Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 30

Over the next week all of the injured soldiers were taken care of and got their strength back. The mission had been completed and they needed to head back to their bases. They packed the tents up and headed out. They took Sollux and the other survivor to the small town where Terezi and Latula were. Rufioh made sure that Sollux found the two girls and was there safely. Simon helped Rufioh walk, as he hadn't gotten used to walking on just his heal. After they dropped off the survivors they made the short walk back to the base. They would send the other seven soldiers back to their base is a while.

Rufioh, Simon, and Jones were the last soldiers to make it in the base. All the movement added unnecessary stress to Rufioh's leg, which caused it to open again. His blood leaked through the bandages.

"Rufioh! Rufioh! Rufioh! Rufioh?? Rufioh????" Karkat started yelling for him as they walked into the base. He finally spotted his friend and ran over. "Rufioh!!!!"Karkat couldn't see them, but they were the last to come in. "RUFIOH!!" He yelled and the group of three stopped.

"Kid?" Rufioh saw Karkat and knew he was alright. "Karkat!" He smiled weakly. His leg was bleeding pretty bad now.  Bloodstains from the shooting covered his chest, but he still smiled. He started leaning on Simon and Jones more. He was losing consciousness. They hurried him to the medical tent.

They got him inside the tent and a doctor rushed over to him and checked out his leg. They got more bandages and wrapped it up tightly. He also looked at Rufioh's half foot. He had to take out the stitches and redo them, which was really painful to Rufioh.

The next day, when Rufioh woke up, Karkat was sitting next to him on the ground. The child was holding onto Rufioh's hand tightly as he slept against the bed. Rufioh smiled and shook Karkat gently to wake him up. Karkat woke up easily and looked up. "Rufioh!" He said groggily and jumped up onto the soldier, hugging him close. "What happened to you?"

"Uh, nothing..." Rufioh said, not wanting Karkat to know about Mituna or anything.

"That does not look like nothing..." Karkat pointed to Rufioh's leg. He noticed Rufioh's foot and got even more worried. "What happened???"

Images flashed through Rufioh's mind. Mituna being killed, Sollux crying, him shooting another soldier, a bomb going on, him in the medical tent talking to Sollux. He shook his head and looked at Karkat. "I-I'm fine Karkat, really."

"You don't look fine..." Karkat could tell that something was really wrong with Rufioh. "What did you do?"

"...nothing...it's okay, Karkat." Rufioh didn't want Karkat to know anything.

"Please? Tell me..." Karkat frowned.

Rufioh sighed and looked at Karkat sadly. "I saw Mituna and Sollux again." Karkat's face lit up. "...they were being held hostage. I was captured along with some other people. I was interrogated."

"What interrogated?" Karkat asked.

"Questioned. Like the gestapo did..." Rufioh explained and Karkat's face lost color. "They didn't torture me like that. They pointed a gun at the hostages and forced me to answer questions. They killed two people because of me...then...th-then... Mituna...H-he panicked...the-the s-soldier didn't like him t-talking. W-without st-stopping, Mituna was k-killed... In front of S-sollux..."

Karkat didn't say a word. He knew Rufioh was shaken up about this, and he was too, but he hadn't never heard Rufioh stutter like that. Karkat quickly hugged Rufioh and cried, trying not to. He cried anyway and looked up at Rufioh. "Sollux? W-what happened to Sollux?"

"He's fine...H-he's with Terezi and Latula...I-I'm sorry k-Karkat..." Rufioh hugged him tighter, holding his breath.

"...it's okay...it will be okay..." Karkat said reassuringly.

Rufioh kept thinking of what Karkat saw and what he saw and what Sollux saw. He didn't want them to be a witness to that, but they were and he felt responsible. He hugged Karkat and hid his face slightly. For the first time, Rufioh cried in front of Karkat.

Karkat looked at Rufioh the best he could, hugging him tighter. "It's okay...it's always okay...you don't has to be strong...I know you are..." He said quietly. Karkat just repeated what Rufioh would always say to him. "You're good..." The words helped Rufioh, too. Karkat was a little shocked and saddened to see Rufioh cry.

Rufioh was out of the medical tent after two days. He had to learn to walk properly again, so he just walked around the base.  He kept his head high, smiling at anyone who talked to him.

"Oh, Rufioh." Haakon saw him and wanted to talk.

Rufioh turned around. "Oh, hey! Need something?"

"Yes, actually." Haakon spoke English very well, to Rufioh's surprise. "Karkat has been thinking about going back with you, to America. He feels safe with you."

"W-wait what? Going back with me? I thought he was going to go with you! I mean you have known him for longer." Rufioh hadn't really thought about this before.

"Well, what would you have done if we hadn't shown up?" Haakon crossed his arms.

"I don't know... I guess I would've just taken him back... I wouldn't want to leave him alone here."

"What would you do there? Where would he go?" Haakon stayed stern.

"Well, uh, I guess I would have him live with me. I have two younger siblings and one around my age. A year older. My mom and dad would be happy to take him in, but...it would be a different country..." Rufioh looked to the side.

"What do you think is better for him?" Haakon asked, not knowing himself.

"...well, whatever he wants. If he feels safer with you, then he should go with you. If not, then he should go with me. I don't want him to be scared anymore..." Rufioh sighed.

"Why do not we ask him?" Haakon suggested as Karkat and Gamzee walked up.

"Was?" Karkat asked in german.

"We need to ask you something, kid." Rufioh smiled down at him.

"Ask what?" Karkat stepped behind Gamzee a bit.

"Who do you want to stay with?" Haakon asked. "Rufioh, or me." He said gently, not wanting to push Karkat into anything.

"I-um...I d-do not know...why now?" Karkat didn't want to answer now. "If I leave with you, now, I could get caught. Stay here seems good, now?"

"When the war is over then. When we-someone wins." Rufioh didn't want to offend the Germans.

"...can we wait?" Karkat asked. "...because right now, I do not want to stay here..."

"Here as in?" Rufioh questioned.

"As in Germany." Karkat nodded.

"Well, that makes sense...we can wait...no pressure." Haakon said, ruffling Karkat's hair.

Gamzee looked at Karkat, wanting him to stay with him. Karkat didn't feel the same. He didn't want to leave anyone anymore. Cronus, Eridan, Kankri, Silas, all of them and more were gone. Almost everyone in Karkat's life was gone. The country he once genuinely loved started to make him scared and sad, wanting to leave.