♋ PCG 20

[crusthatecean]

[Action, 1338 Benny Road]

[Karkat wakes up unable to shake the memory of his dream. He has nightmares regularly, a combination of sleeping without a recuperacoon and everything he's been through since he began playing Sgrub. But something about this one felt more real and vivid and awful, and he remembers it more clearly

Comments

filtered

[misterwwizard]

Well Kar she was just so convincin' an' really think about it if I hadn't existed the matriorb wouldn't have gotten destroyed an' I wouldn't be feelin' all isolated from everyone!

[Welcome to Eridan logic.]

[crusthatecean]

Eridan, you're a fucking idiot. I know about that shit already.

[But his tone is surprisingly warm compared to all of their recent interactions. Eridan seems like a fake to him, but he knows what that probably means. Eridan erased himself for all of them.]

No one asked you to fall for this typical Mayfield bullshit. None of you should have gone along with this, not even you.

[misterwwizard]

Kar, I wanted to be a hero...The entire world looked so happy without me. Even Fef...I was the only one holdin' her back from achievin' her dreams... As much as I've never really believed in it, I wanted it to happen. An' Jade too... she looked like she could fuckin' soar with how much weight was lifted off a' her shoulders.

An' she's gone too...an' sol... replaced by fuckin' fakes. I'll never fuckin' see any a' them again. I'll never even fuckin' see the real you again! Replaced by some fuckin' fakey fake magic bullshit. Fuck... I bet Fef's fuckin' fake self hates me for what I fuckin' did.

Nep told me... An' she did her whole sad kitty cat thing an' well that's really fuckin' hard to say no to Kar! Especially when she's strokin' my ego.

[crusthatecean]

God, you're pathetic even in your dreams. Hey, asshole, did you ever think that if you're not really gone and a fake, no one else is either?

You already died once for what you did. That's more than I ever really wanted you to. I can admit to that because you can't be sure this is the real me.

[thatsnotaknife]

... What, so some of us really vanished and some didn't?

[crusthatecean]

I don't know what's going on. I've 'vanished' apparently, but look at me, I'm still here. Only no one seems to realize it's me.

[thatsnotaknife]

... What about Percy? [Something seems weird and wrong about Karkat, even over the phone. But Sam and his other regained friends have been acting weird around him all day too, so if it's the same...]

[crusthatecean]

...I didn't even check.

If he sees me the way all my friends have been seeing me, he'll probably kill me if I go down there.

[Phone]

[godisachild]

It's another bullcrap lie pulled by this place that we were dumb enough to walk into. Whoop-de-doo.

I think it's kind of early to discuss it more than that.

[crusthatecean]

You don't think it's worth maybe talking this out and coming up with a plan?

[godisachild]

Okay what are we planning for? Whatever is going on right now is so vague that we have no idea what to expect. Like what do you plan to do right now, exactly?

If you want to plan out some way to, say, counteract whatever's happened to make people think "we" aren't some type of weird friggin' clones, good luck with that buddy. I don't think we're convincing these morons.

[crusthatecean]

Okay, let's all throw our hands in the air and just let our friends think we've vanished forever. I am fine with accepting a life where everyone views me as the equivalent of a door stop. Sure.

phone;

[demonmaid]

After the fucking end of the world we had, I was not expectig to be told I'm a fake.

Did you have a fucked up dream too?

[Once again, sounding like Aradia might be a problem at first.]

[crusthatecean]

Aradia? Fuck, Aradia, tell me you believe it's really me.

[demonmaid]

Oh for gog's sake, once this is over I'll have to make a public introduction or some shit.

I'm not Aradia; have you ever heard of The Handmaid? That's me. Not that you would know or anything. But I look just like the other rustblood, and I guess we have the same voice fucking troublesome...

Did you have a dream or not?

[crusthatecean]

...Okay, I don't have time to worry about this ancestor bullshit right now.

I had a dream, yeah. I am one of the chumps.

[phone]

[doudemoe]

I believe you.

[Even after getting suckered into offing himself earlier to save the world, Minato's deadpanness never ceases.]

[crusthatecean]

Good, then you're not an idiot. Remind me who this is again, because all of you just seem like creepy fakes to me.

[doudemoe]

We never met, but I'm on the list too. Minato Arisato, that's me.

[crusthatecean]

Karkat Vantas.

All right. I have to admit I have nothing approximating a plan.