Chapter 8

Karkat dreamt that day, and with his dream self dead and no dream bubbles to go to, this dream was purely a work of his own subconscious. He almost mistook it for a dream bubble at first though, for he seemed to be reliving a memory. He was in his hive, in Alternia before he played SGRUB and screwed the whole world to oblivion. He sighed, looking around made him realize how much he missed this place, Crabdad and all. He walked around inside a bit, taking in the feel of his former home. Then, he heard something outside. It was a long, whining, mournful sound, and Karkat headed to the closest door leading outside, which was the balcony door. As he threw the door open, a hot blast of wind hit his face, and he instincively threw his arm up to cover his eyes. Upon lowering it, his eyes windened in horror. Fire... The whole world outside his door was one enormous, raging inferno. Bright red-orange light jumped and danced ferociously in waves across the ground, destroying any chance of lifr. Smoke hung so thickly in the sky that they could have been storm clouds, blotting out any hope of seeing the moons or the stars. The whining noise hit Karkat's ears louder this time, and he could now make out what it was. It was.. screaming. The distant cries of pain and terror of those trapped within the flames were all combining into one deadly chorus. Karkat stood frozen in terror at this nightmare that had thrust itself  before him. He had done this, he had forced everyone on Alternia to die like this. Why...? Why did you do this? The screams were beginning to be coherent and accusatory. It's your fault... it's always your fault. Trust the mutant to fuck everything up. Karkat shrunk back, covering his ears with his hands. The flames around him were beginning to twist and bend unnaturally, forming haunting figures. The voices began to grow louder and angrier, lashing at Katkat with tormented words. You did this. You can't do anything right. Mutant. Outcast. You shouldn't even exist. Freak. Fuck up. You should have died with us. Sorry exuse for a troll. Pathetic. Worthless. Karkat was on his knees now, desperately trying to block out the painful speech being burned into his skull. "I'm sorry! I'm so fucking sorry!" He just wanted to wake up already, end this horrible dream. But the dream wasn't done with him yet. The harsh, loathing cries slowly began to fade, and the blazing heat of the fire became cold. Karkat paused a moment, trembling. Then cautiously looked up, removing his hands from his head. The destroyed image of Alternia was gone, and he now sat in a neverending expanse of cold darkness. A slight twinge of relief started to edge its way into him, but it waa short lived. Instead of hearing endless, pained voices, a single, sad, and familiar voice entered his mind. Why didn't you help us Karkitty? Where were you when we needed you? Karkat felt an immediate feeling of guilt and sadness strike his heart, and he looked around in the dark. "Nepeta I-" He didn't get the chance to continue as another voice spoke. I thought you wwere the leadee Kar. Aren't leaders supposed to keep the group together? "Eridan-" I would have expected someone with leadership status to preform STRONGER than you did. Karkat was beginning to feel worse and worse, his eyes stinging. "Equius-" We trusted you with everyfin, and you just let us sink. "Feferi please-" I was never very.. uh, confident. But I put some confidence in you and, well, I guess, that was a mistake. He really didn't think he could take much more of this. "Tavros..." Each voice of his friends hit him like a stab to his chest, and he huddled closer to himself. Karkat... Karkat... The voices echoed his name mournfully around him, and he wished he could have the mass of hateful scolding instead. He buried his head in his knees, listening as the chanting went on, until one voice began to get louder than the rest. Karkat.. Karkat! "Karkat! Karkat, wake up!" He jumped, his eyes jolting open. Panting, he looked up at Signless, who looked at him with concern, one hand placed calmingly on his shoulder. "Are you alright? You were moaning in your sleep." Karkat swallowed, calming himself down. "Y-yeah." He replied, half lying. "Just a bad dream."