Genesis of Apotheosis

[Strazio Rockwell]

Well now, that was a good question. Strazio glanced at Kelly and then over his shoulder at Gamzee. The high-blood seemed to be lost in his own world, though that was not completely out of character for the troll. Strazio’s thoughts turned back to his business left unfinished in the Pale Moors. There was revenge to be had and Strazio was the one to enact it. An hour ago the hot-headed mageserker wouldn’t have given a second thought to storming off and assaulting Dracula’s castle to settle his vendetta, but now his mind was working with a fresh clarity. Sure the anger and the rage were there, but Tearen’s influence had seemed to temper them into a weapon of precision rather than one of wanton destruction. The Defender shrugged.

“Well, to be honest, I haven’t given it much thought,” Strazio lied, “Gamz and I just tend to ramble from place to place, and I guess Karkat is rambling along with us now too.”

“I see,” Malon answered, pausing a moment to collect her words before speaking again, “you know I’m heading to Camelot, if you guys wanted to you could tag along.”

Strazio looked away. It had been a long time since he had been to Camelot. Memories of the Colosseum and his eventual demise at the hands of Shang Tsung flashed through his mind. A stray smile found itself on his lips as he remembered his fight with a certain club-wielding faygo-drinking troll. Maybe that was what he needed right now, a way to stretch out his newfound powers.

“I-I could cook for you guys,” Malon offered.

“You’ve got a deal,” Strazio said, “it’d be a nice change of pace, the Moors really has a way of getting to ya, y’know?”

Kelly nodded in agreement.

“Well, I’ll go round up the troops, let me know when you’re ready to leave,” Strazio said and turned his back on the two.

Gamzee and Karkat were sitting on a pair of chairs positioned across from each other. They were mumbling something back and forth amongst themselves. Their words carried an almost eerie cadence, like two drunks half-singing pub songs.

“Oi, knuckleheads,” Strazio said, slapping a palm on Gamzee’s shoulder, “don’t tell me your brains are fried, we’ve got some walking to do and I’d rather not carry you two.”