Well, sorry to keep you waiting folks! Hope that it didn't take me too long to get this out there, but I wanted to make sure it had a proper conclusion. There's still one more part to this little arc, but I think you'll enjoy it.
Either way, nothing serious to report for now, so might as well get on with the story. Hope you enjoy!
Karkat figured doing the superhero schtick would lead to him fighting some weird enemies down the line. Admittedly, dragons weren't at the top of the list of things he'd expected to fight, but it was a good wake-up call. He was probably going to fight a wide variety of people with different intentions in mind.
He still didn't expect a musical villain, though. That was certainly different.
The fight had started, predictably, with Vriska slamming down on her guitar, the strings going wild as an ecto-blast flew towards him. Dodging to the side, he avoided the actual blast, but was still hit by the sound. It practically deafened him for a few seconds as it passed by.
"Jeez, is it too late to request the old stuff?" He raised the ecto-gun firing a few shots at her to prevent another blast. "The new stuff sounds like shit!"
"I'd be happy to play some of the old stuff if you hadn't destroyed some of my shit!" Vriska swerved away from blasts, floating around cockily. "You know expensive speakers are? Pretty expensive if you don't steal them like I did!"
Karkat, mentally adding theft as another crime to her list, flew downward to avoid another blast. "Why am I not surprised? You have one of your friends steal it for you?"
Vriska hummed, sending blast after blast every time she strummed a guitar string. "Maybe. Pretty easy when you got the skills I do." She flew up a few inches higher, smirk getting wider. "Then again, a pretty face like mine can get people to do anything I want."
"I'm pretty that's just mind control. You're face has nothing to do with it." Karkat stuck close to the ground, dodging the blasts. Each one got closer every time. "Even if it was, I'm pretty I'm going to fix that pretty soon."
He suddenly swung upward, twisting his body kicking her in the chin. He followed it up with a blast sent directly at her chest. The blows seemingly surprised her, sending her back a fair ways away. When she stopped, her rubbed her jaw, wiping off some ectoplasm that fell from her lips.
"Well," She adjusted the guitar and messed with it, as if to tune it. "Guess we're getting serious now. Bring it!"
Karkat started to realize that she may have been going easy on him at first when a few ecto-blasts were sent his way. He dodged a few, but one grazed at his side and almost burned his suit. Hissing from the pain, he focused more on flying erratically and spreading her fire.
She didn't let up for a second, a devilish melody playing from the guitar. She seemed to enjoy his struggling, laughing it up from her little position in the sky.
Karkat attempted to go down again, hoping it'd buy him some time, but a wave of ice almost hit when he did. He looked up, noting the blue glow coming from Vriska's hands.
"Ice powers?! Are you fucking kidding?!" He dodged another wave of ice, sharp edges almost piercing him that time. "You got any other tricks to pull out of your ass?"
"Try and impress me. Maybe you'll find out!" When Karkat tried going back up again, she started playing her guitar with fervor. "If you can't keep up with this, you might want to back off now."
"Fat fucking chance!" Karkat did think that a tactical retreat would be good, especially since he didn't have any viable backup. Plus, unless he gained a speed boost or some extra stamina, he couldn't dodge the blasts forever. The ice presented a completely different problem.
Then again, it took her a few seconds to switch between the two. Not exactly conducive or not enough practice? Guess he'd figure out.
He dived again, but as soon as she whipped her hand out, he sent a shot at her. It hit her in the chest, damaging her even further. The wave of ice was sloppier this time, forming farther away from his position.
After she sent a few more, Karkat suddenly went up, firing a few shots before she could change it up. These hit her even harder, causing her to stop fully and pull back. Before she could recover, he got close and punched her in the gut with the but end of his sickle.
Vriska growled. Guess it was time for her to change tactics.
Before another shot was fired, she turned the guitar around, swinging it at him. This actually caught Karkat off guard, causing him to raise his hands out of instinct. He took the full force of the hit, gravity taking over as he nearly hit the ground.
"You know, just because that's new doesn't mean it's impressive." He couldn't help but let out a chuckle despite the pain in his arms. He was definitely going to feel that in the morning. "Any idiot can hit me with a guitar. Even twelve-year old's can. And they will if you piss them off enough."
"It does seem like you have a face that would make them cry. That why you wear a gas mask?" Vriska looked about ready to hit him again. She stopped though, tilting her head before frowning. "God damnit, the cops are coming."
Karkat took a moment to pause too, listening. He heard the sound of sirens coming from the distance, most likely to arrest anyone that hadn't already fled the scene. He really hoped that Aradia and Sollux got out of there when they could.
"Well, as much as I'd like to reach the climax here," Vriska startled him out of his thoughts, putting him back on the defensive. "But I can't have any more fun for now. Don't worry, you'll get an encore soon enough."
"Wait," His hand inched toward the thermos, trying to stall so he could catch her by surprise. "Isn't this a little unsatisfying? The fight was just getting good."
"Oh, trust me, I know." She actually almost sounded disappointed before another smile covered it up. "But I can't be interrupted again. Big plans coming up and I can't afford to be seen like this. See you later~!"
Karkat pulled out and uncapped the thermos, but it was too slow as the beam only hit the cold air left in her wake. He cursed loudly, putting the thermos back on his belt. Would it kill him to solve the problem during the first fight?
"Probably," He muttered to himself, ruffling his hair and looking at the red and blue lights that seemed to grow brighter with each passing second. He figured he might as well disappear too. Not like the police can arrest a ghost anyway.
He automatically reached for his ecto-gun but stopped after noting it wasn't there. Karkat's eyes instantly shifted towards the ground before finding it smashed into pieces.
That last blow must've hit the damn thing and shattered it.
"Fuck," He groaned. "How am I going to explain this to dad?"
"Nobody is sure what led to the riot at the warehouse district, but police have been able to dismiss that it was due to drugs or alcohol. While many of the concert goers claim they don't remember attacking police, nothing came up in urinalysis. Either way, this only adds to the rising notoriety of Scourge Sister singer, Vriska-"
Karkat immediately changed the channel, groaning at the soreness of his arms. They brought the little mini television down to the lab, but he was starting to regret as every single news station was talking about last night. About Vriska.
He was getting really tired of hearing that name.
"You know, I'd think that someone like her wouldn't want to have this kind of attention, but I have a feeling she's loving this." Aradia glared at the next news report that showed Vriska's face. There was rustling as she went through his dad's equipment, obviously trying to find something of use. "Doesn't even care that I had to explain to my parents last night that I didn't almost go nuts on a police officer."
"At least your parents didn't give you the riot act and almost check you for drugs. I almost thought my dads were going to turn on a PSA before I went to bed." Sollux himself was doing some online research, hands flitting through over the keys expertly. "Couldn't even sleep much since Serket's mind raping gave me a migraine afterward."
"Least you didn't have to fight her. Turns out she's murder with that guitar." Karkat flexed his muscles again and, yeah, they were definitely still sore. Nothing was broken, but he did have a few bruises he had to explain away from his dad. "Anything coming up from you guys? I haven't heard anything from our friends in the Ghost Zone."
"Nothing much. I found a perfect place to hide that ecto-gun she broke, but it looks like you got plenty of things to replace it." Aradia looked at a lipstick tube that glowed green before scrunching up her face and moving it aside. "Though we'll probably need to keep the thermos safe. Can't really replace that."
"I've gotten plenty of information on Vriska's music career. Turns out, last night was part of a very recent trend." Sollux looked over a few video's, silence just in case her mind control worked through technology. "She's only done this once before in a town over. Luckily, no one got hurt, but maybe this means she's not always like this."
"She didn't look obsession-crazy. She seemed pretty into fighting my ass." Karkat definitely remembered Horuss acting very differently than how Vriska did. It didn't add up. "I don't know if that kind of thing is different from ghost to ghost, but that doesn't mean we can just let her do whatever she wants."
Aradia poked her head over some boxes. "You said that she had something in the works, right?" Her tone and the reminder of said warning set all of them on edge. Receiving a nod from Karkat, she continued. "I did hear that that the local television station was planning some event soon. You think that could be her?"
"I looked that up myself and didn't find a name. But I'm not counting that out as a coincidence." Captor rubbed at his eyes, yawning. "I can hack into the security systems and see how far they're broadcasting, but I have no idea if I can do anything to disrupt it. That shit kinda requires high grade stuff I don't think I can get on the fly."
A ding from Karkat's phone went off, startling everyone. He sighed, bringing it up. "Maybe the ghosts know what to do so we don't have to."
Looking down at this phone, he read over the new messages on the screen carefully. Only Nepeta and Terezi had responded.
AC: :33 karkitty, what's up? everything alright?
GC: WHY DO 1 F33L L1K3 YOU GOT 1N TROUBL3 4G41N?
Karkat sighed, rolling his eyes before typing in his reply.
CG: AS MUCH AS I WANT TO DISPUTE THAT, I CAN'T.
CG: ANOTHER GHOST POPPED UP AND SHE'S DECIDED TO RAISE HELL.
GC: YOU KNOW, YOU COULD M3SS4G3 US ONC3 1N 4 WH1L3 OUTS1D3 OF 4 CR1S1S, R1GHT?
GC: 1 M34N, YOU DON'T N33D 4 R34SON OR 4NYTH1NG.
AC: :33 she has a point, karkitty.
CG: IT'S NOT LIKE I WANT TO ONLY CALL YOU GUYS WHEN SHIT HITS THE FAN. IT JUST HAPPENS.
CG: WE'RE GETTING OFF TRACK. WE'RE DEALING A GHOST ROCKSTAR WHO'S CONTROLLING PEOPLE'S MINDS AND MIGHT BE PLANNING SOME SHIT.
GC: W41T, S3R1OUSLY? TH4T'S 4CTU4LLY PR3TTY S3R1OUS.
AC: :33 do you got a picture? maybe we'll recognize her.
Karkat brought up a picture he'd found on the internet, sending it into the chat. There was a moment of silence before they called it in.
AC: :33 okay, i've never s33n her befure. terezi?
GC: N3V3R. SH3 OBV1OUSLY MUST'V3 GOTT3N OUT OF TH3 1NF1N1T3 R34LMS 4T SOM3 PO1NT.
GC: 4ND YOU S41D SH3 C4N CONTROL M1NDS?
CG: HUMAN ONES, AT LEAST. I'M APPARENTLY IMMUNE DUE TO MY GHOST POWERS.
CG: ANY ADVICE ON HOW TO TAKE HER DOWN? WE'RE KINDA STRUGGLING HERE.
AC: :33 is there any sign that her obsession took over?
CG: SHE SEEMED IN CONTROL OF HERSELF, BUT SHE'S ONLY RECENTLY DECIDED TO CAUSE ANY TROUBLE. NOTHING LIKE HORUSS.
AC: :33 obsessions can come out in many ways, and so does a how someone goes nuts over them.
GC: 4ND S1NC3 SH3 MOST L1K3LY DO3SN'T H4V3 4 MO1R41L, TH3N TH3R3 M1GHT NOT B3 4 W4Y TO C4LM H3R DOWN.
GC: 4NY 1D34 WH4T SH3'S PL4NN1NG TO DO? MUS1C 4ND M1ND CONTROL, 1'M 4SSUM1NG H3R MUS1C 1S WH4T'S BR41NW4SH1NG P3OPL3.
AC: :33 she might also be getting stronger. maybe she gets power from people ch33ring her name or something.
Karkat couldn't help but feel a pit of dread form in his stomach. That actually made a good deal of sense. He didn't know what exactly her source of power was but getting praise or attention might be what causes her to get more powerful. Hell, that was probably half the reason why she did those concerts.
And if they were right about her trying to get up on live television, then that would definitely reach some people. And some videos were already online…
CG: DO THOSE KINDS OF POWERS WORK THROUGH BROADCASTING? SHE ALREADY HAS SOME VIDEO'S ONLINE.
GC: 1T PROB4BLY ONLY WORKS ON L1V3 BRO4DC4ST1NG. 1F TH3Y WORK3D OV3R ONL1N3 V1D3O, YOU'D 4LR34DY B3 SCR3W3D.
AC: :33 that's true! if she does it on tv or livestream, then you should worry.
The ghost boy felt his anxiety ebb away at that. That was one less thing to worry about, he guessed.
CG: SO, WE GOTTA JUST BREAK INTO A TELEVISION STATION, TAKE OUT A POSSIBLY POWERFUL GHOST, AND HOPE NO ONE CATCHES US?
CG: SOUNDS DOABLE.
GC: 1 R34LLY C4N'T T3LL 1F YOU'R3 B31NG S4RC4ST1C.
AC: :33 maybe try and avoid a fight? if you have to, go all out, but maybe someone could talk her down.
Karkat put the phone in his lap, frowning. Who the hell would they be able to find to stop Vriska from doing something stupid?
…Wait a minute, he was being a dumbass. He almost forgot about Aranea!
CG: WAIT, I THINK I KNOW SOMEBODY! I THINK SHE HAS A LIVING RELATIVE IN TOWN THAT I COULD TALK TOO, UNLESS IT'S SOME FREAKY COINCIDENCE THEY SHARE A NAME.
GC: R34LLY? 4ND YOU D1DN'T M3NT1ON H3R UNT1L NOW?
CG: SHUT UP, I'VE BEEN UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE. THINGS ARE NUTS RIGHT NOW AND I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO THINK STRAIGHT.
AC: :33 get to her. she might be your best bet.
CG: ONE LAST QUESTION; IF THINGS GO SOUTH, DO YOU THINK YOU TWO WOULD BE ABLE TO GET OUT HERE TO HELP?
CG: IF WE CAN'T FIND ANYTHING TO MAKE PREVENT SOLLUX AND ARADIA FROM BEING BRAINWASHED AGAIN, I MEAN.
AC: :33 i don't kmeow. i've b33n trying to k33p your existence a secret from mom. she might wonder where i'm going all the time.
GC: M1N3 TOO. SH3 DO3SN'T KNOW MUCH 4BOUT WH4T H4PP3N3D W1TH M3 B3C4US3 1'D R4TH3R NOT S3ND H3R ON 4 W4RP4TH.
CG: WAIT, YOU GUYS ARE KEEPING ME A SECRET? WHY? I'M NOT DANGEROUS.
There were a few beats of silence where the other two didn't respond. Karkat was wondering if something happened to the connection before the ding of another notification appeared on his phone.
GC: H4LF4'S 4 TOUCHY SUBJ3CT 4ROUND H3R3. 4ND 4 ON3 TH4T M1GHT C4TCH 4TT3NT1ON.
AC: :33 no one really kmeows much about them and the fact they're half human sets them on edge. we figured you'd be safer if they didn't kmeow.
Karkat blinked at that, something fluttering into his chest. Halfa's?
CG: ARE YOU SAYING THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE LIKE ME? WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?!
GC: L1K3 W3 S41D, 1T'S 4 TOUCHY SUBJ3CT. TH3R3'S 4 LOT OF CONTROV3RSY 4ROUND 1T 4ND T3LL1NG P3OPL3 WOULD PUT 4 T4RG3T ON YOUR B4CK.
AC: :33 you're also the only halfa we kmeow exists. some probably existed befure you, but we don't kmeow if there are any actual ones around.
That was a fucking punch to the gut if he heard one. He wasn't the first of his kind, but he might be the only one around as far as he knew. Maybe if he found one, he'd feel less like a freak. But it looks like they didn't know much more then what they told him.
CG: YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS ANOTHER TIME. I'M GOING TO TRY AND GET THIS SHIT OVER WITH. THANKS FOR THE HELP SO FAR.
AC: :33 you're welcome! don't be afraid to call again if you n33d any more help.
GC: 4CTU4LLY, C4N 1 R3QU3ST SOM3TH1NG? S1NC3 1 H3LP3D 4ND 4LL, 1 F33L L1K3 SHOULD G3T SOM3TH1NG 1N R3TURN.
CG: SURPRISING. FINE, SHOOT. WHAT'S YOUR REQUEST?
GC: COM3 1NTO TH3 1NF1N1T3 R34LMS WH3N YOU'R3 DON3 W1TH TH1S.
Karkat straightened up at that, blinking at the screen. Before he could reply, Nepeta jumped in with her own commentary.
AC: :33 terezi, you can't just ask him that! a little warning would be nice.
GC: 1'M NOT S4Y1NG H3 ST4YS FOR3V3R OR SOM3TH1NG! 1 JUST TH1NK H3 N33DS TO G3T TO KNOW OUR D1M3NS1ON. H3 N33DS TO G3T 1N TOUCH H1S ROOTS S1NC3 H3'S H4LF GHOST.
AC: :33 okay, yeah, that's true. but we can't furce him!
Karkat could already tell this was going to devolve into a fight if he didn't respond fast enough. He took a deep breath before typing in his response.
CG: I'LL THINK ABOUT IT. I'M NOT GOING TO PROMISE ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, THOUGH.
GC: TH4T'S 4LL 1 4SK. GOOD LUCK ON YOUR 4SS-K1CK1NG M1SS1ON.
AC: :33 make sure to call us if you n33d backup! maybe we can think up of something to distract our parents.
CG: WE WILL. STAY SAFE OUT THERE.
Karkat sighed, putting the phone away. He looked at his friends, eyebrow raised. "Tomorrow's Thursday, right? When's that television thing?"
"Friday. We'll have to hope she shows up before then." Sollux rubbed his eyes, moving away from his computer. It was starting to get late. "We should probably get some rest, though. Can't find a ghost on a shit amount of sleep."
"Yeah, I need to get back home too. Dad and Heido did get spooked last night about the concert and I'd rather not test anything." Aradia stretched. They could all hear some bones crack. "I'll focus on finding stuff to prevent her from influencing us tomorrow. You got any plans?"
The ghostly teen frowned heavily, sighing as he slouched in his seat. "I'm going to get some counseling."
God, why did his life have to be like this?
Karkat realized one thing as he stood outside Aranea's office after school ended; he had no fucking clue what he was going to say.
On one hand, most likely she already knew about her sister being around. Sure, that meant she knew something was going terribly wrong and hadn't done anything about it, but he figured that he could at least convince her to help or guilt trip her into it.
On the other, there was a frank possibility she didn't know or was in complete denial about the situation. Admittedly, he felt like that was the lower possibility considering Vriska's face had been all over television lately, but it was still completely possible. If he walked in there and told her that her sister was a ghost planning on taking over people's minds, she'd have a complete breakdown.
Of course, he couldn't back off now. It was an honestly pressing concern that, if he left alone, could lead to something disastrous down the line. Plus, he was curious about Vriska was able to hide her ghost signature from him with that eyepatch, and he figured that Aranea was the most likely person to know how.
Karkat sighed deeply, glancing up and down the hallway. No camera's and no people around.
Good. That means they wouldn't be interrupted.
He knocked on the door lightly. It didn't take long for Aranea to tell him to come inside, followed by a shuffling of paperwork. He opened it up to see the office a slight mess, but Aranea almost looking like she had an energy drink infused with coffee grounds. It would've been frightening, but he'd seen worse at this rate.
"Mr. Vantas?" Despite looking particularly cheerful, her confusion was apparent. "I didn't expect to see you here today. Just finished with my last appointment, so definitely don't remember you being on the list."
Yeah, he saw the last person. He was pretty sure that was Xefros, that freshman who started a band early that year. Apparently, he and this Dammek guy were having some issues from what he knew. The kid came out of the room exhausted for some reason, probably talking over everything with her.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Just something I wanted to talk about." He gestured to the chair awkwardly. "Do you have time or…?"
"No, go right ahead." She straightened some things out before sitting in her own seat. "A surprise visit isn't a bad thing. You're always welcome to stop on by."
That probably wouldn't last long, Karkat thought to himself. He took a seat all the same. "You remember what we talked about last time? About the possession thing?"
It seemed to be right sendoff point since she lit up a little, intrigue apparent. "Yes, you brought up a few things that were admittedly concerning. I'm guessing you've had some form of breakthrough."
"You could say that." Karkat drummed his fingers nervously on the desk, looking away. "I guess you could say that I saw what it was like from the outside. Possession, I mean."
"You have?" Intrigue turned to concern, eyes moving over him as to reassess his behavior. "Would you care to elaborate?"
Karkat licked his lips. It was now or never.
"It started at a concert…"
"Hey, Sollux? Did Spades ever keep some kind of inventory thing for the armory?" Aradia kicked around another box, huffing. "He's got to, right? I mean, he's got to keep track of this somehow."
"I think you're overestimating how much forward thinking he does." Sollux was still frantically searching things up on his computer. He was closing in on something, he could feel it. "I mean, he made a portal to an alternate dimension to prove ghosts exist and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what to do with that."
"Just because that's true doesn't mean you have to say it!" There was a loud cluttering before joy spread throughout the lab. "Found it! Let's see, hearing stuff is on shelf four…"
Sollux rolled his eyes fondly, though if anyone would've claimed to have seen it, he would've denied. He went back to researching on Serket as much as he could.
It was only after hitting the twentieth page on Google did he actually find something. A news article from another small town that he'd never heard of. It looked like it came from the late 1990's and early 2000's as far as he could tell since it wasn't dated.
He shrugged. It was as good a source as any.
Clicking on it, he heard the shuffling of boxes cease as Aradia moved over, carrying several headphones that looked almost like AirPods. She looked at them curiously as he read the article.
"I found these, and it looks like Slick actually left some instructions on them. Said they're supposed to drown out 'ghostly influence,' or something." She picked one out and fiddled with it. As she scrutinized the accessory, she took a brief glance to the screen. "Found something?"
"Yeah. Turns out Vriska isn't a native ghost. Even have her picture up right here." He turned the screen towards her so she could see it. "It's kinda sad, actually. Apparently she was coming back from a cancelled gig before going missing in a snowstorm. Didn't find her body until spring."
Aradia couldn't help but recoil a bit seeing the picture of Vriska as a human. "Wow, I think she's the only other ghost then the lunch lady that we know was a human. Kind of disturbing actually." She looked at Sollux, getting pensive. "You don't think we'll get used to this, right? Finding ghosts that were alive at some point?"
Sollux winced. That was actually a hard question. "I don't really want to get used to it, honestly. I mean, Vriska seems like she's a bastard right now, but knowing she was alive at one-point kinda fucks me up a bit. I'd be pretty angry if I died before I could legally drink and then have to stay that age forever."
"Yeah. Who knows, maybe that's why she's doing all of this!" She waved her hands in the air dramatically, gesturing wildly. "This is all due to teenage angst extended to over twenty years of stagnation! I'd go nuts too and have people scream my name if I had to go through puberty indefinitely."
The boy snickered. The laughter died down when he caught eyes with the picture again, Vriska's angry gaze looking into his own. "I'm guessing if she died this early, Aranea might be her younger sister. Maybe we can use her if Karkat can talk her into it."
"He does have a pretty good track record when it comes to convincing people to do things." Aradia shrugged, knowing the change in topic was forced. She let it slide in order to keep messing with the weird green headphones Slick designed. "Should probably look her up to, see if anything checks out."
Since it seemed like a good idea, Sollux made sure to open another tab. Typing up the counselor's name, he actually got something on the first hit.
"Hey, I actually got something for once. Standard social media shit, but at least it's personal stuff." He scrolled down and noticed that her name was attached to another article. "Looks like she featured in a fluff piece too."
"Probably about her graduation or something. Probably said something in her valedictorian speech, because of course she would be, about her sister." Aradia looked up from her ministrations, only to see Sollux's face had turned blank while she was speaking. "Is something wrong?"
The Captor only gulped, leaning back from the Computer almost as if it had tried to attack him.
"We need to call Karkat." He said finally before almost dropping his phone as he pulled it out of his pocket. "Now."
"A concert?" Aranea's face twisted at the word. Karkat noticed it before she wiped it off her face, the pleasant smile on her face forcing its way back. "Interesting. What happened?"
Karkat figured that mean she knew something, but he couldn't just say it outright. He just needed to draw things out a little bit.
"It's hard to say honestly. It was during this weird little moment when the band was playing onstage and I can't really get it out of my head." Karkat could've laughed at that. It was true, especially since he had Vriska's song on repeat. "Everyone there just kinda… I don't know if froze is the right word, but I think it's close."
"Are you sure that just wasn't them enjoying the music?" Aranea's voice almost sounded nervous, though it was masked pretty well. "I've heard about that. Some people I know happen to get lost into music quite easily."
"Yeah, if that was one or two people." He scoffed, brushing off the excuse. "Pretty much everyone there stopped what they were doing and stared at her the entire time. In a trance. It was almost creepy."
Aranea did shrug at that. It would've looked casual if the tightness of her shoulders hadn't given something away. "At least it wasn't actual possession, right? I mean, that would silly."
Karkat almost responded to that with sass, but that response did make him realize that skirting around the problem was going to lead nowhere. Aranea clearly knew something and must've made some conclusions that were probably close to being correct. And she, quite obviously, wasn't going to start talking about it herself.
He really didn't want to do this…
"That's funny you say that, actually." Karkat looked her right in the eyes, voice becoming firm. "It seemed like it was when I had to slap my friends in the face before they attacked the police."
If Aranea hadn't been tense before, she certainly was now. She was gripping a pencil in her hands hard enough to bend it, but not break it entirely. She wasn't meeting his eye, staring down at the hardwood of her desk.
"I was going to ask if you knew anything about Vriska Serket, but it looks like I don't." The ghostly teen leaned back into his chair, feeling surprisingly calm. It was a new feeling for him considering how stressed he normally was. "Probably would've saved me time if I didn't know I had to work around it."
"How much do you know, exactly?" She actually looked up into his own eyes this time. Her expression was unreadable, controlled like every other aspect of her personality. It was strange to see that on an authority figure.
"Enough to know that Vriska's a ghost and clearly not thinking straight." When she didn't react to the ghost comment, he looked at her curiously. "And that you apparently knew that since the beginning."
"What do you want?" The frustration in Aranea's tone almost surprised him, though he figured that this was a sore spot. Dead relative coming back and going through with an evil plan wasn't something that elicited friendly interactions, he supposed. "I don't know if you're trying to blackmail me, but I highly doubt that you could prove-"
"Hey." He raised a hand, stopping her before the rant could start. "I don't want anything of yours or from Vriska. I just want some help stopping her from brainwashing anyone. I don't know how much you know about that-"
"I do know." She sighed and slouched in her own chair. She looked positively exhausted, though relieved. "I'm trying to get her to stop, alright? My sister's just going through a rough patch right now and I'm trying to stop whatever she's doing. I just need a little bit of time."
"I think we both know that we don't have any time, Ms. Serket." Karkat felt a pang of guilt at the harshness of his tone. He didn't want to pressure her at all, but her sister (which holy shit, that was fucked up) was playing a dangerous game here. "You know that little television shit going on? That's tomorrow, and I have a feeling someone is going to try and capitalize on that."
"How do you- you know, what never mind." The young woman looked frazzled, almost panicked. "I promise I can get her to stop before then, she just needs a bit of guidance. I understand that she's abusing her powers a bit, but I'm in control of this situation."
"A bit?" He couldn't help but be offended by that. "Your sister almost got people killed that night! She made them attack several policemen! You're lucky they weren't feeling trigger happy and willing to waste a few people while they were under her control!"
While he was beginning to get into his own rant when his phone began to buzz. With a significant amount of annoyance, he pulled out the cursed thing and looked about ready to chuck it out the window before noticing the notifications. They were coming from the Ghostian app.
He opened up the thing, about ready to tell whoever it was to shut up before he read the last message sent to him. It was from Sollux.
TA: kk, get out of there! ii found an artiicle on her and her 2ii2ter!
TA: 2he'2 a gho2t two!
Karkat's gaze immediately went back to Aranea's in alarm, meeting pure blue eyes and…
…He couldn't move. Why the fuck couldn't he move?
"Sorry about that, Mr. Vantas." Aranea let out a deep sigh, almost legitimately sounding sorry for this. "But you were getting very close and I can't let you do anything that might get my sister hurt. Your father is a ghost hunter and I'd rather she didn't end up on a dissection table."
She's a ghost, Karkat thought to himself, still paralyzed. Of course. Probably working as Vriska's partner or something. She caught him unaware and now he was stuck.
Aranea moved out of her seat. She plucked his phone out of his hands and put into one of his pockets. "It really isn't your fault any of this is happening. If anything, it's Vriska's. We had this whole routine that made sure no one was hurt, but now she's gotten greedy." She took out a phone of her own. "Speaking of which, you wouldn't mind if I made a call? Of course you wouldn't, you seem pretty busy."
Karkat twitched, but he couldn't move much more than that. How could he have been so stupid. Even if she wasn't a ghost, it was probably a stupid idea to come here alone. And they were working together the whole time, which was so much fucking worse.
A couple of beeps behind him and he heard a phone ring. When the ringing stopped and somebody picked up, Vriska's voice rang out.
"If this is about the concert, I've already apologized enough as it is." She sounded annoyed. The strums of a guitar with several notes being played could be heard lowly in the background. She was most likely tuning it. "Not my fault some pigs decided to crash the party."
"I think I have a right to complain after you wrecked our routine!" Aranea replied in a quiet shout. Karkat couldn't help but think about it being a complete 180 compared to her usual behavior. Or maybe that wasn't how she really acts at all? "You do remember that we agreed I'd have a month before you decided to come in. It's barely been two weeks!"
"Two weeks is plenty!" Vriska's indignant reply made their argument sound more like a sisterly spat rather than… whatever all of this was. "It's not my fault you can't suck out enough depression from people before I come up on the scene. Maybe you need to be a little less picky."
"I have to be picky! Do you know how bad it looks if a student's depression gets worse after a counselor is hired?" Aranea almost physically stopped herself, a deep breath being taken before continuing. "You know what? We'll talk about that later. Something else has come up."
The two continued talking as Karkat soaked in that troubling piece of information. Suck up depression? The fuck was that supposed to mean?
…Then a thought entered his head, a bullet of inspiration shooting through him. Vriska is an emotion eater. She can soak up the praise and attention of the masses. She had to do that by doing concerts.
(causing riots, hurting people, going mad with too much power)
Aranea eats depression. She works as a school counselor, talking to the kids. Teenagers are full of angst, hormones, hosts of emotional problems figuring out themselves. Perfect place to eat negative emotions. Said it might cause them to feel even worse.
(Xefros was here before him, looked depressed, looked hurt, what did she DO to him)
They've been doing this a while. Probably going from town to town, city to city to make sure nobody catches on. Is this the first time Vriska went nuts? Has Aranea gone to far before? What happens when she does?
(not in his town, not in his town, not in his town, not where his friends are, where his FAMILY)
Karkat saw red.
"…And another thing- wait," Aranea sniffed the air, rant paused as she registered a burning smell. "What the hell is that?"
Before she could receive a response, she was hit in the back by a blast of green energy, throwing her into a wall. She hit it like a rag doll, causing the paint to crack in many different places. He phone had been thrown to the side.
"Aranea?" Vriska sounded worried now, panic seeping into her voice. "Is something wrong? For fucks sake, answer me!"
Aranea's only response was a grown as she tried getting up. Whatever had hit her did a good job of knocking some things loose.
She could faintly hear some footsteps moving around the office. She saw her phone get picked up from the periphery of her vision, snatching it up before she could tell whose it was.
"She'll have to call you back."
The voice set her on edge immediately, making her force herself up quicker. Aranea got to see her phone be turned to ashes as a hand, covered in green ecto-energy, crushed, and burned it.
It didn't take long for her to see the face of who it was.
Karkat Vantas, hands alight with terrible power and eyes a pupil less red, stared down at her with pure, unadulterated wrath.
"If you don't mind," He said, eyes narrowing as a stream of smoke escaped from his lips. "I'd like if we continued our consultation now."
I've really got to stop leaving this on cliff hangers. I'm not going to make it a habit, but it seems to be a new trend for me that I'd like to stop.
Other then that, I do wonder if I should make a side story series about this. I don't have any serious plans for now, but if I do start making drabbles around this universe, feel free to say whether you'd like to see them or not. If I post anything, I'll make sure to notify you guys next time I update.
Thank you and have a good day!