My Way or the Highway

"Pst. It's not like it's my fault he fucking... fucking jumped me," Karkat mumbled aimlessly. He sat beneath a tree on the far side of the park, shifting his position in discomfort. That tingling feeling. It wasn't going away and he hated it. He didn't get this feeling often but when he did, it wasn't easy to get rid of. It would have been so much nicer if this happened somewhere relatively close to Karkat's hive. Then he wouldn't have to worry about such a long walk or running into people he didn't care for.

"Hm. Don't see you around that often." Speak of the devil. Karkat pulled his sweater down, stretching it in attempts to hide his lower half. He looked up at the speaker. "Hello, Kar. Decided to come outside for once?"

Karkat huffed and looked away. "What the fuck do you want, Eridan?"

"I simply wwanted to say hello, is all." Eridan took a seat next to Karkat. He wasn't wearing his usual cape, but then again, Karkat couldn't really blame him considering the weather and how hot it was. "A guy can't do that?"

"As a matter of fact, no." Karkat scooted a couple inches away from the violet blood.

"Hmph." Eridan sat a bit awkwardly without much to say. "So..." He looked over and examined Karkat from a distance. "... you know, your face seems rather... red."

"W-What?...!" Karkat quickly looked away and covered his face, leaving his sweater to do what it pleased. He let out a low growl. "Can you just... just go the fuck away please?"

Eridan sighed and laid his head back against the tree. "Jeez, Kar... you'vve alwways gotta be so cold."

Karkat scoffed, "Fine." He stood to his feet and began walking. He seemed to be having trouble walking in a straight line as he was trying to hold his legs together at the same time.

"Wwait, Kar...!" Eridan stood. "Look, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anythin'. I just thought I should..." Eridan paused as he noticed Karkat wasn't going to stop. He let out a soft sigh and put his head down. "I'm sorry. I just thought maybe wwe could be friends noww... since the game is ovver and evveryone is safe."

"Hmph. This is exactly what I was telling Terezi. I can never get any peace and quiet." Amid Karkat's complaining, his phone vibrated in his pocket. This seemed to startle him a bit. "Huh?"

-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

TG: hey

TG: look

TG: i just wanted to say im sorry

TG: that was a pretty stupid thing to do even for me

TG: so uh

TG: yeah

CG: IM SORRY TOO.

TG: sorry for what

CG: FOR PUSHING YOU AND SHIT.

CG: GOD WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS SO FUCKING AWKWARD?

TG: i dont know maybe because i feel awkward

TG: i just dont really know what to say

CG: HEY SO UH

CG: IVE GOT A QUESTION.

TG: hit me with it

CG: ARE YOUR EYES REALLY RED?

CG: OR WERE THOSE JUST LIKE

CG: CONTACTS OR SOME SHIT TO MAKE YOU LOOK COOL.

TG: do you really think id be hiding my eyes if they were contacts

TG: hell

TG: id be showing those babies off if they made me look cool

CG: WELL WHY DO YOU COVER YOUR EYES IN THE FIRST PLACE THEN?

TG: why do you think

TG: its not normal

TG: i mean

TG: what other humans do you know that have red eyes

TG: john has blue eyes

TG: jade has green eyes

TG: rose has

TG: well purple eyes which are close to blue

CG: WHAT ABOUT YOUR DANCESTORS?

TG: well i mean

TG: my bro has orange eyes and roxy has pink eyes but thats still more normal than red eyes

TG: reds always been kind of considered an evil color among humans you know

TG: like bright red

TG: not burgundy or any shit like that

TG: i dont know its just stupid

CG: SO WHAT YOURE SAYING IS THAT YOURE INSECURE.

TG: ugh

TG: dont put it like that

TG: it sounds so shitty

TG: like i want people to feel bad for me or some shit

TG: karkat

TG: hey are you still there

TG: karkat

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling turntechGodhead [TG] --

It was too much to handle. Dave was practically going through the same dilemma Karkat was. Sure, Dave's problem was his eyes and Karkat's was his blood, but in a way, it was the same problem. They were both insecure. People had always questioned Karkat's blood color and people had always questioned Dave's eye color. They have both tried to hide it for so long and the only time they failed to do so was when they got too close to someone. Karkat felt bad suddenly abandoning the conversation but he just didn't know what to say. He ultimately assumed that Dave had given up on trying to get his attention as he didn't see any new conversations from 'turntechGodhead' come up. Karkat looked up from his phone and turned it off. He saw his hive not too far in the distance. Perhaps it wasn't as lengthy of a walk as Karkat made it out to be. Or perhaps the thought of getting away from Eridan made him walk twice as fast. Or maybe he was just too distracted by his conversation with Dave to check the time. In any case, hive sweet hive. As he made his way to the door, he walked inside and made sure to lock it. That way no one could come bursting in.

Karkat took a deep breath and walked over to his bed. He had gotten rid of his old recuperacoon and swapped it out. Let's just say he did this in hopes that it would give Gamzee some extra sopor slime. He didn't care how much Gamzee said he already had, he just wanted to make sure that that maniac was kept stable. Karkat found himself flopping down onto the bed as if he were winded. "Finally." With a few steady breaths, Karkat pulled himself up to look down at his lower half. By this point in time he had a bulge which he hoped no one saw on his way home. It glided along the inside of his tight pants practically begging to be let free. Karkat bit his bottom lip and carefully unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. His member shot up, finding a way to sneak past the elastic which was keeping his trousers in place. Karkat examined it for a moment as if waiting for it to do something. The only movement that could be seen was the occasional throb which was even visible to the naked eye. Karkat pulled his pants down the rest of the way and kicked them off his feet. Gently, he pulled his trousers down so he could gain full access to his private area. He was finally alone, and he wanted it to stay that way.

Karkat lifted his hand in a light manner and brought it closer to his shaft. As a single finger made contact, a small portion of red fluid sprouted from the head. "Ngh..." With a bit of hesitation, Karkat placed the hand on his bone. "A-Ah...!" Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Slow and steady. This wasn't his first time doing this, after all, it had just been a while. Karkat closed his eyes and steadied his breathing once more. With gentle movements, his hand glided down to meet the roots. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Just need to take deep breaths, that's all. Karkat slowly brought his hand up to the tip and back down again. "Hah ah...~" His tentacle made a sudden jolt and then returned to it's former place. Karkat developed a rhythm and progressively took it at a faster pace. "Ah, ah... f-fuck... ngh..." Karkat's other hand seemed to be growing jealous, getting a sense of pins and needles from the position it had been in for all too long. Karkat released this hand and allowed himself to carefully lay back. His hand took this opportunity and made it's way below the bulge. His cherry needed a little pleasure as well, did it not?

Using his index and middle finger, Karkat made contact and slowly began rubbing. "Ah ha ha...! Fuck...!" It would be a bit of a lie to say that he had only done this once or twice before. If he were being totally honest, he used to do this quite a lot before the game. Ah, back when he was going through troll puberty. He remembered when he had grown such a resistance to the touching that it would take ages before he would actually have an orgasm. Now, since it had been so long, he could barely handle a few strokes without squirting. But that's normal, right? He wasn't about to go on asking anyone but it was simply a proven fact that trolls produce more bodily fluids than the majority of other organisms, humans included.

Karkat was coming to his breaking point. He could feel it coming on with every thrust. Every rub. "Karkat?" There was a knock at the door. "Karkat, are you home?"

"Ah, ah... s-shit."

"Terezi told me that you would most likely be here. I kinda wanted to talk to you about something."

"J-Just a minute!" Karkat sucked in a few deep breaths. "Come on, come on..." His strokes had become harsh and rapid instead of their normal soft and subtle nature. Karkat could tell he was going to be worn out after this.

"Oh, uh... okay, I guess."

With a final thrust and rub, red fluid squirted from the tip of his member and pooled from his nook. It was hard keeping one, final moan in, but he managed. "Shit..." What a mess. "Fuck." Karkat took his trousers off the rest of the way and threw them into a small laundry pile on the ground along with his pants.

"Erm... you're okay, right? Do you need help with anything?"

"No! I'm just peachy, thanks." Karkat gathered the sheets off his bed and hurried downstairs to the basement whilst being butt naked. He quickly threw them in the wash and dashed back upstairs. He saved himself a final trip by grabbing his clothes and throwing them down the stairs. He could take care of that later. He closed the door which led to the basement and looked up and down, out of breath. "Hey, uh... here's the deal. I could um... use a shower so how about I go do that real quick and you just make yourself at home. Alright? Good." Karkat went over to the front door and unlocked it, leaving the rest up to the person on the other side. He grabbed a pair of socks, a pair of pants, his shoes, and a sweater and went into the bathroom.

"Oh, um... alright." Karkat's newly arrived guest came inside, a bit weary. Karkat sure was acting strange. Well, stranger than usual, at least. He quietly closed the door behind him and took a seat on the couch. After about thirty minutes, Karkat finally exited the bathroom fully clothed and cleansed.

"Oh, John. It's you." John waved, smiling a bit. "Are you... are you wearing your god tier outfit?"

"Heh, yeah. I guess I just felt like wearing it for old time's sake. I just kind of grew attached to it, you know?" John paused. "It doesn't look bad, does it?"

"No, no. It's fine." Karkat slowly walked over and took a seat next to John. "So you said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I'm sure you heard the 'news.' You know, about me and Terezi."

"Oh... yeah."

"Well, I should probably clear something up. Heh..." John looked away and smiled awkwardly. He began rubbing the back of his neck. "You see, we're not actually dating-dating. Like, she's not my girlfriend or matesprit or whatever. It's more of like... I don't know, the hate-date thing?"

Karkat's eyes widened a bit. "Wait, wait. You and Terezi are in a kismesis relationship?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what you call it."

"But I thought she was in a kismesis relationship with Gamzee... besides, you two don't even hate each other that much, do you?"

"Oh, that clown guy? She broke it off with him a while ago. Ever since he's been on that slimey stuff he's been pretty chill. She's a lot happier now, too. I hate to say this... but I think he might have been taking it too far. Like, abusing her..."

"Tsk." Karkat looked away angrily. "As if that's a fucking surprise. I knew she shouldn't have got together with him in the first place."

John paused for a moment to take in Karkat's statement. "Anyway, well... we don't really hate-hate each other. I mean, Kimesitude is the whole love-hate thing, right? So it's not a complete hate. We just bully each other every now and then."

"I see... well, that's good to know. Thanks for clearing everything up."

John gave a simple nod. "Hey..." He squinted his eyes a bit. "I don't mean to suddenly switch the topic, but you look really red." John lifted his right hand and placed the back of it on Karkat's forehead. "You're burning up too... are you feeling alright?" The sensation of John's skin making contact with his own made a small tremble travel up his spine. The blush which had apparently been on his face grew darker. Karkat found himself zoning off, focusing merely on the feeling of the alien touch upon his forehead. This moment was ultimately broken when John pulled his hand away in concern. "Karkat?"

"Agh!" Karkat quickly looked away and covered his face. "I'm fine!"

John giggled. "You know, I can't help but find it funny how easily you get flustered."

"What?!" Karkat looked back at him. "I do not get fucking flustered!"

"You so do, dude."

Karkat let out a growl and crossed his arms. "Whatever."

John chuckled lightly. "Oh! By the way, I've been meaning to ask... have you seen Dave around at all?"

"D-Dave...?" Karkat paused for a moment. His eyes drifted to the floor.

"Uh, yeah. It's just that I haven't really seen him much as of late and he's not answering my texts..."

"Really. Well, I, um..." Karkat thought back to what happened earlier. This triggered the memory of Dave's red eyes and the feeling they had given to Karkat. For some reason he felt so calm when he looked into them, despite Dave's anger. Or maybe he wasn't angry at all. Maybe he was just afraid that Karkat would reject him or judge him. In any case, Karkat wanted to see Dave's eyes again. He wanted to consume that rush of emotion they had given him.

"Karkat? Are you okay?"

"What?" Karkat snapped himself back into reality's grasp and looked up at John. "Oh, uh... no. I can't say that I have seen him. Maybe... maybe he's just been hanging out with Jade or something."

"Yeah... I guess he could be. Well, I'll ask around to see if anyone else has seen him. Thanks for your help though." John stood. "I appreciate it." He gave a half smile and walked toward the door. "Well, I should probably be going. I don't want to pester you any longer. Have a good night, Karkat...!" John gave a final wave and walked out, quietly closing the door behind him. Karkat stood from his seat and walked over to the window, examining the night sky. It was a navy blue backdrop simply dotted with thousands of stars. It was hard to believe that the day had flown by so fast but then again, perhaps timing was just different here compared to Alternia. Karkat looked over at his bed. It was still lacking it's sheets which reminded Karkat of the laundry. He opened the door to the basement and walked down, gathering the clothes on the bottom steps. He made a neater pile of them on the ground next to the washer. He finished his weekly laundry routine by transporting his bed sheets to the dryer and his clothes to the washer. Karkat made his way back upstairs and closed the door behind him.

With a grunt, he walked over to his bed and laid down. The sheets that were still remaining were cold and thin. This resulted in Karkat tossing and turning for an even distribution of warmth on his back, stomach, and sides. He eventually found himself drifting off into sleep, allowing his mind to wonder and do as it pleased.

~~~

"Ngh..." Karkat placed a hand on his head. "What the fuck...? Where am I?" He pushed himself up to examine his surroundings. His bed was gone, and he was abandoned upon a smooth, black surface. There were eight doors surrounding him, all of which didn't look like they led anywhere. The only thing they led to, it seemed, was darkness. "Is anyone there? If so, I just want to let you know that this is seriously not fucking funny." He walked cautiously over to one of the doors on his right. It was a teal door; in fact, it was almost the shade of Terezi's blood color. None of the doors were of the same color. The other doors upon his right appeared to be red, violet, and off-gold. As Karkat turned, he noticed that the doors on the other side of the room were purple, olive, jade, and sky blue.

Karkat turned his line of sight back toward the door that was in front of him. Well, he obviously wasn't going to get anywhere by just standing there. He took a deep breath and gathered the courage to walk in. Just as he had suspected. Darkness. There was some change atmosphere, Karkat had to admit. Without warning, the door slammed behind him. He jumped and looked back but he couldn't see anything. A shiver was sent up his spine. Wherever he was, it was cold as hell like the freezer region of a hunger trunk. With tiny steps, Karkat explored the area around him and moved his hands blindly. He made contact with something. It was... ice. Was he literally in a hunger trunk? "Ugh. I wish I could find some fucking lights." Karkat shivered and searched in a different direction. His hand made contact with another block much larger than the last. "Oh, perfect. Another piece of fucking ice." It was twice his size in width and it was approximately two feet taller than him. He could barely reach the top without standing on his tippy toes.

"Come on, stay focused." Karkat shook his head and sighed. He patted his pockets in hopes that he would actually have his phone with him, only to be ultimately disappointed in his answer. "Fuck...! There's got to be something I can do. I'm going to fucking freeze to death if I can't figure this out." The feeling of not being able to see frightened Karkat. He didn't understand how Terezi had grown so accustom to it. It was terrifying. Seeing nothing but blackness gave Karkat a sense of no hope or motivation. What would he even achieve by finding some light switch? He decided maybe he should just go back to where he came from. Back to the teal door. Karkat turned around and began his new search to re-find the door. Instead, he found himself meeting face to face with a wall. He placed both hands on it and felt around. "Hold on a second... aha!" A light switch. How ironic that as soon as he decided he wanted to leave he would actually find some source of light. With a flick of the switch, a light shown from the middle of the room. It gave an erie, blue glow as it reflected off of the ice surrounding him. Now he could better examine his surroundings.

Karkat turned away from the wall. "Alright, now..." He gasped. "O-Oh my God..." His eyes widened with dismay and his mouth practically dropped to the floor. "N-No!" Karkat ran over to the block in which he was examining before, nearly tripping on the way over. Inside the giant block of ice was none other than Terezi. "TEREZI!" Karkat slammed his fist upon the ice as if he felt he could break it with minimal force. "TEREZI, I'LL GET YOU OUT OF THERE!" Over and over again he pounded onto the ice. Once with his right hand, then with his left, then with both hands at the same time until an imprint of candy red blood was left with every punch. Sensation was not only being lost in his hands, but his entire body. The room had to be getting colder. It had to be.

Karkat could feel himself breaking. Tears began clogging up his eyes and dripping down his face. With a final collision of his fists and the ice, Karkat slid down to his knees. He covered his eyes with his hands and made a combination of his blood and tears. "I'm so sorry, Terezi," Karkat sobbed, "I-I'm so sorry..." The light above him dimmed and it seemed as though there were voices traveling through the room. They were whispers colliding with one another.

"It's your fault."

"She wouldn't be like this if you were just there for her."

"Did you even think about her feelings?"

"All she wanted was support and she relied on you."

"You failed her."

Karkat grabbed his head and shook it. "No... no! STOP! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" He lifted his head and looked around. The teal

door was gone. The only door left in the room was the exit of the freezer. Karkat pulled himself up and stumbled over to it. He grasped the door knob tightly and tugged. It was frozen shut. The whispers were growing louder. "PLEASE! PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME OUT!" He whipped himself back repeatedly without prevail. He sucked in a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could, pulling as if it would be his last chance. The ice cracked and he door flew open, knocking Karkat back. The scene behind him disappeared and the whispers faded into nothing. Karkat's hands healed themselves and within mere seconds his body regained it's heat.

Karkat's breathing slowed back to it's normal pace. He slowly pushed himself up in a stiff-like manner as if he felt like he was somewhat frozen. "That... that wasn't real?" He walked out of the door and shut it behind him. Now that he knew what these doors contained, he was not looking forward to any of them. But there was nothing else he could do. Perhaps one of the doors provided an exit. Karkat traveled to the other side of the room. He wanted to stay as far away from that teal door as possible. He looked at his options and chose the purple door which was on the very end. With hesitation, Karkat opened the door. Nothing could be seen of the inside. "Oh, hell no. Not more darkness. I know where that led me last time, I do not want to experience that again." As he tried to take a step away, he found that his feet felt like they were stuck to the ground. The door glared at him, giving him a terrible feeling of uneasiness. With swift movements, some mysterious force pulled Karkat into the room despite his refusal and shut the door behind him. "Shit! No...! I'm not doing this dark shit again...!"

"Aww, and why not?" A raspy voice creeped through the shadows. "Why, you're going to miss the mother fuckin' tea party." Six candles were lit by the speaker. One was placed by the head of Tavros. Another was placed by the head of Feferi. And another by the head of Eridan, Nepeta, and Equius. The speaker took a seat and lit a candle in front of himself.

"No... no, no, no this isn't happening. This isn't real...!"

"Oh, I assure you that this is all up and mother fuckin' real. Real as it gets. Please, take a seat. I tell ya, Tavros makes the best tea a mother fucker could ever ask for." Karkat glanced back. The door was gone. He was going to have to find some other way out like he did just moments ago. He reminded himself that none of this was real despite what Gamzee said and took a deep breath. With slow steps, he walked walked toward the circle of heads and hesitantly took a seat directly across from Gamzee. There was a cup full of some mysterious brown fluid already set up for Karkat. "Man, it sure has been a while since we've all up and mother fucking hung out..." Gamzee chuckled and placed a hand on his head. His eyes were wide. "Heh. In fact, I was startin' to think that you forgot about me. ABANDONED ME." His chuckle grew into a hardy laugh which echoed off the walls of the room. "But you'd never do that, right, my invertebrother? We're moirails, aren't we? Heh, heh..." He began humming a tune. This led to him singing an old song in which was normally used to teach wrigglers about quadrants. "Matespritship, moirailgence, kismetude, and auspistice. Matesprit is love. Kismesis is hate. Moirails stay by each other till the END." His voice was off-key and tone deaf.

Karkat folded his ears back. "G-Gamzee... I-I-I didn't mean to abandon you..."

"LIES." Gamzee's right ear twitched up. He burst out into laughter once more. "BUT AT LEAST YOU MOTHER FUCKIN' ADMIT IT. YOU ABANDONED ME." His smile faded. "All I needed was a bro to be right there by my side..." He slowly picked up Tavros's head and stared at it. His eyes seemed to be filling up with tears. "A bro... that would STAY by my side... no matter what I did." He put the head down carefully and ran his fingers through the hair upon it. "Do you think I chose to be this way?" His face shifted to an expression of anger. He widened his palm and dug his fingernails into Tavros's scalp, managing to pierce through the skin. "DO YOU THINK THAT I MOTHER FUCKING WANTED THIS?" Gamzee's glare was that of a murderer. A psychopath. His anger slowly subsided and he ripped his nails out of Tavros's head like pulling off a stubborn bandaid. He smiled. "Why don't you try your tea? I assure you it's delicious."

Karkat gulped. "I-I'm not thirsty..."

"I SAID DRINK IT, MOTHER FUCKER." Karkat stared into the cup and examined it. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't tea. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to erase the picture of the fluid out of his head. Forget what was just said. It IS tea. Yes, it's just tea. Karkat built up his courage and took a sip. Gamzee chuckled. Within seconds, Karkat spit it out upon the floor in front of him. It tasted like iron and he dreaded the fact that that could have actually been Tavros's blood. Gamzee's eyes widened. "What? You don't like it?" He slowly stood to his feet. "You... DON'T MOTHER FUCKIN' LIKE IT?"

Karkat put the cup down and stood. His whole body shook, getting the sensation that he could throw up at any minute. Gamzee reached behind his back and grabbed one of his bludgeons. It was stained with the blood of Nepeta and Equius. Karkat looked around and took a deep breath. This was his dream. His nightmare. Either way, he still had control over it. He could create an exit if he just thought hard enough. Karkat closed his eyes. "Bring me back to the center, bring me back to the center, bring me back to the center..." Gamzee lifted his bludgeon, ready to attack. He charged and cried out, "RaaaAAAUGGGGHH!"

Silence. There was sudden silence. Karkat opened his eyes. Gamzee was gone, and so was his little set up. He was back in the middle of the doors. The purple door which he had previously entered was closed and he was safe... for now. Karkat examined the doors again while he had the chance. If the teal door led to a nightmare that had to do with Terezi and the purple door contained a nightmare related to Gamzee, then the colors meant something after all. Jade was for Kanaya, olive was for Nepeta, sky blue was for John, violet was for Eridan, off-gold was for Sollux, and red was for... himself? Or maybe... it was for Dave. Despite wanting to go to a different door just to be on the safe side, something was drawing Karkat toward the red door. It was almost calling his name, in a sense. He slowly walked over and placed a hand upon it. A surge of energy rushed through him and encouraged him even more to enter.

Karkat did as his emotions told him to and walked in. He was left in some room. It looked like the living block of someone's hive. Karkat gently closed the door behind him and walked in further. "Hello? Is anyone here?" The soft pitter patter of footsteps echoed through the house. They were coming from all directions, making it hard to tell where the person who was creating them really was. The footsteps suddenly stopped and there was silence. Karkat listened closely around him, although he was taken off-guard when someone behind him wrapped their arms around his waist. Karkat closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "Dave..." Dave rested his head upon Karkat's right shoulder. "... you have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"I'm happy to see you, too." Dave released his gentle grip around Karkat's waist and walked around him. He faced the troll and smiled.

"Wait..." Karkat's small pint of relief was drained. Dave wasn't wearing his glasses and his eyes were no longer red. They were hazel. Karkat shook his head. "Dave, your eyes." It was such a stupid thing to get upset over, especially after the previous two nightmares that Karkat had to endure. But it wasn't normal. Something was off.

"What about them? Is something wrong?"

"They're... hazel."

"Yes, and your point? They've always been hazel."

Karkat shook his head. "No... no, they're red."

"Listen, I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at, but it's not true. Maybe you had some dream of me having red eyes. Reality-wise, the idea is just impossible."

"You're not Dave..." Karkat stepped back, but every step he took was followed. He eventually found himself backing against the door.

"Karkat, this is ridiculous. Of course I'm Dave."

Karkat let out a small growl in frustration. "Well if... if you don't have red eyes then I'm not a mutant!" He quickly covered his mouth. Dave paused as if time itself had stopped. "No... no, no, I mean..." He chuckled nervously. "Mutant? No, I'm not a mutant, I just... just..."

"Wake up." The only part of Dave's face that moved was his mouth.

"What?"

"Wake up, Karkat. Wake up. Wake up."

"Ngh..." Karkat closed his eyes and placed his hands on his head. He felt himself slowly fading into nothing and waking up to reality. As he reopened his eyes, he found himself in bed. The sun was shining brightly though the windows and Karkat's phone was buzzing with two recently received text messages. One was from John and the other was from Dave.