PSYCH!

You are not going to be the adorkable little brother! HAHAHA, JOKE'S ON YOU! It would take too much time to write his point of view because we already read Bro's point of view!  And Striders think quite similarly to each other.  Anyways....

==> John: Wake up.

==> Reader: Switch to third person.

Blue eyes slowly flutter open, out of the corner of his eye, he can see the comforting, neon-blue glow of Nannasprite. When John raises his gaze up, he can see her bright smile.

"Hoo, hoo~! Good morning, John!"

John manages a shy smile, moving his hand around for his glasses.  He slipped them on, taking a deep breath, trying to ignore the puffy feeling of his eyes.

"Mornin', Nanna. And thanks for letting me sleep on your shoulder. Sorry for being such a bother."

"Not a bother at all, my dear boy! Now, I still have those chocolate chip cookies I baked you a few hours ago."

John smiles, sitting up while rubbing his head anxiously.

"Uh, thanks."

"I'll be back soon, dearie~hoohoo~!"

John takes the time to study his room as Nanna fazes through a wall.

Ping!

Oh! Someone was pestering him.

-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 22:13 --

TT: Good morning, John.  I hope you had a peaceful rest.

John rubbed the back of his head and sighed, pushing his glasses up slightly.

EB: thanks, rose.  my little nap was fine.  no nightmares.

TT: I see...

TT: Do you wish to tell me anything that you might be feeling right now?

John stood up from his bed on slightly shaky legs, stretching to feel some of his joints pop wonderfully.

EB: well...a little groggy and emotionally drained.  but other than that, i'm good.

TT: That's good to hear.  Do you think you're up for today's events?

John smiled a bit as he looked at her words.  He was happy that she wasn't pushing him to gain answers for herself.  Bless her dear soul when she's not doing her creepy black magic.

EB: sure.  we're building up my house or something, right?

TT: Yes. And do be careful. There have been...imps--I believe--approaching your house. I've been keeping them away from you while you slept with some of your household objects. Apologies.

EB: it's fine, rose! thanks for keeping me safe. :B

EB: i'll get to work now.

John lifted his gaze up in time to see Nanna come floating in, carrying a plate of ghostly cookies. The ravenet stared at the glowing, blue cookies with slight bafflement.

"Have a bite, John! They are still warm and they'll help you regain your strength, hoohoo~!"

John blinked before he picked one up, taking a small bite. Immediately, he was hit with the warm, chocolatey taste of the cookie. He hummed in appreciation before he finished the cookie in a few quick bites, feeling his energy returning to him. He smiled at Nanna.

"Thank you, Nanna. Could you please save some for later?"

"Oh course, my dear~! Stay safe now. I'll provide assistance."

John gave his signature bucktoothed grin at her before heading out of his room, he quickly equipped his old pogo-hammer.

==> John: Crush your enemies!

~~

John took a step outside of his house checking the area with his sharp, blue eyes. He shouldered his hammer as he took the staircase that Rose had built with the small amount of grist they currently had. Once he got on the very top of his house, he saw that there already were a few ogres--three of them--waiting for him.  John grinned at this.

"Alright, here we go," John then muttered under his breath. "Again."

Before the ogres could notice his existence, John dashed forward, pogo-hammer trailing behind him.  He brought his hammer down onto the ground to bounce off, launching himself into the air towards one of the ogres that were present.

"Booyah!"

Smack!

The ogre groaned as he was sent flying cleanly off of the roof.  The ogre burst into grist when he met the ground.  John paused as he landed on the ground, blinking as he glanced down at his hammer.

'The he**?  I'm not using a strong hammer.  Too much strength into the swing then?' The ravenet felt the rooftop shake as the two other ogres stomped towards him from behind. 'Oh well.  I should probably test this out.'

John spun around as he smacked his hammer onto the rooftop again, bouncing into the air to bring his hammer down once more.  However, John no longer had the element of surprise with him.  An ogre, with a tire-swing, swung his choice of weapon at John's head at a frightening speed.

...

But John has witnessed faster attacks than this.

John's eyes glowed blue for a brief second, using his windy powers to push him out of the way of the attack.  It was only a slight push, so it wouldn't look too strange from Rose's point of view.  Once the Heir was safe, he quickly swung his hammer again, using less strength this time to test his theory.

This time, the ogre seemed to be stunned by John's blow, reminding the ravenet of his first fight.  The Heir nodded to himself, humming thoughtfully as he quickly followed up, delivering another blow to the ogre so it could burst into grist like the first ogre.

'Alright, that should be the right amount of strength I should use then to avoid suspicion.  Although Rose is gonna catch on soon...'

John was snapped out of his musings when a large fist went flying towards him, his 13 year-old body puny-looking compared to the palled up hand.  'Gog d**n, I forgot about the third ogre,' He thought with a mental groan.  The ravenet quickly braced his pogo-hammer in front of his body, preparing for impact.

Suddenly, there was a flash of neon-blue light coming from the side, blasting the ogre away.  Nanna came drifting in with a slightly smoking and glowing oven by her side.  The blue sprite laughed brightly as she floated over to him, gently ruffling his hair.

"Hoohoo!  Do pay attention, dear John~!"

John smiled gratefully and high-fived her floating hand in return.

"Thanks, Nanna." 'That was way too careless of me.  I need to focus.'

He then turned his attention back to his opponents.  More imps and ogres were crawling onto the roof.  John huffed and shouldered his pogo-hammer, ignoring the oily goop that was dripping from the head of his weapon.  John slowly got into a fighting stance, hammer swung down to be leveled in front of his body.  His eyes flashed blue, yellow, green and red for a second before fading back to a sky-blue color, a smile on his lips.

"Bring it on."

==> Reader: See how Rose is doing.

Rose is currently watching her computer screen, still sitting in the mausoleum of her pet cat, Jasper.  She should be building John's house up with all the grist he's collecting, but the scenes that are playing on her screen.

It...it was hard to believe what she is seeing.  John is moving with an incredible grace that she never knew he ever had before.  When he fights, it's like he had done it for a long, long time.  But despite all of this...it looked...it looked like John was holding back.  

Rose blinked and slowly shook her head to dispel the jumbled thoughts in her mind.  She had to focus now--for John's sake.  Rose had felt a little--well, maybe very--concerned for John.  The ravenet might not see it, but Rose can.  John looked...lost.  No, 'lost' wasn't the right answer.  Rose brought her attention back to her screen again, lavender eyes watching as John landed safely on the rooftop again, collecting more grist from defeated ogres and imps.

John was...tired.  Yes, he was tired.  Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the mausoleum for a brief second before the light faded and the glow of the computer was the only thing lighting up the small building.  Rose watched as John turned his head slightly to look at his Nanna, getting a good look of his face.  There were slight bags under his eyes, and it reminded Rose of his nightmare hours ago.

That was not a pleasant memory.  Watching John mutter and cry apologies in his sleep, tears dripping down his cheeks into the pillow of his bed and then suddenly grow deathly still.  Rose wasn't sure if John was alive for a heart-stopping second before John shot up, reaching for his pogo-hammer--but then he stopped, seeming to...realize where he was.  John had taken deep breaths to calm himself before responding to Rose's messages.

Rose could see that something--something big--had changed John.  John...no matter what he had said in his messages...he had changed.  He wasn't the 13 year-old ghost-loving kid Rose knew.  But he was still John; a John she didn't know.  John, Rose felt, was certainly different.  But...she still felt--something deep in her heart--that this John could be trusted with her life.  Even if he--most likely--lied to Rose a couple of time, she felt she could still trust him.

Whatever John was thinking, Rose knew she must help him.  She needed to talk to him, tell him that she knew something was up.  Rose gazed at her screen for a moment before sighing, glancing over the stone table to look at the dressed body of Jaspers.

"Jaspers...what do you think?"

...

Silence.  Of course.  Rose sighed once more.  The dead cat wouldn't have been any help anyways.  Rose tapped a thin finger lightly on the stone slab her laptop was on, her lavender eyes watching John defeat another ogre.  She then curled her fingers, fisting it lightly when she caught sight of tired--but they were filled with excitement from the battle--blue eyes when John turned his head at a certain angle.

She would talk to John about what's truly going on.  Rose may need to get nosey, but John is her friend.  If she must get nosey to help John, then she'll do it.  But now...Rose knew that John needed her to assist him.  So, Rose built John's house up, helping when she could by using her curser to pick up some random, nearby objects imps and smack them off of the house.

~~

==> Reader: See what John is doing an hour later.

John is currently resting in a copy of his own bedroom, which had been built with grist.  He had asked Rose to also bring his desk and computer up so he could pester some people on there.  Rose continued to build up the house while John began to pester Dave.

-- ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 1:13 --

EB: dave!

EB: daaaaaaaave!

EB: dave, dave, dave, dave, dave, dave, dave, dave!

EB: ...

EB: did you get your a** handed to you that badly?

TG: jfc egbert

TG: and no i didnt get my a** handed to me

TG: i was the one who did the a** handing

EB: haha!  that bad, huh? :B

TG: stfu egbert

TG: id like to see you do better against bro with your sh*tty hammer because i bet you wouldnt be able to do sh** against him

TG: the dudes a gog d**n fighting machine i actually wouldnt be surprised if he was a robot this entire time he** how does he even stay on that rocket board of his magnetic magic or some sh**

EB: dave.

EB: you're just salty. :B

TG: salty

TG: not salty just

TG: just completely tenderized by bro put me on a fire and cook me to medium rare enjoy my meaty defeat egbert

EB: haha!

EB: anyways...did you get the beta?

TG: yeah and funny weird thing is is that bro kinda

TG: patched me up afterwards

EB: d'aaaaaaaawwwwwwww!

TG: jegus egbert this is not something to swoon about like a girl with the f**king vapors its weird and just

TG: okay i know you said i should open up to bro a little more

EB: and you should.

TG: ...

EB: i think he's just...unsure of how to care for you.  i mean, have you ever thought that maybe he's never experienced what it's like to have a family guardian-figure?  he probably wants the best for you, but he doesn't know how to do it.

John looked over his words and face-palmed slightly.  Maybe he had said to much.  And speaking of Bro/Beta-Dirk...a guardian-figure.  Isn't there an adult Dave that had supposedly took care of Alpha-Dirk for a moment?  Maybe...maybe John could message him--Alpha-Dave.  The ravenet widened his eyes at the thought.  Perhaps this way, he could prepare more people for the fight against Calib--no.

John fisted his hands on his desk before lowering his head a bit to rest his forehead on the cool surface.  He--it would be selfish of him to bring someone else into this fight.  This was John's fight.  He couldn't afford to make Dirk's Bro to sacrifice his life in the final battle.  John sighed when he heard his computer ping, lifting his head.

Still, John could warn Alpha-Dave--actually, let's call Alpha-Dave, D, for short--about the Condesce.  He nodded to himself mentally.  Yes, he could save a few lives instead of ask them for help against Lord English.  John, with that thought in mind, looked back up to read what Dave had messaged him about.

TG: john what happened

Said ravenet blinked at the words, inclining his head slightly, bitting his lower lip slightly with worry.

EB: what do you mean? :B

TG: dont bullsh** me john

TG: ive known you for YEARS and im p sure i can tell when youre

TG: ...

TG: when youre acting different

Oh gog, Dave was onto John... 

The Heir fisted a hand slightly on his desk as he stared at the red letters on his screen.  He felt a tremor go through his body as he took a shuddering breath.

"...Heh...hehehe...hehahahaha!"

Who was laughing?  Why--oh.  John clapped a hand over his mouth, shoulders shaking and tears starting to prick the corner of his eyes.  It was sick--he felt sick--to be laughing at this, but it--it was just so ridiculous. 

John, you're acting different.

John, you're being strange.

John, what's wrong?

What was wrong, indeed.  John laughed bitterly as he covered his eyes with a shaky hand.  John couldn't tell about the future--it would burden them, his friends and family, and they don't deserve to be burdened in the first place.  John stared at his desk with glassy eyes, ignoring the fact that a few tears landed on his glasses.

God, he was so f**ked up.  John let out another sad chuckle, realizing now that...that he took away their John.  John from the future didn't belong here, and he forced his past-self out of his body--probably killing his own self.  God, the situation was so f**ked up...

Ping!

John tiredly brought his gaze up to his computer screen.

TG: you havent responded so

TG: im sorry if i offended you

TG: jegus im just kinda concerned with you

TG: i mean i care about you youre my best bro and best bros look out for each other

John's hands hovered over the keyboard, hesitant to respond, eyes still a little blurry with tears.  How was he supposed to respond?  He took a deep breath and smiled a bit.

EB: yeah.  okay.

EB: i'll...i'll be honest with you.

John decided to settle with half-truths.

EB: i had a nightmare.

TG: oh sh** was it bad i mean of course it was bad

TG: do you think you could tell me about it

EB: so...um, in simple terms...we were in this...sandy place.

TG: like rose me jade and you

EB: uh, yeah.

EB: and...we died...

Dave didn't respond for the longest time.  John thought that the blonde had given up on him or something before red text appeared on his screen once more.

TG: but were still here

John blinked, and stared at the words in confusion.

EB: huh?

TG: im here roses here jades here

TG: were all still ALIVE and HERE for you john

John blinked and stared at the red letters.

TG: you dont have to do things on your own i mean were all practically family with each other we all have each others backs

TG: were here for you john

John blinked...and blinked again, a chuckle slipping from his lips.  But it was less hysterical and more...happy?  Hopeful?  Gosh, hope was such a fragile thing at the moment, but hey, John needed it.  He needed this: this support.

EB: dave...

EB: thank you.

EB: hehe, i feel refreshed now!

Ping!

John blinked in mild surprise because Dave hadn't responded.  The ravenet went back to the main PesterChum page and stared in slight surprise.

"E-Egbert...!" A raspy voice growled at the said ravenet, red irises surrounded by yellow glared up at bright blue eyes. "Don't you...dare...lose against...this n**k-licking piece of sh**." Of course he was talking about Lord English.  He never did give a sh** about people stronger than him.

John's lower lip trembled slightly as he responded, trying to gently cradle the dying, bleeding body in his arms.

"I-I won't...K--"

"--arkat..." John breathed, starting at the PesterChum screen with wide eyes.  Slowly, the ravenet grinned, blue eyes gleaming with excitement before turning his gaze back to his conversation with Dave.

EB: hehe!  something magical is happening! :B

EB: i'll get back to you later, dave.  is that alright?

TG: cool beans bro

TG: tell me about it later and john

EB: yeah?

TG: well always be there for you

EB: heh, thanks. :)

-- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 1:38 --

John then turned his attention to the incoming troll.  But then he paused slightly, tilting his head a bit.  When was the first time Karkat contacted him?  Actually, was he the first troll he talked with in the original timeline?  John lifted an eyebrow and opened up the chat box, noting with surprise that Karkat was messaging his alternate chat handle.

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling windyHeir [WH] at 1:40 --

CG: EGBERT.  WE HAVE A F**K TON OF THINGS TO TALK ABOUT.

WH: apparently you know me, but i have no clue what's going on.

CG: WHAT.

CG: F**K, OKAY.  THIS MUST BE THE FIRST TALK WE'VE EVER HAD.  SH**!  BUT YOU...YOU KNOW WHO I AM, DON'T YOU?

John stared at his screen for the longest time and groaned softly.  For him, this was the very first conversation they ever had.  To Karkat, apparently, this was the nth time.  The ravenet will have to try and sort things out with the red-blooded troll.

WH: first of all, how...how much do you know?

CG: ...I KNOW ABOUT THE FATA** CHERUB CALI-F**K.

John stiffened before he snickered lightly at the nickname, feeling a bit at home.  Even if this wasn't the Karkat he befriended in the first timeline, he was still one of his best troll friends.

WH: a little bold, aren't you, karkat? :D

CG: YOU'RE A STUPID PIECE OF SH**, EGBERT.  YOU'RE LUCKY I PITIED YOU SO MUCH TO HELP YOU.

John rolled his eyes slightly, chuckling softly.

WH: i see...but then...you should understand that this is my first conversation with you to be honest.

CG: AH, F**K.  ANYWAYS, IT DOESN'T MATTER SINCE WE HAVE A LOT MORE IMPORTANT SH** TO DISCUSS.

WH: wait, first of all, how did we meet?  and how do you know about this chat handle?

CG: UGH, SERIOUSLY EGBERT, BUT FINE, I'LL TELL YOU.  MY FIRST CONVERSATION WITH YOU...YOU WERE ALREADY IN GOD TIER FORM.  AND AT THAT TIME, I HAD NO IDEA YOU WE'RE...FROM A TIMELINE WHERE THINGS WENT TO SH**.  AND, GOG, I WAS SO F**KING STUPID BACK THEN, SERIOUSLY!  ANYWAYS, THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME.  YOU WERE ALSO APPARENTLY IN LOHAC.

John blinked and processed the words, humming thoughtfully.  He turned to glance over his shoulder to see a few imps trying to mess with his posters.

"Hey," His voice cold and frigid, causing the imps to freeze in place. "If you know what's good for you...you wouldn't do what you're about to do right now."

The imps, in their colorful clothes, glanced at each other before looking back at the slightly glowing, blue eyes with fear.  They soon slinked out of the room, gibbering among each other.  John sighed once they left before turning his attention back to the screen.

CG: WOW.  YOU'RE SCARY AND AUTHORITATIVE WHEN YOU WANT TO BE. 

John lifted an eyebrow at that and chuckled to himself.

WH: heh, really?  sorry about that.

CG: UGH, DON'T SAY THAT.

WH: what?  'sorry'?

CG: YEAH, THAT.  YOU SAY IT TOO MUCH.  IT'S TIME YOU JUST STOP APOLOGIZING.  YOU SAY IT A LOT IN OTHER CONVERSATIONS BEFORE THIS ONE.

John laughed a bit at this, a wry smile on his lip.  The ravenet looked up into the air a bit, knowing that Karkat was watching him through grub computer. 

WH: heh, i dunno, karkat.  i guess...i just wished we had a happier ending than this.

CG: THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT!  WHAT WAS I LIKE IN YOUR TIMELINE?

WH: a fearless a**hole. :B

CG: HARHAR, EGBERT.  I'M LAUGHING SARCASTICALLY IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, YOU N**K-SNIFFER!  ANYWAYS YOU LITTLE SH**, I WANTED TO ASK YOU HOW WE'RE PLANNING TO TAKE CARE OF LORD ENGLISH?

John paused a bit, eyes widening.

WH: 'we'?

CG: UGH, THIS IS OUR FIRST CONVERSATION, SO I'LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS SH**, HUH?  EGBERT, F**K YOU AND YOU WANTING TO DO THIS ALONE BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT.  BEFORE YOU SAY THAT I DON'T DESERVE BEING BURDENED WITH FIGHTING LORD ENGLISH, HEAR ME OUT.

CG: I MAY NOT BE THE KARKAT YOU KNEW IN THAT TIMELINE, BUT I'M NOT JUST GONNA SIT BACK ON MY A** AND ACT LIKE A F**KING DAMSEL IN DISTRESS!  YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING IF YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING THIS ALONE!

John was speechless, staring at his screen.  Before he could type any protests, the gray color of the red-blooded troll's text was filling up the screen again.

CG: I'VE ALREADY HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH YOU MULTIPLE TIMES, YOU STUBBORN A**.  YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN TO ACCEPT HELP FROM YOUR PITY-FRIENDS.

CG: AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON'T NEED YOUR F**KING CONSENT TO HELP YOU.  I'LL DO IT ANWAYS BECAUSE WER'E FRIENDS, YOU LITTLE SH**!

WH: ...

WH: i...

WH: i just don't want to lose everyone again.

CG: AND YOU WON'T BECAUSE WE'LL ALL BE PREPARED FOR THIS.  DIDN'T STRIDER TELL YOU THAT YOUR FRIENDS ARE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY?  YOU'RE REALLY A STUBBORN PIECE OF SH**, EGBERT.

John took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair, chucking airily.  Today had been a rollercoaster of emotions.  John shook his head and took a deep breath before releasing it.

WH: okay.  just, okay.  looks like i can't stop you from helping me, karkat.  but i think this might not be the best time to tell me what we're planning.  right now...i was thinking of already contacting our future friends.

CG: YOU'VE TOLD ME ABOUT THAT BEFORE.  OTHER HUMANS MADE FROM THE SCRATCH OR SOMETHING, YEAH?  ANYWAYS, I'M SUPPOSED TO SEND YOU THE CODE OF MY GRUB COMPUTER SO YOU CAN CONTACT THOSE SH**S IN THE FUTURE.  HERE.

CG: V4Nt42

WH: hey, it's your last name!

CG: YEAH, YEAH.  JUST MAKE IT WITH A CRUXITE DOWEL AND SOME OF YOUR GRIST.  IT SHOULDN'T TAKE THAT LONG.

WH: thanks!  beepbeep meow! :B

CG: YOU ALREADY USED THAT JOKE, EGBERT.

WH: darn.  anyways, thanks for the help.  i'll...i'll try to ask help from others, i guess, heh.

CG: YOU BETTER.  I THINK, IF I'M TELLING YOU THIS NOW, YOU'LL BE A LITTLE MORE ACCEPTING TO ASKING FOR HELP.  I'LL CONTACT YOU AGAIN ONCE YOU GO THROUGH THE FIRST GATE.  YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLORE LOWAS ONCE YOU GET THROUGH THERE.

WH: question.  have i already contacted vriska yet?

CG: PSH, THAT SPIDER-B***H?  NOT ONLY HER, YOU CONTACTED ALL OF THE TROLLS SO WE COULD 'LIVE PEACEFULLY' WITH EACH OTHER.

CG: ...YOU REALLY TALKED SOME SENSE INTO THEM.  DID YOU...

CG: DID YOU REALLY FIGHT THE SH**TY CHERUB FOR FOUR YEARS?

John blinked and sighed deeply.  When he did open the door and step through, they were all brought to the sandy lands.  Vriska was dead when they found her body.  Less than half of the ghost army was still there, fighting against Lord English.  The first fight against Lord English was not a good one, with too many losses on the human-troll side, they had to retreat.  The same thing happened over the four years until Lord English got tired of their 'game' and came to slaughter everyone.  But...among those four years, John got to learn a bit more about everyone.

John lifted his gaze to the screen.

WH: yes.  we fought him.  but...i got to learn a lot about everyone, who were both dead and alive.  ya know, ghosts and those who were still alive.  haha, even eridan tried to date me, lol.

CG: UGH, THAT'S DISGUSTING.  NO WONDER ERIDAN LISTENS TO YOU SO MUCH THOUGH, PROCLAIMING 'JOHN IS COUNTING ON ME'.

WH: anyways, see you soon, pal.

CG: WHATEVER.  IGNORE WHAT MY PAST SELVES SAY TO YOU.  KEEP YOUR A** SAFE, EGBERT.

-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling windyHeir [WH] at 2:03 --

John then got up from his seat, recalling the code Karkat gave to him.

~~

John gazed at the grub computer he had recently alchemized, sitting on his bed in his room.  He opened it up and messed around a bit with the controls.  He finally opened the troll chat box.  He leaned back against the wall behind him, frowning thoughtfully.  How was he supposed to contact Dirk, Jake, Roxy and Jane?  Didn't the Scratch have to happen in order for this to work?

John rubbed his forehead before widening his eyes.  His powers!  He had control over Time, Light and Space!  Surely he could do something with them!

John quickly crossed his legs, setting the grub-computer on the side.  He wasn't sure how he could do this, but he could try and...reach out towards his powers?  The Heir closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

The noise outside was soon drowned out.  He felt like he was floating, which was strange since he was in his room after all.  John felt a warm sensation on his forehead, arm and chest--where his Light, Space and Time tattoos should be--

"...John?"

The ravenet gasped and snapped his eyes open, feeling the ground beneath him once more.  That voice--that was Rose's!  But wasn't she currently at her own home, building up his house?  Wha--

"Oh my gosh, John!" Another, very familiar, voice squealed.  John grunted when arms wrapped around his shoulders--pale arms, covered in black silk.  The ravenet tried to turn his head before flinching when white dog ears flickered against his cheek.

...Wait...white...dog ears?

John stared at the person who had hugged him.  He raised his arms shakily to the sobbing form that was hugging him.

"J...Jade?  I mean, are y--?"

The said girl raised her head to look tearily at John.

"Oh John, you looked so sad!  We all just wanted to give you hugs!  We were so glad when the other Dave and Karkat started talking to you though!  I mean, Karkat is being so nice to you in this timeline!  It's strange, but it improved your mental sta--"

"W-Wait, Jade, I thought you were...de...ad..." John finally lifted his gaze from his biological sister to the two blondes standing--floating--behind her. "...R...Rose....?  Dave?" He croaked. "Oh...please...please tell me this isn't a dream--f**k, I--!"

He was then smothered by hugs in a blur of red and orange.  John started to cry and laugh at the same time, his thoughts in a jumbled mess as he tried to pull everyone in closer to him, tears streaming from his blue eyes, too scared to close them incase his friends would disappear.

It took a good handful of minutes before John calmed down, eyes puffy and wet as he slowed his tears, bringing his hands up to rub at the drying tear tracks.

"I, haha, oh my gog, how are you guys--!?"

Dave rubbed at his eyes, pushing his shades up--the b*****d was definitely crying-- before stuffing his hands into his red God Tier pants.  He smirked a bit, tilting his head slightly to direct John's attention to the world around him.

"Dunno what happened really, Egderp, but it looks like a part of us went with you when we handed ya' our powers."

John took the time to finally look at his surroundings.  They were apparently on some sort of island, a slab of blue rock.  A glowing tree--it reminded John of the ones on LOWAS--grew in the center of the island.  Fireflies drifted lazily around the area. 

However, what caught John's attention the most was the three other islands surrounds his.  Lava bubbled and popped on the right side of his island, glowing brightly but not burning.  John brought his attention to the floating gears the clanked out a beat, ticking away and surrounding an island of volcanic glass.  In front of John's island was a land that seemed to be constantly raining, but it was shinning brightly, pink, yellow and blue light glimmering across the sea that was there.  An island of pure, white sand sat in the distance, water sloshing against its shores gently.  John finally looked to the left, where the water looked like pure space, stars moving within the blue-purple darkness.  An island covered in snow floated above the galaxy, ice lightly coating the waters surrounding the small piece of land.  John blinked and stared at the place he was in.

"...Uh, does meditation kill you or something?  'Cause I think I just died and went into a dream bubble."

Rose chuckled softly and gently ran a hand through John's raven locks in a comforting manner.

"No, John, you are very much alive.  And we are very proud of you for doing this for us."

John teared up slightly again.  This time, Jade held him closer, nuzzling her face into his hair.

"Don't worry, John!  Now that you know we're here, you know that you're not alone now!"

John smiled and shut his eyes, feeling warmth from his friends.

"Thank you.  Just, God d**n, I..." John fell back slightly onto his back, laughing brightly. "This is just amazing..."

Jade squealed and also flopped onto her back next to him.  Dave rolled his eyes behind his shades before doing the same.  Rose laid back also, lacing her fingers over her stomach.  All four of them watched the fireflies blink lazily across the dark sky.

"....Guys," John murmured, breaking the silence. "I need help with using your powers."

Dave waved a hand lazily into the air before flopping it back onto the ground.

"Yup, we know that.  We were kinda watching what was happening through your head for pretty much the entire time.  And, uh...we kinda watched you break down a few times....and we honestly tried to stop your nightmares from getting to you, yeah..."

John shrugged slightly, sighing a bit.

"Heh, yeah, that was embarrassing."

Jade swatted at him, dog ears twitching.

"No, it's not embarrassing!  You...you went through a lot, John, and no one can say you shouldn't let your emotions out."

John grinned weakly at that before nodding slightly.

"So...I want to contact our buddies in the future.  Any ideas?"

Everyone looked at Rose, who chuckled.  She was always the one to plan ahead.  She's a Seer of Light after all.

"Of course..." Rose sat up, legs folded a bit underneath her as she continued. "You were on the right track, John, using all of our powers combined for this.  With my powers as a Seer, perhaps I can find a timeline where the Scratch is successful and complete.  Then, with the use of Dave and Jade's powers, we can find a connection to everyone's computers or any mobile device really."

John's eyes sparkled comically as he sat up to look at Rose.

"You're so awesome, Rose!"

The Seer merely giggled and playfully batted her eyelashes at John.

"I try, John dear."

Dave made mock gagging noises on the ground as he rolled onto his stomach.  Jade immediately hopped to her feet, stretching before turning to her companions.

"Well, what are we waiting for?  Let's get to it!"

~~

John snapped his eyes open, a smile tugging at his lips.

{Geez, this place is a mess.}

The ravenet blinked and turned his head slightly to see a transparent Dave floating next to him, still dressed in his Time God Tier clothes.  John wisely kept his mouth shut as he spoke mentally.

'Dave?  I can...see you?'

The ghostly blonde shrugged.

{Oh yeah, I got bored in your mind.  So now I'm just gonna haunt ya' and journey with ya'.  It looked like you needed the company too...}

{Oh, stop stealing the limelight, Dave!}

A transparent Jade appeared next to the blonde, shoving at him playfully.  Rose also appeared, hands settled on her lap as she floated while seeming to sit on nothing.

{We shall accompany you on your journey.  And I am quite thankful that you can now see us.  We have always been by your side, but you haven't got to see us until you reached out towards our powers to truly connect with them.}

John nodded in understanding before snapping to attention.  Turning to his new grub-computer.

'Okay, guys, let's get to work.'

Rose placed a hand onto his shoulder as his eyes glowed golden.  Images flashed across his vision before he finally caught sight of him completing the Scratch.  He then took ahold of that timeline and watched as more images passed his gaze.  Finally, finally, he could see Dirk, Jake, Roxy and Jane, but they all looked like they were 13 years old...  Dave and Jade drifted next to him and placed their hand onto his shoulder and back respectively; John's eyes mixed between colors of red, green and gold.  Then he felt something click into place before everyone relaxed.

John's blue eyes darted around his screen, finally able to see each of the Alpha-kids' timelines.  He laughed brightly.

'We did it!'

Dave snorted softly and lightly patted John's hair.

{Cool, now see if it actually works.}

John nodded to himself and opened up a chat box with one of the Alpha-kids.

-- windyHeir [WH] began pestering golgothasTerror [GT] at ??:?? --

WH: hello! :D

GT: Goodness! Who is this?

GT: I don't recall ever giving my chumhandle to a fellow like you.

WH: hehe. please don't be too alarmed.

WH: i'm here as a friend.

WH: you can call me heir! :)

GT: Well...this is rather...sudden!

GT: *Nervously tugs at collar.*

{John, now may not be the time to talk too much to them.  Perhaps later.}

'Ah, okay Rose.'

WH: uh, sorry about this, but i need to talk to other people now!

GT: Oh!  Then that's not a problem at all, heir.  You sound like a very interesting person, so i hope we can talk again soon... *rubs the back of his head sheepishly.*

WH: no problem!  bye, buddy!

-- windyHeir [WH] ceased pestering golgothasTerror [GT] at ??:?? --

'Uh, who should I try talking to next?'

{Whoever you want to, John.}

'Hm...ah-ha!  How about Roxy?'

{That's fine.}

-- windyHeir [WH] began pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] at ??:?? --

WH: hiya! :)

TG: who's thid?

TG: *this?

Hehe! She must be drunk. Good ol' Roxy....

WH: i can't tell you who i really am, but my name's heir!

TG: hehe, well hello heiry!  wat do you want from little ol me?

WH: i want to be friends and, well, this is a kind of meet and greet thing. 

TG: really?  welp, my name's roxy. 

WH: woah, isn't giving your name online a little sudden?

TG: npt if you're going to be frieeeeeends, hehe ;))))

TG: *not

WH: well...then can you keep my real name a secret for now? 

TG: syre.

TG: *sure

WH: my name is john.  it's nice to meet you roxy!

TG: hehe, john.  jawhn.  it's a cute name. ;)

WH: ah, sorry to cut our conversation short, but i need to go soon, so~

WH: i hope you have a lovely day!  i think i'm gonna talk to you later.

TG: hehe, okay ned.

TG: *nerd haha.

-- windyHeir [WH] ceased pestering tipsyGnostalgic [TG] at ??:?? --

'Let's do Jane next!'

-- windyHeir [WH] began pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG] at ??:?? --

WH: hiiiiiiii! :))))))))

{Bro, oh my gog, why are you doing the thing that the spider-b***h does?}

'Just shush, Dave.  I'm talking to my technical mom!'

GG: oh?

GG: um, hello!

GG: who is this?

WH: to be honest, i can't give you my real name, but you can call me heir! :)

WH: let's be friends!

{Way to sound like a creeper, Egbert.}

'Just shut up, Dave.'

GG: oh, uh....why?

WH: why not?  everyone needs lots and lots of friends, right?

GG: hoohoo, i guess... :B

WH: so, can i be your friend?

GG: i guess so...

WH: great! :D

GG: so...we're friends now?

WH: YES!

WH: :D

GG: :)

WH: XD

GG: C:

WH: okay, sadly i can't stay any longer, but i promise we can talk more later!

WH: bye, gutsy!

GG: hoohoo, so long, friend. :)

-- windyHeir [WH] ceased pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG] at ??:?? --

'And now, the mysterious Diiiiiirk.'

{Egderp, seriously.}

-- windyHeir [WH] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at ??:??

WH: yo! :)

TT: I think I've heard about you from a friend of mine.

'Wow! Jake must've told Dirk about me already!'

{Or is the special AI Dirk created, Li'l Hal, talking to you at the moment.}

WH: am i currently talking to artificial intelligence?

TT: What?

TT: Who the f*** are you?

'Hehe, he's just like Bro--which he is.'

{Yo, Egbert, Dirk told me once that Hal immediately says this certain thing if you put 'auto-responder' in a question.}

'Woah, really?  Let's test it out then!'

WH: um....what's an auto-responder?

TT: It seems you have asked about DS's chat client auto-responder. This is an application designed to simulate DS's otherwise inimitably rad typing style, tone, cadence, personality, and substance of retort while he is away from the computer. The algorithms are guaranteed to be 9X% indistinguishable from DS's native neurological responses, based on some statistical analysis I basically just pulled out of my a** right now.

{Pfft--Dirk is such a thorough nerd....}

{Like you're any better, Dave.}

{Shut up, Harley.}

WH: do you really say all of this is i just type auto-responder in a question? :B

TT: It seems you have asked about DS's chat client auto-responder. This is an application designed to simulate DS's otherwise inimitably rad typing style, tone, cadence, personality, and substance of retort while he is away from the computer. The algorithms are guaranteed to be 9X% indistinguishable from DS's native neurological responses, based on some statistical analysis I basically just pulled out of my a** right now.

TT: I can tell you're enjoying this.

TT: Stop it.

John grinned and chuckled softly.

WH: i'm sorry.

WH: so i'm gonna guess that the person i wanted to talk to isn't present.

WH: anyways!  hello!  i'm heir!

TT: Wait.  You act like you know who you're talking to, yet I've never come across anyone like you in previous conversations.

TT: Who the f**k are you?

WH: *mysterious windy noises.* i am the heir.

TT: We have already established that, but what the he**.  Are you some sort of creepy old man stalking people?

{Haha!  Dude, told ya' someone was gonna call ya' a stalker.}

'Ugh, shut up Dave.'

WH: shhhhhhhhhhhhhuuuuussssshhhhhh!  i am a perfectly normal and young person!  i just want to be friends!

WH: also, i should call you something else instead of 'auto-responder'.

TT: What?

WH: how about i call you hal!

TT: ...

WH: uh, i mean, you don't need to accept the name.

TT: I like it.

TT: Alright.  You seem like an interesting person.  I'll take you up on your offer on being friends.  Although I don't know how my creator will react to this. 

WH: don't worry!  i plan on becoming friends with all of you guys!

{John, I believe it's time to go now.  I think this timeline's Rose has reached the first gate.}

'Alright.'

WH: sorry, bud!  i need to go now, but we'll talk later.  you can tell dirk about me if you want to.

TT: Wait, how do you know about him?  My creator?

WH: uuuuuuuhhhh.

WH: BYE!

-- windyHeir [WH] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] at ??:?? --

TT: Wait you little sh**!

TT: God d**n it...

John rubbed a hand over his face as he pushed the grub-computer away from himself.

'Ah, that could've gone better.'

Dave crossed his arms as he leaned against a wall, transparent finger tapping a random beat on his arm.  John had noticed that Dave had done that a lot when he became a God of Time.

{You could say that again.  Anyways.  Adventure.  Exploring.  Spitting salamanders.  Let's go.}

John chuckled mentally and captchalogged the grub-laptop, sliding off of the bed as he

"I wonder if I'm at the first gate," He thought aloud, getting up from his bed. "I'm gonna go check it out." 'Let's go, guys.'

{Wheee~this is so exciting!  Let's save everyone!}

{Jegus, Harley, calm down.}

{Now, now, David, her energy is making John energetic too.  Isn't that good?}

Dave huffed, but he smirked, watching his the said Heir's back as he ran up the multiple stairs to get to the top of the building to get to the first gate.  John grinned back at his friends for a second as he finally made it to the top, seeing that the gate was just a few steps away.

{Yes.  No, he** f**king yes.} Dave chuckled softly. {It's good to see my best bro back on his feet again.}

'Let's go everyone!

{He** yeah!}

The four went through the gate.