~On the Meteor~

~Signless' POV~

I once again wake up in pain. For a moment, I forget the last few days and fear I'm back in a cell awaiting my execution. Panic starts to set in when I look up and see a seadweller sitting next to me. I hold my breath, hoping she hasn't noticed that I'm alive yet.

That hope is shattered when she looks down. "Guys, he's awake!" she calls over her shoulder before looking back to me. "How are you feeling?" I remain silent, staring at her with wide eyes. "You're afraid of me, huh?"

"Of course he's afraid of you," a voice, disturbingly similar to my own, confirms. "Your Alternian counterpart is one of the ones that wanted him dead."

"But I ain't going to hurt him."

Kankri sits on my other side with a large bowl of water and a clean rag. "He doesn't know that. And disorientation can very easily drive away all sense. I found that out the hard way myself." He looks me over as he helps me sit up. "You're getting better at healing mutants, Meenah. Not perfect, but better." He turns his attention to me as he dabs at a cut near my hairline, that was much larger before I passed out, with the damp cloth. "Most of your injuries are still very serious and will need to be monitored, but I'm most worried about potential brain damage. You took a few too many blows to the head for me to be comfortable with you being unsupervised." He moves on to lacerations and burns around my wrists.

I watch him expertly wrap fresh bandages around my right arm. "Where did you learn first aid?" He looks a little uncomfortable with the question, innocent as it is.

"Lots of your wounds are just like the ones Samael gave him over the sweeps," Meenah says from a chair a few feet away. She sounds angry.

Kankri's hand starts to shake at the mention of that name. He takes a deep breath before pointedly stating, "My day terror-ish upbringing is irrelevant at the moment."

"She said a name and you started shaking," I say, catching his eye. "It's not 'irrelevant'. What did he do to you?" He silently goes back to cleaning my various open wounds, trying to ignore my question. "Kankri-" I say while grabbing his hand.

The second I touch him, my surroundings turn into a nicely furnished room. Kankri is looking around, fear in his eyes, as he carefully walks through the door. When he gets to the center of the room, Samael stumbles in. Kankri takes off running only to get caught by the older Troll and pinned to the wall. He's saying something that I can't hear, but his roaming hands make it painfully obvious what he intends to do to this child. Kankri's reaction tells me that this has happened before. The vision blurs into a mess of color as it fades back to the computer lab, leaving the sounds of a slap and Kankri's scream in its place.

"Meenah, please take over," he says before standing and excusing himself.

I watch, confused, as he quickly walks away. "What did I just see?" I ask as Meenah takes over cleaning my injuries, starting with the whiplashes on my back.

"Probably one of his memories." Her hand halts for a moment. "He never talks about what he went through. I know about the physical abuse because Cronus thought I could heal his wounds, but he never told me about how he wound up with hand shaped bruises on his thighs or bites everywhere. Those of us that weren't involved in Samael's trial only know what he's told us, and that ain't much. He and Rufioh are close so he might know, but he ain't talking either."

I can't bring myself to say anything after that. My own injuries are nothing compared to what Kankri's been through most of his life. And the panic in his eyes, in my eyes, reminded me of when I first met Equius. It reminded me of how scared he was of everything, even me sometimes. I never thought I'd see that level of panic again, especially not in a mirror image of myself.

"So what happened to him?" Meenah asks insistently.

I shake my head before glancing over my shoulder at her. "If he wants to keep his past a secret, I'll respect his wishes." I look down to where the word mutant had been carved into my left arm. "If you're truly his friend, you'd do the same."

"I am his friend," she snaps. "That's why I wanna know. It's bad enough that your kid refused to leave Samael behind. I have to know what kind of danger he's in with that monster being here."

I glance over to where Equius is sound asleep on a pile of colorful pillows. Nepeta's happily playing with his hair, braiding and unbraiding a small section behind his ear. The fresh scars on his arm and cheek worry me a little, but I push that to the back of my mind. I don't know if I'm glad or not that he didn't leave someone to die. While we do agree that all life is precious, I'm not sure Samael deserved to be saved.

A sharp pain pulls me from my thoughts, followed by an immediate apology from Meenah. "Equius did the right thing. He's always understood that life isn't something to be thrown away, even if it's been wasted on negativity."

She chuckled a little. "I assure you, that man's been dead a few centuries."

"An afterlife is still a life."

Before she can argue, Psii comes over. He kisses my cheek and asks, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," I reply, smiling, before I notice the red and blue lightening patterns covering his arms. "What happened?!" He gets a look on his face like he's trying to figure out how to explain something. After a moment of silence, he just smiles like he's guilty of something and doesn't want me to be mad at him. "Psiioniic, please tell me you didn't."

"The dream bubble was about to be destroyed. Mituna would've gotten hurt. Sollux was weak. Aradia needed help." He explains so fast I barely caught it all. "I helped."

I take a deep breath to calm myself. I'm not mad at Psii, just worried, and I don't want to make him think that I'm mad. "You're hurt now."

"And you know that I've had worse," he tries to argue.

The memory of how we found him flashes across my mind; his pained cries ring in my ears and images of gold splattered walls push away all other thought for a moment. "Stop," I say firmly, startling both Psii and Meenah. It doesn't take him very long to realize what he said and why I was upset. "Just, promise me you won't do something that dangerous again, okay?"

He nods a second before Karkat slams the door open. From across the rather large room, I can see the murder in his eyes as he storms over to where Dyrrin and Samael are tied to chairs off to the side. He cuts the rope binding Dyrrin and slams him against the nearby wall. If my descendant wasn't ready to kill this man, the scene would have been almost funny since Karkat is at least a foot shorter than this guy. I sigh, exhausted both physically and emotionally, knowing that Karkat is far more violent than me. "I'll be right back," I say as I get up and make my way over to Karkat. "Please don't make me drag you away from this man." I cross my arms and give my descendant the disappointed parent look that I learned from Dolorosa.

He flinches when he sees this expression. I more than understand, this look made me question every choice I'd ever made when I was little. After quickly regaining his composure, and anger, he snaps, "He hurt you again!"

"Karkat," I say with a slight edge to my tone, "do not make me drag you away from this man."

"But he hurt you," he repeats, sounding a little more confused.

"And?" He looks completely dumbfounded. "Yes, he hurt me. But he didn't kill me, which he very easily could have."

"I prefer to hear you scream," Dyrrin stupidly comments with a sadistic smirk.

I have to quickly pull Karkat away before he slices Dyrrin's throat. He actually managed to make a small cut on the side of his neck. I roll my eyes, completely done with this situation, and put my hand over the cut. "Do you have a death wish?" I ask, my level of annoyance and exhaustion painfully clear. "Meenah."

"I ain't healing him!"

"Meenah."

"No! He doesn't deserve it!"

I lock eyes with her, "Please, Meenah. For me." She grumbles as she finally makes her way over and begins healing him. "I recommend you don't talk," I advise Dyrrin. "You have a bad habit of getting yourself into unnecessarily high amounts of trouble." He looks me over and smirks seductively before I roll my eyes in disgust. With Dyrrin taken care of, I turn my attention back to my seething descendant. Leading him out into the hallway, I ask, "Where's your brother?"

As expected, Karkat's demeaner shifted from angry to protective. "Fef's with him. He overdid it a bit and went blind again. Fef's trying to fix his eyes."

"What do you mean 'again'?"

"Every time a gold pushes themselves too far, their psionics attack them. It's different for everyone. With Mituna and Psiioniic, it attacks their nerves. With Sollux, it triggered voidrot. It usually takes Fef a few days to fully reverse it."

"Doesn't voidrot-"

"Yes. Especially psionics with his power level. But I promise you, he'll be fine. This is the third time this has happened and Fef's been able to reverse it every time. Really, I'd be more worried about Kankri than Sol. He looked pretty upset when I saw him a little while ago."

Knowing that I'm the reason he stormed off, I feel guilty. "Do you know where he went? I need to apologize."

"He went top side. Stairs are that way," he informs with a confused expression as he points me towards a door labeled exit. As I make my way down the long hall, he inquires, "What'd you do?"

"I unintentionally looked into his memories." I pause for a moment before turning back around to face Karkat. "I believe I saw something I shouldn't have. Something about his past."

Shaking his head, he walks with me, trying to explain, "You really don't get it, do you? His memories are your memories. You two are the same person, just from two different timelines. Your visions were glimpses of his memories with the other Beforan Zodiacs. Whatever you saw, you had the right to see. He's watched your entire life play out like a fucking movie. You're the one person in existence that should know everything about him, even his fucked-up past." When we reach the door, he holds it open for me. The look in his eyes matches the way Summoner looked at Highblood when he glances up the stairs before shaking his head and looking away. "I don't trust myself to be around him without Jane nearby. We'll argue, then we'll fight. Things can get out of hand real fast. He's probably up there shooting. Good luck."

~On LOTAK~

~Dirk's POV~

I wake up gasping for breath in my room. Arquius is still asleep, curled up against my side. The end of his tail is wrapped around my ankle and his arms are wrapped tightly around my waist. Hal is nowhere to be seen, probably hiding again, but Arquius' shaking pushes the urge to help him to the front of my mind. I check my phone and see that Hal has gone back to his own room.

Knowing that he's safe, I turn my attention back to Arquius. Having met the Troll he was created from, I feel bad for the way I had treated and judged him. He's not a total creep, that he got from me. Thinking back on the short time I've known him, I can see how much he takes after Equius. He's smart and kind, just like Equius, but sometimes he's as pushy and abrasive as me.

But when he has nightmares, I don't see any side of myself in him. When I have nightmares, I push away everyone and everything. I find a project to work on or some monsters to fight. All he seems to want is to be held when his dreams become nightmares. Seeing how Equius clung to Signless when I scared him, I assume he's the same way.

I sigh as I turn onto my side and wrap my arms around Arquius. Instead of trying to wake him, I rub circles into his back, humming a lullaby. He seems to calm down enough that he's not shaking anymore. As he relaxes, he snuggles closer to me, tucking his head under my chin. We stay like this for a few hours, until he finally wakes up.

"Morning, Red," I whisper.

He looks up at me, both fear and confusion in his wide red eyes. "I-I'm sorry," he stutters after teleporting away from me. "I- I didn't mean to- I'm sorry."

It takes me a second to realize that I used to snap at him for clinging to me. He's probably afraid I'm going to yell at him again. I sigh as I grab his wrist and pull him back into my arms. "No, Arquius, I'm sorry. I should've known how scared you would have to be to cling to me, of all people, and I only made things worse. I'm trying to do better, I really am. I'm starting to realize that the parts of you that I don't like are parts that you got from me." He looks confused. "I met Equius. He's a good guy; smart, sweet, good with Hal. I was thinking about all the times I saw that in you and just ignored it. For that, I'm so sorry. Can you give me another chance to do better?" Confusion takes over his expression for a moment before skepticism takes its place. "You don't have to answer me now. Just know that I'm trying."

"I know," he mumbles, resting his head on my shoulder. "I just have a hard time trusting people."

I flinch hearing that because I know that that's another trait he inherited from me. Why did he have to be so much like me? I'm a horrible person. He could have been a carbon copy of Equius, but that damn clown had to mix him with a splinter of my mind. Hal is the only good thing I've done in my entire life. Now, Arquius has to deal with me. He deserves so much better than to be stuck with someone like me.

"You're not entirely a bad person," Arquius mumbles, looking up at me with those innocent eyes. I don't ever want those eyes to change. As if he hears my thoughts, he smiles up to me. It's strange; when Equius smiled at me like that, it felt like time was in slow motion and my heart was preforming an acrobatics routine. But when Arquius smiles at me like that, I feel a sense of pride, like when Hal smiles at me. I smile back and kiss the top of his head.

It's quiet for a while before my phone plays the chorus of "Feisty". I swear he has the worst timing! "What, Jake?" I ask the second I answer the phone.

"Jane's got the clown occupied. He's trying to sell her potions again."

"Where," is all I can say as I quickly throw on a cleanish shirt and grab my katana.

"Outside her house. You should hurry, I have no idea how long she can keep him here."

"What's going on?" Arquius inquires as I hang up the phone.

I'm at the door by now. He looks worried, but I have a look of determination that seems to calm his worry. "The clown's trying to sell potions to Jane. We might finally have a chance to capture him. Maybe even figure out what the hell he wants."

~On LOCAH~

Jake and Roxy are loading their guns as we arrive on Jane's roof, their sprites restlessly waiting nearby. Erisol has a look of murder in his eyes as he fiddles with a sci-fi looking gun. Fefeta is nervously flying in small circles around him, her two halves having a mumbled conversation. Nepeta's half seems scared, Feferi's just seems pissed.

Erisol does a doubletake when he sees Arquius following me. His murderous look shifts to one of shock and concern as he stops Fefeta's circling. "That idiot brought Equius along," he whispers to her.

"What?!" she snaps before she rushes to hug Arquius. "You shouldn't be here." She turns to me. "He shouldn't be here! Are you crazy?! What if Gamzee hurts him?! Or he freaks out?!"

Arquius grabs her shoulder and turns her back to face him. "He won't hurt me. Dirk won't let him get close enough." He turns to me, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Right?"

Nodding, I remind him, "I promised to protect you didn't I?" I ruffle his hair. "I intend to keep that promise, kid. How about you stick with Fefeta and Erisol for now, though. Okay?" When he nods, I make my way over to Jake and Roxy. "What's the plan?"

"Jake and Janey are going to flank him on either side," Roxy points to the area in front of and behind the clown. Then she points to a spot beside him, "You'll block the exit off the balloon. I'm staying up here with Erisol, covering any other potential exit. That clown's not getting out of here alive."

Jake quickly moves a little way down the roof, closer to his spot. When Roxy gives the signal, Jake and I flashstep into position. I draw my sword, drawing the clown's attention. His eyes go wide and he turns to run in Jake's direction. When Jake cocks his pistols, he flinches and turns back towards Jane, who has her battlefork out. Realizing that he's cornered, he drops the brown potion he was trying to sell.

When the bottle breaks, the potion spilling everywhere, I hear a sharp gasp from the roof. Looking up, I see Arquius looking over the edge. All the color has drained from his already pale face. Within seconds, his horrified look turns to one of rage. He flies off the roof and tackles the clown to the ground.

"He was your mate!" he snaps, tears forming in his angry eyes. "And you're selling his blood?! What did you do to Tavros?!" For once the clown looks shocked. And I feel about as surprised as he looks. I've never seen Arquius this angry. When he doesn't receive an answer, Arquius slams the clown's head hard against the ground. "Answer me! What did you do to Tavros?!"

When Arquius wraps his hands around the clown's throat, Erisol and Fefeta finally step in. They try to pry him away from his target. Nothing they do, not even Fefeta begging him to stop, gets him away from the clown. He's too hellbent on killing him. The innocent look in Arquius' eyes earlier flashes through my mind as the clown's eyes start to roll back. Roxy always told me that the look in my eyes changed after my first kill.

Before I even know I've moved, I put a hand on Arquius' shoulder and calmly say, "Red, stop." His angry glare turns to me. "Stop," I repeat, kneeling down to his level. It takes a moment before he seems to register what's going on. He looks down to the clown, who's passed out by now, and his eyes go wide. The second he lets go, I pull his shaking form into my arms. I look over to Jake as I stand, holding my terrified sprite. "Tie up the clown and take him in the house."

"Where are you going?" Roxy calls as I start to walk away.

"I need to get Arquius away from here for a bit," I call over my shoulder. "We'll be back when he calms down." I flashstep to the surface before she can protest.

"I-I'm sorry," Arquius says in a small voice. He sounds scared and it breaks my heart. I don't trust myself not to say the wrong thing, so I just keep walking in silence. And that seems to be fine until Arquius stops trembling. He looks down to his hands and asks, "Are you mad at me?"

Shaking my head, I reply, "God no, Red. I'm worried about you. I've never seen you get like that before. What the hell happened?"

"The stuff in the bottle wasn't a potion," he says sadly. "It was Tavros' blood. He was Gamzee's matesprit." He tries to wipe away his tears, but they just keep rolling down his cheeks. "How could he do something like that?! He was always so protective of Tavros and Tavros was always so nice to everyone. I just don't understand."