Chapter Text
"We did it, guys!" Jade grinned, throwing her arms around Dave and Rose. "Wow, it sure took a while, hehe."
"It certainly did," Rose said, glancing towards the jade-blooded troll talking with Karkat to their right, then the other Lalonde. "But I believe it was worth it."
The conversation came to an end as the green platform they stood on - the kids and the trolls who made it this far, the sprites having decided that they would rather stay by themselves on LOLAR - lightened up, the assorted house shape in front of the players glowing warmly. They stood by each other strongly, despite the wounds leaving blood on the ground beneath them. They'd been through so much, and they were ready to finally move on, accept with wide open arms a better, peaceful future in the universe they had created.
John was the first one who took a step towards the door they'd waited to open for so long. He looked back at his friends, frowning slightly.
"What if the new universe isn't what we think it will be? Like, what if the trolls disappear or something, or what if I never see you guys again?"
"Egbert, would you just stop worrying your ass off already? I didn't beat this godawful fucking game twice to hear a spiel on the power of friendship or some other vomit inducing waste of time now. You could have done that when we weren't just fucking exhausted and eager to get our asses in there already," Karkat huffed, rolling his eyes. It wasn't hard to tell from the way his lips were tugging upwards slightly that he didn't entirely mean his words.
John nodded, taking a deep breath before turning the doorknob.
"This is Dave Strider, epitome of all things cool and awesome reporting to duty: timezones are still a huge fucking pain in the ass. Unnecessary bullshit, pointless junk, and not the good kind of pointless junk, oh no. The horribly unwanted kind. The kind people could cry real, genuine tears over. 'Daddy, why isn't it the same time for my friend?' 'Junior, it's because the universe is an awful place and Santa isn't fucking real now go the hell to sleep it's like, two in morning and I'm trying to doze off without tiny monkeys annoying me.'"
"Dave, this is so silly! We both know why timezones exist, you dummy," Jade sighed, crossing her arms. "I can't talk to you for long, though. It's nearly nighttime in the east, and an evening without sunset is not a thing I will let happen!"
"Right, how could I forget." Dave paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "You still haven't seen the trolls around, did you? I mean, with your space-y powers or whatever the hell, you're probably able to tell us where they are, at least. It'd probably be like, a fuckfest of concentrated happiness in the H.Q. if we found them. Okay, maybe not that much, but you get the point, bro."
"I'm sorry, but I haven't even found them yet! It's like they disappeared off the face of the earth or something. Maybe it's because it wasn't their session? They didn't have their lands there, or anything like that. Maybe the game didn't register them. But... if they're still in there, they're at least with the sprites! I'm sure they're fine, Dave." She gave a little smile, squeezing his arm gently. "We'll probably find them again soon, don't give up yet."
The Knight nodded, then smirked slightly. "Sure. Talk to you later, Harley."
Somewhere else, a cold burst of wind was followed by a cheerful laughter.
Under the dim light of the million of stars glowing above him, John was providing a quiet city - it reminded him vaguely of Prospit; the nostalgy was strong - with a chilly preview of what they'd need to expect for this autumn, which was to say nothing warm and lots of snow soon than they thought. He was still all about pranks, controlling the weather or not.
He stopped in front of a house, the wind ruffling his hair dying in less than a second. It looked sickeningly to the one he used to live in, years and universes ago. He frowned slightly as he noticed a familiar silhouette, sitting on the windowsill, seemingly reading a book. The boy there seemed to be about thirteen years old or so, perhaps a bit younger; he had messed up chestnut hair, freckles on his cheeks, and sported a black hoodie. The scowl on his face was one that John could recognize everywhere. He could almost see the little nubs pointing out of his hair, or...
"What are you up to today, dear John? Shouldn't you be busy, instead of suspiciously eyeing young specimens of the mortal realm?" Rose's voice echoed in the silence, and the Heir rolled his eyes as he turned to look at her, responding to her smug grin with a huff.
"Why do you always have to sneak up on me like that? If I could die, I probably would have had a heart attack a long time ago, Rose. I hope you know that. But- is that who I think it is? I mean, whoever that guy is, he looks an awful like..." Rose held up her hand, taking a few steps towards the window.
"Speak no further, John. If he is, maybe he can see us."
"What? That would be amazing! Maybe he even knows where the others are, Rose. You could see Kanaya again!"
"I'd love that, but seeing us could trigger memories of their previous lives. If you were told, out of the blue, that you originate from a now extinct species, that your former friends are omniscient beings in this realm of reality, and that you helped create this universe as well as witnessed numerous times the dead of your loved ones, how would you react?"
"Well, I would probably freak out... that, or avoid whoever said that like, forever."
"Exactly. We need to protect them in this life; they don't need to remember the horrors they went through before."
"So we can't let them see us, then."
"I'm afraid so."
A boy named Karkat Vantas sat on the windowsill, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he read the novel he'd bought earlier that day. He closed it after an especially infuriating chapter, rolling his eyes. "Fucking bullshit," he muttered, then glanced at the window.
Outside, stood two utterly familiar, brightly-clothed figures.