Probably to avoid the upcoming hissy fit.

Karkat had hoped that maybe she wouldn't have any type of transformation, but he could already feel the amount of ectoplasm in the air rising, with Trizza's eyes glowing a deep red.

With a deep sigh of resignation, he reached over a pulled the nearby fire alarm down.

Spades figured coming here would be a mistake, but he felt he had to do something.

He finagled with the ecto-detector, eyes occasionally roaming over students. The thing hadn't let out a peep the entire time, which was a relief. However, he couldn't help but feel like something was about to happen again.

Spades wasn't an idiot that didn't realize weird things were going on at his son's school. It was even the reason why he volunteered to chaperone the dance, even if he figured Karkat wouldn't attend the damn thing.

Of course, he didn't know what that weirdness actually was. The damn ecto-detector would begin to beep, causing him to go into a panic, before settling down at random. He was usually halfway out the door when it stopped, driving him crazier each time it did.

It didn't help that his son was apparently lying to him for some fucking reason he couldn't figure out. It started after that shit with the 'lunch lady ghost' he talked about, that was all he was sure about. Maybe the fact he finally proved they were real freaked him out? Then again, he took the portal being operational like it was the best thing in the world.

A delayed reaction then? Fuck sakes, the portal was supposed to make things easier, not fucking harder.

Spades sighed, kicking at the floor. They'd have to have a serious talk about everything after he showed off the portal. Maybe the anticipation for the reveal was killing the kid like it was killing him.

His eyes caught Sollux and Aradia seemingly moving towards one of the exits out of the gym. It was probably a good idea to talk to them about this. They'd know what's wrong better than he would at this point.

As he got up from his position near the wall, Spades immediately stiffened as the ringing of the fire alarm went off, causing everyone in the room to stop in their tracks. Before he could think to do something about it, he was already being pushed out the door by a wave of kids and panicked adults running out the exit leading outside the school.

Before Spades was fully pushed out of the building, he made sure to take a quick look to see if Karkat and his friends were among the crowd.

He couldn't find them at all.

"Trizza, I know this doesn't usually help, but can I suggest you do this one thing?" Karkat flew around, dodging the fire spit his way. "Maybe you could CALM THE FUCK DOWN?!"

Karkat only had a few things to thank at this moment; one, Trizza's dragon form wasn't even close to being as Terezi's. Two, the fire alarm most likely helped evacuate everyone from the building fast enough to not get caught in the crossfire. Three, he'd have some backup pretty soon.

On the other hand, he had a feeling that Trizza was only going to get bigger, as he could've sworn that she was smaller a minute ago. Not to mention he couldn't exactly take out his sickles because humans are a hell of a lot less likely to be able to survive them. He'd only been able to take some pot shots at her while drawing her out of the school.

Trizza, in her pink and black dragon form, lunged at him and snapped her jaws. Karkat was able to get away, though it was a close call.

"Jesus, I know everyone wants a piece of me, but that doesn't mean you can just bite it off. Buy me dinner first before you get your dessert!" He flipped in the air, kicking the dragon in the jaw. "Trust me, I'm not an easy lay! You got to work for this shit!"

Trizza naturally didn't provide any banter as she breathed another fire, hitting some lockers to the sides of them. Karkat cursed to himself, doing his best to think quickly. He fired at a nearby sprinkler, causing it to go off and put the fire out.

He heard a set of doors slam open not too far away, the familiar shouts of Aradia and Sollux coming out. He also heard some distant screams, but they were moving farther away while his friends came closer.

"I'm down the hall!" He shouted, slipping under the dragon as it attempted leap onto him. Turning around and shooting it in the back, he shouted more. "Send in Terezi and Nepeta first! Get some extinguishers in here too, she's spitting fire everywhere!"

He could his friend cry out their affirmatives as he punched the dragon in the face. It hurt his knuckles badly, but it did stun Trizza long enough for his backup to arrive.

Nepeta leaped in, going from wall to wall, before flipping up and slamming her foot onto the dragons back. It buckled under the blow, but didn't fall, prolonging its stunned state. The blow was followed by Terezi swooping to its side, kicking it with all her might. It was sent into the lockers, flipping onto its back.

The two ghosts floated beside Phantom, assessing the damage.

"I'm guessing you don't want us to use any weapons on her?" Terezi tilted her head, attention never leaving Trizza's dragon form. "This is your territory, so what you say goes."

"I figured we should try and knock her out first. I'd rather not hurt her too much otherwise." Karkat wasn't happy about any of this, but Tethis didn't deserve to die for something she didn't know she was a part of. "We'll keep all attention on us while Aradia and Sollux mitigate the damage."

"Got it, Phantom!" Nepeta crouched on the ground, eyes narrowing at the dragon. "Let's make it quick. We've been out longer then we should, and I don't think our moms are going to believe that camping story for long."

The dragon let out a roar, leaping at the cat girl ghost with a ferocity, trying to capture her within its jaws. Nepeta expertly dodged, not even getting a scratch on her as it kept swiping at her. Karkat shot at its eyes, causing it to roar in pain before Terezi punched it in the face.

Nepeta moved around the room quickly, confusing Trizza even more, before pulling a similar move to early. She aimed at the tail this time, causing it to yelp and rise up. Karkat sent a kick to one of its legs, causing to stumble to the floor. Terezi took this as her chance, jumping onto Trizza's back, grabbing at her jaws.

The two struggled, Terezi trying to grab the amulet, while also keeping the dragon's mouth closed. It looked like she was wrestling an alligator, though the fact this one was breath smoke out of its mouth at alarming rate ruined the illusion.

The occasional spout of fire came out of the dragon's mouth, hitting the floor around them at random. Karkat and Nepeta backed up at first, dodging it as much as they could. Karkat aimed his ecto-gun at another sprinkler but was interrupted as the sound of extinguishers went off.

Aradia and Sollux had finally caught up to them, brandishing the extinguishers and using them as much as they could. They eventually began spraying at the dragon itself, stifling any further inferno that could've began.

"This isn't working." Karkat noted that Terezi, while doing her best, was having significant trouble getting it off. Combining their efforts would probably help if it weren't for the fact Trizza was still fucking growing. "If this keeps going on, she's going to become too big for the school. We need to settle her down somehow."

He looked over at his friends for a moment before an idea shot off into his brain. He suddenly thrust his weapons into Nepeta's hands. "I got an idea! Aradia, Sollux, keep using the extinguishers!"

Karkat didn't bother waiting for an affirmative before diving towards the dragon, phasing into her as fast he could.

"Okay, already regretting this plan. I really hope this pays off."

Karkat wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling right now. He honestly felt like he was floating in a void right now, though his senses were practically nonexistent right now. They were dulled at the very least.

"I should've asked for a crash course on possession." Karkat's mind started, reaching out for something. "I just need to take over this body. Then they can get the amulet off. Just have to do this quick."

GETOUT

Karkat flinched at the sudden… shout? Scream? He wasn't sure what to call that. Was Trizza still conscious?

GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT

He could feel an invisible thing almost try to shove him out of Trizza's mind, practically as physical as it was mental. Karkat pushed back just as hard, the invisible force giving away little by little.

"Trizza, just let me in! You're not yourself right now!" He didn't exactly know if she 'heard' him, but he hoped that she got it. "If you don't let me take over now, you're going to fuck up the school!"

The incessant chanting didn't stop, the weight of it somehow getting heavier.

GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT

Karkat couldn't help but feel his patience wear thin as the chanting kept going. Anger at the fact he had to fight, frustration that his life led up to this moment, every little confusing moment of existential dread since the portal accident…

"QUIET!"

He didn't know where the shout exactly came from, but when he finally let it out, the chanting finally went away. The mental push gave way, causing him to fall into somewhere dark, deep and-

Karkat felt his eyes flutter open for a moment and felt off.

The groan that left his throat didn't sound right and he couldn't help but feel off balance. Proportions on his body weren't in the right place and some things felt missing-

He was in Trizza's body.

His eyes opened wide open at that, getting to his feet (in heels that weren't his and feet that weren't as calloused). He felt some hands trying to support him as he did (Sollux and Aradia looked weird now, Tethis was probably color blind). There were pains in his back that seemed to be too old be from the fight (he really didn't like feeling the weight on his chest, it felt too weird, get him out of this body).

"Somebody catch Tethis before she falls." Karkat ordered, phasing out of her body quickly. He dully noted that Terezi, who was sending a sympathetic look his way, was holding the amulet in her hands. Trizza looked uninjured, though he felt himself look away before he could double check.

"I don't want to ever do that again." He muttered; his fists clenched. "Please don't make me do that again."

He felt somebody hug him (probably Nepeta since he didn't feel the usual warmth a human would give). He didn't register it, even as they all walked outside, the ghosts eventually disappearing. He didn't even register the frantic sounds of people around him, including his dad checking him over.

Karkat didn't say anything for the rest of the night until he went to bed.

...Yeah, Karkat doesn't like "overshadowing" people it seems. I'll expand on that later.

That reminds me! For anyone particularly musically inclined, I actually decided to make a playlist for Karkat's character as a writing exercise. I don't know how it translates to people outside of my perspective, but I think it works.

It's completely Karkat-centric, so I might make more in the future to focus on other prevalent characters. There are some explicit songs in there, but that shouldn't surprise anyone since it is Karkat we're talking about here. Here's the link: playlist/6lPXFOabSGNqHzivpndyvB

I also have a few others based on the three main characters of my other fic that I'll link if you ask for it. Either way, I hope you all enjoy if you listen and that you have a great day!