Chapter Text
Darkness; it was a good cover for the crime he was about to commit. The chemical laboratory's security never posed him much of a challenge, it was just a matter of getting in and out quickly as to not be suddenly caught. He turned the chemical dials on the machines and caused the equipment to rumble. Alright, it was go time now. Work fast, work fast, work fast, it’s only a matter of time before security notices.
Liquidized chemicals rushed through tubes overhead and into a giant cauldron that stirred the slurry together. Just to wait a few minutes, and then the machine could package the illegal substance up and get him out of there-
Crash!
Glass shards spiralled down from the skyview windows; their fragile existence shattering ontop of him and the floor. A dark figure leap down. Shit. This wasn’t supposed to happen! The Crimson Knight wasn’t supposed to be here! He couldn’t be found out! He couldn’t!
The figure rushed him, kicking him in the chest. He slammed up against the glass container.
“So,” the Crimson Knight said, “what the fuck you doing here, slime ball? Oh, wait, let me take a disgustingly easy guess that won’t cause me to use more than just a few brain cells for one conversation! Gotta have fucking illegal substances in order to, what, poison the city? Not like I would fucking care much. They’re all basically the biggest morons I’ve ever had the pleasure of wasting my precious time on, but someone has to save their asses so I’m not gonna let you steal this shit.”
'Slime ball’. No. No, that wasn’t his name. How dare the Knight call him that? His name was Gamzee Makara. He was not ‘slime ball’.
“What do you motherfuckin’ know?!” Gamzee screamed. “Get the fuck out!”
He lunged his body forwards, melting into a slime. The Crimson Knight sidestepped. Speed failed him and the sheer force of the slime slamming into him shoved him to the ground. The Knight set off an explosion. Slime went flying around the laboratory and the cracks in the floorboards soaked it up. The Knight jumped up, shivering and shaking himself at the feeling of slime coaxing his skin underneath his suit.
“This is about the nastiest thing I have ever fucking experienced him my whole goddamn life on this pathetic planet.” He said.
Something grabbed the Knights foot and dragged him across the floor. The thing was in the floorboards! It pulled him far and fast, throwing him off of the railing. Gamzee formed back to human--an automatic grappling hook clanged against the rail behind him--and rushed over to the machine. Just a little longer! Just a little longer and he could get out of here! Please, no more interruptions. Please!
A rope wrangled tight around Gamzee’s body. He oozed through the cable as the Knight roundhouse kicked the empty space. Gamzee slide under his opponent, shot himself up and engulfed the Knights face. Fingers prayed and pulled at the slime. It peeled off but snapped back. They struggled together like that for a few moments; then the machine finished.
Gamzee, still covering the Knight’s head, threw a slime arm towards the finished product. He touched the container just as the Knight sent a fiery shock through his suit. Gamzee threw himself off the Knight as he screamed. He shifted back to an almost human form; his body melting and dripping onto the floor. The Knight rushed to grab the container. He lifted it into his hands just as a giant slime arm shoved him at full force, flying him to the other side of the room.
The face-painted boy snatched up the substance and stared at the Crimson Knight struggling to revive himself after the fall. Good, he was out enough for Gamzee to escape. The container was shoved into his stomach, which engulfed it in more slime. He shifted his arm and threw it up to catch the tubes overhead. Easily he swung himself up on top of the beams and performed the same task on the window to jump outside. It was too late to try and stop him now; the Crimson Knight had been out for just a few seconds too long...
Gamzee wondered about the city with his newly acquired goods held safely in his odd slime body. Thank God he wasn’t destabilizing after that fight. Hiding in the shadows and getting slime everywhere to be easily tracked wasn’t his ideal get away. He roamed a little longer but he needed to head back-to head ‘home’-but he had run into a problem on his task. Maybe with that excuse he could get away with being gone longer than usual, or so he hoped. Any time away was enough, but if he could just have a little longer… Just a little… As long as he made sure the Crimson Knight didn’t follow him he could get away with it, couldn’t he? The Crimson Knight was far gone by now anyway.
A few more minutes passed and the young boy began his trek ‘home’. It was a large mansion that sat on the edge of the city, constantly in darkness, almost looking as if it was abandoned. When he arrived at the door he filled his lungs with air and released it slowly. Here’s to hoping his little gander isn’t found out. Gamzee reached for the door, slid it open, and stepped inside.
“So, what took a clown like you so long?”
Gamzee tensed up and directed his gaze to the man who stood in wait for him. With hands on his hips, dressed in black and green, and his gold robotic leg uncovered for all to see, he grabbed Gamzee’s arm. Damn it!
“I was almost thinking you were going to be ditching us. But I know you know far too well what happens when you do that. So I guess it’s safe to say you were just. Fucking around. Yeah?”
“I got held up!” Gamzee said, oozing his wrist out from his grip. “There’s only so much a motherfucker can do when the Crimson Knight all crashes in on the party!”
The older man growled. “The Crimson Knight? Gamzee, you are a fucking idiot, and I do not mean that in terms of ‘endearment.’ You are literally the biggest idiot I know. Which is saying something. Since there are so many idiots on this fucking team. Is that something you can comprehend? How big of an idiot you are?”
Gamzee shifted into slime and threw himself into the kitchen with three giant leaps of green goop.
“Yeah, Caliborn.” He said, morphing back to a solid and shoving the container of illegal substances in a safe. “I made sure he didn’t follow. He ain’t motherfuckin’ comin’ here.”
“He better not be,” a female voice chimed in from the table. She had one leg crossed over the other as she sat on top the kitchen table examining her nails. Her long black dress sparkled as if covered in a million stars, complimenting her dark skin. Codename: Snowman.
Snowman hopped off her makeshift chair and swiftly strode over to the teenager. Gamzee stared at her as the palm of her hand came up and rested on his painted face. He towered over her, and yet her touched made him recoil.
“You know better than to let him find his way here, don’t you, child?” He dare not answer; she knew his reply from the look in his eyes. “Good.”
Bang!
The kitchen wall exploded into debris and flew into the room. Rocks collapsed on top of Gamzee while Snowman and Caliborn drew their weapons. Daggers flew at their hands; their weapons dropped to the floor. The Crimson Knight swung in, kicking Caliborn in the face with both feet. He went rolling across the floor and Snowman grabbed the dagger in the wall. The Knight’s shoulder caught the blade as he turned. He screamed and flung his other arm around. Smack! A punch to the face. Snowman stumbled back, wiping the blood from her now broken nose.
“Gamzee!” Caliborn yelled as he grabbed a spare gun in the coat closet, “You’re a fucking liar! Look what you did! You’re dead! I’ll kill you!”
Caliborn ran after the Knight. A shower of bullets came over the kitchen; the Knight lifted his cape as a shield. Bullet proof! Snowman threw a rope around his neck from behind. The Knight struggled as he tried to keep up his cape to guard himself.
During the commotion, green slime oozed from the debris of the wall and through the cracks of the still existing foundation. He slipped through into the ceiling and held himself there as he waited the perfect time to attack. Snowman was choking the Knight. Yes. Here.
Gamzee dropped down on top of both of them but collected himself onto the Knight. As Snowman choked him, Gamzee took over by switching out the rope with his slime. He wrapped himself around the Knight and began crushing him. Snowman let go and stepped back; the gunfire had come to a hult. The other two watched on as the Knight struggled for freedom. He stumbled backward, shaking and furiously reaching for his belt. His hand couldn’t touch it; Gamzee was squeezing his limbs far too tight.
The Crimson Knight back up into the rubble and open wires. An electric shock rushed through them both and they screamed. Gamzee fell onto the floor as a pile of bubbling goop. The Knight shook his head. Snowman rushed the Knight. With a kick to his skull, he flew sideways, but quickly recovered and came back with a swing of his arm. He punched her in the face as gunfire came upon him. The Knight leapt up, planting explosives on the ceiling.
Caliborn rushed over to Gamzee who was now solidifying himself. Once again he shifted back to his human form only to have a taser shoved in his stomach. He let out a shriek, his skin bubbling and melting back into slime.
“Didn’t I say I’d kill you?! Here’s half of that!”
Gamzee groaned and fell back to the floor. His body was destabilizing; he couldn’t keep himself together. Everything hurt. He continued to watch the fight from his helpless position. Those bombs were going to go off soon and Snowman had fled the room. She was most likely gathering their valuables, or at least what she could before the house exploded. There was no way they could stay here any longer anyways. The Crimson Knight now knew their location. Their cover was blown and they had to get out.
The young boy watched as Caliborn once again showered the Knight in bullets. When the Knight got too close they enveloped each other in hand to hand combat. Punches flew quickly and one kick after the other was an attempt to push the other far enough back to cripple their movements. Both of them were fast though. Caliborn managed to land a blow. The Knight was pushed back but still stood solid.
“Gamzee, do your job!” Caliborn shouted. “Get this miserable piece of horse shit out of here!”
Slime pelted across the floor in great leaps. Two giant gooey arms circled around the rafters in the ceiling while the rest of Gamzee’s body absorbed the Knight. The Crimson Knight struggled, pulling and clawing at the slime which suddenly smashed him onto the floor. Again. And again. And again. And again-
“We’re leaving!”
And again. And then he was dropped. By the time he gained back enough consciousness, his eyes caught sight of a long slimy limb pulling back from the room with a container in hand. Then they were gone and-
Boom!
So was half the house.
“Karkat, are you okay?”
The voice was coming from the Knights radio. Ugh… So much rubble was on top of him. Thank God his suit enhanced his strength. He did his best to shove it off, rubbing the back of his skull once he was freed.
“Eh, what?”
“Are you okay?”
“Oh…” Karkat examined his injuries. “Yeah. Mostly. I think. God, there are a fuck ton of bruises all over me though.”
The voice in the radio chuckled. “Good thing it’s only bruises. I was worried you were critically injured.”
“Dad, you always are. Look, I’m coming home. I don’t know how long I was passed out for-”
“About ten minutes.”
“Oh. Well, RULE is probably long gone by now and I don’t want to spend what is rest of this fucking glorious night having to deal more with their God awful antics. I’m done.”
“They’ll have a new base soon enough. It’ll take a while to find, but I trust you are very aware of the urgency of finding it and getting them arrested.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
Karkat was committed to finding them again. Not just to take back the stolen illegal substances, but to take RULE--or rather known as Redeemers Under Lord English--off the streets. They were a villainous organization dedicated to anarchy through crime and murder. To get what they want they did what they want, and they needed to be stopped.
As soon as he returned home Karkat rushed to aid his father in research. That slime kid was new. Well, not new new, but he never had to face him before. Yeah, that kid had been a member of RULE for a while and aided in many heists, but none that Karkat intervened! The ones he seemed to stop were all done without him. Curious how that slime ball sometimes was there and sometimes wasn’t. Who was he and what was he gaining from aiding them? And secondly, how the heck should Karkat fight him?
“Dad,” Karkat announced, waltzing into the large, open office room his father always dwelled in, “that kid. That weird slime guy. How the fuck do I take him out? He’s keeping me from destroying them!”
His father laughed, “You should have let me do the research on him earlier. It would have come in handy, don’t you think?”
With a roll of his eyes Karkat leaned up against the table, tipping over the nameplate that read ‘Kankri Vantas’. He set it back upright and turned to the computer screen.
“Do you remember his name?” Kankri asked.
“No? At least… Uh… Fuck. Wasn’t it G something?”
“You tell me. I might be a doctor but that doesn’t make my hearing the best thing in the world. You can only hear so much through a radio.”
A huff of frustration. “Okay, yeah, whatever. Well I don’t remember either! So maybe the all knowing, all powerful Signless can assist me in resurrecting my smashed and shattered bits of memory! Wait. You never had those super powers and becoming a doctor never gave them to you, so fuck that idea.”
Kankri shrugged, “I gave the superhero job over to you for a reason. Besides, if it wasn’t for me becoming the advanced doctor that I am now this school wouldn’t exist. These kids would all still be out on the streets, confused and lonely, and probably turning into villains that I would have to pick up after. I much prefer you being the hero and I do my part by helping from the background and assisting young people who need direction. Don’t you enjoy being a superhero and knowing that your father used to be the Signless? The superhero you used to look up to when you were a kid?”
Karkat flushed red. “Shut up! I didn’t even know it was you back then! Of course I was gonna think you were the coolest fucking thing! But you’re really not that great…”
“If you say so, Karkat.” Kankri said.
The search through the web lasted a good while. Every keyword and thought came up empty handed. Either they weren’t searching the right things to find information on this kid, or there weren’t many records of him.
“Should I call Mituna to hack the internet for us?” Kankri said with a chuckle.
“What? No! We don’t need that guy to hack for us.”
“True. Sollux would be a better option, don’t you think? His powers come in great handy for gathering information.”
“We don’t need Sollux either! Here I got something.”
Karkat pulled up a page with actual, real information on it. It seemed he managed to recall the slime kids name. Gamzee. There weren’t too many people with a name like that around and it was only by mere chance google auto corrected his ‘Gaysie’ spelling. He was close at least! Almost.
It was a missing childs report. From thirteen years ago.
‘Gamzee Makara
Case type: Missing DOB: January 10th, 1998
Missing Date: April 13th, 2002 Sex: Male
Age Now: 17 Height: 3’2
Missing Country: United States Weight: 40 lbs
Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown
Circumstances: Gamzee was last seen with his mother mid-afternoon on April 13th, 2002. His mother was arrested for drunk driving and possession of illegal narcotics that same evening. Gamzee was not with her, and later confessed to abandoning the child on a street off of 12th and Green Bay.’
So this Gamzee kid was abducted by RULE at about four years old. No wonder he was a criminal who tried to kill Karkat twice already! It’s all he knew. This didn’t assist Karkat in fighting him though, but it did at least give insight as to why he was a member of an organization like that. They came across information about his mother too, who appeared to have conceived him through a one night stand. A hard core drug addict and alcoholic… Jailed numerous times. It wasn’t much of a surprise she left her child in the streets to be kidnapped. She wasn’t much of a mother, was she? Maybe the kid deserved a second chance at life… If he wasn’t so much of an asshole.
The search for any information on what Gamzee was continued for a while longer before they gave up and called it a night. They weren’t going to find anymore information on this kid. Though now they knew a little bit about where he came from and that was at least something.
After a week of searching, they had discovered RULE’s new hideout. It was an old abandoned building in the city. They must have been good at not being conspicuous there. Karkat had no trouble sneaking in. There wasn’t much security and they all appeared to be long gone. Or at least out probably committing some sort of crime.
The Crimson Knight walked right in, examining things as he went. Money and food laid out in an extravagant set up and fancy, rich looking home decor sold the place as a criminal hideout. Well, if one knew it was a criminal hideout, otherwise it probably just looked like a very wealthy home. Though what was he doing here if RULE wasn’t here with him? He was supposed to take them out! How could he do that when they were missing? Perhaps he could try and find that illegal substance that that Gamzee kid had stolen the other week, if he hadn’t already done away with it and caused whatever damage it was meant to.
He made his way into a large, open kitchen and rummaged through all the drawers and cabinets. Why he was checking here of all places to find a container of goo was beyond him. Five minutes passed and he moved on to other rooms. The walls and picture frames that hung on them were checked above and below as well; maybe a safe or something was hidden behind one of them. God, he really sucked at being quiet. He was making such a ruckus checking all these places!
Bang bang bang!
Karkat jumped and spun on his heel. What was that? It sounded like someone, or something, was pounding on a wall or door. Was someone here with him?
Bang bang bang!
Again! Who the ever loving heck was pounding on what door and where? God, if Karkat was about to be ambushed--if someone was here for that matter! He did some looking around, discovering the source of the noise was behind an airlock... sealed door? Okay, that was weird.
Bang bang bang!
Okay, okay! Whoever this was needed to shut up! He was getting tired of hearing this incessant pounding! The real question was did he let this person, or… thing out, or did he let it stay in there and just bang back. Maybe if he blew the door up he’d kill whatever was inside it. Yes. Brilliant plan! Explosives set and-
Bang!
The door crashed to the floor. Something sprung out and - splat! It landed on Karkats face. He screamed, ripping the- Oh no. It was slime. Without any explanation, the gooey substance suffocating him suddenly splattered onto the floor. The Knight jumped back, cautiously watching it. Very, very slowly it pulled itself together, though leaving a very obvious trail of slime behind it. This was… Unusual. Karkat could have sworn Gamzee had shaped himself back together much quicker in their previous fights.
Gamzee groaned as he began to shift into his human form. He was laid out on the floor and it looked as though he was trying to be human but for some reason couldn’t. Slime coated his body no matter how hard he tried. That didn’t stop him from throwing one of his goo dripping arms up and around Karkats neck. The Knight jumped back. He wasn’t fast enough. Gamzee threw him across the room, his back slamming into a cabinet and breaking the lock. Slime dripped down his arms and back. Ew. Gross. This didn’t happen last fight. The slime didn’t stick to him like this!
Karkat took a look in the broken cabinet. Hey, there was that illegal substance he was looking for! He picked it up.
“Hand that over!” Gamzee screamed, splattering across the floor in giant leaps. Wow, this slime was flying everywhere almost every time he moved!
The Knight sidestepped; Gamzee crashed into the wall. His slimey body slowly trickled down to the floor and bubbled slightly as he tried to solidify himself. God, this was really messed up. This kid seemed extremely weak and maybe even sick! Fighting him right now didn’t appear right, at least not to Karkat. But what other choice did he have?
Gamzee jumped him. Karkat’s body was engulfed by Gamzee’s form and, honestly, it wasn’t much of a struggle. A second later and the Knights suit lit up with electricity. The slime threw himself off screaming. It hurt. It hurt so bad. Gamzee struggled on the floor. He could barely form back to a solid and… It hurt. It hurt so bad… Everything was going dark... He couldn’t stay conscious....
He shrieked in pain. Electricity ran through his body and he begged for it to stop. His form was contorted and bubbling and God it hurt so bad.
“Gamzee! Get your ass up and help me!”
Shit. It was Caliborn. How long had he been ou-
He screamed again, Caliborn stabbing him with a taser until he was flung away by the Crimson Knight. Gamzee moaned and examined himself. Ugh… He could barely lift his own arm, and when he did all that was left of his ‘arm’ was a giant glob of dripping, sticky goop. No… No, no… If he didn’t get more of that slime in him soon he’d- No. No he wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d find the slime. Fuck Caliborn if he asked for help, right now Gamzee needed help.
Gamzee examined the room around him. It had to have been a while that he was out. RULE had returned. All but Caliborn was unconscious and scattered across the building, the Crimson Knight appearing to have taken them out in quite a bit of ruckus. This place was a mess-and also covered in slime-and was continuing to get messier. Gun fire was coming from behind, the bullets chipping away at the surrounding walls.
“Gamzee!” Caliborn yelled, “Come here and fucking help me!”
For a moment Gamzee just stared. Great. Caliborn asked for help and he... He had to help him. He needed to help him. But if he didn't help himself he'd die. But... if he didn’t help Caliborn he’d die too! Fear gripped and twisted his heart as if someone was squeezing it in their hands. He didn't know what to do; there was a pounding in his ears and he could feel his body flushing. It was getting hard to breath. He couldn’t help himself-no, he shouldn’t help himself. But whenever he looked down all he could see was decaying, gross slime and he just wanted to be able to control his body again. He needed to help himself, but Caliborn needed him too! Either way he could end up dead. God, he was going to die here, wasn't he? Yes, he was going to die.
A never ceasing voice screamed over gunfire causing Gamzee’s heart rate to skyrocket. There was no realization of his actions, no warning, his eyes just began darting around the room, searching for his escape from this rotting, decaying hell. He needed that slime he stole. Where was it? Where?
There! The container of illegal substance had been discarded by the wall opposite of where Caliborn and the Crimson Knight fighting. Caliborn was shouting something about not laying a finger on it. Death threats rung in Gamzee’s ears. Stop. Please stop... He just wanted it to stop... He didn't want to die yet...
Next thing he knew he was holding the container in his hands. It was hard to recall how it happened; it was all a blur. All he knew was that he had to get it open, but Caliborn’s threats grew more antagonizing and it was hard to concentrate. The Knight was still keeping Caliborn preoccupied at least. Gamzee was struggling with getting the substance to him. He couldn't keep his hands solid enough to hold it; his fingers kept dripping and the container continuously slipped through his body. God! No! Just let him solidify long enough to get it open! Please! Please!
Pop!
The lid popped off of the container, the slimy contents splattering out over the rims. Gamzee rushed to scoop up what he could and shove it into his mouth, then fell onto the floor. Thank God, he was going to live, at least for a while longer... He groaned as he watched his body slide back together. The goop began sticking to itself and forming a solid. Oh, it was nice to have a human form. It was nice to be in control of his own body again.
A deep voice screamed his name as police sirens drowned it out. Gamzee sat up with a start. Police sirens. This wasn’t good. Slam! His eyes jumped to find Caliborn thrown up against a wall, unconscious. The Crimson Knight and him caught glances. Gamzee shuffled backwards as his eyes darted above and below himself to find a way out. He couldn’t let the police capture him. They’d kill him.
The sirens were getting louder. He took a deep breath and shifted an arm that threw itself and latched onto the balcony, swinging himself up and over onto the ledge. Never once did he take his eyes off the Crimson Knight--there was no way he was going to let him attack and get him arrested, not now. Not after he managed to keep himself alive. To his surprise, the Knight didn’t chase him or try to attack, but instead only stared. He turned around, shifted, threw himself at the wall of windows lining the balcony to the outside and ran into the darkness. The Crimson Knight did not follow.