Wings of a Worthless God

The Land of Pulse and Haze was a truly awful planet. Thick, choking air accompanied by water comprised of blood. Karkat Vantas couldn't stand the sight of it. This world was built to piss him off; it was just one big reminder that he was different. It was one huge slap in the face. But he wasn't going to take it anymore.

Imps exploded into grist as he climbed the stairs, slashing enemies apart with double sickles. Karkat charged forward, nothing was stopping him this time. His goal was a temple that was located deep within a cavern. The walls of rock crumbled away at parts, revealing pulsating flesh. Everything seemed to move and be alive; the troll couldn't take much more of it. He just wanted to defeat whatever boss was at the end, gain his top level and abscond the fuck out there. The tunnels were cramped, and everything felt like it was closing in. Karkat hated it. Another imp was slain as he fought his way through the dungeon. There was a pitiful amount of enemies, something that bothered him to no end. "What kind of fucking final area is this?" The troll started to doubt if this was the right place after all. There was a brighter area ahead and Vantas sprinted for it leaving a trail of grist in his wake, there was little point in picking it up.

He had to cover his eyes briefly as they adjusted to the difference in light. Sometimes he really hated that trolls were nocturnal. His sensitivity to light was bothersome in the medium. Once his eyes adjusted he was fine, but there was always that brief few seconds of vulnerability that put him on edge. This new room was large, easily a few stories high. The ceiling was held up with pillars aligned along a path that lead to what Karkat guessed was an altar. He moved cautiously down the middle of the room, glancing everywhere, looking for an ambush or danger. Torches lit most of the room along the circular walls; however most of the light came from the ceiling. The troll looked up and grimaced, the ceiling was nothing more than a thin membrane of pulsing flesh that let light in. It bathed the chamber in a red glow.

Karkat reached the alter, which turns out wasn't an alter at all. It was a bed. "What the fuck?" The stone circle had the sign of three blood drops, which he assumed was his Knight of Blood symbol, on it. He ran his hand around the edge of the rock bed. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this? Take a fucking nap?" he punched the side of the wall and swore. "Everything's a goddamn joke with this planet isn't it?" he screamed. "Everything just says, "oh let's take one huge shit on Karkat! He won't mind, he's already up to his nook in it anyways."  Well fuck you! FUCK YOU!" He paced and growled and snarled at anything that dared come close to him.

The troll kicked out at a pillar, he was basically striking at anything within reach. The insults were getting thrown out almost as fast his punches. Karkat didn't stop when the skin on his knuckles tore open or pain began to register in his brain. It was only when he noticed the red flecks on the stone and his hand that he froze. "Shit. Fuck. Damn it." He quickly sat down on the stone bed and took out bandages, he never bothered with his sylladex anymore, and it proved too frustrating to deal with. He had meant to switch with Sollux, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself yet. He wrapped his knuckles feeling like a huge idiot. "Past me must not have a think pan, I swear." There was nothing more important than hiding his blood color, and nothing more life threatening. The fact that he had a mental lapse and forgot that was astounding. It alerted the troll to the fact that he needs to slow the fuck down and think. He found a bed, at the end of the dungeon. Either this was the wrong place, or he had to do something with this stone slab. "What do they want me to take a fucking nap?" he voiced aloud. His mood wasn't improving and neither was the feeling he got from the chamber.

Something deep within the cavern roared. It shook the place to the core and got Karkat's attention. "Finally," he muttered, "the fucking boss shows up." The troll stood and gripped his sickles tightly. There was going to be action soon, action that he craved, it was his chance to prove himself, it was the whole reason he left on this mission without telling anyone. He would ascend to Godtier first, he would be the one who was the strongest, he would be worthy of the title leader. It was going to be him. All he had to do was defeat this one last monster.

The cavern shook again, a large explosion could be heard from down the tunnel. Karkat gulped a bit, a brief moment of uncertainty flashing through him. He pushed it back down and stood his ground. After a good ten minutes and countless explosions later he wondered if the beast was even coming. Another ground shaking boom sounded through the hall, it was then that Karkat began looking around his surrounds a bit more. He noticed the pulsating flesh was exposed further than before, that the sturdy pillars were actually frail and filled with cracks. "Fucking hell." He realized its goal was to make the cavern cave in and trap him. But, Karkat noticed this developed too late, with the last explosion that resonated through the room things began breaking down. A pillar crashed to the floor causing a cascading effect on all the others. The troll panicked and bolted for the exit. That was futile however when the opening fell in on itself. "Fuck!" he spun and ran back towards the bed. All the pillars had fallen now and the roof looked unstable. "God damn it," the troll looked for another way out. The only one he could think of was cutting through the thin membrane at the top.

He ran at the wall and leaped, using the bed as an extra step. His claws dug in to the exposed flesh, he gripped his sickle in his mouth and climbed the wall. To say it was gross was an understatement. The flesh was warm, and blood welled around his claws where they dug in. It pulsed and moved beneath his hands. Rocks were falling and roof was beginning to collapse. The boy was really starting to regret not telling anyone his location. He pressed on though; clawing his way up the side, but he found himself at a standstill he had run out of flesh to climb there was only stone. "Fuck," he swore again. Glancing blow he shuddered, the bizarre bed was a long ways down. "Shit, if I fall…" he didn't even want to think about it.

Glaring up further he spotted a small ledge. "If I can just reach that…" the troll bunched up his legs and pressed up, reaching for the small handhold. His hand gripped it and he pulled, it seemed sound. Pushing off with his legs he reached for another hold. His shoes now struggled for a grip on the smooth stone. Karkat clenched his teeth around his sickle and reached up again. His hands searched and felt around for something decent. He continued climbing in this manner until he pulled on rock and it slipped out from his hand. "FUCK!" the extra weight put on his other hand caused it to slide off the rock. Before he knew what to do he was falling. The troll thought fast and dug his sickle into the rock. The sound the blade made as it scratched down the stone was horrible. He flattened his ears down and gripped the small handle tighter. He was able to slow himself down enough to grab another rock. He rested, panting from exertion and fear. The explosions never ceased through this ordeal and the troll felt his time was running out. His muscles were tired and shaking but he reached out and up again. He was determined to get out. Karkat's whole body felt like giving up, but he didn't dare let it. He scratched and clawed his way back to where he was before. Some of his claws had chipped or broken, his lungs burned and his heart felt ready to burst, but none of that mattered. His eyes were trained firmly on the red flesh that concealed the sky.

He was so close. He could make out the veins in membrane now. "Almost fucking ther-" Suddenly another boom was heard and the whole room seemed to lurch. Karkat gasped and clung to the wall, feeling it quiver. He pressed his forehead against the stone and waited for it to pass. There was a loud cracking sound and a snap; the troll opened his eyes in horror as the stone he was gripping so tightly started to fall off the wall. He scrambled to find anything else to grab onto. But the stone fell away carrying him with it; he clawed at the air and watched the ceiling get further and further away. His eyes were wide and he didn't even bother screaming. 'This is it.' He thought. 'The end of Karkat Vantas.'

Karkat didn't feel himself hit the stone at the bottom. He didn't feel the pain of the numerous broken bones and severed nerves. His mind was still on and his eyes still worked, watching the room fall in around him. There was no searing pain as a piece of jagged rock pierced his chest. No surprise at the blood trickling from his mouth, or the tears from his eyes. He was dying. Plain and simple. Somehow he managed to take enough control of his arm to lift it towards the now visible sky. His hand opened and he grasped for something his eyes couldn't see, then it fell limply to the side. But Karkat was already gone before his hand touched the ground.

----

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you have died.

The interesting part of this whole affair is how calm you are. You died, and somehow that seems like a relief to you. Death means you won't have to hide your blood color, there is no fear of being culled. You think you'll enjoy being dead, or at least the part of you that's left to feel that will. If there even is something after death, you're not sure. The world around you is inky black; you can't see your hands, much less anything around you. You're not sure if you're floating or still lying down. One's thing's for certain, there is now a large gash in your chest. Your fingers examine it; it's deep and warm but doesn't hurt. Nothing hurts. In fact, you can't really feel anything, except for overwhelming peace of not having to struggle to live anymore.  Breathing feels good; your lungs welcome the cool air, a harsh contrast to the muggy air of your planet, and your choked dying gasps. You feel light, and for the first time in your life, you are happy, truly happy. It sucks because the first time you get to feel like this will probably be your last. You're not sure how long this stage lasts, who knows? Maybe it goes on forever. Maybe this is all there is after you die. Just this. Nothingness. Somehow you're ok with that too.

You believe everyone else is ok with this as well. Your mind drifts to your friends, you wonder when they'll notice you're gone, you debate if they'll care. Part of you wants to believe they will. But there is darkness in your mind that says they'll be glad. They won't have to deal with your bullshit memos or desperation to be leader. Your friends are as free from you as you are from them. The only other troll you worry about is Terezi, you wonder if she'll miss you. You already miss her teasing you. Then your mind shifts to Sollux, your best bro. You can't decide if he'd be happy you're dead or saddened by it either. He lost his friend and rival in you, even though you're pretty sure he beat you in every computer programing challenge ever. You smile and chuckle at the fond memories. Kanaya. Will she miss you? You already miss her, she may have been nosey and intrusive at times, but she wasn't that bad.

It's during all this you realize that maybe you weren't as ok with death as you thought you were. Perhaps there are a few souls you actually enjoyed being around. You weigh the anxiety of your blood color over the presence of your friends. It's actually hard for you to decide if losing one was worth losing the other. You're just not sure anymore. Somewhere you feel that there is a reason for your death. You also feel that somewhere there was a reason for your life. You can't stop yourself from thinking about the possiblites in your short life. You think that maybe, if you had lived a bit longer, blood color wouldn't matter and your own friends wouldn't shun you. You think that maybe you might have met someone dumb enough to hold you and tell you it's ok. Someone to reassure you. Someone that would be your matesprit. You think you could have been happy.

Maybe.

But that's over now.

You close your eyes and stop thinking. You're so tired of thinking.

You close our eyes lose yourself.

------

Outside the caved in temple four pillars still stood. They emanated a strong pulsing red light that cut through the haze. Underneath the rubble Karkat's body began to glow. Somewhere on Skaia a similar bed was lay waiting. Towers that mirrored the ones on the Land of Pulse and Haze activated. On that bed rested a familiar body, Karkat Vantas. This version was dressed in the golden attire of Prospit. The dream version of Karkat began bleeding from a chest wound that opened up. The lights on either planet intensified, his symbol of blood drops appeared amongst the lights and shone brightly. Karkat's dream self began to rise in there air, his body glowing and the wounds healing as fast they appeared. His clothes changed from his Prospit wear to something else, his mind merging with this new body. In one final burst of light the transformation was complete.

------

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you just opened your eyes.

Instead of darkness greeting you light met your eyes. You hurriedly glanced around, becoming aware of your surroundings; you were floating high above the Skaian battlefield. Something catches your eye in the clouds. You turn around and witness something astonishing. It's you. You're back in the Land of Pulse and Haze, and you're dying. You see your eyes close for the last time, watch your hand fall to your side, your mutant blood leak and drip on the cool stone. Terezi told you that the skies of Skaia told the present, past, and future. You watched yourself die, but you are here. Your hand goes to your neck; you can feel your pulse. It's strong and steady. You are alive. Somehow, you are alive. Checking yourself over you notice something else, your clothes are different, you're wearing a black hood, and your cancer symbol is no longer on your shirt. A tunic of dark grey bears the same blood symbol you found on your bed. You pants are also black. Frowning, you notice the symbol is bright red, like your blood. You growl and decide you can replace the shirt later.

Something else that should have been the first thing you realize becomes clear. You are floating. Another cloud passes by, this one is showing something even more astounding than your death. Your re-birth. You watch yourself change and in doing so come to the conclusion that you have reached Godtier. A smile stretches across your face. "Hell fucking yes!" You scream.  From the cloud you see something else. Wings. You have wings. Looking behind you confirms it. They are long and shaped like a dragonfly's. One either one your cancer symbol shows through the thin membrane. They flutter and flap when you instruct them to. There's a small half cape on your back, attached to your hood.

You can't stop smiling. You did it. You reached Godtier.

You are Karkat Vantas and this is the happiest day of your life.

Flying is amazing; it's the most wonderful thing you've ever done in your whole life. The wind blows through your face and over your wings. You took off your hood so it could whip through your hair as well. Down below the Skaian battlefield sits, the rivers and trees breaking up the white and black with splashes of color. It seems like you can see for forever. You shout some more, scream "FUCK YEAH!" more than necessary, but you don't give one single fuck. You did it, you reached the top level. Finally you have something in your life to be proud of. An achievement you can call your own. It doesn't matter that you died a stupid death, or that you never killed some boss, you succeeded and that's all that matters. You got here before anyone else. You. You were the first. You proved yourself before any of the highbloods, before Sollux, before ANYONE. And you loved every moment of it.

Unwillingly you dipped down and landed besides some trees and a small pool of water. Your wings ached, and there was burning sensation in your back muscles, but it wasn't uncomfortable, it felt good, natural. You rested against the tree and took out your husktop. There were some messages from Terezi, you read through and shot back a few replies, assuring her you were ok, just on a mission. You questioned Sollux about getting back from Skaia, he asked why and you told him you were curious. He tells you that there are transporters located throughout Skaia that link back to your planet. He sent you a map with said transporters marked. You got up and walked to the small pool, water would be amazing right about now you think. You cup your hands and bring the crystal clear liquid to you lips. It's clean and cool and feels wonderful sliding down your warm throat. Standing, you admire your reflection.

You enjoy your Godtier outfit a lot. It looks great; the only thing you hate is the red. "I'll just alter them later," you say to yourself. That's when you catch sight of your amazing wings again. They fluttered behind instinctively. You touch one, running your hand over it gently. Then you realize something that makes your heart stop and your stomach drop.

They're the color of your blood.

You're mutant.

Worthless.

Fucking.

Red.

Blood.

Panic mode sets in and struggle to think straight. A string of "Fucks" is uttered as you pace back and forth. You can't let the others see. They'll cull you on the spot. There's no way they'd let you live, especially not fin face and Equius. You shudder just thinking about what they could do. You take off your hood and your shirt follows. They're connected to your back, the veins are shared with the rest of your body, muscles linked, they are now a part of you. You try bending one, to fold it in, and stop immediately, the pain is intense. "Ok, great, don't fold them…" you swear and snarl some more. Before you start freaking the fuck out.  Your friends would be repulsed if they knew. You just got done thinking you lost your friends forever, you're not about to think that again. You're alive. You're not dead. You still have friends, and you won't let that change. The choice seems obvious.

Your sickle appears in your hands. The blade is slick and deadly. You turn so your reflection is in the water. The blade approaches your right wing, right at the base. You swallow and try to stop your hand from shaking, you fail miserably. Closing your eyes you decide to just cut.

It is the worst pain you've ever felt. You scream out as the blade cuts through the tough flesh connecting the wing to your back. The sickle gets halfway through before your brain forces you to pull back. Blood streams freely from the open wound, you can feel it slide down your back, wet and sticky. Your vision blossoms red in pain and you fall to the ground.

It feels like hours when you wake up, and for all you know, it has been. Your eyes flutter open and you briefly forgot why you are lying face down in a small patch of grass. But then you move your arm to push yourself up and your shoulder screams in pain. You scream too and drop to the ground again. That's right; you remember your brilliant fucking plan of cutting off your new wings. Past you was a grub-fucking moron. Gently you use your other arm and push yourself upright. The water shows the damage you did. There is a huge dried scab over the base of your right wing. Candy red blood trails down your back. You feel sick.

After emptying the contents of your stomach you begin to re-think your situation. You now have two bright red beacons that scream your deformity to the world. One of which, now seems to be useless. You don't even try moving it; the dull throb that's in synch with your heartbeats is forewarning enough that moving will cause you vast amounts of pain. It twitches every now and again involuntary, you're sure the nerves are done for. "Great, so now I can't even fucking fly away if they come after me." you think briefly that maybe the condition you're in would create an overwhelming feeling of pity for you and they'd not cull your worthless ass. That thought gets discarded almost as fast as it occurred. You cautiously get up and walk to the water; you decide that washing off the dried blood on your back would probably be a good idea. The water is frigid and it has a nice numbing effect on your back. With the blood now cleaned off you sit on the shore and debate. You decide trying to chop off your wings was a stupid idea and shouldn't be done again. So what are your other options? You decide concealing them under your shirt would be the next best thing. You grab your hood and start cutting long strips of fabric loose from the cape. Your wings are too long like this, too wide. Your hand is shaking again but you clamp your mouth down and take the delicate membrane in your hand again. Tears stream down your face as you prepare to the worst. You hear something snap when you fold your left wing in half. You scream and drop to one knee, but you don't pass out. You're defiantly crying now, the pain is terrible, you feel sick again, but there's nothing to throw up. You continue the process of bending and folding your left wing down so it fits more or less against your back. All it takes is one finger on your right one to cause you to scream in pain. You shove a piece of your hood into your mouth and fold that wing too. Screaming every time you crease the mutilated wing.

You are now numb; your hands barely register the fabric you're wrapping around your chest and back. Your tears have long since dried up. You wince and tie it tight. You pull out an extra set of clothes you always have on you. It takes your shivering hands thirty minutes to unlock them from your deck. Your clean clothes warm your body and you start feeling like you're alive again and not dead. You stand and grab the rest of your Godtier outfit. You stare at the symbol on the tunic long and hard. You are the Knight of Blood, and it's your blood that fucked you over yet again. You ascended to Godtier. You beat every level, you got here first, and yet, no one is going to ever know.

You toss the garments into the water and watch them sink to the bottom.

Your name is Karkat Vantas.

Today was the day you were reborn.


Today was the best day of your life.

Too bad it turned out to be a nightmare.

-------

The map that Sollux proved the troll helped immensely. It was a short walk to the transported. Karkat stumbled through it and back to his hive. He collapsed on the floor and didn't even bother answering Terezi who was currently blowing up his phone with messages.

Terezi watched as Karkat returned to his hive, he collapsed on the floor and lay there unmoving. She was extremely concerned, but he wouldn't answer her. She could tell he was alive, just worn out. The cursor hovered over him before grabbing a small blanket off his couch and placing it over him. Well, as close as she could get. It didn't seem to matter; a hand shot out and pulled the blanket over the rest of the body. She smiled and figured Karkat must have had a rough day. He deserves some rest.

It wasn't often they got a break in their session, naps were rare and treasured. But Karkat no longer had a dream self to protect him from horror-terrors or nightmares. His sleep was horrible at best. After that nap he vowed not to sleep again.

Moving was a pain. Breathing was a pain, everything hurt, but somehow he managed to fight. He managed to not get himself killed. His tired, tattered body fought on with the same vigor he had when he entered. Pain became a daily occurrence for him. Eventually they did it. They beat the Black King and the game. But in another twist of cruelty their prize was ripped from their hands. Instead they found themselves in a cold, dead, meteor in the Veil. Not exactly what any of them planned.

What hurt Karkat the most was not watching everyone fawn over Vriska's wings, or knowing that his own were bound behind his back, destined to never fly again, no that didn't bother him half as much as knowing he sacrificed all that and then failed as a leader. One by one trolls started falling out of his control.

Equius had respected him once, now he doesn't acknowledge the trolls presence. Vriska stopped taunting him because he had no fight left in him. Karkat would lock himself away in his room and not eat for days. The others were concerned, Kanaya, Sollux and Terezi especially. They would check in on him, and attempt to offer comfort, but even that fell away. Karkat was a wreck. A pitiful, miserable, failure of a leader. He wanted nothing more than to die. In fact he often thought back to the day he went Godtier, he wished he would have died that day, under all that rubble. Then maybe things would have worked out. Maybe they wouldn't have failed, and maybe they wouldn't be in this fucking mess.

The time passed like this for a while, Karkat noticed that his right wing, which he severed never healed right, it was stiff and didn't move like the other did. Not that they moved much anymore. It hurt too much to unfold them now, the blood rushing in does nothing but sting. It still hurts when Terezi slaps him on the back or when he leans against his chair too hard. But these are all daily inconveniences he's learned to deal with.  He's learned to deal with a lot over the first month in the Veil.

Eventually the self-loathing gets old and he creeps out from his room. There is an interesting discovery to be made, the humans. They are dumb, and have no clue what they're doing, but Karkat latches on to them like a life line. He picks one out in particular, John Egbert and trolls the hell out him. Later he finds out it's because of these pink monkeys you couldn't get your prize. The troll fully intends to make him pay. He wants them to taste defeat, pain and utter devastation, just like he did.

But, after watching John's life unfold, and their session, Karkat decides that the boy has gone through enough already. His tone turns friendly and he extends an offering of peace that the derpy human boy accepts gratefully. He figures maybe they can help each other. The troll spends countless hours talking to the boy, helping him, guiding him, and watching as he ascends to Godtier as well. He was a bit surprised that the human didn't have wings, but he figured that must not be what humans consider perfect.

------

Not too long after you are staring face to face with John Egbert.

The humans needed to flee their session, it was corrupted and doomed. He stands in front of you, smiling and laughing.

"Wow," he says, "Karkat! You are an alien! Sweet!"

"Yeah shitsponge did you think I was lying?"

He laughs some more and hugs you tight. You wince and shove him off. "Well," he says, "Sometimes it's hard to tell with you, you know?"

"No, I don't know."

"Well, over the computer you could have been anyone! Sure you could see us, but we couldn't see you. I was going off of complete friendleader palhoncho  trust!"

You roll your eyes and drag him into the main part of the lab. "This is the main area, most of the computers here work, but they're pieces of shit." You direct him to the nutrition block, which he calls a kitchen you note, and then to the ablution chamber, bathroom, and finally to the respite blocks. "You can choose whatever room you want. This one's mine." You gesture to the cancer symbol next to your door. "Rooms that are already claimed have our signs by them, I suggest you do the same."

"Oh wow, our own rooms? Sweet!" he looks at the room next to yours. "So, this one's open?" you nod. "Great, I'll stay here then."

"You didn't even look inside nookwhiff."

He smiles and cracks the door open and closes it. "Yup, it'll do!"

"Idiot." You say and he laughs again. He follows you into your room and you both end up on your bed. "I have movies, if you're interested." He nods eagerly and you put one in. You don't end up watching it though. John's too buys asking you questions, and you find that you're replying to all of them honestly. Your back starts hurting again, and you realize that it's way past time for you to undo the wraps and let your back stretch. Thankfully you hear a voice sound in the hall outside.

"Joooooooohn! Where'd you end up?"

"He's in here Vriska."

John jumps off the bed and runs over to her, also tackling her with a hug. "I didn't see you when we all met! Where were you?"

"I was just helping with some stuff John, I didn't know you guys were getting here soooooooo early! I would have prepared better."

John stepped back and looked her over, "Wow! Vriska you have wings! That's so cool!"

She flapped them a bit and responded, "Yeah, every troll gets wings when they reach Godtier!"

"That's so awesome!" he turns back to you and mock a smile. "Hey I'm gonna go explore with Vriska! See you later Karkat!"

Your heart freezes for a second when you hear the excitement and admiration in his voice. Anger is your first response, you watch him leave with her and then you just feel sad. But sad isn't even the correct level of emotion to describe how you feel. You don't really know if there is a word.

--------

Karkat continues to snare John whenever he can, any free time the boy has he makes sure to monopolize.

"Hehe Karkat what are we doing today?" he asks, completely oblivious to the trolls need for him.

"I don't know fuckass, give me a second." He giggles and leans against Karkat. "John?"

He laughs, "No homo Karkat, I'm just tired."

"Tired?" he questioned, "But's early."

"I know, I didn't sleep well."

"Nightmares?" the troll guesses.

"Yeah,"

"About your dad?" he nods. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really, thanks though." He pauses, "It's just…the others, they don't really understand, trolls I mean. Vriska doesn't get why I'm upset. And I don't want to bring it up with Dave or Rose, I don't want to trigger anything. They did just lose their guardians too."

"I lost mine," the troll says slowly. "I know what it feels like."

"I'm sorry Karkat,"

"It's ok, it happened a while ago," he turned and faced the human. "You know, sometimes it's ok for leaders to cry."

John stared into Karkat's eyes, and then all at once broke down into a sobbing mess on his chest. Karkat ran a hand over his back and rubbed gently.

"I've been so brave Karkat, so strong, you have no idea!" he hiccups and cried more.

"I understand, I understand so damn well." The troll whispers to him.

After that things are different between the two. John is more open and not just happy all the time. They spend more nights together talking about the hardships of leading, but they also spend time watching movies or arguing and just hanging out.

John begins to find Karkat's company more desirable than the other trolls for the most part. He notices that when Karkat is around him he doesn't swear as much, or frown, he actually smiles. Often the human trains with Karkat and practices fighting. It's nice being able to release stress. Afterward they would both collapse on Karkat's bed and watch a movie in Alternian. The human didn't get most of it, but that didn't really matter to him. They may have messed up their session, but the human just gained a bunch of new friends that were in the exact same position as them.

"Hahahahaha Karkat get off,"

"Why?" he growls.

"Dude, you totally smell bad right now."

Karkat snorts and rolls over, "You smell like shit too you know."

"It's probably your shirt, it IS long-sleeved, how can you stand wearing that?" The human grabs the corner and lifts up.

"Hey fuckass cut that out!" Karkat bats John's hand away, but it's too late, he caught sight of your bandages.

"Karkat, are you hurt?"

"No."

He looks puzzled. "T-Then are you a girl?" he stutters, "and that binding is-"

"No." the troll cuts him off again.

"Then what?"

"No."

"Karkat that didn't even answer the question."

"Go away Egbert and don't ask again."

The human glared. "Karkat, I'm not leaving until I know why you're covered in bandages." He looked concerned, his blue eyes scanning Karkat's face for emotion.

"Fine, whatever." The troll growls. "You have to promise not to tell a single soul about this." He paused. "I will kill you if you tell."

The human nods and waits patiently.

Karkat's hands were trembling as he pulled off his shirt. In fact his whole body was shaking. "I-I trust you a lot ok? Don't make me regret this." He carefully unwraps the bandages and John can't stop his eyes from growing wide or the gasp from escaping his lips.

----

Your name is John Egbert and you just discovered something very important about Karkat Vantas.