The Peacekeeper

Chapter 1

In the game's final moments the group was rejoicing and celebrating their victory. There were reunions between a distantly related son and father and between friends and potential lovers. The small celebration lasted only a moment before it was cut short. The genesis frog was prepared and within a moment the new door to the new universe appeared. John and Karkat walked up together and opened the door, transporting everyone to Earth. Almost everyone. Karkat, unfortunately, never made it the full trip home and no one knew why. A long two sweeps-- six human years --passed by and everyone has now accepted the fact that their beloved mutant friend was gone, was dead.

Dave took a longer time to accept the fact that his boyfriend was gone. Sure there had been other people since Karkat. Guys, girls both trolls and humans, but they never were Karkat. And because of this Dave refused to believe that Karkat was gone. For days, months, on end Dave stayed up. He always set a place for Karkat at the dinner table. He bought two tickets at the movies. He bought enough food for two. He rented an apartment big enough for two. After a long while he finally came to terms with the fact that his boyfriend was gone. Knowing this only made it even more unbelievable when he got a call from Aradia, a troll friend of Karkat's whom Dave had gotten close to over the years, saying that Karkat just...came back. She said she'd explain more once he got there but Dave was already sprinting out of his small apartment and out to his little motorcycle before racing down to street.

Karkat was back. He was back and hopefully in one piece. Karkat was back and alive. Karkat was back. Dave couldn't believe it. After being convinced that the nubby horned troll was gone, dead, erased from this existence, hearing that he was back made him ecstatic. Though being stuck in traffic made him far less than ecstatic. He wanted to be with Karkat at that moment. He wanted to see how he changed, what he looked like. Did he grow? Was he taller? Muscular? Did he look the same? Was he growing slight facial hair? Did his nubby horns finally sharpen out? All these questions, random ones really, popped into Dave's head as he cursed at the traffic that kept him from the love of his life.

Finally after an agonizing hour stuck on the road Dave made it to the large apartment building that housed Aradia. Cars were already parked on the street and Dave knew exactly who was there. He was tempted to just fly up to the window and crash in but that wouldn't be very guest like of him. So he went in the right way, going up the stairs and pounded on her door. His hands were shaking. Fuck he was nervous. What if Karkat hates him for not doing something? What if Karkat never wanted to speak to him again? No.

No.

Dave took a shaky breath as the door opened. Rose stood there with a solemn face. This wasn't good.

"Where is he?" Dave's voice was shaking. Was it from fear? Excitement? Nervousness? He didn't know. Rose pressed a finger against her lips and shushed him before stepping aside and instructing him to go in slowly and quietly. He did so.

Karkat was there. Laid out on the maroon couch. There were trolls and humans surrounding him. Dave nearly started crying at the sight of him though it wasn't from joy. Yes he was happy to see Karkat but not like this. Not like how he was now. Karkat was laying there, his jaw clenched and his hands in fists so tight it looked like the skin around his knuckles were about to tear. His grey skin was somehow a darker shade of grey and Dave didn't know why. He was wearing armour though it was...shredded to pieces. Underneath the shredded armor he wore his black sweater which was also shredded. Blood was very present, the candy red was staining the maroon and smearing on the metal of his armor, hell it wasn't even just the red blood. It was yellow and purple and blue and green, blood of every color imaginable. He had cuts and bruises and scars and burns on the areas that were visible. Karkat was in pain.

"He just...appeared here." Aradia whispered to Dave, she was holding an ice pack to the side of her head. "When he woke up he hit me square in the head and was reaching for his sickle when I froze him. Time powers to the rescue." Dave blinked and looked around before he spotted them. The two big sickles were thrown in the corner, both the weapons covered in a rainbow of blood as well. The freshest looking one was the rich purple that belonged to Gamzee. "He refuses to let anyone except Equius and Sollux near him. When Gamzee tried to get within a foot of him he tried to snap his neck!" This wasn't right. "We're kind of hoping him seeing you would calm him down."

Dave stumbled foreword and knelt before Karkat. He wanted to reach out and grab the troll's hand. To run his thumb across it and kiss it and cry. But he couldn't. Not now. Equius stood in front of Dave, blocking his view of Karkat and Sollux slowly reached a hand over and touched his friend's forehead. A second later the troll woke up. Equius waited a moment or two before he slowly moved out of Dave's way and revealed the human to the troll.

At first everything was going well. They were just staring at each other and no one was getting hurt, unless you count the emotional pain Dave was feeling. The next second it was like Karkat was a feral beast. The tiny troll lunged at him and Equius had time to grab the troll who immediately calmed down.

This wasn't supposed to be happening.