~In the Dream Bubbles~

~Signless' POV~

I follow Kankri's fearful gaze to the two newcomers and my mind is split between anger and fear upon seeing Samael and Dyrrin. My fear wins when Dyrrin's eyes lock with mine. Memories of the torture he put me through come to the front of my mind as a sadistic smirk spreads across his face.

"Good to see you again, freak," Dyrrin laughs. "I see you heal fast."

Before I have time to process what's been said, Karkat and Sollux rush to put themselves between me and the man who tortured me less than a week ago. "You're not welcome here," Sollux snaps, his psionics sparking weakly in warning. Karkat remains silent as he stands defensively in front of me, his sickles held ready to fight.

Dyrrin just laughs again. "Hiding behind children? Hey, Samael, this is going to be easier than we thought."

"We're gods you piece of shit!" Karkat growls before trying to rush the smug highblood. He doesn't get very far before I wrap my arms around his waist, holding him back. "Let me go!" he snaps at me.

"Are you going to try and fight him?" I inquire, turning my descendant around to face me.

He growls, "After what he did to you, it's not going to be a fight." He takes on a darker tone that worries me. "I'm going to kill him."

Keeping a firm grip on his wrists, I shake my head and kneel down to his level. "Karkat, please, don't stoop to his level. He's a sadistic jerk, yes, but nobody deserves to die."

"But he hurt you."

"And? I've been hurt before. Why do you think Dolorosa forced me to learn to defend myself?"

"But-"

"No, Karkat."

He looks at me in disbelief for a moment before captalogging his sickles with a small angry huff. "Fine, but if he tries to hurt you again I will not be responsible for my actions."

I don't get to respond before everyone but Dyrrin disappears and my surroundings change. The once open area is now a small room. Blood, my blood, is splattered on the walls and floor and a rust covered chain hangs from the ceiling, holding up my sleeping body. Dyrrin laughs sadistically as my heart starts to race, fear sending adrenaline rushing through my veins. I regret not letting Karkat attack this sadist when he starts stalking towards me like a predator to its prey.

~Kankri's POV~

My eyes go wide in fear when Signless and his attacker vanish from the plaza. "Signless?" I call as I look around, hoping that he was only transported away from the group. No luck. He's gone, nowhere to be found. Worried about my alternate, I take a deep breath and leave the safety of Cronus' embrace. I run up the stairs to a different part of the dream bubble, hoping to find him. "SIGNLESS!" I call as I run, searching every part of the relatively small bubble I have access to. I'm not alone in my search as I hear the others calling his name, as well.

I only stop running for a moment to catch my breath on the shore of a beach. From my understanding, this part of the dream bubble is from a member of Karkat's session, but I don't know exactly who. How could this have happened? Samael I understand, he haunts my day terrors, but how could Dyrrin have appeared in a dream bubble?

I tap into my Seer powers to try and find Signless only to be greeted with an intense wave of pain. Not even Samael ever caused me to hurt this much. Another wave of pain crashes into me before the first completely subsides, sending me to my knees. I scream as a third bout of excruciating pain hits me almost immediately after the second. Someone pulls me into their arms as the waves rapidly become a constant stream of agony.

"Kankri," Rufioh tries to get my attention as I curl up against him, seeking any form of comfort. "Hey, shh. You're okay. Kankri, can you look at me?" I keep my eyes tightly shut and shake my head. "That's okay, just listen. I'm going to take you to Porrim, okay?"

I shake my head and manage to mumble, "C-Cronus."

"Porrim's closer," he states as he takes to the sky. Not a minute later, we land as he calls my guardian's name.

I manage to open my eyes a little when I hear her gasp only to immediately close them. It hurts too much to even keep my eyes open. The pain only subsides slightly when she pulls me into her protective embrace. "Kankri? Sweetie, what's wrong?" she inquires, fear dripping from her voice.

"Hurts," I mumble. "I-I can feel his pain." A feeling like fire racing across my back tears another broken scream from my lungs. I cling to Porrim, burying my face in her tattooed shoulder, as tears escape down my cheeks. "P-please make it stop," I whimper.

~Equius' POV~

The Striders, Hal, and I are the only ones who didn't take off in all directions in search for Signless when he disappeared. Dave and Dirk restrained Samael before he could follow Kankri. Hal, obviously being programmed to be a child, freezes in fear. He doesn't seem to know whether to do something to help or just run and hide. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, focusing on Signless. I'm able to search the entire Void in seconds, but I'm having trouble finding my version of him.

"Found him," I exclaim when I finally locate my Signless.

"Where is he?" Dave inquires from where he finishes tying up Samael.

I don't get to tell him before a familiar pain erupts in my cheek. Raising a hand to touch my face confirms my fear. "Get everyone on the meteor," I order as I take off running towards where I found Signless, wiping blood off my cheek. "Lord English is on his way here!"

Dirk speaks up this time, "We can leave this douche here though, right?"

I spin around and glare at him for his suggestion. "All life is precious! Don't you dare leave him to die!"

I don't wait for his response before turning and running. Three more gashes appear on my side, upper arm, and thigh before I finally reach the small concrete building at the base of a purple cliff. By now, I'm limping and starting to see double. Using my telekinesis to destroy one of the doorless walls makes my head spin. Teleporting the two occupants and myself back to the safety of the computer lab on the meteor is the last thing I'm able to do before I finally pass out and wake up, alone, in my blood-soaked bed.

Against the protest of my own body, I manage to limp to the computer lab where everyone has gathered. Luckily, everyone is here. Even the Dancestors are here, most of whom have opted to huddle around Kankri to keep Samael from him.

"Equihiss!" Nepeta shouts, rushing to catch me as my injured leg gives out.

Aradia, noticing the worry in Nepeta's voice, flies over to help her keep me upright. "What happened?"

"Lord English," I say, having trouble breathing through my pain. "You and Sollux need to get us out of this bubble."

~On the Meteor~

~Karkat's POV~

"Hey, Sollux," Aradia calls as she flies over. "We need to move the meteor."

Again? They need to push this rock again?! "What?!" I exclaim. "Y-you can't be serious!" She gives me the most apologetic serious look I've ever seen. "No! He's still weak from the last time. He can't-"

I'm cut off by Sollux covering my mouth with his hand. "I'll be fine," he says before moving his hand. I don't need words to convey how much I don't like this idea. "Hey, Psii," he calls, refusing to acknowledge my worried expression. When he gets his ancestor's attention, he waves him over. "We need to move the meteor out of the dream bubble," he explains when Psii reaches us after reluctantly leaving Signless' side while Meenah heals him. "We're going to need help, though." He holds up his hand, allowing small red sparks to dance across his palm. The fact that he's straining to just produce a few sparks worries both me and Psiioniic. "Aradia can't push this rock on her own and I'm not strong enough to help her as much as last time." He looks over to where Mituna is sitting between Kurloz and Latula. "If Mituna could help us, I'd ask him instead, but he's only barely lucid now because he's high on mind honey. Even attempting to use his powers would hurt him."

"I'll do it," Psii interrupts.

"I'm coming with you," I state as the three of them start to head towards the transport in the center of the room.

"KK, no," Sollux orders.

I glare at him and grab his wrist, checking his pulse. "Your heart rate is already elevated, most likely from the effort to just produce a few sparks. I'm either coming with you to monitor your vitals or you're staying here where I know you're not going to overexert yourself and wind up like Mituna or worse, dead! Again!"

He glares at me for about five seconds before sighing and motioning for me to follow. Before we step off the platform at our destination, Sollux turns to Psiioniic and says, "I've got to warn you, this isn't going to be like anything you've been plugged into before." He follows Aradia to the side of the building we were just in. "Reason being, you're not actually plugging into anything. We are literally using our power to push the meteor."

Aradia presses her hands firmly to the wall. "It's easier for me than it will be for you two because my power is purely telekinetic and yours is not." Her hands start to glow a nearly blinding white as she focusses on pushing the meteor. Sollux adds his power seconds later, followed by Psiioniic.

It doesn't take long for Sollux's psionics to start to backfire, causing red and blue lightening patterns to climb up his arms. He glares at me when I take a step closer. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I can feel his blood rushing through his veins faster than it should. I hesitate to pull him away, though, because he should know his limits and I'm only here to stop him from being reckless. I don't like it, but he had the same reaction last time, when he was at full power.

I don't pull him away from the wall until I see blood dripping from his nose and his heartrate is much faster than can be considered safe. Despite his weakness, he tries to protest my decision. "You're done," I say, pulling him farther from the wall.

"I'm f-fine," he mumbles before collapsing against me.

Carefully, I guide him down to lay on the ground with his head in my lap. "No, you're done," I repeat. I take his hand and gently press his fingers against the pulse point on the side of his neck. "That's your pulse and it shouldn't be that fast." His tired eyes finally close as he gives up on talking me into letting him continue, holding his injured arms close to his chest. I gently wipe the blood from under his nose with my sleeve before running my fingers through his hair. "Get some rest, okay? I'll wake you up when they're done." The only response I get is a soft hum as he slips into unconsciousness.