Kankri awoke acting as if it was just another day. Not like there was a ghost in his apartment. Nope not at all whatever could you be speaking about? Kankri rolled out of bed groggily, and opening a drawer for his cigarettes but groaning when he remembered that OH! He fucking threw it off the balcony to make Karkat feel better. Kankri, you see, was not a morning person. He needed a cup of coffee, a shower, a smoke most days, and an episode of Full House before he would speak to anyone with proper sentences instead of just grunts of annoyance. Since normally he lived alone, he didn't exactly have to worry about actually conversing unless his friend Cronus got into another fight with his boyfriend, and wanted to stay the night. Or Porrim let herself in. Both were fairly common.
Luckily, things were in Kankri's favor this morning. He had no classes today, and Karkat didn't seem to be around. He vaugely wondered if he should be worried in any way shape or form as he climbed into the shower, but just couldn't find himself doing such. Until a giant cloud of yellow appeared in front of him and some weirdo with 3D looking glasses popped in. Kankri squeaked and covered himself with the shower curtain.
"JESUS CHRIST WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?! NO, WAIT. I DONT CARE. GO AWAY."
"Well jeez. Thath not quite niceth."
"I just woke up, and youre in the shower with me. Get. Out."
"I don't have time for thith, Kankri. You need to lithen to me. Karkath condition got really bad over night, and he got locked up in hith thubcauntiouth."
"Wait what? Hold the phone, is he okay?"
"Oh yeah he'th just prancthing around in a flower patch."
"Don't use that tone with me! who are you anyway?!"
"Oh! Right. Thorry. I'm Thollux."
"Sollux? Oh, Karkat told me about you. Youre his guardian angel, yes?"
Sollux sighed and rubbed his temples before giving Kankri a dead on look and mumbled to himself.
"Alwayth the guardian angelth. Never anything elth. Jethuth."
"Sollux?"
"Do I look like I have wingth, Kankri?"
"No..."
"I'm not a fucking angel. I'm not having this converthation right now."
"Well I rather we have it not at all to be quite honest. I am naked. In the shower. And I just woke up."
"Whatever. Get your clotheth on. Like I thaid, Karkat got worthe. I need your help."
Kankri grumbled a bit, before shooing Sollux out of the bathroom so he could finish up and get dressed. It didn't take to long, Kankri wasn't one for long showers after all. Meeting the strange floaty 3D creeper, as Kankri mentally labeled him, in the living room he sat down with his coffee giving the matter his full attention.
"I have questions."
"We don't have all the time in the world for antwerth. But I'll do my betht."
"Why am I the one who has to help Karkat?"
"I'm...Not really thuppothed to give out that information. But at thith rate I feel like ith obviouth and if you go at thith rate he'th going to end up dead. Which I cannot allow. You and Karkat are bound by hith thtory, I can't go to deep into it. But thereth more in that notebook than meeth the eye. All of it ith extremely important, and he needs to finith it. That ith the biggetht unfinithed thing he mutht do to accept hith end rethult.
The thecond I cannot talk about with you, but it will happen on ith own in due time. It ith the one he ith truly judged by the actual guardian angeth for. Weither he will thurvive or path on."
"So if the second task is the only one he is judged for, why does he have to finish the book?"
"Like I thaid. It'th more than meeth the eye. It is actually a crutial point in hith timeline. If the book is failed to be made, he will never meet hith mate, and it ties into thomething elthe. thereth a large litht of thingth I'm not promitted to talk about, tho I cannot go on with thith question."
"I see...Just one more question then. Does heaven...exist?"
"...I'm not thuppothed to talk about that either. Thorry. Regulationth. If thath all, we need to hurry."
"Right, you said Karkat was in trouble?"
Sollux nodded taking Kankri's hand, teleporting them to the hospital, to Karkat's room. His body lay there weak and pale. An oxygen mask over his face, and the steady sounds of a heart monitor filling the space. The room was dimly lit with the light from the window. A nurse waves to them from the hall, Kankri gives him a sheepish smile. Taking a few steps toward Karkat's bed, Kankri realizes how his footsteps echo the room. It was a bit too eerily quiet for him. Wouldn't his family be here? Where were they? Sollux snapped his fingers, and it made him a humanoid appearence, just in case. After all, they were in public.
"He may open up and tell you that one day. But now ith not the time for thuch quethionth."
Kankri paused and frowned giving Sollux the, "I know you just did the thing but I'm going to ask anyway." Look.
"...Did you jus-"
"Read your mind? yes."
"Don't. It's...Disturbing. What am I doing here? Isn't Karkat still at the apartment or something?"
Sollux rolled his eyes, and walked over on the otherside of Karkat gazing down at him. He still was looking pretty beat up. Plenty of purple bruises, and even a few stitches here and there. It was a wonder he was actually alive at all. Waving his hand, Sollux gestures to Karkat, frowning. If you looked close enough, you maybe could have seen worries crawl across his features.
"No. Karkat ith here. Thort of. He had a downthpell latht night. Thomething thet off a negative charge of energy through him. Hith condition ithn't quite ath thable ath the doctors make it out to be. The condition varieth with his mood. If it'th negative, hith body will trap his thubcauntiouth in his head normally rethulting in higher increathe of negative charge, and making the condition worthe on top of not being able to get out."
Kankri frowned, his eyebrow's furrowing in thought as he cupped his chin with one hand. Was this really even possible? Negative charge? all of this sounded like a giant pile of bullshit to him...But considering what he had experienced lately, it was probably best to just go with it in the end.
"So, generally he got stuck in his own beat up shell? Seems a bit...Strange putting it in such terms but it makes sense all the same. So if he's not able to get out...His condition is only going to get worse, correct? How do we get him out?"
"Yes, you're correct. When the thoul ith detatched from it'th phythical home the body acth ath a magnent trying to pull it back. Ath if it would thave the body. Natural inthinct. The pull is mainly ignorable unleth dark thoughts and thuch things ath thadness and deprethion. That maketh the pull thtronger thince the thoul ith, well...Giving up in a way. Thath where you come in. He won't Lithen to me, I've already tried. You have to talk him out of there."
"What? Talk him out of there? That's insane!" The outburst caused a few nurses to look in the room curiously. Both Kankri and Sollux sheepishly smiled at them and told them everything was just fine.
"The longer he thay'th in there the thorter the time he hath to do what he muth do before hith time is up becomtheth. Kankri, You have to try."
