Wings of a Worthless God Chapter Four

John managed to drag Karkat back up the hill and into the small cave they turned into a makeshift shelter. He deposited his Matesprit on the small pile of blankets they had and looked over him worriedly. "Thank god," He exhaled the breath he had been holding when he saw Karkat's chest moving slowly up and down. The fire was dimming, barely crackling. John took off his jacket and shirt and threw them over Karkat. He knew it wasn't a lot, but it was better than nothing. Hurriedly he built back up the fire and left to search for rocks. There was a survival show he saw once that recommended heating rocks up and burying them in the sand to keep the body warm while sleeping.

The wind was strikingly cold against his bare skin. "Leaving my jacket with Karkat probably wasn't the best idea…" John hiked through the snow; he mustered up the energy to combat the wind with his own, eventually being able to nullify the gusts around him. There was nothing to be found around the entrance of the cave. Everything was buried under the deep snow. He trudged down to the water's edge and started looking there. This time he was a bit more successful. Quickly he carried a few larger stones back to the fire. Instead of throwing them directly into the flames he placed them around. "I'm not sure how well this is going to work…" He mumbled to himself. The ground was still pretty hard all around them.

Next to him John could hear the labored breathing of Karkat. The troll struggled to open his eyes and look over at John. "Hey nookwhiff…" He said weakly.

"Hey Karkat." John knelt down over him and kissed him gently. "I don't suppose you feel any better do you?"

Karkat laughed which triggered him to cough. "Fuck."

John made himself busy by tending to the fire and making sure Karkat was warm. He was worn out and stressed because no matter what he did the troll could not keep his body temperature up. "Karkat I'm really worried about you." He watched his Matesprit cough and shake violently.

"N-Now would probably be a great fucking time to mention that I've been gifted with the lovely ability to be unable to regulate my body temperature." He frowned and rolled over towards the fire. "I swear John, I'll pull through this. Just worry about finding a way off this planet."

He nodded and picked up Karkat carefully and moved him to the side a bit. Then he started working on digging out a small trench from the tough ground. Karkat watched him with weary eyes. "What are you doing John?"

"Making the sand here softer so I can bury hot rocks under it. That way you can lay on them and have warmth too." He finished up and fished the stones out of the fire and into the hole he made. He covered the rocks up with sand then spread one of the blankets over it and placed Karkat on top. The troll grumbled when he was lifted again.

"I don't need you to move me like a helpless wiggler," He complained.

John looked down fondly at him, "Karkat you're not helpless, I know you're not. But right now, I'm just really concerned." He pulled out two more blankets and placed them on the shaking body. "I'm sorry I can't do anything more for you."

Karkat purred very softly, almost like it hurt, "You're doing fine."

The next day Karkat's condition spiraled downward. There was still no sign of the transporter anywhere, John was getting desperate. He spent hours searching and looking for one. It made absolutely no sense to him; there was no pad when they arrived on the planet. It didn't bother John at first, but now it was becoming something he thought about constantly. "Karkat," He asked quietly, "Hey, Karkat?" The troll rolled over and looked up. "Do you think that this is punishment? Like, the game knows we're hiding and is trying to kill us? That's why we can't get out."

"I have no *cough**cough* idea. Maybe. Hell, I'm surprised we've lasted *cough**cough* this long." He stared into the flames and watched them dance.

John moved over to Karkat and let him clutch his body close.  "Karkat…I'll keep looking, I'll make sure we get you out of here."

Another day passed and nothing revealed itself. John was still busy just collecting firewood and keeping the cave warm. Nothing was enough to warm Karkat however. John would allow Karkat to hold him and share his body heat, but nothing was ever enough. John was especially concerned about his wings. The circulation in them was light; there wasn't much blood in them to start with. He was really worried they'd freeze and die. Karkat would flutter them for hours trying to keep them warm. Humming softly then stopping and starting again. "Karkat?" He heard the fluttering stop. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm just really tired. Can I just…sleep for a while?"

"Karkat?" He sat up and looked down at the troll. "Karkat no you can't sleep."

He coughed and closed his eyes tight. "F-Fuck John. I'm so tired." He felt his Matesprit hold him close again. He froze before he started coughing again violently.

"Karkat? Karkat!" John lifted the troll up and rested his head against his chest. "Karkat…" He felt the troll shudder and then cough harder pulling away from him. He hacked and coughed convulsing on the floor. "Karkat!" The troll coughed again and this time coughed up something.

"J-John?" He stared at his hand.

"Karkat…that's blood."

"Shit…" He passed out again.

"Karkat! Karkat fuck!" John started to panic again. The troll was still breathing, slowly and softly. "Karkat! Please, Karkat don't die. Don't…" He moved the troll near the flame and wrapped him tightly in blankets. He pulled out his computer and desperately started pestering anyone who was online.

--ectoBiologist [EB] began  pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 9:00--

EB: rose help!
EB: rose, rose please, something's wrong with karkat.

--tenticacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 9:01--

--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 9:01--

EG: jade!
EG: jade you have to talk to me.
EG: jade!
GG: i'm so sorry john :c

--gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 9:03--

--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 9:03--

EG: dave!

--turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 9:03--

"Goddamn it! Someone answer me!" John slammed his fist into the ground. He saw Karkat move again and struggle to sit up. "Karkat?"

He could feel his lung struggle to open and close. His vision was blurry but he could still see John. "Hey idiot." Instinctively he started beating his wings, the humming sound returning to the cave.

"Karkat, you just coughed up blood…" He knelt down by his side. "That can't be good."

"Yeah, probably not." He scooted closer to the flame.

John didn't say anything; instead he leaned against Karkat and tried to be optimistic. "Well, maybe you're getting over it? You know, it gets worse before it gets better?"

A scratchy laugh followed the statement and troll let his weight fall on John. He knew that was a stretch. "I wish I knew where we went wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"How did we end up here? Abandoned and freezing to death. There had to be something we did that we could have changed."

"I don't know. I was sure we were doing a great job. I mean, we were helping everyone, we were organizing ourselves, we were going to beat Bec, I know we were." He sighed, "But I guess if I had to die, it's best if I died with you."

"John you're not going to die."

John nodded sadly. He kissed Karkat quickly and told him to lie down again and cover up. The outside was still as frozen and empty as he remembered. When he looked around he began to notice tiny hummingbirds looking for nectar in small red flowers. John examined these plants a bit closer and found small berries underneath the blooms. "Oh gosh, do I even want to risk it?" He poked the berries a few times then let them be. It was odd to him that flowers could bloom in such cold weather, there had to be more life here than flowers and birds. A vital thing to their survival was food, that was something they were running out of quickly. Luckily the wind had died down leaving the rest of the world silent, nothing but snow moved, falling and coating the ground in more white. John allowed himself to drift above the snow to avoid getting his feet and pants wet again. Carefully he picked his way around large trees and scattered vines with the same red flowers.

"What am I even looking for?" He wondered out loud. Eventually he shot himself straight up into the air to get a better view of everything. High above the canopy he could see for miles. He noticed a large dormant volcano in the distance. Pretty much the whole planet was divided by frozen lakes and rivers. The section that he and Karkat were camping in seemed to be the largest expanse of unbroken land for miles. The sky was actually pretty beautiful, if he wasn't busy freezing he would admire it for a while. The dancing lights of the aurora illuminated the sky and left trails of light everywhere.

Nothing could be spotted that was useful, even from his vantage point. There didn't seem to be any animals either. "Great, so not only do we have to worry about freezing but starvation as well." John frowned and descended, once again resuming his aimless drifting among the trees. Using the windy thing he picked up several large fallen branches and hauled them along with him. His stomach growled, annoyed at the lack of good food it had received. Out of desperation he began picking the small red berries beneath the flowers.

He had quite a good handful when he heard something cry out in the direction of their shelter. It was Karkat. Hastily he dropped the little berries and let the branches fall to the ground again. "Karkat!" he rushed back to the base barely letting his feet touch the ground before opening the door. "Karkat are you ok?" He heard the troll whimper by the fire. As he approached he noticed splashes of red around him. "Karkat, that's blood."

"No shit, I figured that much out."

John smiled briefly, 'At least he's well enough to throw back smart remarks.' Kneeling beside him he placed a hand on his back and rubbed. He was still shaking and had tiny beads of sweat rolling down his face. "Karkat, we need to figure out what's wrong with you. I think you may be really, really sick."

"Impossible, trolls don't get sick."

A laugh escaped his throat even though he didn't feel the least bit happy. "That's impossible, everyone gets sick."

"Not trolls. If you get sick, you die. Sickness doesn't exist; it's been practically bred out of trolls."

Frowning John stated, "Well that doesn't explain why you're coughing up blood like that."

"I didn't cough that up."

"What?"

"I threw that up." He was shaking even worse now. "That's vomit."

"Karkat…" All John could do was hold Karkat close and try to get him to stop shaking. "This is bad."

"Yeah," he agreed.

Once again John tried to get a hold of someone, anyone on the outside. He tried Sollux, Terezi, Kanaya, his friends again, even Equius. John was beginning to become terrified. He watched as the troll would throw up more of his own blood and collapse back down. A small pail had been set beside Karkat; he didn't even snicker and make the usual dirty joke about it.

He would pester and pester his friends, desperate for anyone to reply back. He couldn't stand watching his Matesprit die in front of him. With each bucket of blood he tossed outside he could feel Karkat's life slipping away.

Finally he got a reply back.

--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 10:13--

EB: terezi please, answer.
GC: W3 4R3 NOT SUPPOS3D TO T4LK TO YOU
GC: BUT 1LL M4K3 4N 3XC3PT1ON B3C4US3 YOU K33P P3ST3R1NG US SO MUCH
GC: WH4T 1S 1T
EB: oh thank god someone replied!
EB: i think karkat's sick.
GC: 1MPOSS1BL3 TROLLS DONT G3T S1CK
EB: heh heh that's what karkat said.
EB: but i don't know what else it could be.
EB: he's vomiting up blood and won't stop shaking. terezi it's scaring me.
GC: WH3R3 4R3 YOU
EB: jade's planet. the land of frost and frogs.
GC: YOU DO R34L1Z3 TH4T TROLLS L1V3 1N TROP1C4L CL1M4T3S R1GHT
GC: 4LT3RN1A OUR HOM3 1S 4 V3RY HOT PL4N3T 1F TROLLS 4R3 3XPOSED TO LOW T3MP3R4TUR3S TH31R BOD13S B3G1N TO SHUT DOWN
GC: K4RK4T 1S DY1NG
GC: 1D F1ND 4 W4Y TO G3T H1M OFF TH4T PL4N3T
EB: but i can't! the transporter is nowhere to be found!
EB: terezi there has to be a way to help him, please!
EB: i'll do anything!
EB: please…
GC: B3TT3R S4Y YOUR GOODBY3S NOW JOHN B3FOR3 1TS TOO L4T3

--gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling ectoBiologist [EB] at 10:21--

John could feel tears slide down his face as he read the words Terezi typed. Each one felt like a crushing blow. 'Better say your goodbyes now…' John looked over to Karkat; he could still see the blanket rise and fall with his shallow breathing. Carefully he sat down next to Karkat and pet his hair. Karkat was softly purring when his eyes looked up at John's face. "John, are you ok? You're crying."

"T-Terezi says you're dying Karkat." The human whispered, he didn't want to say the words, saying them made it seem true.

"That's probably correct."

"She said your body is shutting down, and that you'll die soon." He sniffed and tried to hold back his tears. "She told me to say goodbye, while I can."

"John…" Karkat averted his gaze instead training his eyes on the fire. The troll knew she was right. He knew this would happen as soon as he started coughing. Denying it just seemed easier.

John laid over Karkat, his hands gripping the blankets and his voice faltering, "I don't want you to die, not again. Please, Karkat, don't die."

Now Karkat could feel tears on his own face, "I won't John. I'm not dead yet. I won't give up. So don't you give up on me, ok?" He looked into John's tear soaked face; the boy seemed so defeated, like this really was the end. "I'm still alive, I'll keep fighting."

"I don't want this to be goodbye."

"Me either."

John was very afraid to sleep that night. He was terrified that if Karkat closed his eyes he wouldn't wake up. The troll was so weak; it took all his effort just to drink the melted water John fed him. He stayed up as long as he could just watching Karkat's chest move up and down. As long as he could still see movement he would know that Karkat was alive. Eventually his own stress and fatigue got to him and he fell asleep right beside his Matesprit.

He was awoken by the sound of Karkat coughing again. John sat up and rubbed his back between the wings. Karkat eventually stopped and fell back down. Carefully John picked up Karkat and moved him so he could unbury the rocks and throw them in the fire again. Then he left for more water and wood. When he returned he re-buried the stones and gave Karkat more water. "Sorry I can't find much to eat. There were these berries outside, but I'm not sure if we should eat them."

Karkat sat up to drink the water slowly. "It's ok John, I doubt I'd be able to keep any food down anyways." He looked over at John and said quietly. "I know I just promised you that I'd fight, that I wouldn't die, but…" He trailed off, "I really don't think I have much longer. I won't give up, but I'm guessing that I only have about two days left."

"Karkat no."

"John everything hurts. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to open my eyes, it fucking hurts for my heart to beat." He lifted a shaky hand and placed it on John's cheek. "It hurts to touch you even," he whispered.

John took his hand in his and started crying again. "What am I going to do without you Karkat? I'll be all alone."

"Maybe the others will take you back. You still have friends back there."

The boy shook his head, "I don't want to go back, not after what they did." John let Karkat rest on him; he moved a hand through his hair and around his tiny horns. "I want you to live. I want you."

He sighed and gently nuzzled John's neck. "I know you do, but you have to be prepared for an outcome where I don't make it." There was the feeling of tears hitting his head and he knew John was crying again. Karkat wasn't even sure if he had the energy to cry.

John set him back down and made sure he was covered up nicely. He had been giving his own blankets and every scrap of spare clothes to Karkat. Every effort was made to try to keep him warm. The downside to this was that John was starting to feel the effects of the environment too. His hair would stand on end and he'd shiver whenever a gust of wind would go by. He had begun to run a low-grade fever and he could feel his own strength dissipating. He couldn't even count how long it had been since he last ate, and he didn't want to think about how long it would be until his next meal. The snow was deep and more than once John fell through a soft spot and sunk to his knees, or worse his waist. It always took all his effort to get himself out; he didn't want to use the windy thing as much because it drained the energy from him. Normally he could use it all day and nothing would happen, but those were days when he was well fed and had plenty of sleep and less stress.

However when he was pulling himself out of the snow something stopped him. A thought. He realized that the snow could be very deep, deeper than he originally thought. His eyes turned skyward, snow still fell steadily. His breath quickened along with his pulse. His footsteps filled in with snow, everything got covered. John clawed himself out of the snow and stood up; the ground he was standing on wasn't actually the ground. In fact it could be miles below him. "Why the fuck didn't I think of this sooner?" He ran back to the area by the cave and looked out at the expanse of land.

Pure white snow could be seen everywhere, the only thing that broke it up was the area of red where John had been dumping and rising out the bucket that Karkat had thrown up in. He saw how the land sloped downward to the water's edge. His body glowed blue and he willed the wind to pick up around him. He made it blow and swirl to the point where it became a swift tornado. He picked up the snow moving it away from the ground. His feet left the ground and he began floating as the snow was removed from underneath him. John concentrated and forced the wind down deeper and deeper until he reached the real ground. Then he expanded the wind outward and forced massive amounts of frozen water away. He collapsed to his knees panting. When his breathing was under control he looked around.

When the snow was cleared away brown earth and dormant grass were revealed. His eyes searched around before resting on the very thing he had spent a week or more looking for. "A transporter!" He forced himself up and ran towards the device. Everything looked in working order. He turned around and stared at what his wind had done. Massive walls of snow had been made in a corridor that lead from the mountain where their cave was to the transporter and water beyond it. The walls had to be at least four stories up. He laughed a bit when he remembered how much he was capable of. John knew that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg for what he could do. The cave were they had been staying was now high up in the air, inaccessible to anyone on the ground.

John ran forward and let his feet leave the ground as he flew up to the small opening in the rock where Karkat was sitting up. His eyes were alert and he smiled when he saw John approach. "What did you do?" He asked weakly. John noticed fresh splashes of red near where Karkat was nestled.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this sooner!" He ran forward and started captchaloguing everything he could find. "Karkat the transporters have been here all along! We just weren't looking in the right place. They were buried underneath all the snow! That's why when we got here there wasn't one underneath our feet!" He put all the extra blankets in his inventory as well and grabbed Karkat, gently cradling him in his arms. The troll was so light, it was scary. It seemed like he was wasting away, which was probably true. "I moved all the snow, and sure enough, there it was. I'm getting you out of here Karkat."

He floated down and towards the transporter. Karkat pressed further against him in protest to the cold wind. John didn't hesitate he just let the transporter take them to whatever planet it chose. Anything would be better than the frozen wasteland of the Land of Frost and Frogs.

John was greeted with the warmer airs and dark sky of his home planet the Land of Wind and Shade. "Karkat we did it." He looked down at the troll in his arms who was already beginning to relax. "Think you can get better here? Or should I move us to the Land of Heat and Clockwork or something?"

"Here should be fine, it's not too warm, not too cold." Karkat smiled and pressed against John. "Hey nookwhiff? I still might not make it, but this planet is a lot better than the other one. This planet is pretty, and reminds me of you."

"Awww…Karkat." John started walking for the small huts in the distance. "Also, you're going to make it."

"I hope so, I mean, I can't get worse, but what if I'm too far gone?"

John nodded and picked up his pace. Karkat stiffened in his arms. "Karkat? Do you need to throw up?"

He started growling weakly, it hardly sounded threatening at all. "N-No. There's one of those cats again. It's close." He tried to snarl but there was no energy behind it.

"Shit. Should I put you down? Fight? Run for it?" Before Karkat could answer the animal revealed itself from its hiding place. It seemed confident that it could take down the strange creature and its sick companion. It stalked closer confidently. John stared into its glowing yellow eyes and bright ivory fangs. "F-Fuck." Karkat looked over and bared his teeth in a display of aggression. The leopard didn't seem too threatened by it. Karkat tried again he lifted his lips showing all his sharp fangs. He glared at the animal and growled really low. John looked down at the troll briefly, he remembered how deadly Karkat could be, but right now he looked more like a frightened animal.

Step by muffled paw step the beast drew closer. "Karkat what should I do?"

"I don't know, anything is better than backing away."

The animal sensed its impeding victory and charged. In a split second John raised his hand his body glowed blue. The cat toppled over and began ferociously clawing at the ground. John kept his eyes on the beast and focused all his energy in making sure no air could enter its lungs. It thrashed and clawed at its throat trying desperately to breathe. Then John released his hold and allowed all the air to flow back in, but he didn't stop there he forced more in until the animals eyes grew wide and it fell to the ground. Blood leaked from its nose and mouth.

John collapsed to one knee and Karkat looked from the animal to his Matesprit, "What did you do?"

"I-I was going to strangle it, but instead I exploded its lungs." John regained his strength and carried Karkat to one of the abandoned huts. He set him down gently against the wall. Unfortunately it seemed like the salamanders didn't sleep in beds, or this one didn't have one. Which made sense John figured. Instead he laid out the blankets again and placed Karkat in the middle of them. "I'm going to look for water, I'll be back soon." Karkat nodded and watched John set down the now familiar pail by his side.

He was thankful to be back in a planet he was at least familiar with. John back tracked the way they came and found a small stream. He glanced behind him at the dead cat on the ground and decided to haul it with him to the edge. Karkat's sickles were removed from his inventory too. John's hands were shaking when he started to cut the cat's skin; he started to gag when he cleaned out the organs. He had seen Karkat do the very same thing the first time they killed a cat like this. He tried his best to replicate the work the troll did, but he wasn't nearly as skilled as Karkat. He had to hold back vomit when he was cleaning the meat and storing it in his inventory to be dried. It took him a while, but he got the cat processed and cleaned, it was sloppy but it would do. He took the skin and carefully washed it. He hoped it would be good enough for now.

He returned with water and wood plus all the meat and pelt. "Sorry it took me so long Karkat, I decided to clean the meat from that cat. We need food."

Karkat sat up and lifted an eyebrow, "You cleaned it?" John nodded. "Wow, I'm actually pretty fucking impressed. I didn't think you had it in you."

John started to make a small fire in the hearth of the little hut. "Well, we have to survive somehow. We needed food, that is food. It's simple." He laughed a little and admitted, "Though it was pretty gross. I don't how you could do that!"

"Like you said, survival." John could hear Karkat cough a few more times and lay back down.

When the water was done boiling John carefully poured into a glass for Karkat. "Wait for it to cool down."

"I'm not an idiot wiggler John."

He smiled, "Heh heh I know Karkat." John then moved and stuck a piece of meat on the fire for himself. "I wonder how I should go about saving all this meat?"

"We have absolutely nothing good for this kind of task." Karkat sighed, "I guess you could try to dry them, but we don't have enough sun for that, the other option is smoking them. You could try that in a different abandoned hut." John looked at him confused. "Ok, the idea isn't that fucking hard. You block off an area, light a fire, reduce it to coals, keep it hot and the smoke helps cure the meat. It's like roasting them for a long time."

The boy nodded. "I suppose I should work on that, right?" Karkat nodded.

"Just cut the strips of meat thinly and make sure to leave them in there for a long time. It's better to overcook it then under." The troll rolled over and John went off to try to do what he instructed. It was late when he finally got back in.

"I think I got it," He announced and sat down next to Karkat. He stoked the fire and noticed his tiny piece of meat was now a charbroiled mess. "Heh heh forgot about that." He tossed it outside and put a different piece on. "How are you feeling Karkat?"

He shrugged. "I'm just glad I'm not cold anymore."

John ran a hand over Karkat's forehead, "I dunno, you picked up a fever or something. You might just be sick now. Have you thrown up recently?"

"Not for a while. I think the new climate is letting my body relax. It doesn't have to worry about freezing anymore, so it can work on other tasks. Like you know, restarting normal functions." The troll managed to wrap himself tighter in blankets and look over at John. "Don't think for a second I'm out of danger."

The human nodded sadly and pulled his small piece of meat away from the flames. Eagerly he bit in and chewed. It didn't matter that they didn't have seasoning or anything, this was the best piece of meat he'd ever eaten. "Karkat, do you think we should try solids with you yet?"

"No," he answered quickly. "That wouldn't be a good idea. Trolls can live for a long time without food, don't worry. I want to make sure I'm strong enough to process it first."  He shuffled closer and leaned on John, "Hey, I'm glad you've stuck by me for so long."

John raised an eyebrow, "Karkat? We're Matesprits right? This is what I'm supposed to do. Stay by your side no matter what. I love you, so shouldn't I protect you? And make sure you're ok?" He leaned in and kissed him, giggling when Karkat kissed back gently. "Hee hee, you taste like copper, ew."

He growled and smirked, "I've been either throwing up or coughing up blood for days, what did you think I'd taste like?"

He pulled the blanket out from around Karkat and slipped in next to him. His eyes felt really heavy and he decided he was going to sleep now; there was no way he was staying up any later. The strain from using the windy thing so much was catching up with him. "Night Karkat," he yawned.

"Night idiot."

"I love you too."

John was growing increasingly worried as Karkat's condition wasn't improving. He wasn't getting worse, but he wasn't getting better. Lots of time was spent by his side gently rubbing his back and tracing the patterns on his wings while the troll laid on his side and tried not to vomit up more blood. "Karkat, are you going to be ok? I mean, you've lost a lot of blood."

"Blood isn't a concern. Trolls can make a lot, and quickly too. That's why we can survive having our arms ripped off or legs sawed off."

"I'm going to pester Terezi again; maybe she can make some medicine or something. It's worth a shot. Anything I can do to try to help you is better than sitting here." He got up and fumbled around for his computer.

--ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering gallowsCalibrator [GC] at 14:15--

EB: hey terezi.
EB: i don't know if you can answer me anymore, but could you maybe send make some medicine and send it to us?
EB: if that's a thing you can do.
EB: karkat's really sick.
EB: i don't want him to die.
EB: we're in the land of wind and shade, if that helps.
GC: 1LL S33 WH4T 1 C4N DO

--gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling ectoBiologist [EB] at 14:16--

John was unprepared for what happened next. He expected the troll girl to send them medicine through the transporter; it would be simple and easy. Coordinates were delivered and the waiting process began. But as John walked past the transporter to get water he didn't expect what he found. He heard the signature cackle of one Terezi Pyrope.

"T-Terezi? What are you doing here?" He asked walking. "Shit, I thought you couldn't talk to us let alone see us."

"Heh heh heh I came to deliver this in person. Also, I wanted to check up on you two." She looked at the bucket in his hand, "What are you doing with that?"

John shrugged, "Getting water, why?" He paused, "You know what it doesn't matter. Just follow me." He filled the pail up and proceeded back to the hut where they lived. "It's nice of you to stop by, but it's very sudden." He opened the small door and stepped inside. "I don't even think Karkat's up yet." He was right of course, the troll was still curled up and fast asleep. "He might not even wake up, he's been getting weaker these past few days." John walked over and started to heat up the water before standing beside Terezi. "So, what did you bring?"

She handed John a bag that contained various amounts of medicine from sore throat spray to fever reducers and even allergy medication. "I asked your friends what they thought would be best. I'm not sure if any will work on trolls, but at least you'll have a supply."

He set the bag down by a small pile of his belongings, "Thanks, I'm sure it will help."

Terezi slowly walked over and knelt down next to Karkat, she brushed some of the hair away from his face. "He doesn't feel right…" She watched John lay next to him and wrap him up in his arms. "I think he might be too weak to save, he's dying."

"I know." John replied steadily, "I know he is, but I won't give up."

She was quiet for a while before saying, "If-When," she corrected, "he dies you might be able to come back with the group, because honestly you're only banished because of your relationship to him, I'm sure the others would welcome you back."

"No." John said bluntly, his tone flat. "I don't care if everyone would welcome me back, I don't want to be around the people who would rather have Karkat dead."

Terezi nodded and rested her hand on the sleeping trolls head again. "I'm sorry your Matesprit ended up being a worthless effort."

"I'm not." John knew she couldn't see the glare he was giving her. "I love him, and he loves me. Karkat is strong, and he cares so much about everything. He's not worthless, I'm sick of hearing himself say that, and other people saying that about him." John started holding him a bit more protectively. "If I had to choose everything over I'd still pick Karkat." He returned to rubbing the troll's back and massaged in-between his wings. "I'm his Matesprit. He trusts me, and I trust him. It's my responsibility to care for him, and I'll stay by his side forever."

"I see." Terezi kept her hand on his forehead. "How cold was the planet you were on?"

"It was the Land of Frost and Frogs. There was snow everywhere, Karkat only had the shirt he was wearing, I ended up giving him my jacket and an extra shirt. We took shelter in a cave and I sealed the entrance. I also made a fire and never let it die, he also used all the blankets we had, which wasn't much."

"So he was constantly exposed to a lower temperature?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"He doesn't have long…" She trailed off again, "Trolls are strong but he's been under a lot of stress for days. The reason he's having so many troubles is because his body actually began to shut down. There's a chance he'll make it, however he also might die. I'm glad the two of you were able to make it out. Just continue what you're doing, he'll be happier that way." She stood up and took her leave. "I probably won't see you again Egbert, nor will I see Karkat."

"Thanks for dropping off the medication, but before you leave, can I ask one question?" She nodded. "Why did you vote for us to be banished? Isn't Karkat your friend? If you hadn't, he'd still be healthy, we wouldn't have to fight just to stay alive for one more day, and we wouldn't be under as much stress."

Terezi frowned, "I had my reasons." That was all she was willing to say.

"They better had been good reasons, because they killed my Matesprit. Remember that."

---

Karkat began to stir after Terezi left; he opened his eyes and looked around. "Hey…" John immediately appeared over him.

"Are you any better?"

Karkat shook his head and nestled back down into the blankets and scraps of clothes. He was about to close his eyes again when something caught his attention. "Is that…Terezi? Am I smelling her or am I finally delusional?"

"You're not crazy; she was here while you were asleep. She came to drop off medicine."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

John pet his head softly, "Because you were sleeping peacefully, and not in pain for once." He got up and grabbed a glass of now cool water. "It's so rare for you to be sleeping soundly; I didn't want to ruin it. But, speaking of the medication, here swallow this pill," he handed over the glass and half of a tablet. "I'm not sure if human medication will work on you or if it will make you worse, so I'm only going to give you half of the dose." Karkat nodded and took the small pill swallowing it and drinking the water. "And here, spray this down your throat, once for now." Karkat did without questioning. "The pill is to reduce fever and pain, the spray was for a sore throat and coughing." As he explained he also took a pill for himself.

"J-John are you sick too?"

He turned and smiled, "I was catching something back on Jade's planet, but I'm better now. This was just an extra precaution, nothing to worry about." One last log was thrown on the fire and John slid wearily in next to Karkat, "You really shouldn't worry about me, focus on getting better."

The days continued to go by, John would make sure to give Karkat medication and keep him comfortable. Unfortunately the troll wasn't getting any better. John would spend countless hours just laying by his side and feeling his body tense up with pain. "Karkat?" He asked quietly, "How is it that you're still alive? You've lost so much blood."

"I already told you. Trolls produce a lot of blood, it's one of the reasons we can survive having our limbs cut off. So you don't really have to worry about that."

"Don't say that, I'll worry about everything."

"I know you will."

"Hee hee," He snuggled him close. "You feel stronger though, maybe you're getting better."

Karkat smiled not wanting to ruin the boy's optimism. "Yeah maybe."

There were still occasions where Karkat would cough up blood, but they were getting rarer and rarer. It had been days since he vomited blood and they both deemed his stomach was in working order. "Here, I made this soup sorta…" John helped the troll lean up against the wall and handed him a warm bowl. "It's really bland, and the only thing in it is that cat meat and some mushrooms. We don't really have any spices…"

"John its fine." He took the bowl and carefully drank the broth first, it was more like warm water then broth, but it worked. Having something warm and slightly salty was amazing and Karkat hurriedly drank more. Then he picked at the mushrooms and meat carefully. He didn't eat it all but he drank most of the liquid and some of the meat. "That was good, thanks."

"Glad you liked it; hopefully we can get spices or something to make it actually taste like food." John laughed and rinsed out their dishes and returned to Karkat's side. Sometime during the night John could hear Karkat whimper in pain. "Oh gosh, Karkat, are you ok?" The troll opened his eyes but then screwed them shut again as another wave of pain washed over him. "Shit, was it too soon for you to eat?"

Karkat shook his head, "It's just…just my body isn't used to this yet." He clenched his fist and pressed his forehead to the ground. "I'll be fine, don't worry." He growled a bit and John rubbed his back. The troll twitched his wings whenever a twinge of pain would pass.

John kept by his side and tried to keep him comfortable. Eventually he felt Karkat tense and reach for the bucked expelling all the food he had just eaten. He handed the panting troll a cup of water and eased him back into bed. "We can try again tomorrow." The troll nodded and wrapped himself around John. John noticed the fact that Karkat had color to his face and gripped his body with strength.

The next day John tried again, Karkat ate the soup and kept it down a lot better. He was still in pain but the intensity wasn't as bad. Miraculously the troll seemed to be doing better. There came a point where he would get up on shaking legs and follow John outside and to the small stream where he'd been getting water. They would have to rest frequently, Karkat's body wasn't used to moving, but eventually he was getting stronger and stronger. John wouldn't stop fussing over him, making sure he stayed warm, and rested until he was back to one hundred percent.

There's was one night were John had pulled the blankets up around them and they watched the fire. "Hey Karkat?" The troll rested against John. "I think you're going to make it. I don't think you're going to die anymore."

Karkat smiled, "Yeah I think for some reason I made it." He laughed quietly, "I thought for sure I was going to die." He allowed himself to purr softly. "I'm pretty sure I'm only alive because of you." His lips were met by John's.

Clear blue eyes stared into weary grey ones. "I'm thankful you're not gone. It would have been devastating." Together they went to sleep, nested in a pile of blankets and leopard furs.

---

"Karkat think you're well enough to try flying again?"

The troll looked over at John and fluttered his wings as a response. "Yeah I've been dying to get back into the air." John smiled and summoned the wind floating above their hut and over the glowing trees. Karkat ran and pumped his wings until his feet left the ground. He carefully flew towards John and grinned wide. "This is going to take some getting used to again!"  The human took Karkat's hand and they flew side by side over the Land of Wind and Shade. "This planet is so beautiful." Karkat commented.

"It is," John agreed. He looked down over the glowing forests and patches of mushrooms. He could spot other salamander huts and little villages. There were inky black rivers that oozed from the ground, then there was the clear springs of water that sprung up in the deeper parts of the wood. Pipes were scattered everywhere across the landscape, and dark mountains could be seen in the distance. "What was your planet like?"

"We could go there if you want, but it's nothing to fucking special. In fact, it's kind of a shit heap. I would much rather live here forever. It's calm, and the perfect amount of brightness for my eyes." He heard John laugh, "Hey it's true!" The troll growled playfully and pulled John into a hug. The human had to use the breeze to keep them both afloat. "Hey bulgesucker, I love you."

"I know. I do too." John allowed Karkat to nuzzle him and hold him close. "You know what I think?"

"What?"

"I don't think we're going back to Jades planet ever again."

"I'd be perfectly ok with that."