And so they arrived.

[Strazio Rockwell]

Strazio frowned. Minas Tirith towered before him and his companions. Gargantuan white walls formed concentric bulwarks around the city. Strazio’s pace slowed as they made their way across the gently sloping road that led to the city.

“Something wrong?” Malon asked.

Strazio shook his head, “no, I just don’t like big cities is all.”

“Why not?”

Strazio did not answer right away. The boy had spent most of his life sleeping in the wilderness underneath the stars. Magick was abhorrent and mages were aberrations, hated and hunted. Strazio’s tempestuous temper made it hard for him to keep his power hidden and a life of isolation was not only preferred, but necessary if he was to survive. Despite this he swallowed his fear and reminded himself that the Omniverse was bit more varied than his homeland.

“No reason,” he answered, “I just don’t like being that close to so many people, it’s annoying.”

Gamzee threw his arm around Strazio, “ah, it won’t be so bad, Strawso, there is lotsa mirth in a place like that.”

“Fuck off Gamzee,” he said.

[Malon]

As Minas Tirith drew ever closer after having appeared on the horizon Malon grew more and more amazed at the sheer size of it. She was no stranger to big cities, after all she'd been to Hyrule Castle Town which, despite its name, was a full-fledged city that spanned a fair amount of surface, but this...

Gigantic white walls and buildings in a strangely orderly fashion reached into the sky like they were made of pure marble. And who knew, maybe they really were? The black wall that protected the bottommost layer formed an odd contrast to the white, as if meaning to tell outsiders: Here, see the beauty that is this city, but be warned: we do not take kindly to attackers. As white and pure as our inside may appear, if it comes to war we will show you our dark and merciless side. As if those beautiful white buildings inside were reserved for those who had earned their way into the city. But then again, getting into the city seemed easy. The gates were wide open and as they drew closer she could see people entering and exiting the city, many of them mounted or with carriages behind them.

The mountain behind the city added only to its majesty. She could see how terraces were built into the rock, and no doubt there were expansive cave networks inside. She wondered if the mountain itself was fortified, if there were protections along its base to prevent attackers from laying siege to the city from above.

Then she gazed back down. Before the city vast fields stretched out, crops of all kinds grew here to feed the insatiable maw that was a city as big as this. She could see ranches and barns strewn about between those fields, and big open areas where cattle was grazing. The view from the top of the mountain over all those fields must have been amazing. More importantly though, there was the Colosseum. It was a big structure that caught their eye from afar, though it helped that it located outside the city borders.

"It's huge", she murmured. "I wonder how long it would take even for a Prime or several to build up a city this big. Or an arena like that."

"It wasn't built in one day", pointed out Strazio, "but over time as more Secondaries needed housing."

"Well, yes. But even like that, look at how enormous it is. King Aragorn must be a very seasoned Prime to have had so much Omnilium at hand that he could summon this."

"Well, he's the motherfuckin' leader of Camelot, eh?" Gamzee remarked. "Ya gotta give it to him though, that city he made is... it's..."

"A motherfucking miracle?" asked Malon with a grin. Gamzee's eyes widened and he pointed both indexes at her.

"How'd you know I was gonna say that?!"

Strazio rolled his eyes. "Let's just keep going... before you completely infect Malon."

---

As they came closer to the gates and Colosseum, something caught Malon's eye. She shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand and squinted. "That's a weird cart", she said. "The one with the colorful tarp on its roof."

"Hmm... Isn't that a mobile noodle stand?" said Strazio. "I've seen one before here in Camelot. They’ve been around for the Carnival when the Colosseum Tournament took place."

"Like a mobile restaurant where they sell noodles?"

"Pretty much. The one I saw had stools to put out and the tarp formed a protection from the sun and rain, so people could sit there and chat with each other or with the chef while they ate." Indeed, upon closer inspection Malon could see that a man was pulling the entire thing. He was getting into the city though, along with dozens of others so it was hard to tell amidst the masses.

"... I see. Thanks for explaining."

At that time, she had no idea that this was far from the last of what she would see of that stand.

[Strazio Rockwell]

As they walked Strazio’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished out the vibrating device and opened up the series of messages. Images of a colossal beast, covered in spines, teeth, and horns, flashed across the screen. Too big to even fit into a single snapshot Strazio struggled to comprehend the pure enormity of the beast. Underneath the pictures was a message from Strazio’s good friend, Sergeant Rumford. They read - Spotted by our scouts, the Tarrasque lives, requesting immediate assistance by all available Defenders. His heart sank and it wasn’t until Gamzee was prodding at his cheek that he realized he had stopped walking. He batted away the troll’s finger.

“We have to go,” Strazio said, “now.”

“What’s wrong?” Malon asked.

Strazio held up his phone for all of them to see.

“Fuck. That. Noise.” Karkat noted.

Strazio held up the crest around his neck, “yeah, well, unfortunately I’ve got obligations to uphold, come on Gamzee we’ve got a big skull to crack, it was nice to meeting you Malon, let’s keep in touch.”

Malon nodded and smiled, “it was a pleasant time, I’m sure we’ll see eachother again.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Karkat said, grabbing onto Gamzee’s arm, “you can’t seriously be thinking about going on a fucking suicide mission with him can you?”

Gamzee blinked. He looked at his mentor, then to Karkat, back to Strazio, and finally his gaze rested on Malon.

“You ain’t going?” He asked the Hylian girl.

Before she could even properly respond, the troll shoved his best buddy Karkat into her personal space.

With a goofy grin on his face Gamzee said, “Imma need to you to hold onto this for me.”

Karkat sputtered and untangled himself from the human, shouting, “don’t you dare fucking-”

His protest fell on nonexistent ears as the two primes were already mid-sprint. Gamzee waved goodbye as he ran.

“I’ll be back for you, brother! You take care of that nice lady you hear me?” The high-blood shouted as he disappeared around a corner.
Karkat sighed and looked at Malon.

“He’s going to get himself killed.”

[Gamzee Makara]

Karkat stared at Malon from what he assumed was a relatively safe distance away. She held his gaze, unblinking. What a strange creature, she must have been thinking to herself. Grey skin. Little candy corn colored nubs for horns poking through a crop of messy jet black hair, and his shirt bore a strange symbol that she didn't recognize. She went to ask him about it, but the expression on the boy's face gave her cause to reconsider. Then, the smallest of smiles pierces her lips. Malon crossed her arms, purposefully copying her new companion, and a squeaky little 'hmph' escapes her throat.

"If you're going to travel with me," she begins, small little smile ever present, "then you're certainly going to have to have a better attitude about it. Or at the very least be much more polite."

The troll scoffs in disbelief. The utter gall this human girl had caught him plainly off guard. He opened his mouth to return fire with his own snarky little comment, but something stole his attention before he could manage.

There, far closer to the two of them than Karkat was comfortable with, was a small, furry...creature. It had a red-orange coat of fur, no doubt soaked by the blood of its enemies. A bushy tail swished back and forth, and a snout painted with black lips and a mouth full of sharp teeth was clearly visible.

That creature was grinning at them, intelligent eyes of amber piercing their very souls. The predator, it would seem, was sizing up the prey. It couldn't have been more than 10 yards away, sitting there, just watching them. Menacingly

"Stand back, human girl," The alien says softly, eyes wide and wary. He reaches around his back and yanks his sickle loose from the straps.

Malon tilts her head, looking at Karkat as if he had sprouted an extra limb or five. Then, she lays eyes on the target of his vehemence.

"It's a... fox," She says plainly.

"Yes, yes, fuck, that's what I said too. Shhhh," he hushes her, "It can sense fear."

What.

"HYAAAAAAAH!" Karkat leaps, sickle raised for the kill.

What?!

Malon sprints into a leaping pounce, tackling Karkat to the ground a safe distance away from the poor woodland critter.

"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Kar shouts, struggling against the girl's pin. "It's gonna fucking kill us! It's-"

The Hylian slaps a hand across the boy's mouth, silencing him for a moment. The utter GALL this girl had!

"That is a fox."

Karkat strained and craned his neck to get another good look at the monster, that horrendous looking thing she called a fox. He was positively sure that it was going to shred them to ribbons at any moment now, but the painful, gruesome death at the claws of a fox never came. Instead, Malon rolled off of him and put her hands on her hips.

"Look! You probably scared the poor thing half to death." She says while gesturing to the fox. By the inquisitive look the creature was giving the two of them, Karkat had done nothing of the sort.

[Malon]

As Karkat eyed her with what she imagined was barely contained anger for having laid a hand on him like that, Malon calmed a little. “That fox is more scared of you than you’re scared of it”, she said.

“I’m not scared of it!” Karkat protested. “I’m going to fight it before it attacks us!”

“It’s just observing us. We’re probably near its cubs or something. Hold on…” She put her backpack down before herself and pulled out a piece of meat that she’d wrapped into leaves. Leftovers from their last meal in Tearen’s encampment. The fox’s ears perked as it picked up its scent but it did not move.

“You’re going to lure it in? Good idea!”

“We’re not killing it.” She put the meat on the ground and pulled the backpack on. “Now let’s leave.”

“Don’t tell me you’re fucking feeding it?!”

“Of course I am.” She stepped backwards and beckoned for him to come along. “Foxes are carnivores but they prey on small animals like rabbits. They don’t go up against bigger creatures, so there’s no need to attack this one. He’ll leave us alone.”

Karkat eyed Malon suspiciously but followed her. “Why are you wasting good meat on some random animal then?”

“I’m a Prime, like Gamzee - I could just summon more if we need it. Better than to let it rot in my backpack. Watch…” She pointed at the fox, which by now had dared move from its spot and came closer. It eyed the two of them, snagged the meat and hurried back off into the woods with its prize in its maw. “It’s just a harmless critter. You don’t need to be scared of it.”

“I already told you I’m not scared. And stop treating me like a child! By your earth years I’m as old as you are.”

“Then act your age! You needn’t be hostile to those around us here.”

Karkat pinched the bridge of his nose. “Listen, human. Gamzee may have entrusted you to take ‘care’ of me for a while but that don’t mean I’ll let you talk to me that way. And I’m being careful. For all I knew that orange-furred thing could have been a deadly monster.”

“Alright… point taken. How about I treat you properly if you take things a little easier then?”

Karkat crossed his arms. “Easier.”

“You’re not a bad guy, but… you’re aggressive. I’d love to have you along for my journey for as long as you like but I want to discover things. I want to explore this… this all.” She waved her hand around to vaguely point out the entire Camelot verse. “I want to meet people, learn things, experience adventures and have fun. I realize that I can’t carelessly run around and that this isn’t a rose-tinted world, but if you get hostile at every possible danger we’re going to alienate a lot of people. It’s going to close a lot of doors on us. You get it?”

“Sure I do. Except that I don’t see any reason to go easy on this place. If we do things your way we’re inviting everybody in that wants to stick a knife in our chest and can hide it behind a smile.”

“Why would anyone want to do that?” asked Malon.

“Where I come from people needed no reason to kill you”, Karkat remarked. “They just did it for fun.”

“That’s why Minas Tirith and other human settlements have laws and guardsmen to uphold them. To prevent that sort of thing from happening.” She tightened the straps of her backpack. “And speaking of Minas Tirith, I’m eager to get there before the sun sets. There’s a friend there that I want to visit, and after that we can start our tour of this beautiful land.” As she began to walk, something popped into her mind and she turned her head towards Karkat. “Can I ask you something else, by the way?”

“I guess?”

“About Gamzee and you… I don’t mean to sound impolite, but after I got the glances of memories from the both of you thanks to Tearen’s work, it got me more curious about you guys. You’re… trolls, right?”

“Yeah. We’re from different castes, but we’re both trolls.”

“You’re way different from the trolls from fairytales from Hyrule, that’s why I wanted to confirm. I’ve got a lot of questions! Like say… Where do you come from? Do all trolls have horns? Are they numb, like bones, or do you feel it if they get touched? And… is there a reason Gamzee is the way it is – some sort of mental condition or something? Because the glimpses of memories I saw through his eyes made me feel like he’s high on Zoran Blackweed or something. Oh, and you mentioned something about castes, what did you mean by that? Is your society divided into warriors, workers and such?”

“Hold your horses for a moment, human… Zoran whatnow?” asked Karkat.

“Oh, it’s, uh… an illegal drug from my home world. You dried it and set it on fire, then you inhaled the smokes, it made you all woozy and see things… different. At least, that’s how someone described it to me.”

“It’s kind of something like that”, he responded. “But it’s complicated.”

“Well, we’ve got half a day’s trek ahead of us”, she pointed out. “I’d like to hear of it… maybe I’ll get a better understanding of your viewpoint.”

[Gamzee Makara]

They walked in silence, for a while. I'll talk when I damn well please, he thought to himself in a rather shouty voice. Though admittedly, the human's eyes were alight with a pointed curiosity, not a murderous or insidious intent. It was something that he wasn't exactly used to, despite dealing with a certain two overly curious human girls many times before this. Something about their eyes was just...unsettling to him. They generally held a glint of something that he couldn't quite distinguish, as if they knew something about him that he himself did not; and Karkat most certainly could not stand being left out of the loop on such matters.

The strange mixture of footfall and peaceful but vaguely ominous sounds of the massive forest around them made for an incredibly unique and eerie chorus for that first hour of silence. He stopped, for a moment, and tilted his head back to raise his eyes to the sunshine speckled canopy above. The leaves and branches and vines came together in a kaleidoscopic patchwork of natural light and shadow that danced at every slight movement. Every time an unseen animal traveled the highway of treetops, every time a luxuriously lazy breeze blew through the wooden ramparts it sent the light bouncing and twirling and pirouetting through the shadows in a wondrous display that Karkat found oddly entrancing, mesmerizing - and that was when the stubby horned troll found his words.

"A lot of us lived underground, on Alternia," he began, "Our planet was way too close to the sun, or the sun was way too hot for us. One or the other, I don't really fuckin' know. We all only really knew what we were told. It was up to us if we believed it or not."

Malon had stopped a short distance ahead, turning around at the sound of his voice. She had been watching him, of course, observing, but only when he wasn't doing the same. She followed his gaze to the light show above. "You've never seen the sun before," she stated softly, before correcting herself, "Or at least, not in this manner."

He nodded, returning his somewhat stoney, brooding gaze to the path ahead. "Staring anywhere even vaguely near it would cause an unhealthy dose of immediate and painful blindness. Some of us could survive in sunlight, but most of us kept to shadowy places, or only ventured out at night. We had moonlight, and stars. Two moons, actually. They were pretty enough, but weren't what anyone would call radiant."

Or warm, said a whispery voice in his head as he passed through an especially large shaft of brilliant sunshine.

"Home wasn't the nicest of places. Like I said there were castes, and relatively most of our lives were dictated by blood color," he states, before Malon cut in with an earnest question, one he kinda had a feeling would pop up if he chose to share anything about life back home.

"What color is your-" she started to ask without much thinking, without ANY way of knowing what a sore, awful, terrible subject that was for Karkat. He shot her a rather vicious glare before she finished that question, that horridly annoying and pervasive question, and it dawned on her that that line of conversation was a poor one indeed. Her heart sank as she realized what a slight it was and profusely began to apologize, but Kar wouldn't have any of it.

His expression noticeably softened, as he chose his next words very carefully: "You couldn't have known. It's okay."

He wasn't sure if it was actually okay with him, but anything to change the subject was enough at that particular moment. Before giving her a chance to respond, he launched into a tirade about the castes, the ruling government and empire and their respective atrocities to his kind.

"It goes like this, from lowest of the low to lordliest of the lords: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink. And I mean, that's kinda cut and dry, there's all sorts of different shades and erm, variants, but that's the easiest way to explain it to someone from the outside looking in. For the most part, the lowest are destined to be peasants, except in very rare, very extreme cases," the troll explained.

"What would constitute as a rare or extreme case?" his companion wondered aloud.

"A ah...improvised test of strength, or skill. Something that happens naturally that proves immediate and exponential or limitless potential. There are other ways around it, like concealing your blood type, but those are all incredibly high risk. You'd be put to death immediately if you were found out," he said all of this rather slowly, picking his words carefully. "Though admittedly, if you failed to prove yourself initially, you'd likely be dead anyways."

"Lots of death, huh?" The pointy eared girlfriend said plainly.

"Lots of it."

Karkat continued, going into detail about the strict, tyrannical rule of the Empress and most of Alternia's nobility. "The Empire's drones and soldiers were not the good guys. They weren't keepers of the peace, they were suppressors, conquerors and the like. They enforced the law in such a way that it allowed for no rebellion or peace. I'm not gonna give you a whole hour long lesson on Alternia Law, but that's only because it's ridiculously oppressive and repetitive and likely would take more than an hour. I think you get the picture, though. They encouraged brutality and unrest between the castes, all the while equally keeping the general populace in check, at a disadvantage to those in higher bloodlines."

Silence for a moment. The alien could only assume she was processing. He wasn't sure of her background, but he recalled snippets of a land full of grass and greenery, hoofbeasts roaming the fields and a smaller house of quarried stone. The after effects of Tearan's meddling was something unsettling and different, and that combination was always a hard one to understand or accept; similar to the contrast of her world and his.

"And yes, all trolls have horns," he interjected suddenly, kind of hoping to not give her the chance to ask even more questions, "all different shapes and sizes, but they're all colored this way. As far as sensitive goes, the base can be kinda tingly when touched, but only because of the coalescence of blood vessels required to form healthy bone and marrow and all that junk on the outside of skin. Trolls are technically very similar to many of your Earth insects," Ranty McNubby horns paused to take a deep breath and rethink his decision to go into detail, before hurriedly finishing with a casual deflection. "Look, I'm a scientist, sort of, but not a teacher. I can't really explain troll biology very well, at least not to someone unversed in sciencey crap."

Malon opened her mouth to ask something, but Karkat held a hand up, responding plainly, "Nope, none of that. No questions. Just...hold on for a second. You wanted to know more, and I'm giving you way more than necessary. In fact, I think I'm done shouting about shit for now, for once in my terribly long and terribly drawn out life."

She eyed him somewhat suspiciously, though without the negative connotations that normally come associated with that word. For some reason, Karkat couldn’t manage to detect any sort of negative connotations about this human whatsoever. It was clear, however, that she could tell he was avoiding the topic of Gamzee's 'condition,' as she so eloquently put it. For fear of another faux pas like the question of his blood color, she also avoided the topic. For now, anyways.

"Oh come now, Karkat. Your life can't be all doom and gloom and death, not utterly and totally," she responded with a somewhat coy smile.

The young troll actually seemed to think very hard about it for a moment, before adamantly tossing his hands to the sky in a dramatic sort of shrug. "Nope, I got nothin'."

And at that, she couldn't resist a tiny giggle at his exaggerated expense, and that small bit of laughter was, to Karkat, comparable to the sunlight he secretly enjoyed so very much.