Part Of Their World | Homestuck AU

|Chapter 5|

"Let's see now-w..." Dualscar mutters quietly as he turns over a seaflower in his hands, curious about his son's behaviour. "Oh, w-who could the lucky mertroll be?" He asks to himself, smiling as he notices Karkat by the entrance of the throne room. "Come in, Karkat"

Karkat sighs shakily as he enters, mumbling to himself nervously, "I can't overreact, I gotta stay calm" He says and clears his throat, looking up at Dualscar with a nervous smile, "Yes your majesty?"

Dualscar nods at Karkat in acknowledgement and smiles back, still holding the flower, "Now-w Karkat, I'm concerned about Cronus. Hav-ve you noticed that he's been actin' strange lately?" He asks, Karkat now gulping as he shrinks back a bit.

"E-Erm...strange...?" Karkat asks, his voice slightly in a higher pitch than normal as Dualscar nods. "W-Well, you know-w, daydreamin', singin' to himself...you hav-ven't noticed, hm?" The King asks, raising an eyebrow at the crab below him.

Karkat gulps again and laughs nervously, his claws clattering slightly. "O-Oh...w-well I-" He begins but Dualscar speaks up, crossing his arms now as he looks down at the crab, "Karkat...I know-w you'v-ve been keepin' somefin' from me"

"K-Keeping...something?" Karkat asks and backs up, Dualscar moving closer nevertheless, "About Cronus?" He asks, Karkat now looking around quickly out of fear and nerves. I am so fucking dead, He thinks, Dualscar grinning slightly as he speaks again, "In love?"

Karkat can't help but blabber the truth now, bowing quickly at Dualscar's tail. "I tried to stop him sir, but he wouldn't fucking listen! I told him COUNTLESS times to stay away from humans! They are bad, they are trouble, they-"

"Humans? What about humans!?" Dualscar barks and his grin drops immediately, his eyes burning with rage as he looks down upon the trembling crab who now laughs nervously. "H-Humans? O-Oh your trollfullness, w-who said anything about humans?"

Meanwhile, Tavros is leading Cronus to his beloved grotto, the mertroll having his eyes closed as Tavros leads him along with a small laugh. "Tavwros, vwhy can't you just tell me vwhat this is all about?" He asks, Tavros grinning as he replies with, "You'll see. It's a surprise!"

Soon enough, Cronus opens his eyes to see a statue of Kankri in the middle of his grotto, a smile now etching itself onto his face as he quickly swims over to it. "Oh Tavwros you're the best! It looks just like him, it evwen has his eyes..."

Cronus smiles as he inspects the sculpture, unaware of his father currently approaching the grotto with his harpoon gun in hand. "Why, Kankri, run awvay vwith you? This is all so...so sudden-" He turns around and stops in the midst of his daydream, his eyes locking with his father's dark violet ones. "Dad!"

"I consider myself a reasonable mertroll. I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed" The King says as he frowns at Cronus, his stare cold enough to turn the water around him to ice. "B-But Dad-!" Cronus tries to say but his father interrupts him, "Is it true you rescued a human from drow-wnin'?"

Cronus holds back a slightly scared whimper, having never seen his father this angry before, "But Daddy I had to!" He protests, Dualscar growling at his response. "Contact betw-ween the human w-world and the mertroll w-world is strictly forbidden. Cronus you know-w that! Ev-veryone know-ws that!"

"He vwould havwe died!" Cronus yells now, violet tears slightly gathering in his eyes as he clenches his hands into fists. Dualscar scoffs and shakes his head, the King looking at the statue behind Cronus in disgust. "One less human to w-worry about"

Cronus grits his teeth now and Tavros finds that he should back up as soon as possible, hiding near the entrance of the grotto. "You don't evwen knowv him!" Cronus yells angrily, Dualscar's own anger rising now from the backchatting he's receiving. "Know-w him? I don't hav-ve to know-w him. They're all the same. Spineless, sav-vage, harpoonin', fish-eaters, incapable of any feelin'!"