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~ATH We Part	By : grimreaperchibi Category: Web Comics > Homestuck Views: 2607 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck, nor the places, people, or objects within. I make no money writing this.

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Pain gnawed at him like a barkbeast with a bone, dragging Karkat ever further away from the bliss of unconsciousness with each grind of burning agony. No matter what he did, it was wrong, and the price he paid for each transgression left him convulsing. The world blurred together with time, lost behind the pain that seemed to come from everywhere at once and nowhere at all. At one point, he found himself wondering if this is what it was like to die; surely that meant it had to stop at some point. The mental space to think only sharpened his awareness, bring to light each individual complaint his body gained against him. He floundered further until he had the room to think of something else.
Threshecutioners were unstoppable because they could endure catastrophic amounts of pain to complete a mission. Though he was still several sweeps out from any actual training, Karkat had been through multiple schoolfeedings on the subject. He tried to relax, letting the empty thoughts soak up the tumult of oversensitive nerves, allowing a sort of numbness to start falling over him. Break the body's connection to the mind. The body will carry forth without direction. It knows what it must do. Don't fuck it up by thinking. Be aware without being involved...
He must have gone too far, blacking out completely. The next thing he was aware of was staring at a wall without actually seeing it. It still felt like he'd been on the losing end of a strife with an ironhide, stripped and brittle. Pain wasn't the whole world, either. He blinked a couple times to make the room focus. Then he checked himself over with the utmost care, looking for any telltale blood or bruising that would give him away. Once assured his hemoanonymity remained intact, he started looking around.
He'd been laying on a floor covered in the most utilitarian carpet he'd ever seen. The rest of the room seemed less function over form, though not by much. Gray metal structure created a foundation for the myriad of frosted glass-like panels that made up the base structure. Everything was arranged to make the best use of the limited available space, ensuring the environment remained clutter free. A single dim lamp on a tiny desk was enough to illuminate the whole room. The few personal affects he could see told him this was the smallest respite block he'd ever seen. But why the hell was he here? And where the fuck was here anyway?
Curiosity overtook nervousness. He wobbled to his feet, giving his surroundings a more thorough inspection. Everything there could have fit into one of his hive's blocks with room to spare, even with the ablution chamber attached to one side. He decided whoever lived here had good taste; he had that exact same poster hanging on his wall. And three of the books on the tiny bookshelf were worn copies of his favorite books. And the opposite wall had an amazing collection of sickles, including-. His jaw dropped, all the muscles in his back tensing up. Centered in the display was his sickle, his best one. The one that made him feel like he could take on anything and win.
Karkat froze, suddenly aware of the almost imperceptible hum coming up through his feet. An idea itched at him as he took a second look at the base structure surrounding him. He couldn't account for the tech or design, but the blocking of the room had all the right hallmarks. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the nagging awareness that he didn't have a clue how long he'd been incapacitated. It didn't make any sense, he had no definite proof; he still couldn't shake the conviction that he was on a starship.
An annoyed beep from the desk-side terminal almost startled him out of his skin. Bloodpusher racing, Karkat sidled up to the terminal, terrified yet interested to see what the issue might be. Maybe he could find some answers there. A chat client flashed with a message. It wasn't Trollian, or any other peer-to-peer program Karkat recognized. The screen name, however, was definitely familiar.
TA: 2y2tem noted an energy 2urge miidport2iide 3800

TA: techniical report2 nomiinal

TA: per22onel report2 nothiing of iintere2t

TA: yo kk thii2 ii2 you. what the hell ju2t happened?
CG: SOLLUX
His blood ran cold as the burning red text scrolled across the screen. His handle, his formatting, in mutinous, vibrant red. It made him feel sick and exposed even though it felt an uncomfortable sort of right as well. That frightened him more than anything else so far. Another aggravated ping did nothing to settle his nerves.
TA: uh yeah who el2e u2e2 thii2 channel? of cour2e iit2 me.
The text appeared one letter at a time, scrolling out in quick succession as if it had been just typed in. That meant it was a direct feed rather than a user defined send. He needed to be careful-no second chance to think better of what he said.
CG: SOLLUX, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?
TA: that2 what iim a2kiing you dumb2hiit

TA: youre the clo2e2t one two whatever the dii2ruptiion wa2 2o you tell me.
CG: I
Karkat fussed at the program , trying to change the font colour while he struggled to find a good answer. What was he supposed to say? One minute he'd been starting at an error message in his own hive. The next, he was here, feeling like he'd been put through a grinder. He didn't know what had happened because nothing about the end result made sense. He wasn't certain of anything at the moment. He couldn't even be sure it was Sollux he was talking to.
Oh fuck, what if it wasn't Sollux he was talking to? What if...?
TA: hello? you 2till there?

TA: kk are you all riight?
CG: NO, I AM NOT ALL RIGHT. I'M IN A ROOM THAT'S NOT MINE BUT STILL HAS MY STUFF IN IT, TYPING IN THE MOST HIDEOUS COLOUR IN THE UNIVERSE AFTER RECEIVING THE WORST ELECTRICAL SHOCK OF MY MISERABLE, INSIGNIFICANT LIFE. BEING ALL RIGHT LEFT THE PARTY HOURS AGO, HOPPED ONTO A TRANSPORT TO THE OUTER RING AND FUCKING DIED ON THE WAY THERE. THAT IS HOW *NOT* FINE I AM AT THIS MOMENT.
TA: what are you goiing on about?

TA: diid you get iintwo GZ2 2oporiifiic2 agaiin?
CG: I'M PRETTY FUCKING SOBER FOR SOMEONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE HIGH. OR MAYBE I'M SO HIGH I SOBERED UP AGAIN. THAT WOULD GO A LONG FUCKING WAY TOWARDS EXPLAINING WHY I HAVEN'T FLIPPED MY SHIT YET.

CG: OH WAIT. I TOTALLY *AM* FLIPPING MY SHIT AND YOUR HARASSMENT ISN'T HELPING ANYTHING!

CG: WHERE THE HELL AM I? WHY THE FUCK AM I TYPING IN RED? WHY CAN'T I CHANGE IT? I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE NOT SOLLUX. JUST TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!

CG: PLEASE.
TA: whoa ok calm down a biit. take a breath or 2omethiing whiile ii try two fiigure out what

TA: oh

TA: oh 2hiit wa2 now when that happened?
CG: IS NOW WHEN WHAT HAPPENED? CAN YOU BE MORE VAGUE ON THE MATTER?
TA: ju2t an2wer ye2 or no

TA: diid you compiile any code recently?
CG: ...MAYBE.
TA: okay look. iim kiinda engaged riight now 2o ii need you two come two me iif iim goiing two explaiin everythiing. ju2t 2tep out the door and follow the liight2. they'll lead you riight two me.
CG: YOU SERIOUSLY EXPECT ME TO TO LEAVE THIS ROOM ON YOUR WORD ALONE? JUST BECAUSE I MAKE A LOT OF POOR LIFE DECISIONS DOESN'T MEAN I WAS HATCHED YESTERDAY.

CG: WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME NOW?
TA: becau2e thii2 i2nt 2omethiing that 2hould be on record no matter how priivate.

TA: now ii2 your be2t chance two do thii2. everyone el2e ii2 a2leep or otherwii2e bu2y. no one wiill 2top or que2tiion you.

TA: plea2e kk ii know iit2 a lot two 2wallow riight now but ii need you two tru2t me on thii2

TA: ju2t follow the gold liights and youll be fiine
CG: I'M HOLDING YOU TO THAT, BULGEWAD. IF I DIE SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY, I'M GOING TO HAUNT YOUR ASS UNTIL THE END OF DAYS.
TA: niice two know youve alway2 had 2o much faiith iin me.
***
The pocket door slid open of it's own volition with the barest of whispers when Karkat walked up to it. After acclimating to the respite block's minimal lighting, the hallway was almost blinding. He squinted against the brightness before poking his head out. The same design aesthetics continued out there, leaving no place for a body to hide. Everything was quiet and still. He then ducked back into the room to grab a weapon, just in case. Though one of the honest-to-god battle sickles would have served better against whatever he might encounter, he took his favorite from the display. Everything else was too big or heavy for proper use. And even if it wasn't, it was a bad idea to walk into a potentially hostile situation with an unfamiliar weapon. He'd already been stupid enough for one night.
Faking as much confidence as possible, Karkat left the room. The hallway loomed up around him, much larger now that he had stepped into it, and eerie in its silent, luminescent state. The simple metal work gleamed silver at regular intervals, creating the support structure for slightly cured walls of frosted white that ran unbroken from floor to ceiling. The light diffused through the walls themselves, leaving the open grating in the ceiling unimpeded for air circulation. All the textures seemed smooth to the eye, but he didn't touch to see if looks equaled reality. He looked back to the door he'd just exited. The black hole of the room beyond seemed more like a pause rather than a break in the wall around it.
Again, his instincts screamed spaceship. Nothing he knew came close to what he was seeing, though. Definitely not Imperial, that was for certain. Too much elemental construction and not enough chitin. He craned his neck, trying to look at as much as he could. Finally, he focused on the patient dot of golden yellow light flashing on the wall next to the door. He panicked as it shot off in one direction, trailing a comet tail of colour behind it. A new light soon replaced it before it too went flying off, creating a repeating pattern. Only then did Karkat realize the walls doubled as screens that data could be projected on to. Trying not to crowd along the edge of the hallway, Karkat followed where it lead.
The lights lead him to a lift. As quiet as the respite block door, the only reason he knew he was moving was the extra pressure in his feet. He couldn't be sure how many floors he went up; not many because the trip didn't last long. Then a short way down another hallway, this time terminating at a larger door. The room beyond was large and outlined by the sparce light coming from a large viewscreen that dominated one side. Karkat almost didn't notice the handful of terminals and seats that meant this place acted as the bridge of a starship, captivated instead by the image of the boundless space currently up on the screen.
"Yeah, I like the view, too."
It was little less nasal and a little bit deeper. Karkat still knew without a doubt that it was Sollux who had spoken. He turned, the blistering tirade on his tongue scalding only his own throat when he actually saw the other. Like everything else so far, he couldn't place the technology. He still knew what he was looking at was a Helmblock. Set into the wall opposite the viewscreen, the most notable feature was the tube filled with slightly luminescent liquid that Sollux's body was suspended in. Tendrils of biowire, a metallic gray infused with gold rather than Tyrian fuchsia, curled around his limbs and torso like cultivated vines on a statue. This was then connected to a whole wall of electronic panels that bowed back, creating an oval out of the room.
"KK?"
The sound came from unseen speakers, as clear as if they were standing right next to each other. That meant Sollux had some autonomy. The thought did nothing to quell the raw horror welling up in Karkat. The sickle dropped from paralyzed fingers. He felt sick, light headed, heavier than stone. The room blurred as he swayed on his feet. His best friend, locked up like a glorified battery. The one nightmare that he'd had the power to challenge and it still ended like this? Under glass wasn't any better than strung up like a puppet, slowly being absorbed by the ship. How could he have let this happen? Never mind the logistics and timing didn't add up. He'd failed.
He'd failed and worse yet, Sollux had paid the price for that failure. It was one thing to get screwed over by his own stupidity. But to have someone else suffer because he couldn't keep his act together was beyond sickening. And now he had to stare at the fruits of his shortcomings, knowing it was all his fault. Knowing that there was nothing he could do about it. Was that why his stuff was here? To rub it in his face at every opportunity? Or was he the means to keep Sollux in line? That thought almost hurt worse. How badly had he fucked up to be used as bait to keep the other compliant? Nothing else mattered all that much anymore, how any of this had come to be. He didn't want to be a part of it. He'd rather be dead than a cause or a chain.
"Shit- shit! KK, no, I- Just hang on a second!"
Karkat didn't see the series of panels that closed off the visible part of the block fall into place. He didn't hear the releasing of pressure as things began disengaging. He was too far down the black well of self-loathing to notice anything other than the nausea churning his guts into knots. The constriction in his throat refused to loosen enough so that he could vomit them onto the floor. Choking to death on his own entrails was a pretty inglorious way to go. It was also more dignity than he deserved.
Entropic darkness had almost consumed him when a body slammed into his. Cool but warming fast, it curled around him, holding him tight in an effort to brace him. The sharp smell of ozone stung Karkat's nose. The metallic tang under it was strong enough it could be tasted. "Breathe, KK." The entreating voice was Sollux's, soft and striving for calm in his ear. "Just focus on breathing for a while, okay? Everything's fine."
Given the alternative, Karkat latched on to the vain hope that voice inspired. His claws dug into cloth as he buried his face into the neck of the one holding him. His breath came in tiny, erratic gasps that had nothing to do with putting air into his lungs and everything to do with not screaming out the noxious roil of emotions inside him. The body around his began to move, a gentle rocking motion that came in tandem with a low static buzz, isolating him from the other ambient noise in the room. With the world constricted down to two pulses, one steady and rhythmic, the other wildly out of control, it became somewhat easier to exist.
The threat of passing out came back a couple times. Despite how attractive numb nothingness was, he remained aggravatingly lucid. He chocked several times more when bile pressed up against his tonsils until the nausea waned to a dull cramp. The feelings that had almost overwhelmed him ebbed away to numb apathy. Lethargy took panic's place, slowing the rest of him down in turn. He sagged into the embrace still holding him upright. He'd spent almost eighty-four hours awake once and still hadn't felt as exhausted then as he did now.
At some point, he became aware of the outside world again. The static had gone away, replaced with a rocky, hiccuping purr. It was rather mortifying to realize that sound was coming from him, but Karkat still lacked the strength to care. Sollux, for once showing discretion, made no mention of it when it choked off.
He gathered the shattered remains of his composure together. Claws still embedded in the other's clothing, Karkat leaned back until he could look the person holding him in the eye. It was a bit creepy to watch those yellow irises watch him in turn, darting around in pools of the more familiar psionic red and blue. It was definitely Sollux who held him, but an older one. One with the darkening skin and features of someone past final maturation. The dual sets of horn had grown, looking sharp enough now to cause some serious damage. The tips of his twined fangs still poked out over his lower lip. It was hard to judge things like height and stature when sitting on the floor, but it felt like the other was still a stick, albeit a thicker one.
He should have felt terrified. Too exhausted for such extreme emotions, all Karkat really felt was relief that Sollux had survived long enough to grow this old. When their eyes met again, Sollux seemed amused by the scrutiny. Karkat relaxed a bit more as familiar and welcomed ire started to smolder.
"What. The actual. Fuck."
***
To be continued.
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~ATH We Part