Chapter Text
VRISKA
After wandering around with Aranea for thirty minutes, you started to doubt you would find Vriska. This was the afterlife, after all. It contained thousands of souls from thousands of timelines, all packed together in one dream. You figured you were just stuck with her lookalike. As sweet as Aranea was, she just wasn’t what you were looking for. You perked up a little when she mentioned meeting some ancestors; you can’t deny that you’re very intrigued by what kind of people they are. Especially your own. So instead of pinching yourself awake, you stick with the ghostly troll until the end of your journey.
You only captured about half of the sentences Aranea was dropping on you, and the conversation (if you could even call it that; she did most of the talking) became background noise. So, when Aranea’s flow of words stopped, the silence beckoned your attention.
A group of trolls were chatting not far from the two of you; some you recognize, and some you don’t. The first person you got a good whiff of was a troll with horns and shades that matched yours. Aranea saw where you were “looking” and smiled. She placed her hand on the small of your back as if to encourage you to talk to her. But anxiety glued your feet to the ground. You wanted to make a good impression on your ancestor, but you weren’t quite sure how.
Before you could dive deeper into your worry and embarrass yourself, the mingling scent of the trolls became clear. Tavros’ metallic fragrance washed over you like a gentle wave, and you felt your heart swell with joy. The painting of his mangled corpse that hung in your mind was replaced with the picture before you; Tavros in one piece and no wounds to be smelled. He was alright. Well, as alright as a ghost could be.
You noticed Aradia soon after, and it didn’t take long for you to understand that she was probably the original soul that harbored her metal lookalike before her dream self-reached god tier.
Vriska’s scent hit you like a punch in the gut.
It knocked the breath out of you, and you forgot about your ancestor immediately. You knew your shock was probably present on your face, but at the moment, you didn’t care. Aranea moved past you to say something to her, and you almost wanted to scold her for interrupting the moment, but Vriska paid her no heed and went straight to you. You would have been insulted if she didn’t.
When her face becomes clear, a mix of anger and joy clashes together like a storm inside you. You pull your arm back and aim for her jaw.
“ Jack’s still alive? “
You nod. Vriska’s expression is troubled. You and she are sitting cross-legged next to each other in a memory of Prospit. Your right hand is flat against the ground, and three of Vriska’s fingers are overlapping yours. Both of you pretend not to notice.
Your friends and ancestors have left, and you’re slightly worried that blatantly ignoring them for Vriska came off as rude, but you have priorities. You’re sure Aradia will vouch for you.
They all left, except for one. One of the trolls stayed behind, lingering behind a pillar. She’s out of Vriska’s view, but you can smell her. She sort of smells like Feferi; the sea salt and seaweed mixed together with a hint of fish. But there’s something else, too. Gunpowder? No matter. She’s obviously eavesdropping, but as long as she doesn’t butt in between you and Vriska, you don’t care.
“ Well if he’s still alive, “ Vriska continues, worry laced in her voice. “ Then why the hell are you asleep? “
“ Relax. Karkat and the others are around. No one else died after you, and Jack’s too weak to fight us as a group. He’s just slinking around the meteor like Gamzee. I’m not sure which one makes me more nervous. “
“ Woooooooow, I died for all you and you couldn’t even finish him off? Real nice, Pyrope. “
You roll your eyes. “ I’m still mad at you for that. Dying on us like some...some loser! “
That wipes the grin off of Vriska’s face. “ I’m not a loser! I’m a hero. I died heroically. “
“ I don’t know, it could have been just, too. Remember Tavros? “
“ Hey, Tavros and I are good now. We talked it out. Kind of. Not really. I’ll get to it. “
“ Hmm... Vriska Serket talking things out? That doesn’t sound quite right. “
Vriska scowls and raises her arm, and you’re sure she’s about to playfully slap you, but when her palm reaches your cheek, her touch is as gentle as a caress. It was like a black gesture turned to pale in under a second. That shuts you up because you’re unsure what message the Vriska is trying to convey and how to respond. The ghost doesn’t seem to know either because she simply pulls her hand back hastily and turns away, like she suddenly saw something very interesting in the distance.
The awkward silence cuts into you like a knife, so you break it the only way you know how with her.
“ I didn’t take you for the sappy type. Dying must have really fucked you up, huh? “
Hmm. No. That wasn’t the kind of response you were looking for.
Vriska scoffs. “ Oh, please. I just didn’t want to hurt you any more than I already did. You know, when I completely kicked your ass? How are those wounds, by the way? “
This time she none-too-gently shoves you with her shoulder. Your wounds have healed for the most part, but there is still some bruising left behind, so her push wasn’t exactly painless. Vriska’s move also removed her hand from atop of yours, and you find that you’re disappointed.
“ They’re just fine. How are yours? Oh wait, you don’t have any because you died. Sorry, I forgot. “
With each syllable you start to hate yourself more. You didn’t search the afterlife to continue your stupid contention with her! You found her to work past everything you couldn’t while she was alive... right? You hear her grinding her teeth, fangs clicking against the bottom row. You have no one to blame but yourself, though. It was you who sprinkled your talk with tiny spades.
“ You’re walking into uncharted territory, Pyrope. “
“ Now, what were we talking about after I punched you? How I’m always right and you’re always wrong? Yes, that sounds familiar.“
You’re in for it, now.
“ Well maybe I wouldn’t have died if you spent your energy fighting Jack by my side instead of fighting ME! “
“ We wouldn’t have had to fight him at all if you just considered what I was saying instead of ignoring me! “
“ What, and run from him like a coward? “ Vriska spits. “ That is so you. “
You’re used to Vriska insulting you, but for some reason, it hurt this time. Something snaps inside of you, and you hiss, thrusting yourself towards her and forcing her onto her back. The moment you do, the bricks of Prospit melt into white, fluffy snow, and the two of you sink into the cold. Vriska fights back, snapping at your arm and fingers like a piranha. When she does land a bite on your forearm, she sinks her teeth deep enough to draw blood. You’re abruptly hit with memories of Jack closing his jaws around your foot, and you shove yourself away from her in a panic. You fall into the fresh fallen snow and create a snow-troll. You glance to your left and see a frozen frog. You’re tempted to lick it, but don’t because a ghost grabs your arm and rips you out of the icy depths.
Then you’re face to face with her, her cold, dead fingers gripping your shoulders like a beast-trap. Her body emits no heat whatsoever, and it unnerves you. This is when you start to realize that Vriska is truly dead. And she’s not coming back.
“ Don’t tell me you came here just to flaunt my mistakes in my face. “ Vriska growls. “ Because if you did, you’ll fucking regret it. “
“ That’s not why-- “
“ Then why did you come?! “
You pause. You can’t straight up tell her why you’re here; not after this. She’ll laugh in your face. But you can’t lie and say it was to poke fun at her choices, because then you’ll lose some teeth. The bleeding bite mark on your arm proves that ghosts can hurt the living.
You used to have so much fun making Vriska mad and tugging at her strings. What’s different now?
“ Because... I... miss you? “
Vriska blinks in surprise. “ What? “
“ I miss you. You died and I miss you, so I came to see you. “
That actually felt good. Maybe you should be blunt with her more often. Even if she’s going to laugh at you. She laughs at you anyway.
Vriska lets go of your shoulder and huffs. “ Well, you have a fucking weird way of showing it. “
“ Isn’t that what kismesis’ do? “
Vriska raises her eyebrows. You decide not to be blunt anymore.
“ Is that what we are? “ She asked.
“ I don’t know. “ You really don’t. “ Do you want to be? “
“ Do you? “
“ I asked you first. “
“ I asked you second. “
You’re both silent. You’re not still, however. You start jogging in place to keep warm in the freezing wind, and Vriska’s gawking at you.
“ What? Some of us still feel cold, okay? “
“ I’m cold too. I’m just not a dumbass about it. “
The intensity of the glare you give her is weakened by your bouncing. Vriska shuffles her feet.
“ Me too. “ She mutters.
“ Huh? “
“ I miss you too. “
“ Look, I’m sorry about-- “
Vriska raises her hands to halt you. “ No. No no no. We’re not going to start apologizing and getting all mushy and all that crap. I get it, okay? We were hurt and angry and said stuff we didn’t mean. Done. That’s it. “
“ Oh no, I meant everything I said. I was just going to say sorry for pushing you into the snow. “ You tease.
She frowns at you before jumping towards you, and you prepare for a kick or a punch but instead you get are two ghostly arms wrapping around your torso. When you’re right next to each other, or more specifically, right against each other, the height difference is very prominent. It allows Vriska to tuck your head under your chin, a motion that makes your heart skip a beat. Vriska’s heart doesn’t beat at all, so you have difficulty perceiving her emotions.
“ What are you doing? “
“ You looked cold. I’m warming you up. “ Vriska says.
“ Vriska, you don’t have any body heat, you can’t warm anything up. “
“ Shut up. I’m warming you the fuck up. So stop complaining. “
Her hug around you becomes tighter, and you realize in dismay that you are becoming warmer due to your own blushing. You wonder if Vriska can feel it. You really hope she can’t.
But if she can’t feel it, then that means she’s hugging you just to hug you. The thought makes you burn like a heater, and you almost can’t believe you were fighting her a couple minutes ago. You wish your heart would settle on a single emotion and stick with it, but this troll scrambles your feelings like a puzzle, and you can’t put it back together.
“ Can you feel me? “ You question.
Vriska looks down at you, slightly puzzled. “ Of course I can feel you, dork. “
You pretend that the warmth surrounding you is hers.
You jerk away, and the scent of Vriska and the land of snow is quickly replaced with the atmosphere of the lounge. You release a breathy sigh of disappointment when you realize you have awakened. You wipe away the drool that was leaking from the corner of your mouth and untangle your cape around your legs before sitting up.
“ Okay, “ You grumble, “ Who the hell woke me up? “
A snout made of black licorice answers your question quickly.