Chapter Text
"What do you think we should do, huh?"
The skeleton doesn't reply. It doesn't have lips to talk. It just sits in the corner of my room, staring blankly at me. It can't do anything other than stare blankly. It doesn't have any eyes to see or eyebrows to emote. It can't even tell me when it thinks an experiment I'm planning is going to go terribly wrong--not that I think it actually would tell me even if it could.
"You're probably right. Going out is a dumb idea anyway."
Ding.
The screen on my laptop fades in, coming to life as Pesterchum lets me know that I have a new notification. Gliding lazily over to it, I glance at my chumroll to see if, miraculously, anybody has come online.
ghoulishCollector - ONLINE
grotesqueArtist - OFFLINE
courageousComposer - OFFLINE
cloudyAttorney - OFFLINE
caligulasGodhead - OFFLINE
timeArchivist - OFFLINE
godlyGenius - OFFLINE
Of course. It was stupid of me to think any of the others had come online anyway. Especially not TA.
Okay, then what the hell was that notification? I open my chat window and see--
A memo?
--carcinoGeneticist [CG] has added ghoulishCollector [GC] and greyscaleTestimony [GT]--
CG: WHAT THE FUCK
CG: WHO ARE THESE ASSHOLES
TG: i dont know man you added them
Okay, weird. None of these people are on my chumroll. CG's profile won't even show up on Pesterchum--it wants to display their profile on Trollian, which is even weirder. Still, it's a pleasant surprise to know that there are people still alive out there. We thought we were the only two left.
Taking a deep breath to swallow any fear, I type back.
GT: Awww, shit! I knew there were some bitches left alive somewhere out here!
TG: oh god its talking like gamzee
CG: GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR MEMO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IMPORTANT SHIT
Doubtful. I'd be able to see any previous messages on the bulletin if there really had been any.
GC is quick to snap back at this, as if on cue.
GC: nah man you added us
GC: and watch the fucking language man theres a child present
GT: Besides, we haven't had anyone to talk to in YEARSSS, it's super lonely out here you know
TG: wait out where
Dumb fucking question. We've been trapped in the fucking medium for two years, it's not like anything is left alive on Earth. These guys have to be in a session, too.
GC: the medium
GC: you know
GC: the planets where one of them is /super/ fucking toxic and the other is just boring
TG: wait yall are in a session
GC: um
GC: yes?
Either they're fucking with us, or they're just plain stupid. Could be both.
GT: Yeahhh?? We've been in a session for a couple years but we didn't realize how absolutely booooooringggg it would be
TG: what the fuck do you mean its boring we never had a moments fucking rest
CG: BY 'BORING' DO YOU MEAN AWFUL? OR DOWNRIGHT GRUBFUCKING MURDEROUS? WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF SESSION DO YOU HAVE?
GC: a real shitty one my dude
GC: i defeated my denizen within a few months
GC: and it only took that long because my atmosphere is fucked
TG: what the fuck
TG: john tried to defeat his off the bat and fucking died
CG: THAT'S BECAUSE HE LISTENED TO THE ONE FUCKING PERSON YOU SHOULD NEVER LISTEN TO
GC: 1M R1GHT H3R3
I'm beginning to think that I was the fluke, not GC.
GT: Aw, man, you guys actually got to fight your denizens?! I went to confront Yaldabaoth and he was already dead!
TG: yaldabaoth was DEAD
GT: Right?! Like how fucking rude, bro?! I was excited to talk to him!
GC: OH GOG 1TS 4NOTH3R SYLPH
CG: GOG WE DONT NEED ANY MORE OF THOSE WHY ARE YOU STILL FUCKING HERE?!
GC: K4RK4T DONT B3 M34N TO TH3 N3W GUYS TH3Y M1GHT N33D OUR H3LP
GC: wtf we dont need help
GC: were just fucking bored
GT: Plus, you added us! Cut us some slack, we haven't had ANY interaction with anyone besides each other in literally two years!
GC: who have you been talking to
GC: its been 4 years for me
Shit, really? Has it seriously been four years?
I quickly check the date on my computer's calendar. Yup, sure e-fucking-nough--four years since GC and I first entered the medium. Jesus Christ.
Also, what the fuck is up with these guys? They somehow found our chumhandles and added us to a memo only to harass us?! We thought we were the only ones that were still fucking alive! How rude can you fucking get?!
--turntechGodhead [TG] has added timaeusTestified [TT]--
TG: dude
TG: this dude is saying that they went to fight yaldabaoth and it was already dead
TT: They what. Why the fuck was Yaldabaoth dead. That shouldn't happen.
CG: WELL OBVIOUSLY IT HAPPENED WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN
GC: lace who have you been talking to
GT: Oh Cole you know the skeletons just make such riveting conversation partners, anyway yeah either it was dead or it just looked nothing like what it was supposed to look like
TG: dirk
TG: bro
TG: didnt you have skeletons on your planet too
TT: Yeah, we all did. My planet was toxic, too. Their session is fucked up in some way.
Skeletons aren't the norm? I glance halfheartedly at the one who got into my house and did nothing but stare at me. It's still doing nothing but staring at me. I squint at it. It doesn't do anything.
Cole, being the expert he is at completely ignoring any other conversation besides the one he's focusing on, quips back:
GC: oh yeah totally
GC: my only conversation partner on my planet was my sprite
GC: and all he did was scream because you thought it was a good idea to prototype it with my doll head
GT: That was funny and you fucking know it!
GC: it was not funny because i had to deal with that shit
TG: hey are we ignoring the fact that yall are fucking trapped inside of a dead session
I pause in the middle of typing a scathing retort where I would have pointed out that Cole so helpfully prototyped my kernelsprite with my fidget spinner that ultimately caused a sprite that did nothing but make a really annoying whirring noise.
GT: We're in a what now?
GC: wtf is a dead session
TT: You're essentially just wasting away in a session that was never supposed to exist. A game you can't win.
...Huh. Okay. Humor. Humor time. Use humor to cope with whatever the fuck kind of reality that was just laid in front of me.
GT: Shit, dude, that sounds bad.
GC: TH4TS B3C4US3 1T 1S
GT: Damn f in the chat
TG: f
GC: F
GC: f
TT: F.
Well that got a giggle out of me. TT is apparently not going to let us have our fun, though.
TT: It's really fucking bad. If you want to survive we need to figure out how to get you out of there.
CG: AND HOW THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?
--turntechGodhead [TG] has added ectoBiologist [EB]--
Looks like TG already figured out a way.
TG: hello mr retcon man we need your help
GT: Retcon? What the hell does that have to do with what's going on right now?
GC: 1T M1GHT B3 TH3 K3Y TO S4V1NG YOUR 4SS3S
GT: That's fair enough
EB: who are the new guys?
GC: im cory
GC: you might have seen me from the kick ass anime
GC: cory in the house
EB: wait really?
GC: absolutely
GT: Shut up, that's Cole, he's an idiot, I'm Lacy.
GC: BUT H4V3 W3 ST1LL S33N COL3 ON TH3 K1CK4SS 4N1M3 CORY 1N TH3 HOUS3
TG: terezi you cant see
GC: V4L1D PO1NT
GC: ill send you a link so you can listen to it its a masterpiece
CG: WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT A STUPID GRUBSHITTING ANIME?!
GC: how dare you
CG: WHAT'S FUCKING IMPORTANT IS THE FACT THAT YOU TWO DUMBASSES NEED TO GET OUT OF THAT DEAD SESSION
EB: oh i can use my retcon powers!
TG: bro thats literally why i added you to this shitshow
We might be getting out? Seriously? We might actually have a chance at getting out of the Medium? I glance around my room at all of the shit I'd need to pack up. My eyes eventually wander back to the skeleton. I haven't actually given him a name. How long has he been in my house?
GT: I have a pet skeleton that sort of follows me around, can I bring it with me if you guys come to our rescue?
GC: 4BSOLUT3LY NOT W3 DONT KNOW WH3R3 TH4T TH1NG H4S B33N
I look over at my skeleton friend. He does come and go quite often. I think I can see a faint smear of something dark across the lower part of one of his orbital bones.
GT: I really don't either so that's probably a good call.
GC: can i bring my collection of teeth
CG: WHAT THE FUCK? NO?
GC: dammit
GC: i had a whole new jar from the skeletons
TT: Your lives are more important than some fucking teeth don't you think.
Alright, fuck it. I'd actually managed to crack a smile while we were talking about what we could bring with us, but if TT is gonna be nothing but a fucking party pooper, I've fucking had it.
GT: And don't you think that humor is a logical coping mechanism for two teenagers who have just been contacted by a group of strangers who have told them that they've just wasted the past four years rotting away inside of a dead session, and if some crazy scheme cooked up by that same group of strangers doesn't work to get them out, they're probably going to die in there? Don't you think that's logical, TT?
The memo grinds to a screeching halt. For three entire minutes nobody types a word. I don't even see the "is typing" bubble pop up at the bottom of the screen throughout that time. After minute one, I start to panic. Did I just ruin our chances at rescue? All because I have a hot head and a loud mouth?
Finally, the silence is broken, and the memo springs to life once again.
TT: We have a Breath player who can get you out. There's no crazy scheme. We know what we're doing.
TG: oh snap
GC: D4MN
A surprisingly calculated response after whatever the fuck I just did.
CG: DON’T START FUCKING FIGHTING YOU TWO. GT, WE’LL GET YOU OUT. DIRK, STOP BEING A DICK.
EB: as soon as we can pinpoint where you are we can get you out!
GT: Would planet names help? I’m in the Land of Fog and Forests, Cole is in the Land of Caverns and Krypton.
TG: krypton sounds familiar
TT: Cole, are you a Heart player?
GC: uh yeah why
TT: Okay, I have an idea of how to get there. It’s batshit fucking insane, but it’s an idea.
CG: OH GREAT.
GT: #bloodplayersmatter
TG: karkat arent you a blood player in a doomed timeline
GC: 1V3 N3V3R S33N 4NOTH3R BLOOD PL4Y3R
GT: Oh fuck pretend I didn’t say anything
CG: I’M STILL A BLOOD PLAYER, I JUST NEVER GOD TIERED.
Hold the motherfucking phone. You can survive out here without god tiering?
GC: bro how are you still alive then
CG: OH SAYS THE ONE THAT’S IN A FUCKING DEAD SESSION.
GC: thats fair
EB: i can’t believe a sylph is a blood player, can that even happen?
Sure, I'll play along.
GT: I mean Blood players focus primarily on bonds so yes it could happen
GC: CL34RLY 1T C4N H4PP3N JOHN 1 DONT TH1NK SH3S M4K1NG UP H3R CL4SSP3CT
EB: hey you never know! she could be a knight for all we know.
GC: nah she cant be we already have one
EB: oh yeah, you guys have more players, don’t you?
GC: what
GC: no
I close my eyes for a second and imagine. All of us who were supposed to play actually getting to see what the game is like.
Why they never booted the game is beyond me.
TT: You’re the only players in your game? Fuck, no wonder your session is dead.
GT: More like we had a huge team put together and then when me and Cole started up the game we just assumed our other friends had been playing too. Then we both went god tier and found out that they’d never even started up their games.
GC: TH4TS FUCK1NG SH1TTY OF TH3M
TG: yeah thats rough buddy
GC: yeah no kidding
CG: FUCK, THEY PROBABLY GOT HIT BY METEORS WHEN YOUR EARTH WAS DESTROYED.
GC: wow thank you
GC: that helps so fucking much
I try not to imagine the panicked expression on Kade's face as the meteor gets closer and closer to his house.
TG: karkat thats not the thing to say right now
GC: Y34H K4RK4T C4N YOU G3T 4NYMOR3 1NS3NS1T1V3
EB: cmon karkat, that’s possibly the worst thing you could say right now.
CG: OH I’M SORRY, I’M TRYING TO COMFORT THEM WITH SOME FUCKING CLOSURE!
GC: id rather get off this planet so i can finally breathe some fresh air thanks.
TT: Karkat just shut up for a minute, seriously.
Poor guy. He clearly means well. He needs someone to back him up here.
GT: It’s okay Karkat I understand where you were trying to go with that.
CG: THANK YOU! AT LEAST SOMEONE FUCKING GETS IT.
TG: john do you think you could use your retcon thing to get them
EB: i think so!
TT: Okay, Lacy, get over to Cole’s planet as soon as you can. If John can’t get to your server first try I have a backup plan that requires you two in the same place.
GC: why cant i go to her planet
GC: no one can breathe on mine
TT: Our planets might be connected because we’re both Heart players. Therefore, if John can’t get there, then we can get there through him through my planet.
EB: don’t worry, dirk, i got it! i’ve never failed before with my retcon thingy.
TG: dirk maybe youre connected with lacys planet too
TG: you both had the same denizen
GT: Fuck yeah! Yaldabaoth buddies!
GC: 3XC3PT H1S W4SNT D34D WH3N H3 W3NT TO F1GHT
GT: Wanna know what else is dead? The mood.
TT: I don’t know about that.
GC: theres no fucking way shes going near my planet.
GC: try lacys first seriously
GC: her lungs are worse than mine and my gas masks dont work properly for her
GC: last time she tried to come to my planet she almost fucking died
CG: IT SERIOUSLY CANNOT BE THAT FUCKING BAD.
TT: As someone who had a krypton planet, it is that bad.
Once again, I try not to remember the way it felt to try and breathe at four times the atmosphere as I slowly fade to black.
GT: Yeah I flew there once to try and get him out and almost died, I have asthma!
GC: WH4TS 4STHM4
GT: My lungs don’t fucking work
GC: shitty lungs gang
GC: no but seriously get lacy first or im not coming
EB: okay, okay, we’ll get her first!
EB: what’s your planet called lacy?
GT: The Land of Fog and Forests. The whole place looks like a shitty cloud but I promise there’s terrain under there.
TG: is it toxic or anything
GT: Well it certainly is dark. And cold. And damp.
And if you breathe it in for too long the water in the air slowly condenses inside of your lungs and you start to drown.
EB: okay, well you two sit tight while we grab some people not in the memo.
GC: jesus how many people are there
CG: A FUCKING SHITTON, IT’S LIKE A FUCKING COLONY OVER HERE.
GT: Add them to the memo
CG: IF I ADD THEM TO THE MEMO IT’S GOING TO TURN INTO A BIGGER FUCKING SHITFEST THAN IT ALREADY IS.
GC: heads up her skeletons climb trees
GC: nowhere is safe
TG: what the fuck do you mean they climb trees
GT: Oh yeah, they do that sometimes. They don’t even like it when I’m outside so they probably won’t take kindly to you guys.
GC: HOW R34SSUR1NG
GC: at least yours dont break into your house in the middle of the night
EB: they bother you at night???
GC: i havent had more than 3 hours of sleep per night for 4 years
GT: Oh I didn’t realize you were getting sleep again, if I doze off even for a couple of seconds something comes hurtling at my window and tries to kill me, I’m surprised I’ve survived this long honestly.
TG: what the fuck
GT: Stupid, right?
GC: it helps that i moved my bed to the attic and built a moat
TT: Okay, we’re going to leave in a few minutes. Be ready, Lacy.
--timaeusTestified [TT] has left the memo--
GC: and there he goes
GT: Should I just stand on the roof or something?
TG: if that will keep you from getting fucked by your skeletons or whatever
GT: I mean, clearly nothing will stop the skeletons.
GC: use your god tier shit to desecrate the planet
GT: I’m not going to do that but I’ll keep that in mind
EB: your roof should be fine!
EB: we’ll be there soon!
--ectoBiologist [EB] has left the memo--
GC: hey lacy can you grab my jacket when you leave
GT: I don’t have your jacket bro, plus if I have anything besides the clothes on my back when I leave it’s gonna get fucked anyway.
GC: just put shit in your sylladex
GT: I don’t have that many cards otherwise I would
TG: hey were on the way
TG: hang tight
TG: shit might start to get crazy
--turntechGodhead [TG] has left the memo--
GC: W3LL M33T SOON YOU TWO
GC: ST4Y 4L1V3 UNT1L W3 G3T TH3R3
--gallowsCalibrator [GC] has left the memo--
GC: stay safe man
GC: and if theyre creepers kill them
CG: HEY FUCK YOU! WE’RE NOT ABOUT TO FUCKING MURDER YOU OR SOME SHIT!
GC: hey man you never know
--ghoulishCollector [GC] has left the memo--
With only myself and CG left, the memo turns into a pesterlog. I'm tempted to just cease pestering and start packing, but I feel like I have to apologize for mine and Cole's behavior. We really haven't been all that grateful. And Cole directly accused them of being crazy people.
GT: Hey, don’t mind Cole. He jokes around a lot, honestly, both of us do. We never really dealt with what happened to us and shit? Like, with the game, and even shit that happened before the game. Anyway–he’s just kidding and don’t take most of what he says to heart. Chances are, he’s not serious.
GT: See you in a bit ♡!
--greyscaleTestimony [GT] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]--
Well. Sounds like this shit is really happening.
I'm flying around my room in an absolute frenzy trying to get everything I possibly can packed up into my sylladex. Phone, check. Pile of clothes, check. Hairbrush, check. Fuck--my laptop. I merge the hairbrush and the clothes; essentials card? Whatever. Free card. Laptop, check. Skeleton--
Wait.
I cast a wary glance at the skeleton. He hasn't moved except for his head, which continues to stare blankly at me. I decide to open the door and take his bony hand, carefully ushering him out of the door so I can continue packing. Goodbye, old friend. I release you into the wild.
Grabbing the last few odds and ends, I finally leave my house for what seems like it could be the last time. Sitting on my roof, I stare into the sky, hoping against all hope to see the pinpricks of people soaring through the air, the prince charmings to my damsel in distress.
Nothing happens.
And then nothing happens again.
And nothing continues to fucking happen.
I sigh. I grab my phone out of my sylladex. I open Pesterchum.
--greyscaleTestimony [GT] began pestering ghoulishCollector [GC] at 11:30--
GT: I'm getting fucking bored they aren't here yet
GC: how long has it been
GC: like ten minutes
I look at the clock on my phone. Shit, he's fucking right.
GT: Feels like foreeevvveeeerrrr like can they be any fucking slower?
GC: be patient man theyll be there
GC: and you can eat something besides span and canned green beans
GT: Hey man, you can get creative as shit with spam and green beans!
A shrill and piercing noise, almost electronic in nature, breaks the silence of the forest around me. My head snaps up from my phone, almost throwing my glasses off of my face in the process. Four squares have appeared in the sky, bright and brilliant light pouring from it that seems to burn the ground burn the very ground beneath me. From it, a black-haired man clad in bright blue flies into the Land of Fog and Forest. Quietly, whispered like a gentle breeze through the trees, I hear his voice:
"C'mon, guys, I think this is it!"
My fingers are flying. The only thing I can think to do right now is tell Cole all about it. I can't even put it into words, though, so all I manage is:
GT: Wait
GT: Shit
GT: Shit shit shit
GT: OH SHIT OH FUCK!
GC: yo wheres the fire what
--greyscaleTestimony [GT] ceased pestering ghoulishCollector [GC] at 11:35--
GC: lacy
GC: LACY
As soon as I lock my phone, I see a second person fall out of the gate in the sky. Either this is the worst Space player ever that's refusing to fly, or that's not a god tier player. The Breath player just watches him fall as a Heart player makes his way through the gate. Are they seriously not going to help him?
My feet leave the ground and I'm rocketing through the air towards whoever the hell just jumped out of the gate. We collide midair with a solid bap while I throw my arms around his waist and I feel myself drop a few feet due to the impact. He literally hasn't stopped screaming. I glance down and glide slowly back down to my roof where the Heart and Breath players have already touched down.
Once I'm only a few inches above solid ground, I set the screamer down onto his feet and his screaming finally ceases. I let go of his waist, but he immediately just clings onto my right arm.
"Calm down, dude, nobody would have let you fall." I say gently, and he finally looks over to me. His skin is grey. He has black hair that sits on his head in a shaggy, curly mop. Peeking out above the mess is a set of short, round, and bright orange horns. I blink. Okay, weird.
"Speak for yourself," I hear from behind me in a deep southern drawl. I turn around and come face to face with a platinum blond Time player wearing aviator shades.
The arms around my own tighten slightly like he's using me as a lifeline. "Fuck every single one of you that can fly!" He snaps at the other players, glaring daggers. He nearly loses his balance and the handle of a weapon presses into my thigh--he has sickles attached around his waist.
"C'mon, Karkat," the Breath player attempts to reason, which earns him a scowl from--Karkat, apparently. "She's right, we'd never let you fall!" He glances behind me at the Time player and mumbles a quick "except for Dave."
"Good luck getting him off of you." The Heart player chuckles in a similar drawl to Dave's, but less natural-sounding. "Last time he fell he clung to Dave's arm for an hour."
I shrug, Karkat's arms still firmly affixed around mine. "I mean, I've had worse--" a familiar sound cuts me off. Clanking and shambling, the rustling of leaves, the clattering of bone. I look down at Karkat, shaking my arm a tiny bit. "Hey man, I'm fine with you clinging or whatever, but I really need that arm."
"What? Why?" Dave laughs, apparently not noticing the sound yet.
I point across the roof as the skeletons finally begin to reach the edge, hoisting themselves up and clawing at the tiles to get to their feet. "That's why."
Karkat lets go and jumps away from me, scrambling to unclip his sickles from his belt. "What the fuck, they climb?!"
I hear the familiar sound of a strife specibus being opened and I look at the Heart player to see a katana in his hands. A sudden, pleasant wind breaks through the forest, hitting some of the skeletons and causing them to lose their balance. I hear another familiar sound--skeletons hitting the ground and breaking into pieces. However, as more fall, more take their place. Sorry, Breath guy, passive classes don't survive here.
"Don't worry, I got it." I raise my hand to the side and connect with the nearest sizeable tree root. I flick my wrist upwards to uproot the tree and disconnect the root from the trunk to keep shit mildly safe. One more flick of my wrist to the left and I neatly impale the bottom level of the skeletons onto it. We all watch as the pile breaks apart and I hear the skeletons turn into a mound of bones.
"What the fuck was that?!" Dave half shouts, and I glance over my shoulder and grin.
"I thought sylphs didn't fight! They're a passive class!" The Breath player wheezes.
"She's wearing witch pajamas, fuckass!" Karkat snaps and I have to hold back a laugh. "Obviously she's not a sylph!"
"Don't assume, Karkat!" The Breath player scolds. "Maybe Cole is a witch!"
"John, he literally said in the memo that he's a knight." The Heart player reminds him, and the Breath player--John--thinks for a second before exhaling a quiet "ohhh".
"I actually never said I was a sylph," I giggle, prompting eyebrows to furrow across the board. "You guys just assumed that."
"Oh shit," Dave's glasses have lit up behind their frames. He made Apple Glasses. Nice. "She's got a point."
"Damn," the Heart player breathes. "We should have kept it real."
"Oh, we should probably introduce ourselves!" John says brightly. He gestures to himself and beams. "I'm John, and this is Dave." He gestures to Dave, who gives a tiny wave. John gestures to Karkat, who has his arms crossed and his face is beginning to turn red. "The one who fell out of the gate is Karkat." Karkat turns even more red and shoots another glare in John's direction. John nods at the Heart player, who is idly scrolling through his strife specibus. "That's Dirk." Finally, John points upwards toward the gate, prompting me to look back up at it. The bright light in the dark forest hurts my eyes, and I have to squint to see it clearly. From the ledge, I see someone with black hair and similar gray skin to Karkat leaning in towards us. "The one sniffing at you from the retcon gate is Terezi."
"Well, I'm Lacy!" I grin around at everyone. "Nice to meet all of you!" I was so caught up in the fact that I'm getting to see people for the first time since I entered the game that I totally forgot about the fact that I'm about to get out of the Medium. I take a moment to smooth my hair back and I pull my hood over my head. My face falls. "Now it's time to haul ass and save my best friend. Let's go."
"Damn," Dave breathes. "All work and no play makes Jack a sad bitch."
I glare, but John isn't fazed. "Oh, I thought you guys were dating!" I make a face as John glides into the air.
"Well you see, Cole is very gay, like really fucking gay. so no, we're not dating." I start to hover, my heart suddenly beating faster. I cast a glance at the retcon gate. It feels too good to be true.
"Hey, Dave, can you get Karkat?" Dirk asks, gliding into the air slightly ahead of John.
"If you fucking drop me I swear--" Karkat warns, but Dave just laughs.
"Nah, I think Lacy has him." Dave turns around and flies straight up to the gate, prompting John and Dirk to follow.
"Wow, thanks." I mumble, glancing down at Karkat.
He crosses his arms again, trying to look pissed off. His brows furrow and his nose scrunches, but the wary glance he casts toward the retcon gate and the way he shifts slightly on his feet tells me everything. Poor guy.
I hold a hand out to him and smile a little. "Don't worry, man. I won't let you drop."
Karkat hesitates, then grips my hand. "If you do, I'll never forgive you. Dave's dropped me enough on fucking purpose." He mutters.
I grin and hoist him up, holding him to me around his waist. He immediately wraps his arms around me, gripping my shoulder hard, his eyes wide and his breathing speeding up. "Don't look down!"
Let's make this a ride.
I rocket into the air at breakneck speed, headed straight toward the retcon gate. My hood falls off of my head and I feel Karkat's face bury into the crook of my neck, a strangled whimper forcing its way through his lips. The damp air clings to my face and rustles my hair and I smile. I'm getting out, I'm leaving this place, I'm actually going to make it--
I freeze at the retcon gate. The others are inside, milling about and preparing to head to a krypton planet. Why can't I move? What if this really is too good to be true?
I hesitate. Karkat is nearly hyperventilating against my side.
I breathe in. I breathe out.
And I step inside the retcon gate.