MSPA Fanfiction IV

[Valter]

Welcome to the functionally named, fourth roman-numeraled, generally acceptable fanfiction thread 4!

Here are links to related threads:

Fanfiction Thread Einz
Fanfiction Thread Dos
Fanfiction Thread Trois

Fanfiction Archive (currently a bit behind, and could use some decent organized folk to work on thread three!)

Here is Homestuck on Archive of Our Own, a fanfic website that is the site of choice for most writers here.

The Writing Critique Thread. Caveats: critiques are still certainly accepted here, and you should feel no obligation to post in the critique thread. It is available as an extra resource if you want your work to be really seriously torn into, though.

Some stipulations:

Rules throughout the rest of the fora are still in force here! To that end, no excessively gory or sexual fics are welcome here.

Pedophilia is also a big no-no (the biggest, I would go so far as to say). Specific comment by forum moderator Lexxy here:

For clarification! Ectobiological baby-making between kid and/or trolls is technically safe by forum standards, so long as all that is involved in the process is straight up genetic cloning without the accompaniment of any suggestive actions. The implication of or outright depiction or description of the underage characters becoming pregnant or being sexually active is very much against the rules, no matter how tastefully or humorously it is done. Aging up the characters does not excuse this. I would also avoid broaching the subject of hitting puberty and the details thereof out of courtesy, as that can easily flirt with inappropriateness and can make others uncomfortable.

And, most importantly:

If you guys are ever concerned that a fic you have written might be too violent or too suggestive or otherwise potentially inappropriate, don't hesitate to PM me! I'll give it a read and let you know what's up :3

[Ganato]

Last thread was awesome.
New thread is gonna be awesomer.

FANFICS COMING RIGHT UP!

[sebastian]

Last thread lasted barely less than a month, let's see how fast this will goes.

[Twigwise]

Sweet new threads. Can't wait for awesome fanfics :3

[Summergale]

Ohhh, that new thread smell.

Let's celebrate it with a fic beginning I just wrote!

The Knight and the Witch

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Dave's not drunk. He's just tipsy enough to forget.

It's almost quarter past four in the morning, and Dave is sitting in a smoky bar, nursing his second drink of the night. It's been four years since they left the Incipisphere; four years of trying to forget, trying to make their lives seem normal again. They all kept the contents of their sylladexes, outfits and weapons and all the other myriad items they collected over their time in the Medium. They all took a small part of their titles with them, too - Dave may no longer be able to twist and warp the timeline, but he'll never need to wear a watch again and his sense of rythm is perfect. It's almost unnerving, the feeling of wondering a fairly normal question and answering down to the second.

He glances around the bar and feels again that tight knot of anxiety that will never go away. He's lived with it for too long already. Absentmindedly he examines the faces of the bar's patrons, all drunk out of their minds and having lost any semblance of self-control. Dave can count no less than twelve girls draping themselves across their unfortunate victims, in varying states of dress. Most of them aren't exactly bad-looking, either, but he knows he would regret it later.

One of the women comes up to him - a girl, really, she's under-age and her breath stinks of beer - and flashes her teeth at him. She burbles something that is either an insult or a poorly-articulated pickup line, and he wrinkles his nose and pushes her away. The girl walks away huffily, mumbling something and finding another man to attempt to entice. Dave pushes his shades up - they're still the iShades, but it's not as obvious when he's using them now - and rubs at the bridge of his nose wearily.

There's a commotion near the door. He glances up and sees a girl with black hair that falls somewhere around her waist (possibly her hips), glasses that seem a little to large for her, and the most drop-dead gorgeous figure he's ever seen, with a dress to match. It's dark blue and strapless, turning green at the edges. He can see stars in the fabric, tiny white dots that glimmer as the girl moves. His mind puts two and two together, gets four, and then it feels like it punches him in the gut. It's Jade.

Four years has changed how she looks, but only slightly. She's still the tan-skinned, slightly freckled girl he knew, but she's definitely grown up. She looks scared, pressed up against the wall and trapped by some dickhead in baggy jeans and an obnoxious hairdo. She's shaking her head and trying to step away, but he doesn't seem to be relenting. The sight of it makes Dave fume, and he drains his drink and walks towards them.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he growls as he nears them.
Eighteen years old in dark shades and a black suit, Dave makes for quite the imposing figure. The guy turns round and Dave makes the calmest face he can. There's the slightest downturn to his mouth, the only sign of anger he shows. His palm burns for Caledscratch's hilt, but pulling that out would be a bit too much of a scene, even for him.
"Just checkin' the scenery, bro. Gotta appreciate some fine ass 'n tits when they come along, don'tcha?" the guys says with a shit-eating grin. "I mean, look at dem bea--"

He's cut off his a fist to the face. Dave breathes evenly and pulls his bloodied fist back for another strike. It looks like he knocked out a few of the guy's teeth and split his lip with one punch.

The guy pulls and knife and flashes him a bloody grin.

[Graven_Image]

Woo! First Second story of the new thread!

Have some Midnight Crew. You can never have enough Midnight Crew.


Time and Space

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King and Queen weren't special. They were just the best.

Even though King's sword was ruined (and he refused to fix the stupid thing), he was the Crew's best combatant in close quarters. Anyone he got a hold on died, no exceptions.

Slick could have sworn that there seemed to be two of him at times. But then he rubbed his eyes and the other one disappeared. Droog chalked it up to cheapo contact lenses.

Queen was the Crew's top gunner, hands down. She could nail a target the size of a mafioso's head from a thousand yards away.

Could, and did.

She never missed. Even when she had her hands on the .50 cal, the bullets seemed to find their mark, as if they were curving around and into their victims. Deuce never called her out on it. He knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

The six of them, together, would rule this city. Or they would die trying.

♠♠♠

Cue and Snowy weren't special. They were just the best.

Of course, "special" was relative when you were surrounded by universe-ending exiles and dangerously insane retards.

Cue probably had the best deal out of any of the Felt. He went forward, he went backward. It was all nice and stable. And that sword, broken though it may have been, was nothing to sneeze at when there were ten of it.

Crowbar wasn't even allowed in the same room as him.

Snowy was another matter. She was frightening with that street sweeper of hers, and her powers were another thing altogether.

She teleported. Just zipped in, grabbed the money, and zipped out. And of course, it made working with firearms a lot more interesting than it should have been.

The eighteen of them, Doc Scratch included, would rule this city. Or they would see it burnt to the ground.

♠♠♠

King was sharpening his sword. He was always sharpening his sword, for some reason.

"Hey."

It was Slick, coming to check on him. It wasn't particularly weird. Today was the Big Day.

"Hey."

"You nervous?"

"Not hardly. I know Cue. If he's smart, he won't show up."

"And if he does?"

The grinding wheel stopped.

"I'm gonna kill him."

♠♠♠

"So, Cue. Are you worried?"

"Nope."

Snowman was going over the plans one last time, as the rest of the Felt prepared. Assassination was the name of the game.

"You know they're going to be expecting the two of you."

"Don't care. They're dead, and we're going to be the ones to kill them."

"I don't know where you get this overconfidence from."

"Ain't it obvious? You! Heck, Snowy even dresses like you. This gang was as close to an idol as we had when we landed on this rock."

"Oh, isn't that quaint. I'm flattered."

"I said when we landed. Not anymore. Now shut up and do your job."

She disappeared without another word.

Friggin' finally.

♠♠♠

Queen said nothing as the Crew's van rumbled out to the future site of their latest raid. Boxcars, Deuce, King, and Droog played Texas Hold 'Em in the back in silence.

It all seems so silly, she thought. We could have been friends. We might have been, if he hadn't insisted on us taking sides. And now we're going to have to kill each other.

♠♠♠

Snowy grinned, cocking the sweeper as the Crew's van pulled into the parking lot.

In another time and place, she might have regretted what she was about to do. But she was in training to become the new Snowman. She walked like her, dressed like her, talked like her.

And Snowman does not show remorse.

♠♠♠

It was incredibly obvious in retrospect.

They had the same hair, the same eyewear, different shades of the same weapons.

And now, looking at the scene before him, Slick kicked himself for not realizing that King and Cue, Queen and Snowy, were the same two people.

Sort of.

♠♠♠

"You can't win, Queen. You're just as doomed as we are."

"We'll see."

And they started shooting.

♠♠♠

"So."

"So."

"Are we gonna fight, or are we gonna just talk all day?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

And they started swinging.

♠♠♠

The Crew left King and Queen behind. If they survived, they were more than capable of handling themselves. If they died, all the better to get out while they still could.

To this day, Slick didn't know if they made it or not.

But wherever they were, he wished them the best of luck.

[Kawa]

I like the way this started. Can we expect more about the Knight and the Witch?

[Katrika]

Innocence Lost

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The mid-day silence was broken only by the sound of quiet sobbing.

She has long forgotten that day, of course, at least on a concious level. But sometimes, in the dead of day, she’ll wake up just a little bit disoriented, eyes wet. For a fraction of a second, she ACHES, and then all is as it is supposed to be, and she just has something in her eyes, and snacking before sleeping leads to weird dreams, is all. She’s certainly not vulnerable. It’s unthinkable.

Once, she was vulnerable.

No, she’ll hiss, she was NEVER vulnerable, she was never weak, she was always the best.

She hunted for the first time.

Ha! She liked that hunt! She liked being powerful! It was how things were meant to be!

She was scared for her life.

Shut up shut up shut up you don’t know anything about her! That never happened! Her lusus loved her!

She threw up afterwards, and then she threw up again, and again, until there was nothing left in her stomach but she just kept gagging, her mouth coated with an acrid, bitter slime.

She’s not listening to you anymore. This is nonsense. She’s the best. She never did anything wrong.

Her lusus comforted her, telling her that she loved her, that this was how it was meant to be, that she was a good daughter.

I was good I was good I was good I w8s good I w8s g88d!

The mid-day silence is broken only by the sound of quiet sobbing.

[Summergale]

Yes, just as soon as I write it! I got an iPod touch for Christmas, so I'm still setting that up. >:| stupid itunes can go get punched in the face

[raequiem]

Summergale: TH1S SM3LLS F4M1L14R >: D (in a good way that makes me want to read more of it)

Graven: Nice crewfic! It's an unusual take, and I like the format.

Kat: Slow descents into madness are the best kind.

[Twigwise]

Innocence Lost

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The mid-day silence was broken only by the sound of quiet sobbing.

She has long forgotten that day, of course, at least on a concious level. But sometimes, in the dead of day, she’ll wake up just a little bit disoriented, eyes wet. For a fraction of a second, she ACHES, and then all is as it is supposed to be, and she just has something in her eyes, and snacking before sleeping leads to weird dreams, is all. She’s certainly not vulnerable. It’s unthinkable.

Once, she was vulnerable.

No, she’ll hiss, she was NEVER vulnerable, she was never weak, she was always the best.

She hunted for the first time.

Ha! She liked that hunt! She liked being powerful! It was how things were meant to be!

She was scared for her life.

Shut up shut up shut up you don’t know anything about her! That never happened! Her lusus loved her!

She threw up afterwards, and then she threw up again, and again, until there was nothing left in her stomach but she just kept gagging, her mouth coated with an acrid, bitter slime.

She’s not listening to you anymore. This is nonsense. She’s the best. She never did anything wrong.

Her lusus comforted her, telling her that she loved her, that this was how it was meant to be, that she was a good daughter.

I was good I was good I was good I w8s good I w8s g88d!

The mid-day silence is broken only by the sound of quiet sobbing.

...Aaand now I must go sit forlornly in the horn pile, because this is very sad.

[Katrika]

It is quite appropriate that I got the 8th post!

[crash826]

@Katrika: *a soft honking floats on the breeze, as I weep in the horn pile*

So does anyone want me to keep writing those Kanaya/Karkat fics I've been writing?

[Katrika]

Yes. Very much so.

[crash826]

WELL THEN >:D
If I May Be So Kind, part 4 (This is such a terrible idea)

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Sollux had found out.
And when Sollux finds out, Feferi finds out.
And when Feferi finds out, toss out your decoder rings, kids, because the rest of the planet is going to know everything down to what shoes you were wearing when you met within five minutes.
“O)( MY GLUB! 38D”
“Yes Yes I Understand That You Are Shocked But Please Don’t Tell Anyone”
“W)(at? W)(Y TH----E )(----ECK NOT? 38?”
“Well Honestly I Worry About The Effect It Would Have On The Friendships I Currently Maintain. Eridan In Particular Would Get All-“
“Weird about it?”
“Yes Exactly”
Fef didn’t really get it, but she promised to keep things secret, in the roundabout way that the troll Empress was required by law to talk in. Once she decided that she’d reached her quota of puns and silliness for the day, the girl smiled and walked away.
And, over the course of the day, learned that is REALLY hard to keep secrets when the entirety of a race is looking for their answers, and you live in the same house as all of them.
“sO, uHHHHH, wHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON, uH, i MEAN WITH KANAYA,” inquired Tavros, his robot legs whirring up to Feferi.
“Not)(ing, sorry! 38|”
Nepeta led Tavros away, making something up about fairies and rockets, and then shut the door behind her. Unfortunately, this was not exactly a cure, as Terezi had seen and decided to cause trouble.
“COM3 ON SP1LL 1T >:D”
“Not)(ing is GOING ON!”
Vriska had apparently found out via the liberal application of air vents, and (despite the best efforts of Nepeta, who had gotten Equius to stop her- in Equius terms, fit her with a shock collar) was performing a variety of performances with the express intent of exposing and shaming Karkat for being in any kind of relationship. She wasn’t happy about the Kanaya part, but it had to be done for the sake of a good laugh.
And so one day, Feferi walked into a room to find a mind-controlled Sollux retrieving the security tapes at the command of Vriska, who looked at her, hissed a curse and took off carrying the tapes Feferi had sworn to keep from the general public.
There was no choice. There was only one thing Feferi could do.
She made a C with her fingers.
“GO! GALACTIC CULLER!” The light flashed too bright to look at, and the spider girl made the mistake of stopping and swiveling to meet the rocket trident coming her way.
Seconds later, Vriska hurtled down a stairwell and into the pile of horns, obviously unconscious. Gamzee stared for a moment before removing a couple of boondollars from her pocket and sitting down. The horn pile was not a free ride, and anyway he was making money to buy the Great Holy Club and fight the demon ICP. Miracles are serious business, after all.
Feferi rushed downstairs and grabbed the tape, fleeing upstairs. She shook Sollux out of his trance, smashed the tape with her mighty Brainfork, and promptly fainted, tired as all glub.
But later, as Karkat and Kanaya sat on the roof of a little lab in the Veil in the Incipisphere in a giant strange world and looked at the sky (albeit furiously on Karkat’s part), Feferi felt it was all worthwhile.
“SO.”
“So”
“HOW ABOUT THOSE HUMANS”
“Kiss )(er already! 38^”
Exeunt, pursued by a raging mutant and an irritated intellectual with a chainsaw. Who said she couldn’t have a little fun?

--------------------------------

Later on, as Kanaya relaxed in her room, a smile on her face, she was pestered. And although she didn't know it, she had just been sent a pester… of fate.

-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering grimAuxiliatrix [GA] –-

TT: Kanaya.
TT: We need to talk.

OOH CLIFFHANGER
ALSO EFF YEAH FIRST PAGE
STILL DON'T GET COLORS

[Katrika]

Exiles, The End

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The Lost Brute was not exactly ecstatic about becoming the traitor he was accused of, but this new home, new friends, was a bit more than what he had back on Derse. After shaking SR's hand he knelt down to the scorpion, chittering and telling it to look outside for any food sources in a nearby radius. It agreed and went on its way. LB proceeded to ponder exactly what to do next.

"Should we go exploring now, or wait till he returns?"

The Solitary Refugee looked around thoughtfully. She had been planning on exploring earlier, but had gotten sidetracked by her book. Now...well, in most of the books she'd read, it was more fun exploring with another person there, and she was eager to see if this was true or not.

"I see no reason to wait. We might find something useful."

LB looked at her, the excitement in her eyes confused him. It was far from a good thing to not know your location, strategically they were at a disadvantage if caught tired and hungry as they were. He shrugs and agrees regardless, it might sometime before the Scorpion locates anything. He asks,

"Then where should we go first in this ridiculous place?"

SR grinned.

"That door over there says 'Authorized Personell Only'. If there's anything important in this place, that's where it'll be! Oh, this is just like in Brave Explorer and the Ruins of Rahan!"

LB stared at her, "What? Who is this Brave Explorer?"

He shook his head, it wasn't important! He sighed and calmed down, "Alright, i'll take the lead!" He clenches his fists and takes step after step to the door, being overly on guard.

SR scrambled to her feet, following after him anxiously.

"It's probably locked. Can you smash it open?"

LB clenched his fist tighter than before, "Why yes I can!"

He took a running start, reeling his fist back, he jumped and punched the door as hard as he could. He could his carapace begin to ache and crack, falling to his knees and blubbering like a god damned pansy, "ow...ow...Is it open?"

"....not even in the slightest."

SR bit her lip to get control of the urge to laugh at the scary, strange Dersian crying like a child.

"Shut up!" LB was so embarrassed, dear god he could never live this down. he had to get this door open now to regain his pride and manhood. It might be even worse that he lost both of those in front of a women who was the enemy, dear god this is simply too embarrassing.

"Why don't you try opening it?"

SR got her smile under control as she peered at the door. Where the handle should have been there was a strange lens. She bit her lip hesitantly, all humor fleeing from her face.

"Some sort of....bar code scanner?"

LB looks at the lens and ponders for a moment, looking at his wrist he walks over to the door. "Maybe..." He holds the markings on his wrist and waits for the door to scan it, a pink light glows over his arm.

"It tickles!" He laughed a bit.

The door made a 'ding' sort of noise, but did not open.

SR's eyes widened, and she clutched her wrist to her chest,

"Why would...it be keyed to...YOUR code? That makes no sense! This isn't a story!"

He grumbles, "Listen missy, i don't care what your stories say, or what the chances of it are! Its all I had to go on!"

He stomps his foot on the ground, "Why don't you try opening it?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes, sticking her wrist in front of the scanner. With a tickle and pink line of light, the doored dinged, starting to slide open with a groan.

He looked a bit surprised, "It worked?"

"...somehow, yes. Shall we go in together?"

He shrugs, looking back he sees the door closed. It looks like they have nowhere else to go, but he refuses to tell her that.

"Yes, lets."

And so it happened that the Solitary Refugee and the Lost Brute began the task they were destined for...but that's a story for another time.

[Caprisaurus]

Mmm new thread smell
Wish it lasted forevarr

Anywho, YAAY MOAR FANFICTION : D

[Ganato]

Wish and ye shall recieve.
Aerodactylus this goes out to you!

My Demii2e
Epilogue

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There was a rare silence in the main computer room, only broken by one crying princess. None of the trolls really knew what to do, except for the Maid of Time. With a plop she disappeared and not two seconds later she hovered down a hallway, the body of the fallen troll flying behind her. The second she put the body down on the floor, the princess already held her fallen matesprite in her arms. Even kisses from the Witch of Life couldn’t help now. All she could do was hold him close, tears running down her face.

Trolls didn’t usually do anything with their dead friends. If one fell in battle, they would left on the battlefield. If one was too stupid to do what their lusus told them, they would be eaten and there would be no body. If one was too weak or in some other way died in their lusus care, they would most likely be eaten, however if the lusus was of a vegetarian species, they would be thrown out of their hive and THEN eaten. Which was why they had to talk to the humans about it. They all agreed that he probably didn’t want to just be buried so they settled for a cremation. After having garthered their fallen friends items (Karkat having raged about how, he was the one who had to hack the safes, though most knew it was just a facade to hide the sadness he felt) they built a fire on the roof of the building, out of anything that could burn. Eridan and Karkat were careful when putting Sollux’s body on top of the items and it was Terezi’s job, as the closest thing to a legal figure, to light the fire. As the body was enfulged in flames and soon turned to ash, the trolls sang an old lament. 10 voices creating a choir, singing to their fallen comrade. If asked later, only Dave would deny it had been beautiful and then quickly change the subject.

Only one of Sollux’s items had not been burned and Feferi was currently sitting, looking at it. It had taken some time, but Equius had somehow managed to fix the broken glasses from the body. They were still rather pretty, but now they lacked the ‘feeling’. When she had looked into them back then, she felt like she was watching an entire universe. Planets, stars, meteors, all turning in the spirals the universe was created around. But now they were only coloured glass. She would use them now and then, but mostly they would just be stuck onto one of her necklaces.

The computer room was filled with discussion and yelling. The trolls and kids had all met up to figure out a plan to defeat the demon, as the trolls called him, or Bec Noir, as the kids called him. Honestly, Feferi couldn’t really concentrate on it. They had already had 5 meetings before that one and they had yet to make a good plan. They all knew John had to play a large role with him being a god-tier, but they never knew what to make of Vriska and the rest. Aradia had suggested the rest would be decoys and sacrificial lambs. The suggestion had quickly been trashed.

A hand was put on Feferi’s shoulder.

“Feferi?” Kanaya asked. Feferi wasn’t surprised. Kanaya had been comforting her, ever since the funeral, and Feferi was quite thankful for that.

“Hm?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the glasses.

“Are you okay?” Kanaya asked, sounding worried.

“Yeah, I just can’t concentrate,” Feferi answered, sitting up from her slumped position at the table.

“Go rest somewhere, Feferi. I’m sure you won’t miss anything.”

Feferi smiled at her friend, before sticking the glasses to her necklace and walking out of the room. No one seemed to mind and quite a few seemed to want to do the same.

Feferi sat down on her bed when she entered her room. The bed was still a new concept for her and the trolls. It had been the kids who had introduced it when they had appeared in the veil, but they were certanly more comfortable than the horn pile or the pile of shitty wands. She sat for a minute or two, thinking of what to do and then chose to go to sleep.


She was looking out the window in the throne room, wearing the nicest dress money could buy. She was a succesfull empress now. The people loved her, and the laws she had made were all followed completely. There was a knock at the large wooden doors to the room, and Feferi turned to face the doors before granting the visitor entry. The doors opened and a lone figure stepped forward. A mage wearing wearing robes of yellow, red and blue bowed before her.

“I have returned, my lady,” he said, face concealed by the hood. She walked closer to him and stood just before him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“Stand, sir. Captor. We have awaited your return,” she said, taking him into her arms and giving him a kiss, as he did what she had commanded.

“I have missed you,” she said brushing his chin.

“I have missed you as well, my lady,” he answered.

“I don’t remember mythelf being THAT whipped,” a voice behind her said. “Altho were’th my lithp?”

The dream around her unraveled and disappeared and she turned to face someone she thought she would never meet again.

“Sollux?”

“Hi, Fefe,” he said raising his hand in a greeting. And then they both embraced the other in a hug.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” she almost laughed as tears ran down her face.

“Yeah I’m pretty thurpithed I could do thith too. That reaper guy ith thuprithingly nithe,” he answered, kissing her forehead.

“Who?” she asked looking up at him.

“Yeah apparently, ith not a collector drone that collecth the thoulth of dead people. It’s a skeleton dude wearing fake horns and walking around with a large piece of harvesting equpment.”

She giggled at that.

“Come on, Sollux! Let’s do something together! Like we used to!” she said, floating backwards trying to drag him with her.

Bad ending:

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The smile on Sollux’s face faded at that comment.

“Fefe,” he said pulling her back. “I can’t thay. Not for long.”

“What?!” she yelled. “But you just arrived! Don’t leave me again Sollux. I don’t want to feel the pain again.” Tears started forming in her eyes once again.

He held her.

“I’m thorry, Feferi. I’m tho thorry.”

“Just... Don’t let go. Please,” she said burying her head into his shoulder.

He lifted her head and looked into her eyes, before kissing her.

“I won’t.”

And then they held each other. She didnt know for long it was, but she knew she felt at peace while she did. She didn’t think of the past, how much fun they had. She didn’t think of the future, of how she would have to live without him. She only thought of him. Of the sound of his breath, of his arms around her, of his smell.

And then suddenly he was gone and she was awake, holding tightly a pillow.

“You promised not to let go,” she whispered into the pillow, tears turning it wet.

Happy ending:

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His smile matched hers and he followed her lead, doing what they hadn’t been able to while living.

He created the moons of Prospit and Derse and showed her the beauty of the cities.

She created the sea and they swam around chasing fish and each other.

They danced under the moonlight, holding each other, following the feel of the music.

And then she felt the normal tug that always came when she was about to wake up. She tried to ignore it, but she knew she would have to wake soon, and it bewildered her.

He could feel it.

He stopped dancing and looked at her with worry. “What’th wrong, Fefe?”

“I’m going to wake up soon,” she said. “And I don’t want to leave you again.”

Sollux smiled, he almost seemed relieved.

“Fefe,” he said. “I’ll be here when you return.”

Her eyes lit up and a smile formed on her face when he said that.

“Are you? Honestly?”

“I’m dead, Fefe,” he said almost laughing. “I have nowhere elthe to be.”

He moved a lock of her hair out of her face.

“Nowhere elthe I want to be.”

She kissed him.

And then she woke up.

She smiled. She hadn’t felt this happy in what seemed like years. She grabbed Sollux’s glasses from the table next to her and put them on, a smile covering her face.

She could barely wait to sleep again.

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Now that's done. I hope you enjoyed the series. I enjoyed writing it.
Yes it has two different endings, because when I had to finish it I couldn't choose.

For thoese interested in the Bioshock cross-over:

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I have decided to do a playthrough just for this. I am filming the whole adventure so I can remember everything, and I'll try to make one chapter of fanfic fit one chapter of gameplay (aka. 'Welcome to Rapture' would be one chapter and 'Neptunes Bounty' another. Yes that will probably mean the later chapters will be long, but that's just how it is. Also should I post the cast list as I think it's gonna look or should I just wait till they're introduced?

[Caprisaurus]

@@ Ganato
ahdjksajfda Bioshock crossover?! WANTWANTWANT
Also if you're interested, I'm currently playing Bioshock 2 and could attempt to record my (horrible) playing if you'd like some info on little sisters and whatnot that the second game offers that the first doesn't touch on that much or if you would like to add in references from the second game. c:
And I'd totally love to see a cast list >w<

[Ganato]

@@ Ganato
ahdjksajfda Bioshock crossover?! WANTWANTWANT
Also if you're interested, I'm currently playing Bioshock 2 and could attempt to record my (horrible) playing if you'd like some info on little sisters and whatnot that the second game offers that the first doesn't touch on that much or if you would like to add in references from the second game. c:
And I'd totally love to see a cast list >w<

Glad you're interested. I doubt it'll be necessary. I have Bioshock 2 as well, so I can totally record it on my own.

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And I'm pretty sure I'll make a story using the second game as well, but that's hush, hush and on the drawing board

I'll put up a cast list with the first chapter.
I hope I won't let you down.

[Katrika]

Yay, there's a happy ending!

[raequiem]

Well, I did promise...

Chapter 1
Bright Eyes - Chapter 2

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"Hey, you're Terezi, right?"

Terezi, sitting on her bag outside the door of the school, looked up from her half-done homework. "Who's asking?" The question was partly because she still only knew the name of one other student, partly for coolness and partly because she actually couldn't see a thing through Dave's glasses. Which was probably not a problem for the blind boy, but she looked too cool to care.

"I'm John Egbert. Dave's friend." It was the nerdy brunette boy Dave had sat with at lunch yesterday. He sat on the ground beside her.

"What can I do for you, John Egbert Dave's friend?"

"Give him back his shades."

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because you really don't want to make enemies at this school. Especially enemies like Rose and Jade and me."

"Are you threatening me? What are you, student council or something?" He peered at her notebook, and she shut it with a snap. "I'm not afraid of you, Egbert."

He laughed, the arrogant ass. "No, I'm not threatening or anything, and we're nothing special. Just his friends. We take care of each other."

She kept her silence.

"And Rose can probably help you with that English homework."

Glaring through those shades really didn't work very well. "I don't need your stupid help." She yanked the glasses off and held them out to him. "Here, he can have his dumb glasses back if you people are going to be annoying about it."

John grinned. "Awesome!" But instead of taking the shades, he turned and called out, "Hey, Dave! She said okay!"

How can a blind kid in a bright red shirt with a cane be so sneaky? And yet there Dave was, just around the corner. "Yeah, John. I heard. Hey, Terezi." He was actually wearing her pointy red glasses.

She stood. "Hey, Dave." God this was awkward. "Here's your shitty shades." She shoved them at his chest, and snatched her own back.

"Thanks."

Terezi went for her bag before this situation got any more awkward, but John grabbed her elbow. Apologize, he mouthed.

What?

Say you're sorry, or else. Something like that should really not be said with such a cheery smile.

Dave leaned on his cane. "I hate being left out of all the fun conversations."

Shooting dirty looks at the blind kid still wasn't working. And in other news, sky blue, pope Catholic, bear shits in woods. Details at eleven. Terezi sighed, as gustily and obnoxiously as possible. "Sorry for taking your shit and generally being a bitch. Whatever." The bell rang, and the school doors opened. She slung her bag over her shoulder and hauled ass before she could spontaneously combust from sheer awkwardness.

But before she was completely out of earshot, she heard, "Hey! Sit with us at lunch!"

Keep fucking dreaming, Egbert.

-----

"Why would you say something like that, huh?" Dave's cane caught John on the back of the head with a pap.

"Ow!" He had surprisingly good aim. "Why not? She looked really lonely yesterday."

"And that's our problem how?"

"Dave, just because you got off on the wrong foot doesn't mean you can't try to make friends."

"You watch too many shitty movies with unrealistic morals. She and I are never gonna be friends. The real world doesn't work that way, John."

"Oh, quit being such a pessimist. You never know - anything could happen! Come on, let's get to homeroom before the second bell rings."

-----

There was no way in hell that she was going to sit there.

She was just going to take her seat at the same empty table.

No way she was going to go groveling to those assholes for acceptance.

Especially after that humiliation this morning.

She could always say she hadn't seen John waving at her.

Or heard him yell "Hey, Terezi! Over here!"

Or- oh fuck on French toast, he was coming over.

"Hey, Terezi! Didn't you hear me call?" Without waiting for an answer he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the table, sitting her on the end across from Dave.

"You know Dave already" - cold silence from that sector - "and this is Rose" - the blonde girl, nose deeply buried in The Collected Works of H.P. Lovecraft - "and Jade." - who grinned brightly at Terezi.

"Hi, Terezi, nice to meet you!"

"... yeah." God, the awkward was thick enough to taste in the air. She opened her lunchbag and tore into the first thing she grabbed - her PB&J half-sandwich.

"... so! Why'd you move here! What was your old school like! How do you like Skaian so far!" It appeared that Jade spoke only in exclamation points.

"If our conversation yesterday was any clue, Alternian was perfect and this is hell." Dave quipped.

"It's true, Alty was the best. This place will never compare." Terezi sighed dramatically. "Sure, it's a nice little school if you like that sort of thing, but-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Two days! You've been here two days! You can't reasonably hate the school until you've been here a month, tops."

"'Reasonably?!' I'll give you 'reasonable' straight up your-"

"Sure, whatever, I'd love to see you try, you-"

"Really, David? You really have to turn this into a thing?" Rose licked her finger to turn the page. "You always pick these fights, and nothing ever comes of it."

Dave ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, 'cause no one'll fight a blind kid. So I reserve my right to turn it into a thing, just for the illusion of some kind of conflict. That fits into your psychological profile of me, right?"

"Indeed it does, tweaked a bit."

"Good to know." He turned to Terezi. "Just you wait, she'll put together some kind of Freudian complex or obsessive fixation or some other bullshit for you. I give it a week before she's mapped out every single one of your neuroses.

Terezi snickered. "Well, I'm not-"

And then her phone rang.

The rest of the table gasped.

"What?"

"Quick, shut it off!" John flailed in panic. "If anyone hears it, it'll get taken away and you'll be in detention for a week!"

"What? That's retarded." She checked - it was Karkat. "Fuck." There was only one reason he'd call her in the middle of the school day.

She looked up at the pale faces around her. "It's an emergency, I have to answer."

"And here comes Scratch!" Jade moaned. "Vice Principal Scratch - he'll take it for sure!"

"Shit shit shit shit shit!"

Rose shut her book with a snap. "Terezi, get under the table. I'll deal with Scratch."

Terezi ducked, wedging herself between several pairs of knees. Rose's stood and disappeared, giving her a little more room and a lot less cover. And the goddamn phone was still ringing.

She answered. "Karkat, what happened?" No time to waste on pleasantries.

"He's gone. I came home from school and he was just gone. Terezi, I can't call the cops again, they'll take him away and put me in foster care, I can't let that happen!" Karkat was rambling, half-yelling, like he always did when he was afraid.

"Karkat, shut the hell up and calm down! I'm at school - if I get caught with my phone I'm fucked!"

"Fuck your phone, this is my fucking dad you bitch!"

"And I'm three thousand miles away!" she hissed. Then sighed, leaning back on someone's knees - Jade's, she thought. "Look, there's nothing I can do from here. Call Tavros, he can probably help find him. Equius too - I know you hate the guy, but if something goes wrong - well, you know. If you do get caught, call my mom - not me, her. I know she'll help with whatever legal shit you might get into. And text me as soon as there's news."

He sighed, a blast of static in her ear. "Thanks, 'Rezi. I know there's not much you can do, I just-"

"-needed to talk before you had a full-blown panic attack. I get it." She hesitated, then - "Kanaya will want to help as soon as she hears, and Vriska might be useful too. Again, huge bitch bluh bluh, but you might need her."

"I'll keep that in mind. Talk to you later."

"Let me know as soon as you can." Click.

John's concerned face appeared under the table. "It's safe, you can come out now."

She took the hand he offered and pulled herself out from under the table.

"I better have been brown-nosing Scratch for a good reason." Rose took her seat and gave Terezi a penetrating look over steepled fingers.

Terezi sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Thanks so much, it really was important."

"What was so important about a phone call?"

She really didn't want to get into this right now, but she owed them. If she blew them off, they could tell Scratch and get her phone taken anyway. "I have this... friend. Sorta. And his dad sometimes... gets into trouble. He got into trouble today, and my friend called asking for help."

"And that's it?" If skeptic looks were money this table would be filthy rich.

"That's it, really. Look, I gotta - I gotta go deal with stuff, okay? I'll see you later." She stuffed her forgotten lunch back into the bag and made her escape.

-----

"So why don't you tell me the whole story." That was Dave, and that was not a question.

"How are you even following me? I don't know if you've noticed, but you're blind," she grumbled, neatly sidestepping the question.

"Really? I thought it was just the middle of the night. But back to your story." Dammit. "I know there was more going down than just normal 'getting in trouble', considering you offered up your mom for legal advice. So what's going on? Really?"

"It's rude to eavesdrop, you know."

"And it's bitchy to avoid the question. Talk." Damn him.

She sighed. "Look, can... can we sit down? Curb, three feet to your left." She took a seat, and he followed, settling their bags in the street in front of them.

And she began. "The first time it happened, I think we were seven or eight...

-----

Me and Karkat lived next door to each other our whole lives. He was - still is - my best friend. We'd hang out at each other's houses, playing or watching movies or whatever.

His dad was always kind of angry. You know, not yelling or screaming, just pissy. All the time. He'd grumble if we were too loud, so we'd usually be at my house. But then one summer he changed. Stopped grumbling, started being real nice to me and Karkat - until that night.

It was really late, and Karkat came to the door. Mom let him in - he had blood all over his shirt and hands. He was scared shitless, kept talking about "Dad, he's hurt, he's all bloody, needs help". Mom had me help him get cleaned up while she called the cops. His dad had tried to kill himself - slit his wrists. With Karkat sleeping in the next room. If he hadn't got up to go pee, then... well, you get it.

I had never seen Karkat like that. He was catatonic - he wouldn't move unless you pulled him, and all he'd talk about was his dad. His eyes... Anyway, it was seriously freaky.

Karkat stayed with us for a few days while his dad was in the hospital. He wasn't allowed to visit, and we didn't see his dad again until a week later. He got called in to court - they were going to put him in a home, and stick Karkat in a foster home.

My mom stood up. She said she'd vouch for his dad, and she'd take care of Karkat if anything happened. Since she's a lawyer, they said okay.

And for a few years, everything was fine. His dad was on medication, he was back to being grumpy, everything was like it had been before. Until it wasn't.

Karkat, his dad, and me were out in the city. We were walking across a bridge, and all of a sudden he got up on the railing like he was about to jump. Just out of nowhere - one minute he was talking, laughing, the next we were trying to pull him back from the edge. Turns out he had run out of medication a few weeks ago, and didn't want to go refill the prescription.

He went back to the hospital, Karkat came back with us. And it was like that for a few years - every once in a while his dad would up and try to hurt himself, and we'd have sleepovers until he was better again. I know it sounds awful, but it was almost easier when his dad was gone. At least we knew where he was, that he was medicated, that he wouldn't be getting into trouble.

And this last year or two, he's been fine. Stayed on his meds - the pharmacy down the street lets Karkat sign for them, even though he's a kid - and he hasn't done anything dumb. And Mom got a really good job offer from a partnership here, and we all agreed that it - that he - was gonna be okay.

-----

"But when Karkat called today, it was because his dad disappeared. Again." Dave sighed. "God, that home life is even more fucked up than mine."

"It's just about as fucked up as possible." Terezi ripped at a few blades of grass growing in a crack of the sidewalk. "So you get why it was kinda important for me to answer that call."

"Yeah, absolutely. And if anything happens to his dad, you and your mom aren't there to take him in."

"Exactly. So now I get to wait for his call and feel like shit for leaving." She hugged her knees to her chest. Dave reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, and she leaned into the touch unconsciously.

"This really sucks."

"Yeah."

A/N

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Oooh, things have taken a turn for the srs, haven't they? This chapter revealed itself to me shortly after I wrote that pesterlog in the last chapter. Honestly, I'm as excited to find out what happens next as you guys!

I had a hell of a time writing all the dialogue in this chapter. BLUH.

[Katrika]

....whoa, that's really good.

[amnesiaDinosaur]

That is awesome. Just... awesome is actually a good word for describing it.

[Katrika]

Crossposting from the Cop!AU thread. Might give more then one part to this. Depends on if anyone wants one.

Recruitment

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The falling snow would be beautiful in the morning, making the world crisp, clean, and new. The falling snow would be beautiful from the inside looking out, from a nice warm vantage point. The falling snow would even cover up the three bodies that Karkat was certain would result from this night.

Wasn’t that always the way? You try to live you life and keep your friends alive and one day the three of you are just flaws to be covered up and carted away.

Nepeta shivered, a violent spasm that barely qualified for the term. She’d given Karkat her coat after he’d fallen asleep, and now she felt almost like she was having a seizure. Karkat couldn’t even see her, his eyes frozen shut under a thin dusting of snow. He’d just managed to drag her to him and get his arms around her, fighting the cold and the drowsiness for every inch of motion.

Gamzee. Where was Gamzee? Tonight had been his night to use the blanket. Maybe he was okay. Maybe he would live. Maybe-oh, who was he kidding? Gamzee was many things, but able to keep fighting through the cold and stay awake? He was probably already dying, and Karkat couldn’t help him.

Dammit. Gogdammit! Why did winter have to start so early? He’d signed them up on the shelter waiting list, but their slot wasn’t going to be open for at least a week. He’d miscalculated, and it was going to be fatal.

Dammit.

He should have been able to protect them! He’d promised to protect them, and they’d believed him, because he’d never broken his promises before, but even he couldn’t predict the weather and this was all his fault, he was so tired, he mustn’t sleep but he was so very tired, and Nepeta wasn’t shuddering anymore fuck fuck fuck FUCK-

He hardly noticed when the car pulled up next to him, but he sure as hell noticed when someone tried to take Nepeta out of his arms. He held on as strongly as he could and swore, only it came out as a moan and he wasn’t very strong anyway right now. Soon after, he was carried into a warm, soft place. He tried to stand up, but someone gently pushed him back into his seat.

“nOW NOW, mR. vANTAS, yOU NEED YOUR REST. eVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE JUST FINE, pROVIDED YOU DO EXACTLY WHAT i SAY. aND IF YOU DON'T, wELL...bE A REAL SHAME IF ANYTHING HAPPENED TO YOUR FRIENDS.”

The world went black.